Rockford crime family

Last updated
Rockford crime family
Foundedc. 1920;104 years ago (1920)
FounderAntonio Musso
Founding location Rockford, Illinois, United States
Years activec. 1920–2005
Territory Rockford metropolitan area, Illinois
Ethnicity Italians as "made men" and other ethnicities as associates
Membership (est.)Unknown
Criminal activitiesGambling, bookmaking, loan sharking, racketeering, assault, murder, armed robbery, extortion, and bribery
Allies
RivalsVarious gangs

The Rockford crime family, also known as the Zammuto crime family, was an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in Rockford, Illinois. [1] [2] In 1960, the FBI confirmed that the Rockford family had remained an independent crime family, even though they were within close distance to the powerful Chicago Outfit. [2] [3]

Contents

History

The earliest known Mafia boss in Rockford was Antonio Musso, who established his group during the Prohibition era. [2] [4] Musso would step down as boss in 1957, due to ill health and was replaced by Joseph Zammuto. [2]

When Joseph Zammuto took over as boss, the Rockford family consisted of fourteen made members. [1] [2] Born in Aragona, Sicily, in April 1896, Zammuto emigrated to Rockford, Illinois with his family in 1913. [2] As a young man Zammuto joined Musso's Mafia group and rose to power through prohibition running an illegal bootlegging operation. [5] During his time in Rockford, Zammuto amassed significant wealth as a mobster and, in 1954, he purchased the Dr. Pepper bottling plant in the city. [2] In 1957, New York State police suspected that Zammuto attended the notorious Apalachin meeting after they discovered his hotel reservation. [2] During the late 1950s, many associates of the Chicago Outfit began relocating to Rockford to join Zammuto's Mafia family.

In October 1960, the FBI wiretapped a conversation between Chicago outfit underboss Frank Ferraro and Jackie Cerone. [3] The wiretap revealed that Cerone received a phone call from Rockford boss Zammuto, who wanted to setup a meeting, Cerone immediately called Outfit boss Sam Giancana, but was unable to reach him and spoke with Ferraro instead. [3] It was concluded by the FBI that Ferrao did not known the boss of the Rockford family, confirming that there was little connection between the two crime families. [3]

By 1961, Zammuto's administration included the new underboss Frank Buscemi, and his longtime and loyal consigliere Joseph Zito. [1] The relationship between Zammuto and Frank Buscemi grew stronger after Zammuto's son married Buscemi's sister. [6] Zammuto's consigliere Joseph Zito was a brother to the Springfield Mafia boss Frank Zito. [7] Zito had arrived in America during Prohibition along with his brother-in-law Jasper Calo, and his brothers settling in Springfield before moving he relocated to Rockford. [7] The FBI spent many years investigating Joseph Zito as he traveled between Rockford, Springfield, Milwaukee, New York, California, and Italy. [7]

As boss Zammuto maintained close ties and friendships with Chicago Outfit boss Joseph Aiuppa and Milwaukee family boss Frank Balistrieri. [5] By 1974, Joseph Zammuto stepped down as boss, and was replaced by his closet alley Frank Buscemi. [2] Zammuto continued to serve as a family adviser, while traveling between his homes in Rockford and Hollywood, Florida. [6] [5]

As the new boss Frank Buscemi continued controlling many illegal rackets in the Rockford area. [6] Buscemi had started his criminal career in Chicago before moving in 1959, to Rockford, which caused some distrust amongst the senior members of the family. [5] Buscemi was able to overcome this distrust in the family through his ties to Joseph Zito and Jasper Calo, who were both longtime members of the Rockford family. [5] [1] He rose to power becoming underboss of the family and threw controlled a vending machine business in the basement of the Aragona Club. [6] In 1980, retired boss Joseph Zammuto's son passed away and mobsters from all over Chicago, Springfield and Milwaukee attended the funeral. [5] Over the years Buscemi continued to grow in power by expanding into many legal businesses. [5] In 1981, longtime consigliere Joseph Zito died of natural causes. [7] On December 7, 1987, boss Buscemi died of natural causes.

Longtime member Charles Vince became the family's new boss, after Buscemi's death. [8] Vince had risen to power during the 1950s, by controlling the family's illegal gambling rackets. [5] He also kept close ties and friendship with Bonanno crime family capo Anthony "Tony" Riela, from New Jersey. In 1981, the FBI revealed that Vince had become Rockford's Underboss and had been working with Milwaukee family boss Frank Balistrieri in a number of illegal rackets. [5] On May 18, 1990, retired boss Joseph Zammuto died of natural causes. Vince continued to rule as Rockford's boss until January 24, 1994, when he died of natural causes. [9]

After Vince's death, Sebastian Gulotta took over the family becoming boss. Gulotta was a longtime member of the Rockford family having been inducted into the family during Zammuto's reign. [5] During his time in the family Gulotta became power mobster controlling a number of illegal rackets. [5] Gulotta maintained close friendships with Zammuto and Milwaukee boss Frank Balistrieri. [5] On March 15, 2000, Gulotta died of natural causes. [9]

With the support of the Chicago Outfit longtime Rockford member Frank "Gumba" Saladino became the boss. [10] In the 1970s, Saladino associated himself with the Chicago Outfits South Side/26th Street crew and committing many contract murders for the Chicago Outfit. [11] [12] On April 25, 2005, the U.S. Department of Justice launched Operation Family Secrets which indicted Frank Saladino alongside thirteen Chicago Outfit members and associates under the RICO Act, including Joseph Lombardo, Nicholas Calabrese, Frank Calabrese Sr. and James Marcello. [12] During the indictment arrests, Frank Saladino was discovered dead of natural causes in a hotel in Hampshire, Illinois, where he was living with nearly $100,000 in cash and checks. [13] [14]

Historical leadership

Boss

Underboss

Consigliere

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Inserra, Vincent L. (September 18, 2014). C-1 and the Chicago Mob. Xlibris US. pp. 57–58. ISBN   9781493182770 . Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Newton, Michael (January 10, 2014). The Mafia at Apalachin, 1957. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. pp. 98, 197. ISBN   9780786489862 . Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 FBI. "FBI Notes La Cosa Nostra (11-13-1964)" (PDF). FBI. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  4. ↑ Machi, Mario. "Rockford, Il". American Mafia. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Schafer, Tom (1981). "Profiles: Rockford's top "family" men". Gannett news Service. Newspaper. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Schafer, Tom (April 1980). "The mob in Rockford: local underworld simple network with roots planted in time of economic needs". Gannett news Service. Newspaper. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Schafer, Tom (April 1980). "The Mob in Rockford: In pursuit of 'Diamond Joe' FBI trailed Joseph Zito across the country for a decade". Gannett news Service. Newspaper. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
  8. ↑ Bureau of National Affairs (1986). Media Law Reporter Volume 11. Bureau of National Affairs. p. 1959. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  9. 1 2 3 Federal Bureau of Investigation. "Most Recent Version of FBI RIDS "Dead List"" (PDF). U.S. Department of Justice. U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  10. ↑ Sam Giancana, Scott M. Burnstein (March 2010). Family Affair Greed, Treachery, and Betrayal in the Chicago Mafia. Penguin Publishing Group. ISBN   9781101185575 . Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  11. ↑ Coen, Jeff (September 2010). Family Secrets The Case That Crippled the Chicago Mob. Chicago Review Press, Incorporated. p. 175. ISBN   9781569765456 . Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  12. 1 2 United States Attorney Northern District of Illinois (25 April 2005). "14 DEFENDANTS INDICTED FOR ALLEGED ORGANIZED CRIME ACTIVITIES; "CHICAGO OUTFIT" NAMED AS RICO ENTERPRISE IN FOUR-DECADE CONSPIRACY ALLEGING 18 MOB MURDERS AND 1 ATTEMPTED MURDER Seven defendants allegedly committed or agreed to commit murders between 1970-1986" (PDF). U. S. Department of Justice. U. S. Department of Justice. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  13. 1 2 Huffstutter, P.J. (26 April 2005). "Reputed Mob Figures Hitwith Charges". LA Times. New Paper. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
  14. 1 2 Rhodes, Steve (3 October 2005). "The Lost Don When FBI agents showed up last spring to arrest the Chicago mob boss Joey "The Clown" Lombardo, there was a problem: he wasn't there, and he hasn't been seen since. But Lombardo is more than a vanishing act. He's one of a vanishing breed—a last link to the Chicago Outfit's blood-spattered heyday". Chicago magazine. News. Retrieved 27 July 2024.

Related Research Articles

The Gambino crime family is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia. The group, which went through five bosses between 1910 and 1957, is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963, when the structure of organized crime first gained public attention. The group's operations extend from New York and the eastern seaboard to California. Its illicit activities include labor and construction racketeering, gambling, loansharking, extortion, money laundering, prostitution, fraud, hijacking, and fencing.

The Havana Conference of 1946 was a historic meeting of United States Mafia and Cosa Nostra leaders in Havana, Cuba. Supposedly arranged by Charles "Lucky" Luciano, the conference was held to discuss important mob policies, rules, and business interests. The Havana Conference was attended by delegations representing crime families throughout the United States. The conference was held during the week of December 22, 1946, at the Hotel Nacional. The Havana Conference is considered to have been the most important mob summit since the Atlantic City Conference of 1929. Decisions made in Havana resonated throughout US crime families during the ensuing decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Outfit</span> Italian-American organized crime syndicate based in Chicago, Illinois

The Chicago Outfit is an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in Chicago, Illinois, which originated in the city's South Side in 1910. The organization is part of the larger Italian-American Mafia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Carlisi</span> American crime boss (1914-1997)

Samuel A. Carlisi, also known as "Black Sam" and "Sam Wings", was an American mobster who was the boss of the Chicago Outfit criminal organization between 1989 and 1996. Hillel Levin of Chicago magazine assessed Carlisi as a "weak leader" who led the Outfit only due to a lack of alternative candidates for the position. Carlisi died in prison after being sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment for racketeering in 1996.

This article is about events in organized crime in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank DeSimone</span> American lawyer

Frank A. DeSimone was an American mobster who was boss of the Los Angeles crime family from 1956 to 1967. DeSimone was the son of former don Rosario DeSimone. He was sometime referred to as "One Eye" because one of his eyes drooped. Frank DeSimone's nephew, Thomas DeSimone, was an enforcer for the Lucchese crime family in New York City. He was also related to Simone Scozzari and Joseph Civello.

The Cleveland crime family, also known as the Scalish crime family or the Cleveland Mafia, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in Cleveland, Ohio, and throughout the Greater Cleveland area. The organization formed during the 1900s, and early leadership turned over frequently due to a series of power grabs and assassinations. In 1930, Frank Milano became boss and was able to bring some stability to the Cleveland family. Under the control of the family's longest-serving boss, John T. Scalish, who led the organization from 1945 until his death in 1976, the Cleveland family exerted influence over the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), profiting from labor racketeering and the skimming of revenue from Las Vegas casinos. The family's membership peaked at around sixty "made men" during the 1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patriarca crime family</span> Italian-American organized crime group

The Patriarca crime family, also known as the New England Mafia, the Boston Mafia, the Providence Mafia or the Office, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family operating in New England. The family consists of two distinct factions, one based in Providence, Rhode Island, and the other in Boston, Massachusetts. The Patriarca family is primarily active in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, with other territory throughout New England.

Joseph E. Todaro, sometimes known by the nicknames "Leadpipe Joe" or "Papa Joe" was a prominent Buffalo, New York businessman, and the Mafia boss of the Buffalo crime family. He was usually referred to as Joseph Todaro Sr. to distinguish him from his son Joseph Todaro Jr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Balistrieri</span> American mobster (1918–1993)

Frank Peter Balistrieri was the crime boss of the Milwaukee crime family from 1961 to 1993. He was a central figure in the skimming of Las Vegas casinos during the 1970s and 1980s, and served several prison sentences.

The New Orleans crime family, also known as the Marcello crime family or the New Orleans Mafia, was an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The family had a history of criminal activity dating back to the late nineteenth century. These activities included racketeering, extortion, gambling, prostitution, narcotics distribution, money laundering, loan sharking, fencing of stolen goods, and murder. Operating along the Gulf Coast, with its main criminal activity centered in the New Orleans area, the organization reached its height of influence under bosses Silvestro Carollo and Carlos Marcello.

The Pittsburgh crime family, also known as the LaRocca crime family or the Pittsburgh Mafia, was an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The LaRocca family is one of the original 26 Mafia families in the United States. The boss and last known "made" member of the family, Thomas "Sonny" Ciancutti, died in 2021.

The Kansas City crime family, also known as the Civella crime family, the Kansas City Mafia or the Clique, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in Kansas City, Missouri.

The Lucchese crime family is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia. Members refer to the organization as the Lucchese borgata; borgata is Mafia slang for criminal gang, which itself was derived from a Sicilian word meaning close-knit community. The members of other crime families sometimes refer to Lucchese family members as "Lukes".

Carl Angelo "Tuffy" DeLuna was an organized crime figure who was once the powerful underboss of the Kansas City crime family. He was also brother-in-law to Kansas City crime boss Anthony Civella.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Los Angeles crime family</span> Italian-American organized crime group

The Los Angeles crime family, also known as the Dragna crime family, the Southern California crime family or the L.A. Mafia, and dubbed "the Mickey Mouse Mafia" by former Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in Los Angeles, California as part of the larger Italian-American Mafia. Since its inception in the early 20th century, the family has spread throughout Southern California. Like most Mafia families in the United States, the Los Angeles crime family gained wealth and power through bootlegging alcohol during the Prohibition era. The L.A. family reached its peak strength in the 1940s and early 1950s under Jack Dragna, although the family was never larger than the New York or Chicago families. The Los Angeles crime family itself has been on a gradual decline, with the Chicago Outfit representing them on The Commission since the death of boss Jack Dragna in 1956.

The San Jose crime family, also known as the Cerrito crime family or the San Jose Mafia, was an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in San Jose, California. The San Jose family was one of the two families that controlled organized crime in San Jose, within the nationwide criminal organization known as the American Mafia ; the other family that ran organized crime in the city was the Bonanno crime family of New York. The family consisted of around 25 "made" members in the 1960s.

The Milwaukee crime family, also known as the Balistrieri crime family or the Milwaukee Mafia, was an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The crime family was considered a branch of the Chicago Outfit. The family's most influential boss was Frank "Mr. Big" Balistrieri, who was greatly involved in the Las Vegas skimming casinos. With the death of boss Peter Picciurro and consigliere John Balistrieri, both in 2024, the crime family is defunct. Since Balistrieri died in 1993, the Chicago Outfit has been gaining control over some of the illegal rackets in the area.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.