Second life of Sam Lima

After leaving prison for his leading role in the Society of the Banana extortion ring, Salvatore “Sam” Lima of Trabia had a second criminal career.

Salvatore “Sam” Lima (1878-1965) began his criminal career in the US when he emigrated with his brother-in-law, Sebastiano Lima (1878-1927), a fruit dealer, to join an alleged cousin of theirs, Giuseppe Ignoffo (1879-1964), who would also be a member of their Marion, Ohio-based extortion ring. Ignoffo is a more important figure than I picked up on, the first time I wrote about the Society of the Banana for Mafia Genealogy. He was the earliest emigrant among them, having gone to Pennsylvania in 1893 with his father when he was just thirteen [1]. 

Sam and Sebastiano Lima and their families in front of their store in Marion, Ohio. Source: National Postal Museum, care of History of Marion, Ohio page on Facebook, posted 18 August 2013. 

Giuseppe’s brother, Salvatore Ignoffo (b. 1871) emigrated from Trabia in 1898 with his future bride, Angela Teresi, joining Giuseppe and their father in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. [2] Soon after, Salvatore moved 66 miles away to Johnstown, Pennsylvania. This left his younger brother Giuseppe Ignoffo, the future officer in the Society of the Banana, alone at age twenty in McKeesport, where he worked as a shoe repairer in 1900. [3] Among his neighbors on Walnut Street in McKeesport was fruit importer and early Mafia boss Salvatore Catanzaro. The following year, the shoe repairer was listed in the Johnstown, PA city directory with a fruit store. [4]

Sam and Sebastiano Lima, both from Trabia, called their destination contact, Giuseppe Ignoffo, their cousin when they emigrated in October 1902. [5] However, he is of no known relation to either man. Given their future exploits, this suggests that Sam, Sebastiano, and Giuseppe were already criminal associates before any of them left Sicily.

When Salvatore Ignoffo emigrated in 1898 with his future wife, Angela Teresi, she called their destination contact — Salvatore’s father, Antonino — her uncle. [6] Although cousin marriage is common in this population, Salvatore and Angela are also of no known relation. In the 1910 census, Salvatore and Angela lived as a married couple with their children, claiming to have been married in 1898 (no confirmation of this has been found in their native Trabia), and Salvatore was self-employed as a fruit peddler. [7] The couple married in Pennsylvania in 1912. [8]

Most of the men in this story made several trips between Trabia and the United States. Sam Lima married a widow, Maria Panzica, in their native Trabia in 1898. [9] In January 1902, Sam’s future co-conspirator, Sebastiano Lima, married Sam’s sister, Caterina there. [10] Sam and Sebastiano are not brothers or first cousins, but it’s possible they’re more distantly related through direct descent.

Giuseppe Ignoffo became a naturalized citizen in September 1902 and immediately returned to Trabia, where he married Caterina’s younger sister, Pietra Lima, in December, making him, Sam, and Sebastiano brothers-in-law. [11] On a subsequent trip home, in December 1906, his father-in-law, Antonio Lima, who was also part of their extortion conspiracy, vouched for his identity when he went to the US consulate to get a passport for his return trip. “The witness, Antonio Lima, is personally known at this consulate,” says a note at the bottom of the passport application. [12] The Society of the Banana was formed soon after.

In news reports about the Society’s crimes, Antonio Lima is said in one report to be sought in connection with the extortion ring, and to be a tax collector and politician in Trabia [13], while another paper calls him a high ranking mafioso with a long criminal history [14]. All of these claims are likely to be true.

Late in 1906, Sam Lima and his brother-in-law, Sebastiano Lima, moved from Pennsylvania to Marion, Ohio, where they headed a national extortion ring that used the US Mail to threaten their victims. Besides short trips back to Trabia, Giuseppe Ignoffo remained in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, where he was self-employed as a cobbler, until sometime between his return in March 1907 and October 1908, when he moved to Marion, Ohio. His wife and father-in-law named him on the manifest when they traveled to Marion together. [15]

For some reason, Antonio Lima named Giuseppe Ignoffo, his son-in-law, as his destination contact, rather than his own son who lived in the same town. Antonio came with his daughter, Pietra, who was married to Giuseppe, and Pietra and Giuseppe Ignoffo’s two young children: a daughter who was born in Pittsburgh, and a son born in Trabia. 

Antonio Lima was in Marion all winter, and would attend the Society meeting in March 1909. Postal inspectors tracked mailed invitations across the country, then watched as invitees arrived at the train station. That June, more than a dozen Society members were arrested and charged with extortion. As the ringleader, Sam Lima got the longest sentence, sixteen years at Leavenworth. His father, Antonio, evaded arrest in Ohio and was reported by Portland, Oregon, postal inspectors to be living there with his son, who was also named Antonio, age seventeen. [16] 

Giuseppe Ignoffo, who went to Leavenworth with Lima, had no further hand in organized crime, as far as I know. He moved to San Jose, California, with his wife and children. One of his sons took over the family shoe repair business. Another son became a pharmacist. Giuseppe’s father joined him from Trabia, and died in San Francisco. He is buried with Giuseppe and his wife and two of their sons in a family crypt in San Mateo County.

Francesco Lima, Sam Lima’s younger brother, was an early settler in San Francisco, arriving in 1884 and living there until shortly before his son was born in Pennsylvania in 1905. Francesco married twice; with his first wife, Teresa Cancilla, he had a son, Antonio/Anthony Lima (1905-1986) [17], in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Anthony Lima would become the boss of the San Francisco Mafia, a position he held for sixteen years.

Teresa died in 1907 from complications of pregnancy. Young Anthony went to live with his maternal grandparents in Johnstown [18], and his father, Francesco, remarried to Dorotea Geraci in 1911 in Trabia. [19]

Francesco lived in San Francisco off and on while having four children with his second wife in Trabia. The eldest was Domenico Lima (1911-1993), who emigrated as a young man in 1934 with his mother and siblings. When Domenico petitioned for naturalization in 1941, his witnesses were Anthony N. Lanza, a capo in his half-brother’s crime family, and Giuseppe Alioto, who had been the founder’s underboss. [20] Domenico’s petition was denied for failure to establish good moral character. [21]

The Society of the Banana ringleader, Sam Lima, was out of prison in 1918, when he registered for the draft for WWI in Eugene, Oregon. In 1920, he joined his brother Francesco in San Francisco. Francesco was in Trabia the following year when his son from his first marriage, Anthony, was charged with murder in Pennsylvania in 1928 and acquitted. [22],[23] Following this, Anthony joined his uncle Sam in San Francisco. [24] In 1932, Anthony married Sam Lima’s daughter, Nunzia (1905-1997).

Sam naturalized, moved to Lodi, in San Joaquin County, bought a home, and managed a vineyard. By 1940 he owned his own farm. When he registered for the draft for WWII in 1942 Sam and his cousin, also called Sam Lima (1894-1961), the son of Giuseppe Lima and Anna Sunseri, were neighbors on School Street in Lodi and both worked for the Palermo Olive Oil Company, founded in 1891. [25],[26] The son of Giuseppe had been living in Ohio, where he’d worked, years before, as a fruit peddler but most recently as a bartender in a nightclub. [27] Sam and his cousin were charged with receiving stolen goods — olives they purchased from local teenagers — and in 1943 turned over the Palermo Olive Oil Company’s operations to Sam’s nephew, Anthony Lima, who was now the boss of the San Francisco Mafia. [28]

Anthony had succeeded the founder, Frank Lanza, in 1937. His Sunland Oil and Cheese Company was a front for illegal activities. [29] His uncle’s company increased his influence in the California olive industry.

Anthony Lima was convicted of theft in 1953 and sentenced to four years. While he was in prison, his former business partner and underboss, Michael Abati, took over leadership of the San Francisco Mafia. [30] When Lima completed his sentence, he resumed organized criminal activity but was no longer considered a person of interest to law enforcement. However, he had powerful friends, and became an FBI informant. His close associates included Jimmy Fratianno and Joseph Alioto, the son of the old underboss. Joseph was elected mayor of San Francisco in 1968.

Through his FBI files we know that Anthony Lima and his friends were unimpressed with the leadership of the San Francisco crime family. [31] The bad feelings between the Lima and Lanza families might go back to around the time Anthony first came to San Francisco, in 1929-30. In the Sixties, when Anthony was talking to the FBI, the boss was James “Jimmy the Hat” Lanza: the Mafia Family founder’s son. He led his father’s Mafia from 1961-1989, and died in 2006 at the age of 103. [32]

Besides the Society of the Banana officers, at least one other Lima family from Trabia lived in San Francisco and was active in the local Mafia. Descendants of two of the sons of Francesco Lima and Anna Sanfilippo emigrated to San Francisco. One was Salvatore “Sam” Lima, Jr. (1892-1969), a Mafia soldier. [33],[34] Sam Lima Jr.’s cousin, once removed, was also called Sam Lima (1913-1993). The younger Sam Lima inherited his father, Francesco’s wholesale produce business and later owned a bowling alley.[35]

After turning over operations of Palermo Olive Oil to his nephew, Sam Lima retired from agriculture. [36] His same name cousin died in 1961. [37] Sam’ wife, Maria Panzica, passed away in 1956 at age 83. [38] Sam died two years later at 87. [39]

Sources

1. Manifest of the Weser. (1893). Img. 22 of 25. Year: 1893; Arrival: New York, New York, USA; Microfilm Serial: M237, 1820-1897; Line: 1 Ship or Roll Number: Weser Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
2. Manifest of the Aller. (1898). Year: 1898; Arrival: New York, New York, USA; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Line: 4; Page Number: 154 Ship or Roll Number: Aller Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
3. Year: 1900; Census Place: McKeesport Ward 2, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; Page: 10; Enumeration District: 0419; FHL microfilm: 1241368 Enumeration District: 0419; Description: McKeesport City, ward 2 (pt) including 1st Election Precinct Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004.
4. Title: Johnstown, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1901 Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Img. 239 of 249. 
5. Manifest of the SS Vancouver. (1902, October 12). Lines 11-12. The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Series Title: Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Boston, Massachusetts, 1891-1943; NAI Number: 4319742; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; Record Group Number: 85; Series Number: T843; NARA Roll Number: 056 Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists, 1820-1963 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2006.
6. Manifest of the Aller. (1898).
7.  “United States Census, 1910,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RJ5-CF8?cc=1727033&wc=QZZ7-D4R%3A133638001%2C140951901%2C141085001%2C1589089083 : 24 June 2017), Pennsylvania > Cambria > Johnstown Ward 11 > ED 131 > image 13 of 82; citing NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
8. Marriage of Salvatore Ignaffa and Angela Teresi. (1912). Film no. 001293484. Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, U.S., Marriages, 1852-1968 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.
9. Atto di matrimonio, Salvatore Lima and Maria Pansica. (1898, December 3). Record no. 43. “Italia, Palermo, Termini Imerese, Stato Civile (Tribunale), 1862-1910,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9MZ-1L82?cc=1947613&wc=MDBD-338%3A245876101%2C246641901 : 20 May 2014), Trabia > Matrimoni e Pubblicazioni 1864-1910 > image 2071 of 2447; Tribunale di Termini Imerese (Termini Imerese Court, Termini Imerese).
10. Atto di matrimonio, Sebastiano Lima and Caterina Lima. (1902, January 26). Record no. 6. “Italia, Palermo, Termini Imerese, Stato Civile (Tribunale), 1862-1910,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89MZ-12PM?cc=1947613&wc=MDBD-338%3A245876101%2C246641901 : 20 May 2014), Trabia > Matrimoni e Pubblicazioni 1864-1910 > image 2084 of 2447; Tribunale di Termini Imerese (Termini Imerese Court, Termini Imerese).
11. Atto di nascita, Caterina Lima. (1882, August 17). Record no. 165. “Italia, Palermo, Termini Imerese, Stato Civile (Tribunale), 1862-1910,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9M8-SY8T?cc=1947613&wc=MDBD-668%3A245876101%2C246770501 : 20 May 2014), Trabia > Nati 1872-1901 > image 1118 of 3067; Tribunale di Termini Imerese (Termini Imerese Court, Termini Imerese).; Atto di nascita, Pietra Lima. (1882, August 17.) Record no. 164. “Italia, Palermo, Termini Imerese, Stato Civile (Tribunale), 1862-1910,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9M8-SY8T?cc=1947613&wc=MDBD-668%3A245876101%2C246770501 : 20 May 2014), Trabia > Nati 1872-1901 > image 1118 of 3067; Tribunale di Termini Imerese (Termini Imerese Court, Termini Imerese).; Atto di matrimonio, Giuseppe Ignoffo and Pietra Lima. (1902, December 7). Record no. 62. “Italia, Palermo, Termini Imerese, Stato Civile (Tribunale), 1862-1910,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9MZ-1K9W?cc=1947613&wc=MDBD-338%3A245876101%2C246641901 : 20 May 2014), Trabia > Matrimoni e Pubblicazioni 1864-1910 > image 2113 of 2447; Tribunale di Termini Imerese (Termini Imerese Court, Termini Imerese).
12. Img 35 of 612. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; Volume #: Volume 110: Italy Volume 110: Italy Ancestry.com. U.S., Passport Applications, 1795-1925 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007.
13. Clue in Springfield. (1909, June 9). The Evening Star (Washington DC). P. 1+.
14. Oldfield, W. and Bruce, V. (2018, September 16). The postal inspector who took down America’s first organized crime ring. Politico Magazine. Retrieved from https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/09/16/the-postal-inspector-who-took-down-americas-first-organized-crime-ring-219597/
15. Year: 1908; Arrival: New York, New York, USA; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Line: 1; Page Number: 18 Ship or Roll Number: Martha Washington Ancestry.com. New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
16. Oldfield, W. and Bruce, V. (2018).
17.  “California Death Index, 1940-1997,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPM3-ZR7 : 26 November 2014), Antonio Lima, 28 Jan 1986; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.
18.  “United States Census, 1910,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRKS-43C?cc=1727033&wc=QZZ4-LZV%3A133638001%2C140951901%2C140692801%2C1589089225 : 24 June 2017), Pennsylvania > Cambria > Johnstown Ward 3 > ED 120 > image 6 of 18; citing NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
19.  Imgs. 1392-1395 of 1784. The National Archives at San Francisco; San Bruno, California; NAI Number: 605504; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: 21 Description: Petition 54901 Mary Lo Coco 1942: Petition 55280 Isabelle Grenfell 1941 Ancestry.com. California, U.S., Federal Naturalization Records, 1843-1999 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
20. Feather, B. (2017, November 7). San Francisco membership chart. Mafia membership charts [website].  http://mafiamembershipcharts.blogspot.com/2017/11/san-francisco-membership-chart.html  
21.  “California, Northern U.S. District Court Naturalization Index, 1852-1989,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GBVT-7PS?cc=1849982&wc=M6RN-LZ9%3A166525901 : 25 July 2019), Petition no. 056036, Dec. 1, 1941 – Petition no. 056400, Jan. 5, 1942 > image 986 of 1766; citing NARA microfilm publication M1744 (Pacific Sierra Region, San Bruno: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
22. See note 19.
23. Drexler, P. (2015, December 20). I left my crime family in San Francisco. San Francisco Examiner. https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/i-left-my-crime-family-in-san-francisco/article_e26cee11-7719-54cc-b3f6-f4101e4151db.html  
24. FBI memo SAC, SanFrancisco 3. (1972, April 13). https://archive.org/stream/1219913092SF123Section29Serial1NoDescriptionMedOCR/1219913-0%20-%2092-SF-123%20-%20Section%2029%20Serial%20%201%20no%20descriptionMedOCR_djvu.txt ; Feather, B. (2017, November 7). San Francisco membership chart. Mafia membership charts [website].  http://mafiamembershipcharts.blogspot.com/2017/11/san-francisco-membership-chart.html ; Valin, E. (n.d.) Former San Francisco boss supplied info to federal agents. The American Mafia [website].  https://mafiahistory.us/rattrap/sanfranlima.html ; His father names him as destination contact when he sails into New York on the Roma in July 1930. https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-details/czoxMjoiOTAxNzU5MzQ3NzQ1Ijs=/czo4OiJtYW5pZmVzdCI7
25. “United States Census, 1930,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRHM-F9W?cc=1810731&wc=QZF3-M5D%3A648807101%2C651859901%2C649682601%2C1589282368 : 8 December 2015), California > San Joaquin > Lodi > ED 14 > image 11 of 22; citing NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002).; The National Archives At St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; Record Group Title: Records of the Selective Service System; Record Group Number: 147 Name Range: Kishida, Masahide – Smith, Charles William Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010.
26. The olive industry. (1891, April 11). Marysville Daily Appeal (Marysville, CA). P. 1. https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=MDA18910411.2.4&srpos=1&e=——-en–20–1–txt-txIN-%22Palermo+Olive+Oil%22——- 
27. Year: 1940; Census Place: Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio; Roll: m-t0627-03234; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 92-763 Enumeration District: 92-763; Description: CLEVELAND CITY WARD 30 (TRACT U-1 – PART) Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012.
28. Croston, S. W. (2022). The Society of the Banana in Ohio: A History of the Black Hand. Arcadia Publishing.
29. Drexler (2015).
30. Valin (n.d.).
31. Valin (n.d.).
32. Drexler (2015).
33. Atto di nascita, Salvatore Lima. (1892, March 26).  Record no. 64. “Italia, Palermo, Termini Imerese, Stato Civile (Tribunale), 1862-1910,” images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89M8-S93R-H?cc=1947613&wc=MDBD-668%3A245876101%2C246770501 : 20 May 2014), Trabia > Nati 1872-1901 > image 2198 of 3067; Tribunale di Termini Imerese (Termini Imerese Court, Termini Imerese).
34. Feather (2017).
35.  “United States Social Security Death Index,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JG3S-VYX : 11 January 2021), Salvador A Lima, 06 Aug 1993; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).; News Staff Report, M. (1993, Aug 13). SAL LIMA, FAMILY OPERATED SANTA CLARA BOWLING ALLEY. San Jose Mercury News (CA), p. 5B.. Retrieved from https://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/obit/0F93F9640D1C947F-0F93F9640D1C947F?p=OBIT
36. United States of America, Bureau of the Census; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790-2007; Record Group Number: 29; Residence Date: 1950; Home in 1950: Lodi, San Joaquin, California; Roll: 63; Sheet Number: 11; Enumeration District: 39-35 Enumeration District: 39-35; Description: Lodi city – That part Bounded by W. Lodi Ave.; Southern Pacific Railroad; City limits; S. Church Ancestry.com. 1950 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2022.
37.  “United States, GenealogyBank Historical Newspaper Obituaries, 1815-2011”, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPYR-T6HH : 17 July 2020), Salvatore Lima, 1961.
38. “California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994”, database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:ZQ1G-CV2M : 9 December 2020), Maria Lima, 1956.
39.  “California Death Index, 1940-1997,” database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VPKL-VP7 : 26 November 2014), Sam Lima, 09 Sep 1965; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento.

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