Joseph Gagliano, who was known by the nickname “Pip the Blind,” was called “the mastermind of one of the biggest opium rings in the country” by the assistant district attorney who prosecuted him for narcotics trafficking in 1946.
Pip the Blind
When the chips are down
Two competing news stories ran yesterday related to the MGM Springfield casino here in western Massachusetts. One of them involves Chip, the douchey-looking gambler-mascot of GameSense.
Giuseppe Morello and the Macaroni Wars
New Orleans Mafia boss Francesco Genova attempted to take over a macaroni factory in Donaldsonville, in northeastern Louisiana. The legitimate owners, Antonio and Salvadore Luciano, fought back, but were unlucky enough to miss....
October is Italian-American Heritage Month
We celebrate Italian-American heritage in October to coincide with Columbus Day. The date of his landfall in the Americas has been observed since at least the 150th anniversary, and has been a fixed date in the federal calendar since 1971. While recent proclamations tend to focus not on Christopher Columbus* but on more contemporary Italians... Continue Reading →
Northampton, MA: Nerd Nite Noho presentation on the origins of the Mafia in Springfield on 8/13/18
Hey, Northampton: Plan to hang out with nerds on Monday night. I'll be there!
Springfield Strikes Back
After he was nearly killed by the Patriarca family, Irish-Italian-American gangster “Cadillac Frank” Salemme came to lead the organization that wouldn’t have him as a member.
Omerta in Utica
Though never charged, it’s widely believed that the powerful Falcone brothers were behind the unsolved murders of Pietro Lima and Dominick Aiello.
Northampton, MA: Free presentation on Stonewall and the Mafia on 5/2/18
What is the connection between the Stonewall riots and organized crime? Find out May 2 at Forbes Library in Northampton, MA. 7 PM. Free.
Domenic Sarno, son of immigrants
Although Mayor Sarno calls himself a first generation Italian-slash-American, the truth is more complicated. The mayor’s paternal great-grandparents lived in West Springfield as early as 1906, and his grandfather was born here.
Vengeance for the Barrel Murder
Benedetto Madonia was killed for defending his brother-in-law from Giuseppe Morello. While he is known forever as the victim of “the Barrel Murder,” the story of what happened after his death is rarely told.
Mafia Genealogy 