New York City Mafia boss Gaetano "Tommy" Reina was born in Corleone in 1888, the son of an unwed mother. Originally, he wasn’t named Gaetano Reina....
When was Tommy Reina born?
Morello gangster Giovanni Pecoraro
Giovanni Pecoraro seemed to know everyone Morello knew, and was a suspect in the most notorious Mafia conspiracy of his age. So why haven’t we heard of him?
Stonewall and the Mafia [Video]
The targets of the protest were corrupt police and the Mafia who paid them. Hear the whole story from a trans activist and Mafia historian, Justin Cascio.
Garbage hauling cartels: the dark matter of organized crime
The waste hauling cartel in New York City is a corruption as old as the industry in which it is embedded.
Pip the Blind
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.
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.
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.
Springfield, Massachusetts, and the Genovese connection
The Genovese crime family has had a presence in Springfield, MA, since the 1920s.
Giuseppe Morello’s counterfeiting gang
In the summer of 1909, detective William Flynn sought the source of counterfeit bills flooding banks and businesses in several cities across the United States. He tied the counterfeiting operation to Giuseppe Morello’s gang by following one of the passers of bad bills, Giuseppe Boscarino.
The olive oil business
My father’s paternal grandparents, Louis Cascio and Lucia Soldano, immigrated as teenagers with their families and settled in East Harlem, on 106th Street. After they married, Lucia and her youngest brother, Tony, sold olive oil to their neighbors, produced and exported by Louis’ brother-in-law.
Mafia Genealogy 