Because family is at the heart of the Mafia
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 →
Hey, Northampton: Plan to hang out with nerds on Monday night. I'll be there!
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.
Though never charged, it’s widely believed that the powerful Falcone brothers were behind the unsolved murders of Pietro Lima and Dominick Aiello.
What is the connection between the Stonewall riots and organized crime? Find out May 2 at Forbes Library in Northampton, MA. 7 PM. Free.
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.
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.
In a letter dated 7 February 1911, James V. Ortelero asks for a favor from the superintendent of the federal prison in Atlanta, Georgia: obtain a murder confession from Giuseppe Morello.
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The Springfield Crew is led by Amedeo’s son, Ralph Santaniello, with his father’s backing. However Ralph, charged last year in a federal extortion case, is expected to plead guilty on 6 November 2017.
Mafia Genealogy 