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119-654: The DeCavalcante crime family , also known as the North Jersey crime family or the North Jersey Mafia , is an Italian-American Mafia crime family that operates mainly in northern New Jersey , particularly in Elizabeth , Newark , West New York and the surrounding areas. The family is part of the nationwide criminal network known as the American Mafia . The DeCavalcante family operates on

238-604: A Unione Siciliana dispute involving the Chicago Outfit and Al Capone . The opening salvo in the feud was fired within the Masseria faction when, on February 26, 1930, Masseria ordered the murder of an ally, Gaetano Reina . Masseria gave the job to a young Genovese, who killed Reina with a shotgun. Masseria's intent was to protect his secret allies Tommy Gagliano , Tommy Lucchese and Dominick "The Gap" Petrilli. Later his treachery would come back to haunt him, as

357-710: A Jewish Italian immigrant, was one of the founders and first president of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York. Also during this period, there was a growing presence of Italian Americans in higher education. Vincenzo Botta was a distinguished professor of Italian at New York University from 1856 to 1894, and Gaetano Lanza was a professor of mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for over 40 years, beginning in 1871. Anthony Ghio became

476-456: A Union Flag and an Italian flag with the words Dio e popolo, meaning "God and people." In 1861, Garibaldi himself volunteered his services to President Abraham Lincoln . Garibaldi was offered a major general's commission in the U.S. Army through the letter from Secretary of State William H. Seward to H. S. Sanford , the U.S. minister at Brussels , July 17, 1861. From 1880 to 1914, 13 million Italians migrated out of Italy , making Italy

595-571: A bid for control of Mafia operations, sending Salvatore Maranzano from his base in Castellammare del Golfo to seize control. The Castellammarese faction in the U.S. included Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno , Stefano "The Undertaker" Magaddino , Joseph Profaci and Joe Aiello . As it became more and more evident that the two factions would clash for leadership of the Mafia, they each sought to recruit more followers to support them. Outwardly,

714-676: A cargo of wine, and his wife Mary, who went on to own one of the oldest coffee houses in America, the Merchant Coffee House of New York on Wall Street at Water Street. Her Merchant Coffee House moved across Wall Street in 1772, retaining the same name and patronage. Today, the descendants of the Alberti-Burtis, Taliaferro, Reggio, and other early families are found all across the United States. This period saw

833-603: A few small settlements. Italian navigators and explorers played a key role in the exploration and settlement of the Americas by Europeans . Genoese explorer Christopher Columbus ( Italian : Cristoforo Colombo [kriˈstɔːforo koˈlombo] ) completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean for the Catholic monarchs of Spain , opening the way for the widespread European exploration and colonization of

952-598: A former associate to Badami who was murdered in 1931. In 1956, Nicholas "Nick" Delmore became as boss after Amari retired and moved back to Sicily. Delmore was a longtime member of the Elizabeth faction, going back to the prohibition era when he owned the Maple Shade Inn in Berkeley Heights and worked with Abner Zwillman in some brewery operations. In September 1930, Delmore was a fugitive related to

1071-441: A group of musicians from Sicily to form a military band, later to become the nucleus of the U.S. Marine Band . The musicians included the young Venerando Pulizzi , who became the first Italian director of the band and served in this capacity from 1816 to 1827. Francesco Maria Scala , an Italian-born naturalized American citizen, was one of the most important and influential directors of the U.S. Marine Band, from 1855 to 1871, and

1190-521: A gun permit and murder of a federal dry agent. Delmore was arrested in 1933, and charged with murder he was later acquitted of murder at the end of the trail. In 1957, Delmore attended the infamous 1957 Apalachin Convention to represent the Elizabeth family of New Jersey, with his underboss Frank Majuri and capo Louis LaRasso. Delmore ran the Elizabeth family until the early 1960s, when he became ill. In 1964, Delmore died and his nephew Sam DeCavalcante

1309-570: A gunman fired a shotgun into his car hitting him with thirteen slugs his neck, mouth, chest and arm. In early December of 1930, Boiardo was released from the hospital, only to be arrested by the Police for having a gun in his possession during his assassination attempt later he was sentenced to two and half years in prison. At the same time Boiardo was on trial for gun possession Zwillman was imprisoned for assault and began serving six months in jail. After begin released from prison Boiardo and Zwillman ended

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1428-589: A hardworking member of the family since his teens and felt that he was wronged when he was not selected as the only acting boss. To gain complete control of the DeCavalcante family, Majuri decided that he should murder Vincent Palermo, leaving himself in charge of the family. Majuri contracted soldier James Gallo to murder Vincent Palermo. Gallo was a strong ally and friend of Vincent Palermo's, and told him about Majuri's plans. In retaliation, Vincent Palermo decided to have Majuri murdered. After one plot fell through,

1547-513: A heart attack in 1997 at age 84. He rose to power in 1964, and he was incarcerated in 1969. He doubled the number of made men within his family during the 1960s. He owned Kenilworth Heating and Air Conditioning in Kenilworth, New Jersey as a legal front and source of taxable income, for which he gained the nickname "Sam the Plumber". He also claimed to be of Italian royal lineage, earning him

1666-519: A heist of $ 1.6 million from the World Trade Center . Guarino spent ten years undercover working for the FBI. He wore a listening device and recorded conversations that mobsters would have about criminal business. During Guarino's time as an informant, fellow mobster Joseph Masella was gunned down on the orders of Vincent Palermo. Using information provided by Guarino, US law enforcement launched

1785-492: A high-end escort service in Toms River, New Jersey . In 2016, Anthony Stango Jr. was sentenced to 6 years in prison after pleading guilty to using a telephone in interstate commerce to conduct a prostitution operation, conspiring to distribute five grams or more of cocaine, distributing more than $ 70,000 worth of cocaine, and possessing a shotgun as a convicted felon. In 2016, longtime member Charles "Big Ears" Majuri became

1904-473: A key Masseria enforcer, Giuseppe Morello , at Morello's East Harlem office (a visitor, Giuseppe Peraino, was also killed). Two weeks later, Masseria suffered another blow. After Reina's murder, Masseria had appointed Joseph Pinzolo to take over the ice-distribution racket . However, on September 9, the Reina family shot and killed Pinzolo at a Times Square office rented by Lucchese. After these two murders,

2023-637: A large scale arrest on December 2, 1999, of over 30 members and associates of the DeCavalcante crime family. Palermo realized they would likely spend the rest of their lives behind bars and decided to cooperate with the FBI in exchange for a lenient sentence. This resulted in the arrest of 12 more men less than a year later, decimating the crime family's hierarchy and putting it on the brink of extinction. Other top members, like Anthony Rotondo and Anthony Capo, also agreed to become government witnesses. In 2001, 20 mobsters were charged with racketeering, seven murders, 14 murder conspiracies, attempted murder, extortion in

2142-662: A missionary and expert in Indian languages, ministered to European colonists and Native Americans in Wisconsin and Iowa for 34 years and, after his death, was declared Venerable by the Catholic Church. Father Charles Constantine Pise , a Jesuit, served as Chaplain of the Senate from 1832 to 1833, the only Catholic priest ever chosen to serve in this capacity. In 1833, Lorenzo Da Ponte , formerly Mozart's librettist and

2261-754: A naturalized U.S. citizen, founded the first opera house in the United States, the Italian Opera House in New York City, which was the predecessor of the New York Academy of Music and of the New York Metropolitan Opera . Missionaries of the Jesuit and Franciscan orders were active in many parts of America. Italian Jesuits founded numerous missions, schools, and two colleges in the west. Giovanni Nobili founded

2380-424: A number of lottery games, a large extortion racket from shaking down merchants for protections money, and a large bootlegging operation. Boiardo was very overweight but a very flashy dresser often wearing a belt buckle studded with 150 diamonds that had an estimated worth $ 20,000, a five-carat diamond ring and a fifteen-diamond pin to hold his tie in place. In early 1930, Boiardo order his First Ward gang to expand into

2499-601: A small Mafia group while working alongside other Mafia families. Badami was unsuccessful in taking over the Elizabeth Ribera Mafia faction because he was born in Corleone, Sicily and they didn't trust him. On March 31, 1955, Badami went to a restaurant in Newark and was murdered being stabbed 40 times. The police held Frank Monaco as a witness in the murder and he confirmed that he was the brother of Sam Monaco,

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2618-474: A small stream of new arrivals from Italy. Some brought skills in agriculture and the making of glass, silk and wine, while others brought skills as musicians. In 1773–1785, Filippo Mazzei , a physician, philosopher, diplomat, promoter of liberty, and author, was a close friend and confidant of Thomas Jefferson . He published a pamphlet containing the phrase, "All men are by nature equally free and independent," which Jefferson incorporated essentially intact into

2737-572: Is credited with inventing the earliest version of an ice cream cone in 1898. Another Italian immigrant, Giuseppe Bellanca , brought with him in 1912 an advanced aircraft design, which he began producing. One of Bellanca's planes, piloted by Cesare Sabelli and George Pond, made one of the first nonstop trans-Atlantic flights in 1934. Several families, including the Grucci , Zambelli , and Vitale families, brought with them expertise in fireworks displays, and their preeminence in this field has continued to

2856-816: Is currently unknown; however, a 1671 Dutch record indicates that in 1656 alone the Duchy of Savoy near Turin , Italy, had exiled 300 Waldensians because of their Protestant faith. Enrico Tonti (Henri de Tonti), together with the French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle , explored the Great Lakes region. De Tonti founded the first European settlement in Illinois in 1679 and in Arkansas in 1683, known as Poste de Arkansea , making him "The Father of Arkansas." With LaSalle, he co-founded New Orleans and

2975-851: Is displayed in the United States Capitol Visitor Center . The Taliaferro family (originally Tagliaferro ), believed to have roots in Venice , was one of the First Families to settle Virginia . The Wythe House , a historic Georgian home built in Williamsburg, Virginia , in 1754, was designed by architect Richard Taliaferro for his son-in-law, American Founding Father George Wythe , who married Richard's daughter Elizabeth Taliaferro. The elder Taliaferro designed much of Colonial Williamsburg , including

3094-642: The First Ward , which was known as Newark's Little Italy and operated a large bootlegging operation in Newark and throughout New Jersey. While Jewish gangster Zwillman, was based out of the Third Ward where he controlled one of the largest bootlegging operations in New Jersey. Boiardo had grown up in Chicago until 1910, when he moved to Newark at the age of twenty. By the early 1920s Boiardo had controlled

3213-648: The Bank of America . His bank also provided financing to the film industry developing on the West Coast at the time, including the financing for Walt Disney's Snow White , the first full-length animated motion picture to be made in the United States. Other companies founded by Italian Americans—such as Ghirardelli Chocolate Company , Progresso , Planters Peanuts , Contadina , Chef Boyardee , Italian Swiss Colony wines, and Jacuzzi —became nationally known brand names in time. An Italian immigrant, Italo Marciony (Marcioni),

3332-562: The Battle of the Little Bighorn . An immigrant, Antonio Meucci , brought with him a concept for the telephone. He is credited by many researchers with being the first to demonstrate the principle of the telephone in a patent caveat he submitted to the U.S. Patent Office in 1871; however, considerable controversy existed relative to the priority of invention, with Alexander Graham Bell also being accorded this distinction. (In 2002,

3451-835: The Declaration of Independence . Italian Americans served in the American Revolutionary War both as soldiers and officers. Francesco Vigo aided the colonial forces of George Rogers Clark by serving as one of the foremost financiers of the Revolution in the frontier Northwest. Later, he was a co-founder of Vincennes University in Indiana . After American independence, numerous political refugees arrived, most notably Giuseppe Avezzana , Alessandro Gavazzi , Silvio Pellico , Federico Confalonieri , and Eleuterio Felice Foresti . Giuseppe Garibaldi resided in

3570-1070: The Five Families ; Maranzano declared himself capo di tutti i capi ("boss of all bosses"). However, Maranzano was murdered in September 1931 on orders of Lucky Luciano , who established a power-sharing arrangement through a governing body called the Commission , giving equal stature to all Mafia families to avoid such feuds in the future. In the 1920s, Mafia operations in the United States were controlled by Giuseppe "Joe The Boss" Masseria , whose faction consisted mainly of gangsters from Sicily , Calabria (the 'Ndrangheta ) and Campania (the Camorra ) in southern Italy. Masseria's faction included Charles "Lucky" Luciano , Albert "Mad Hatter" Anastasia , Vito Genovese , Alfred Mineo , Willie Moretti , Joe Adonis and Frank Costello . However, powerful Sicilian Don Vito Ferro decided to make

3689-837: The Governor's Palace , the Capitol of the Colony of Virginia , and the President's House at the College of William & Mary . Francesco Maria de Reggio, an Italian nobleman of the House of Este who served under the French as François Marie, Chevalier de Reggio , came to Louisiana in 1747 where King Louis XV appointed him Captain General of French Louisiana , until 1763. Scion of

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3808-694: The Jersey Shore , and in New York City, Connecticut and Florida. The family also has links to Ribera in Sicily , from where many of the organizations's members have origins. The DeCavalcante crime family is partly the inspiration for the fictional DiMeo crime family of the HBO television series The Sopranos . The family was the subject of the CNBC program Mob Money , which aired on June 23, 2010, and The Real Sopranos TV documentary directed by Thomas Viner for

3927-686: The Philadelphia crime family which formed their North Jersey crew, and former Newark boss Badami with his own small group. In the city Elizabeth, New Jersey the Mafia faction was made up of mostly immigrants from Ribera , Sicily . The Mafia group was based out of the Peterstown section of Elizabeth. The earliest known boss the Elizabeth Mafia faction was Filippo "Big Phil" Amari. He was born in Ribera, Sicily and arrived in Elizabeth in

4046-649: The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution on Meucci (H.R. 269) declaring that "his work in the invention of the telephone should be acknowledged.") During this period, Italian Americans established a number of institutions of higher learning. Las Vegas College (now Regis University ) was established by a group of exiled Italian Jesuits in 1877 in Las Vegas , New Mexico. The Jesuit Giuseppe Cataldo , founded Gonzaga College (now Gonzaga University ) in Spokane , Washington in 1887. In 1886, Rabbi Sabato Morais ,

4165-490: The 17th century. They were of French and northern Italian heritage (specifically Piedmontese ), The first Waldensians began arriving around 1640, with the majority coming between 1654 and 1663. They spread out across what was then called New Netherland and what would become New York , New Jersey , and the Lower Delaware River regions. The total American Waldensian population that immigrated to New Netherland

4284-509: The 1920s 455,315 immigrants arrived. They came under the terms of the new quota-based immigration restrictions created by the Immigration Act of 1924 . Italian-Americans had a significant influence on American society and culture, making contributions to visual arts, literature, cuisine, politics, sports, and music. Italians in the United States before 1880 included a number of explorers, starting with Christopher Columbus , and

4403-508: The 1920s. Many sought housing in the older sections of the large Northeastern cities—districts that became known as " Little Italys ." Such housing was frequently in overcrowded, substandard tenements, which were often dimly lit and had poor heating and ventilation. Tuberculosis and other communicable diseases were a constant health threat for the immigrant families that were compelled by economic circumstances to live in these dwellings. Other immigrant families lived in single-family abodes, which

4522-713: The Americas. Another Italian, John Cabot ( Italian : Giovanni Caboto [dʒoˈvanni kaˈbɔːto] ), together with his son Sebastian , explored the eastern seaboard of North America for Henry VII in the early 16th century. In 1524, the Florentine explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano ( Italian: [dʒoˈvanni da (v)verratˈtsaːno] ) was the first European to explore the Atlantic coast of North America between Florida and New Brunswick in 1524. The Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci ( Italian: [ameˈriːɡo veˈsputtʃi] ) first demonstrated in about 1501 that

4641-603: The Capitol. The first Columbus Day celebration was organized by Italian Americans in New York City on October 12, 1866. Giovanni Martino or Giovanni Martini, also known as John Martin, was a soldier and trumpeter who served both in Italy with Giuseppe Garibaldi and in the United States Army , famously in the 7th Cavalry Regiment under George Armstrong Custer . He was the only survivor from Custer's company at

4760-503: The Castellammarese War was between the forces of Masseria and Maranzano. Underneath, however, there was also a generational conflict between the old guard Sicilian leadership – known as the " Mustache Petes " for their long mustaches and old-world ways, such as refusing to do business with non-Italians – and the "Young Turks", a younger and more diverse Italian-American group who, unlike the "Mustache Petes", had grown up in

4879-581: The Italian American Studies Association, the current population is about 18 million, an increase from 16 million in 2010, corresponding to about 5.4% of the total population of the United States . The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas , with significant communities also residing in many other major U.S. metropolitan areas. Between 1820 and 2004, approximately 5.5 million Italians migrated to

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4998-509: The Italians who entered the United States between 1899 and 1924 permanently returned home. Immigrants without industrial skills found employment in low-wage manual labor jobs. Instead of finding jobs on their own, most used the padrone system whereby Italian middlemen ( padroni ) found jobs for groups of men and controlled their wages, transportation, and living conditions for a fee. According to historian Alfred T. Banfield: In terms of

5117-472: The Mafia as a whole. Since Maranzano had formed a basic structure that was in the process of being put into effect, Luciano decided to retain the concept to a large extent. Owing to his clear disregard for orthodox ideologies that did not have any profitable consequences, Luciano allowed for more flexibility in the structure, allowing for the inclusion of other societal groups like the Jews to involve themselves with

5236-588: The Maranzano faction. At this point, many other members of Masseria's gang also began defecting to Maranzano, rendering the original battle lines of the conflict (Castellammarese versus non-Castellammarese) meaningless. On February 3, 1931, another important Masseria lieutenant, Joseph Catania , was gunned down, dying two days later. Given the worsened situation, Masseria allies Luciano and Genovese started communicating with Castellammarese leader Maranzano. The two men agreed to betray Masseria if Maranzano would end

5355-483: The New World was not Asia as initially conjectured but a different continent ( America is named after him). A number of Italian navigators and explorers in the employ of Spain and France were involved in exploring and mapping their territories and in establishing settlements, but their work did not lead to the permanent presence of Italians in America. In 1539, Marco da Nizza explored the territory that later became

5474-421: The New York City area. He was again a member of the State Assembly (New York Co., 16th D.) in 1877 , 1881 , and 1883 . Between 5,000 and 10,000 Italian Americans fought in the American Civil War . The great majority of Italian Americans, for both demographic and ideological reasons, served in the Union Army (including generals Edward Ferrero and Francis B. Spinola ). Some Americans of Italian descent from

5593-414: The Newark family, but he acted quickly and ordered Troia and his associates murdered. The second challenge against D'Amico leadership occurred in 1937, when Salvatore Lombardino and others attempted to murder him but failed. During the assassination attempt D'Amico's father was murdered, fearing for his own life D'Amico fled the United States and relocated to Puerto Rico where he later died in October 1975. It

5712-496: The Reina crew formally joined forces with the Castellammarese. Masseria soon struck back. On October 23, 1930, Castellammarese ally Joe Aiello, president of the Chicago Unione Siciliane, was murdered in Chicago. Following the murder of Aiello, the tide of feud rapidly turned in favor of the Castellammarese. On November 5, 1930, Mineo and a key member of Masseria's gang, Steve Ferrigno , were murdered. Francesco Scalice inherited control of Mineo's gang and subsequently defected to

5831-454: The Reina family then threw its support behind Maranzano. Vito Bonventre also became a target, as Castellammarese-born members of Nicolo Schiro 's gang began to threaten Masseria's domination over Mafia gangs. Masseria forced Schiro to pay him US$ 10,000 (approximately US$ 170,000 in 2022) and step down as boss of the gang. On July 15, 1930, Bonventre was gunned down outside his garage. On August 15, 1930, Castellammerese loyalists executed

5950-517: The Santa Clara College (now Santa Clara University ) in 1851. The St. Ignatius Academy (now University of San Francisco ) was established by Anthony Maraschi in 1855. The Italian Jesuits also laid the foundation for the winemaking industry that would later flourish in California . In the east, the Italian Franciscans founded hospitals, orphanages, schools, and St. Bonaventure College (now St. Bonaventure University ), established by Pamfilo da Magliano in 1858. In 1837, John Phinizy (Finizzi) became

6069-436: The Third Ward territory and by demanding saloon owners to buy liquor from Boiardo. This started the Newark bootleg wars lasted several weeks as Boiardo's First Ward gang wagged war against Zwillman's Third Ward gang. In late 1930, both Boiardo and Zwillman decided to end the war after numerous failed assassination attempts against each other. During thanksgiving week of November 1930, Boiardo survived an assassination attempt after

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6188-411: The U.S. from Tuscany . Beginning in 1863, Italian immigrants were one of the principal groups of unskilled laborers, along with the Irish, that built the Transcontinental Railroad west from Omaha , Nebraska. In 1866, Constantino Brumidi completed the frescoed interior of the United States Capitol dome in Washington, D.C. , and spent the rest of his life executing still other artworks to beautify

6307-401: The U.S., were more forward-thinking and were willing to work with non-Italians. This approach led Masseria's followers to question whether he was capable of making the Mafia prosper in the world of the 1930s. Led by Luciano, the aim of this group was to end the feud as soon as possible in order to resume their businesses, viewing the conflict as unnecessary. Luciano's objective was to modernize

6426-536: The UK production company Class Films. The Pegorino Crime Family are a fictionalized version of the DeCavalcante Crime Family in the 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV . Italian Americans 5,953,262 (1.8%) Italian alone 2021 estimates, self-reported 17,285,619 (2015) 17,566,693 (2010) 17,829,184 (2006) 16,688,000 (2000) 14,664,550 (1990) 12,183,692 (1980) Italian Americans ( Italian : italoamericani ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. According to

6545-545: The United States (1890–1900) posed a change in the labor market, prompting Fr. Michael J. Henry to write a letter in October 1900 to the Bishop John J. Clancy of Sligo , Ireland , warning The Brooklyn Eagle , in a 1900 article, addressed the same reality: In spite of the economic hardship of the immigrants, civil and social life flourished in the Italian American neighborhoods of the large northeastern cities. Italian theater, band concerts, choral recitals, puppet shows, mutual aid societies, and social clubs were available to

6664-465: The United States during the Italian diaspora , in several distinct waves, with the greatest number arriving in the 20th century from Southern Italy . Initially, most single men, so-called birds of passage, sent remittance back to their families in Italy and then returned to Italy. Immigration began to increase during the 1880s, when more than twice as many Italians immigrated than had in the five previous decades combined. Continuing from 1880 to 1914,

6783-460: The United States in 1850–51. At the invitation of Thomas Jefferson, Carlo Bellini became the first professor of modern languages at the College of William & Mary , in the years 1779–1803. In 1801, Philip Trajetta (Filippo Traetta) established the nation's first conservatory of music in Boston, where, in the first half of the century, organist Charles Nolcini and conductor Louis Ostinelli were also active. In 1805, Thomas Jefferson recruited

6902-426: The West. In 1789–91, Alessandro Malaspina mapped much of the west coast of the Americas , from Cape Horn to the Gulf of Alaska . In 1822–23, the headwater region of the Mississippi was explored by Giacomo Beltrami in the territory that was later to become Minnesota , which named a county in his honor. Joseph Rosati was named the first Catholic bishop of St. Louis in 1824. In 1830–64, Samuel Mazzuchelli ,

7021-451: The aftermath of the Maranzano hit, there was believed to have been a massive purge of "old-timer" mafiosi, the so-called " Night of the Sicilian Vespers ". These rumors were seemingly confirmed by the testimony of Joseph Valachi , but a later study found no signs of such massive violence occurring. Luciano formed " The Commission " to oversee all Mafia activities in the United States and serve to mediate conflicts between families, eliminating

7140-427: The city of Newark, New Jersey , the Italian criminals were divided into two ethnic factions; the " Sicilians " and the " Neapolitans ". The Sicilian Mafia faction was headed by Stefano "Don Steven" Badami , while the Neapolitan faction was led by Ruggiero "the Boot" Boiardo . In 1920, Prohibition began in the United States and it presented many gangs with the opportunity to make a lot of money through bootlegging ,

7259-449: The construction industry, and stock fraud. This was the fourth indictment of the family since 1999. Since then, several other top mobsters agreed to become government witnesses in exchange for being given lenient or no sentences at all. US law enforcement even put Giovanni Riggi on trial, who was hoping to be released in 2003, and he was sentenced to 10 additional years in prison. Between 1999 and 2005, about 45 men were imprisoned, including

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7378-402: The country as a condition for payment of their passage. It was not uncommon, especially in the South, for the immigrants to be subjected to economic exploitation, hostility, and sometimes even violence. The Italian laborers who went to these areas were in many cases later joined by wives and children, which resulted in the establishment of permanent Italian American settlements in diverse parts of

7497-413: The country. A number of towns, such as Roseto, Pennsylvania , Tontitown, Arkansas , and Valdese, North Carolina , were founded by Italian immigrants during this era. A number of major business ventures were founded by Italian Americans. Amadeo Giannini originated the concept of branch banking to serve the Italian American community in San Francisco . He founded the Bank of Italy, which later became

7616-725: The country. Work on Union Station began in 1905 and was completed in 1908. The six statues that decorate the station's facade were carved by Andrew Bernasconi between 1909 and 1911. Two Italian American master stone carvers, Roger Morigi and Vincent Palumbo, spent decades creating the sculptural works that embellish Washington National Cathedral . Castellammarese War Salvatore Maranzano Joseph Bonanno Vito Bonventre   † Stefano Magaddino Joe Profaci Joe Aiello   † Gaetano Reina   † Tommy Gagliano Tommy Lucchese Nicolo Schiro The Castellammarese War ( Italian pronunciation: [kaˌstɛllammaˈreːze, -eːse] )

7735-401: The de Reggios, a Louisiana Creole first family of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana , Francesco Maria's granddaughter Hélène Judith de Reggio would give birth to famed Confederate General P. G. T. Beauregard . A colonial merchant, Francis Ferrari of Genoa, was naturalized as a citizen of Rhode Island in 1752. He died in 1753, and in his will speaks of Genoa , his ownership of three ships,

7854-426: The disbanded Army of the Two Sicilies , which was defeated by Giuseppe Garibaldi after the Expedition of the Thousand , fought in the Confederate Army. They included Confederate generals William B. Taliaferro (of English-American and Anglo-Italian descent) and P. G. T. Beauregard . Six Italian Americans received the Medal of Honor during the war, including Colonel Luigi Palma di Cesnola , who later became

7973-468: The early 1920s. During Amari's time as boss he recruited Emmanuel Riggi, Louis "Fat Lou" LaRasso and Frank Majuri into his Mafia faction. Over the years Amari continued to grow in power and was recognized by US law enforcement as being heavily involved in extortion, labor racketeering, loansharking, and narcotics activities in Elizabeth and Newark. After fleeing Newark Stefano "Don Steven" Badami relocated in Orange, New Jersey . Badami continued operating

8092-411: The families. In Joe Bonanno's autobiography A Man of Honor , he states: "We revised the old custom of looking toward one man, one supreme leader for advice and the settling of disputes. We replaced leadership by one man with leadership by committee. We opted for a parliamentary arrangement whereby a group of the most important men in our world would assume the function formerly performed by one man." In

8211-423: The family in 1990. D'Amato was later alleged to have participated in homosexual acts and was murdered in 1992. Riggi continued to run the family from his jail cell, but he appointed Giacomo "Jake" Amari as his new acting boss. All was seemingly settled until Amari became ill and died slowly of stomach cancer in 1997. This caused a massive power vacuum within the family, with high-ranking members pushing to become

8330-408: The family into the early 1990s. After DeCavalcante left prison in the mid-1970s, he appointed Giovanni "John the Eagle" Riggi as acting boss of the family while he stayed semi-retired in Florida . DeCavalcante stepped down as boss officially in 1980, passing leadership to Riggi, who had been a business agent of the International Association of Laborers and Hod Carriers in New Jersey for years. Riggi

8449-444: The family without leadership. The Newark family broke apart, as many members joined the Gagliano family 's Jersey crew , while the remaining members stayed with Gaspare D'Amico . D'Amico had moved to Newark during the early 1920s, settling in the Northeastern neighborhood of Woodside. When D'Amico took over as boss, he faced a number of rebellions against his leadership. In 1935, D'Amico was challenged by Vincenzo Troia for control of

8568-505: The family's caporegime of the Newark crew and powerful New Jersey mobster Willie Moretti became the family's underboss while also controlling operations in Bergen county . The Gagliano family's Jersey crew caporegime was Settimo "Big Sam" Accardi , a former member of Badami's Newark family, he controlled operations in Newark and northern New Jersey. While the Mangano family's Newark crew

8687-755: The family's consigliere and seven capos. With the decline of the DeCavalcante family, New York's Five Families have taken over many of the rackets in northern New Jersey. Riggi was in jail until November 27, 2012, and he died in 2015. Longtime acting boss Francesco Guarraci died of cancer in 2016. In March 2015, the FBI arrested 10 members and associates of the crime family on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and distribution of drugs, including 71 year-old captain Charles "Beeps" Stango and 72 year-old consigliere Frank Nigro. Associates Rosario Pali and Nicholas DeGidio were convicted on April 4, 2017, after pleading guilty to distributing more than 500 grams of cocaine. DeGidio

8806-566: The family, and would include Meyer Lansky and Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel . Maranzano's reign as capo di tutti capi was short-lived. Although Maranzano was slightly more forward-thinking than Masseria, Luciano had come to believe that Maranzano was even greedier and more hidebound than Masseria had been. On September 10, 1931, he was shot and stabbed to death in his Manhattan office by a team of Jewish triggermen (recruited by Lansky), which included Samuel "Red" Levine , Bo Weinberg , and Bugsy Siegel . With both Maranzano and Masseria out of

8925-540: The feud. A deal was struck, based on which Luciano would arrange for Masseria to be murdered and Maranzano would bring the Castellammarese War to an end. On April 15, 1931, Masseria was killed at Nuova Villa Tammaro, a restaurant in Coney Island, Brooklyn . While they played cards, Luciano allegedly excused himself to the bathroom, with the gunmen reportedly being Anastasia, Genovese, Joe Adonis , and Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel ; Ciro "The Artichoke King" Terranova drove

9044-551: The fighting. In February 1930, a bloody Mafia war in New York City, known as the Castellammarese War started as Sicilian Castellammarese Mafia boss Salvatore Maranzano challenged New York City Mafia boss Joe "The Boss" Masseria for the position of capo dei capi . In Newark, the Sicilian boss Badami joined Maranzano's alliance, while Neapolitan boss Boiardo sided with Masseria. On April 15, 1931, Masseria

9163-713: The first director of the Metropolitan Museum of Arts in New York (1879–1904). The Garibaldi Guard recruited volunteers for the Union Army from Italy and other European countries to form the 39th New York Infantry . At the outbreak of the American Civil War, Giuseppe Garibaldi was a very popular figure. The 39th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment , with 350 Italian members, was nicknamed Garibaldi Guard in his honor. The unit wore red shirts and bersaglieri plumes . They carried with them both

9282-622: The garment industry or in their homes. Many established small businesses in the Little Italys to satisfy the day-to-day needs of fellow immigrants. A New York Times article from 1895 provides a glimpse into the status of Italian immigration at the turn of the century: The New York Times in May 1896 sent its reporters to characterize the Little Italy/Mulberry neighborhood: The masses of Italian immigrants that entered

9401-586: The getaway car, but legend has it that he was too shaken up to drive away and had to be shoved out of the driver's seat by Siegel. However, according to The New York Times , "[A]fter that, the police have been unable to learn definitely [what happened]". Reputedly Masseria was "seated at a table playing cards with two or three unknown men" when he was fired upon from behind. He died from gunshot wounds to his head, back, and chest. Masseria's autopsy report shows that he died on an empty stomach. No witnesses came forward, though "two or three" men were observed leaving

9520-462: The greatest surge of immigration brought more than 4 million Italians to the United States. The largest number of this wave came from Southern Italy, which at that time was largely agricultural and where much of the populace had been impoverished by centuries of foreign rule and heavy tax burdens. This period of large-scale immigration ended abruptly with the onset of World War I in August 1914. In

9639-543: The higher ranks had to be " made men ", required in most eras to be full-blooded Italian Americans. Shortly after Masseria's death, Maranzano announced that the Five Families would be led by Luciano, Joe Bonanno , Joseph Profaci , Vincent Mangano and Thomas Gagliano . Except for New York City , the major urban areas in the Northeast and Midwest were organized into one family per city by Maranzano; due to

9758-555: The immigrants a sense of unity and common identity. The destinations of many of the Italian immigrants were not only the large cities of the East Coast , but also more remote regions of the country, such as Florida and California. They were drawn there by opportunities in agriculture, fishing, mining, railroad construction, lumbering, and other activities under way at the time. Often the immigrants contracted to work in these areas of

9877-508: The immigrants. An important event, the festa , became for many an important connection to the traditions of their ancestral villages in Italy. The festa involved an elaborate procession through the streets in honor of a patron saint or the Virgin Mary in which a large statue was carried by a team of men, with musicians marching behind. Followed by food, fireworks, and general merriment, the festa became an important occasion that helped give

9996-513: The large exodus included political and social unrest, the weak agricultural economy of the South modeled on the outdated latifundist system dating back to the feudal period, a high tax burden, soil exhaustion and erosion, and military conscription lasting seven years. The poor economic situation in the 19th century became untenable for many sharecroppers, tenant farmers, and small business and land owners. Multitudes chose to emigrate rather than face

10115-496: The mayor of Augusta , Georgia. Samuel Wilds Trotti of South Carolina was the first Italian American to serve in the U.S. Congress (a partial term, from December 17, 1842, to March 3, 1843). In 1849, Francesco de Casale began publishing the Italian American newspaper L'Eco d'Italia in New York, the first of many to eventually follow. In 1848, Francis Ramacciotti , piano string inventor and manufacturer, immigrated to

10234-639: The mayor of Texarkana , Texas in 1880. Francis B. Spinola , the first Italian American to be elected to the United States House of Representatives , served as a representative from New York from 1887 to 1891. He also served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War . Following the war, Spinola was a banker and insurance agent and became an influential figure among the rapidly growing Italian immigrant community in

10353-427: The mob and do away with unnecessary orthodox norms. This was a vision that enabled Luciano to attract followers, who had seen the inadequacies of Masseria's traditionalist leadership. Therefore, both factions were fluid, with many mobsters switching sides or killing their own allies during the feud. Tensions between the Masseria and Maranzano factions were evident as far back as 1928, with one side frequently hijacking

10472-460: The murder was eventually called off. Toward the late 1990s, the Ruling Panel kept running the DeCavalcante crime family with Giovanni Riggi still behind bars as the boss. The downfall of the DeCavalcante family was precipitated in 1998, when an associate named Ralph Guarino became an FBI informant, in an effort to avoid a long prison sentence in connection with taking part with two others in

10591-454: The new official boss of the family. In July 2022, capo Charlie Stango was released from federal prison and went into a New York halfway house. On January 2, 2023, longtime family member and former influential capo Paolo "Paul" Farina died of natural causes at the age of 96. A "street boss" will sometimes run several crews at once. The DeCavalcante family operates primarily in North Jersey , with additional territory in Toms River on

10710-478: The next boss of the DeCavalcante crime family. After acting boss Amari's death, Riggi organized a three-man ruling panel in 1998 to run the day-to-day business of the crime family, consisting of Girolamo Palermo, Vincent Palermo (no relation), and Charles Majuri, with Stefano Vitabile as the reputed consigliere and adviser to the three. The Panel infuriated longtime captain Charles Majuri, who had been

10829-468: The nickname "The Count". He gained much respect because he held a place on the infamous Commission , a governing body for the American Mafia which included the Five Families of New York, as well as mobsters from Chicago , Los Angeles , and Florida . DeCavalcante and 54 associates were charged and tried in 1969. He pleaded guilty to operating a gambling racket turning over $ 20 million a year. At

10948-816: The opposite side of the Hudson River from the Five Families of New York City , and maintains strong relations with each of the New York families, especially the Gambino family , as well as with the Philadelphia crime family and the Patriarca crime family of New England . The organization is considered by some to be the " Sixth Family ". The family's illicit activities include bookmaking ; bootlegging ; corruption ; drug trafficking ; extortion ; fencing ; fraud ; hijacking ; illegal gambling ; money laundering ; murder ; prostitution ; racketeering ; and cement, construction and waste management violations. In

11067-513: The other's alcohol trucks (alcohol production being illegal in the U.S. at that time due to Prohibition ). As the feud became more violent, gunmen clashed on the streets of New York City . According to Bonanno, in February 1930 Masseria ordered the death of Gaspar Milazzo , a Castellemmarese native who was the president of Detroit 's chapter of Unione Siciliana . Masseria had reportedly been humiliated by Milazzo's refusal to support him in

11186-504: The outbreak of World War I in 1914. The Italian male immigrants in the Little Italys were most often employed in manual labor and were heavily involved in public works , such as the construction of roads, railroad tracks, sewers, subways, bridges, and the first skyscrapers in the northeastern cities. As early as 1890, it was estimated that around 90 percent of New York City's and 99 percent of Chicago's public works employees were Italians. The women most frequently worked as seamstresses in

11305-476: The present day. Following in the footsteps of Constantino Brumidi , others were commissioned to help create Washington's impressive monuments. An Italian immigrant, Attilio Piccirilli , and his five brothers carved the Lincoln Memorial , which they began in 1911 and completed in 1922. Italian construction workers helped build Washington's Union Station, considered one of the most beautiful stations in

11424-469: The prospect of a deepening poverty. A large number of these were attracted to the United States, which at the time was actively recruiting workers from Italy and elsewhere to fill the labor shortage that existed in the years following the Civil War. Often the father and older sons would go first, leaving the mother and the rest of the family behind until the male members could afford their passage. By far

11543-534: The push-pull model of immigration, America provided the pull factor by the prospect of jobs that unskilled and uneducated Italian peasant farmers could do. Peasant farmers accustomed to hard work in the Mezzogiorno, for example, took jobs building railroads and constructing buildings, while others took factory jobs that required little or no skill. The push factor came primarily from the harsh economic conditions in southern Italy. Major factors that contributed to

11662-482: The restaurant and getting into a stolen car. No one was convicted in Masseria's murder as there were no witnesses and Luciano had an alibi. With the death of Masseria, the feud ended. Maranzano organized the Mafia in New York City using a clear structure and hierarchy by dividing the main Italian gangs in New York into Five Families . Each family had a boss , underboss , consigliere , capos , soldiers , and associates. While associates could come from any background,

11781-405: The same time, a New York State report indicated that he and another Mafia family controlled 90 percent of the pornography stores in New York City. DeCavalcante was sentenced to five years in prison. In the early 1980s, DeCavalcante retired to Florida leaving capo Giovanni Riggi as acting boss of the family. He largely stayed out of Mafia business, although the FBI believed that he was still advising

11900-509: The scene of one of the largest voluntary emigrations in recorded world history. During this period of mass migration, 4 million Italians arrived in the United States, 3 million of them between 1900 and 1914. They came for the most part from southern Italy (the regions of Abruzzo , Campania , Apulia , Basilicata , and Calabria ) and from the island of Sicily . Most planned to stay a few years, then take their earnings and return home. According to historian Thomas J. Archdeacon , 46 percent of

12019-505: The selling and transportations of illegal alcohol. With large amounts of money to be earned violence reputed throughout cities and towns in New Jersey as criminals fought for territory and dominance to control illegal bootlegging rackets. Violence erupted in Newark as criminals fought to control bootlegging rackets, but the two most powerful bosses in the city were Neapolitan faction boss Richard Boiardo and Jewish gangster Abner "Longie" Zwillman . The Neapolitan boss Boiardo secured control of

12138-824: The size of organized crime in New York, it was organized into five separate families. The bosses of the Five Families of New York were to be Luciano (now the Genovese crime family ), Profaci (now the Colombo crime family ), Gagliano (now the Lucchese crime family ), Maranzano (now the Bonanno crime family ), and Frank Scalice (now the Gambino crime family ). Maranzano called a meeting of crime bosses in Wappingers Falls, New York , where he declared himself capo di tutti capi ("boss of all bosses"). Each crime family

12257-548: The state, and the DeCavalcantes were able to steal from union welfare and pension funds. Riggi continued to run the family throughout the 1980s, with underboss Girolamo "Jimmy" Palermo and Stefano Vitabile as consigliere , after Frank Majuri died of health problems. It was around the mid-1980s that Riggi fell increasingly under the influence of Gambino crime family boss John Gotti . After Riggi's conviction for racketeering, he appointed John D'Amato as acting boss of

12376-489: The states of Arizona and New Mexico . The first Italian to be registered as residing in the area corresponding to the current United States was Pietro Cesare Alberti , commonly regarded as the first Italian American. Alberti was a Venetian seaman who, in 1635, settled in the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam , which would eventually become New York City . A small wave of Protestants, known as Waldensians , immigrated during

12495-414: The strongest "pull" factor was money. Migrants expected to make large sums in a few years of work, enabling them to live much better when they returned home, especially by buying a farm. Real life was never so golden: the Italians earned well below average rates. Their weekly earnings in manufacturing and mining in 1909 came to $ 9.61, compared to $ 13.63 for German immigrants and $ 11.06 for Poles. The result

12614-468: The way, it was easier for the Young Turks, led by Luciano, to assume control of the way things functioned in New York City. The first agenda on the table was the reformation and restructuring of the American Mafia. Luciano envisioned the future of the American Mafia in the form of a major corporation. He believed that this would increase cooperation, reduce conflict and ensure plain sailing governance by

12733-522: Was a bloody power struggle for control of the American Mafia between partisans of Joe "The Boss" Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano that took place in New York City from February 1930, until April 15, 1931. The feud was named after the Sicilian town of Castellammare del Golfo , Maranzano's birthplace. Maranzano's faction prevailed in the conflict and divided New York's crime families into

12852-458: Was a sense of alienation from most of American culture and a lack of interest in learning English or otherwise assimilating. Not many women came, but those who did became devoted to traditional Italian religious customs. When the World War I broke out, European migrants could not go home. Wages shot up, and the Italians benefited greatly. Most decided to stay permanently, and they flourished in

12971-454: Was controlled by Antonio Paterno, a former member of the Newark family and the Profaci family's New Jersey crew was led by Salvatore Lombardino, the man behind the attempted murder of Newark boss D'Amico. The Bonanno family's Newark crew was led by Antonio Riela. The city of Newark also had other gangsters fighting for dominance and territory which included Abner Zwillman a Jewish gangster,

13090-475: Was credited with the instrumental organization the band still maintains. Joseph Lucchesi, the third Italian leader of the U.S. Marine Band, served from 1844 to 1846. The first opera house in the country opened in 1833 in New York through the efforts of Lorenzo Da Ponte , Mozart's former librettist, who had immigrated to America and had become the first professor of Italian at Columbia College in 1825. During this period, Italian explorers continued to be active in

13209-593: Was governor of the Louisiana Territory for the next 20 years. His brother Alphonse de Tonty (Alfonso de Tonti), with French explorer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac , was the co-founder of Detroit in 1701, and was its acting colonial governor for 12 years. Spain and France were Catholic countries and sent many missionaries to convert the native American population. Included among these missionaries were numerous Italians. In 1519–25, Alessandro Geraldini

13328-477: Was installed as new boss of the Elizabeth family. Under DeCavalcante's regime the Commission began to recognize the Elizabeth family as an autonomous crime family and officially recognized it as the "DeCavalcante crime family" of North Jersey. The official criminal organization began with Simone DeCavalcante , known as "Sam the Plumber" and "The Count". He was born in 1913 and was involved in illegal gambling, murder, and racketeering for most of his life. He died of

13447-420: Was later discovered by the Commission that Profaci family boss Joseph Profaci , had backed Lombardino and had ordered the assassination attempt on D'Amico. The Commission decided to disband the Newark family, while declaring Newark an open city and dividing the family's territory among the Five Families of New York. The Luciano-Genovese family's New Jersey faction grew in power as Richard Boiardo became

13566-561: Was more typical in areas outside of the enclaves of the large northeastern cities and other parts of the country as well. An estimated 49 percent of Italians who migrated to the Americas between 1905 (when return migration statistics began) and 1920 did not remain in the United States. These so-called birds of passage intended to stay in the United States for only a limited time, followed by a return to Italy with enough in savings to reestablish themselves there. While many did return to Italy, others chose to stay or were prevented from returning by

13685-547: Was murdered, leaving Maranzano the most powerful mobster in America. Maranzano appointed Badami the boss and Sam Monaco the underboss of the Newark family. On September 10, 1931, Maranzano was murdered leaving Badami without protection from his enemies. Days later on September 13, 1931, Badami's underboss Sam Monaco and top member Louis Russo were discovered dead after their bodies were found floating in Newark Bay . The loss of Monaco and Russo caused Badami to flee Newark, leaving

13804-669: Was promoted to the position of official boss, and he reaped the enormous benefits of large labor and construction racketeering, loansharking, illegal gambling, and extortion activities. Riggi also had the family maintain their old traditions, which Sam DeCavalcante saw as unnecessary. In 1981, bosses and underbosses of the DeCavalcante and Colombo families attended a conclave in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn , to divide territory in Miami . Riggi used his power and influence to place subcontractors and workers at various construction projects around

13923-511: Was sentenced to 1½ years in prison, and Pali was sentenced to over 6 years. Luigi Oliveri was charged with the possession of contraband cigarettes. In March 2017, Stango was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit murder. Stango reportedly wanted Nigro and associate Paul Colella to get permission from the New Jersey hierarchy to kill Luigi Oliveri, but the murder was not committed because Stango did not get an answer. Prosecutors claimed that Stango and his son had plans to open

14042-460: Was the first Catholic bishop in the Americas, at Santo Domingo . Father François-Joseph Bressani (Francesco Giuseppe Bressani) labored among the Algonquin and Huron peoples in the early 17th century. The southwest and California were explored and mapped by Italian Jesuit priest Eusebio Kino (Chino) in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. His statue , commissioned by the state of Arizona,

14161-404: Was to be headed by a boss , who was assisted by an underboss (the third-ranking position of consigliere was added somewhat later). Below the underboss, the family was divided into crews, each headed by a caporegime , or capo , and staffed by soldiers . The soldiers would often be assisted by associates, who were not yet members. Associates could also include non-Italians who worked with

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