How the West was Won

Retired gangsters made a killing selling the American dream to returning GIs after World War II.

Tucson, Arizona used to be much smaller than it is today. With half the population of Phoenix, in the early 1940s, the small city was home to forty thousand people. That changed with the end of World War II, when the country experienced a housing boom.

Just outside of the Tucson city limits, developers found few restrictions and a tremendous demand for new, single-family homes. Real estate entrepreneurs and builders bought hundreds of acres at a time and turned them into subdivisions. By 1950, the Tucson metro area had three times its original population and would continue to grow through the early 1970s.

Among the new neighbors in the Old Pueblo were powerful gangsters. Joseph Bonanno (1905-2002) kept a home in Tucson from the early Forties when he enrolled his son, Bill, in a private school there for his health. Peter Joseph Licavoli, Sr. (1902-1984) moved from Detroit to his ranch in Tucson a couple years later. Bonanno and Licavoli were soon joined by two new business associates from Buffalo, New York.

Brothers Tony and Tom Telesco were born in New York to immigrants from Avigliano, Italy. Anthony (1909-1991) and Thomas Telesco (1911-1977) were the middle children of eight. Their father, Frank (born Giuseppe Telesca), supported the family on lumberyard and factory jobs.

Tony Telesco, who was a grocer in Buffalo, married Anna Battaglia (1908-2000) in 1927.^[1] His brother, Tom, was a shipping clerk in the wallboard factory where their father worked. Tom married Anna’s younger sister, Celia (1912-2001) in 1933.^[2]

Anna and Celia were the second and fourth children of Calogero “Charles” Battaglia and Gaetana “Ida” Randazzo. Their two youngest siblings were future West Coast gangsters John Louis (1917-1983) and Charles Joseph Battaglia (1919-1971).^[3] 

After the war, Charles and Ida Battaglia and their two youngest children, Charles and John, moved to North Hollywood, Los Angeles. The Telescos went to Tucson, Arizona, about 450 miles away, and Tony and Tom embarked on a new career as builders.^[4] The double in-laws shared a household in the 1950 census.

The Telescos appear at the bottom of this 1950 census form (and continue onto the next page)

That Christmas, Anthony and Anna’s only child, Dolores, was married. Her uncle Charles Battaglia and his wife were said to be among the guests.^[5] However, I can’t find evidence of him being married until at least 1960.

John Louis Battaglia moved west with his parents and older brother. In 1946, he served six months in federal prison for black market operations during WWII. About a year later, a case against his brother-in-law, Anthony Telesco, for attempting to smuggle contraband into a federal prison camp was dropped by the US district attorney for Arizona.^[6]

In 1950, Charles Battaglia was a bookmaker working with Jimmy Fratianno in Los Angeles. He was made into the Los Angeles crime family in 1952, sponsored by the boss, Jack Dragna. In 1956, Dragna suffered a heart attack and died, and Frank DeSimone succeeded him. Charlie “Batts” didn’t like the new boss, and maneuvered for a transfer. He eventually succeeded in being placed with Joseph Bonanno in Tucson.

Tony Telesco appeared in the newspapers frequently from 1951 on as an up and coming builder.^[7] He sold real estate (he transferred one deed to his newlywed daughter) and sought building permits.^[8] He was even sued a few times in connection with his business, but the cases were dismissed.^[9]

A full-page advertisement for one of their home models, called “Casa Romana,” in the subdivision owned by Telesco and company, “Telesco Terrace.” Source: Introducing Casa Romana [Advertisement]. (1958, April 11). Tucson Citizen. P. 12.

In 1958, the Telesco brothers began selling homes in a new subdivision, Telesco Terrace, through their company, Art Construction.^[10] According to Mafia blogger and YouTuber Shaun Attwood, their partners in the new development included retired Detroit Mafia boss Pete Licavoli, Joe Bonanno, and the Telescos’ brother-in-law, Charles Battaglia.

The year after their model home opened, Battaglia was caught speeding after a 23-mile chase that exceeded 110 miles per hour. He was arrested and held in bond. The late model Cadillac he was driving belonged to the Art Construction Company.

The company president, Joseph Hootner, appeared in person in the sheriff’s office to pay his fifty dollar bond with a company check. Hootner was a former plasterer (and allegedly, a bookie) from Detroit. He began appearing in Tucson around this time as a representative of Pete Licavoli’s local interests. The retired gangster’s Grace Ranch, named after his wife, was embroiled in water sourcing talks while its owner was serving two and a half years in federal prison for income tax evasion.

Tony Telesco was the public face of Art Construction in all of their advertising. However, the company check Hootner presented was signed by his younger brother and business partner, Thomas D. Telesco, and Victor J. Tronolone.^[11] The address on the check pointed to Tronolone’s accounting firm, which handled Pete Licavoli’s business while he was in prison.^[12] At the sheriff’s office, Hootner gave an updated address for Art Construction, which a news reporter discovered was an empty office and warehouse.^[13]

In December 1960, Hootner disappeared in the wake of a mysterious murder. Two more gangsters disappeared and another company officer, Anthony Scrivano, died from an overdose.^[14] None of the cases were ever solved.^[15]

Allegedly, even though he was Charlie’s brother-in-law, Battaglia and the Bonannos cheated Tony Telesco, too. Telesco discovered the betrayal, but there was nothing he could do.^[16] He and his brother had married into the mob, for better or for worse.

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[1] Marriage licenses. (1927, October 24). The Buffalo Times. P. 6.

[2] Marriage licenses. (1933, April 13). The Buffalo News. P. 36.

[3] “New York, United States records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3QM-R986-X?view=explore : Mar 5, 2026), image 201 of 399; United States. National Archives and Records Administration. New York Branch. Image Group Number: 105831985; Funeral notices. (1960, December 17). Valley Times [North Hollywood, CA]. P. 17.

[4] Real estate transactions. (1951, May 2). Tucson Citizen. P. 25; Real estate transactions. (1951, August 31). Tucson Citizen. P. 17; Topics of Tucson. (1954, September 1). Arizona Daily Star. P. 4; Crestview Estates and Clara Vista [Advertisement]. (1955, September 24). Tucson Citizen. P. 40.

[5] Miss Telesco, Evan Morris repeat vows. (1950, December 31). Arizona Daily Star. P. 17.

[6] Five U.S. court cases dropped. (1948, January 28). Tucson Citizen. P. 20.

[8] Real estate transactions. (1951, July 26). Tucson Citizen. P. 21; Public records. (1951, August 4). Arizona Daily Star. P. 12; Real estate transactions. (1951, August 31). Tucson Citizen. P. 17; Records of courts, governmental offices. (1951, October 11). Arizona Daily Star. P. 24.

[9] Public records. (1956, November 30). Arizona Daily Star. P. 41; Public records. (1957, January 4). Tucson Citizen. P. 23; Public records. (1957, February 5). Arizona Daily Star. P. 22; Public records. (1957, July 26). Arizona Daily Star. P. 14.

[10] [Advertisement]. (1958, April 11). Tucson Citizen. P. 17; Legal notice. (1958, June 4). Arizona Daily Star. P. 21.

[11] Evans, G. (1959, June 25). Speeding woes trail Battaglia. Tucson Citizen. P. 1.

[14] Duddleston, T. (1960, December 30). Brady charged as conspirator in Janssen case. Tucson Citizen. P. 1; Fairchild, D. (1961, March 18). Probe of South Tucson finances opens Monday. Arizona Daily Star. Pp. 1A, 1B;  Insurance firm official cleared of contempt. (1962, May 15). Tucson Citizen. P. 13; Contempt charge is dropped in U.S. tax case. (1962, May 16). Arizona Daily Star. P. 14; Scrivano’s death laid to poison. (1962, September 20). Arizona Daily Star. P. 11; Volante, E. (2004, February 4). Former FBI agent ends lengthy silence. Arizona Daily Star. Pp. 1,15; “United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6KQV-483N : Sat Apr 26 05:22:08 UTC 2025), Entry for Joseph H Hootner and Isaac Hootner.

[16] Attwood, S. P. (2008, April 24). Two Tonys solves the murder of Joe Hootner. Jon’s Jail Journal (By Shaun Attwood). Accessed 14 March 2026 at https://jonsjailjournal.blogspot.com/2008/04/24-apr-08-two-tonys-solves-murder-of.html