Blood and Terror: The Reign of Giuseppe Morello (1/2)

     Giuseppe Morello is a familiar name to anyone with even a passing interest in the early history of the Mafia in the United States, yet his influence and actions remain largely obscure to the general public. Nevertheless, Morello was at the pinnacle of the American Mafia in the early 20th century. He was also the first Capo dei Capi—"Boss of Bosses." However, it’s possible that some Italians before him bore this title due to national counterfeiting networks. Still, I can assure you that none had a more significant influence than Morello. To understand how this man managed to conquer the Mafia only a few years after immigrating, it is essential to trace his life and his numerous connections across the country.

Giuseppe "don piddu" Morello

The Fratuzzi of Corleone:

Giuseppe Morello was born in 1867 in Corleone, Sicily, to Calogero Morello and Angela Piazza. While there is no concrete evidence that his father was involved in the local Mafia, the Piazza family name had already appeared in reports of banditry in the early 19th century. Calogero Morello died young, at just 32 years old, from unknown causes, though it is speculated that a genetic illness may have been the culprit, as Giuseppe was born with a deformity in his left arm.

Following Calogero’s death, Angela Piazza remarried the next year to Bernardo Terranova, a known mafioso and gabellotto. A gabellotto was an armed tenant farmer working on behalf of wealthy landowners—a position that granted strategic power to the Mafia by enabling direct control over the estates of the upper class. By the end of World War I, Corleone’s gabellotti had amassed considerable wealth by redistributing lands and properties around the village.

The local Mafia, known as the Fratuzzi, profited heavily from levying land taxes on property owners. Giuseppe Morello entered the Mafia during the 1880s through his stepfather Bernardo Terranova. The Fratuzzi’s base of operations was the Circolo Agricolo (Agricultural Circle), led by Paolo Streva, who had succeeded his uncle Giuseppe as the group’s leader earlier that decade.

In 1889, Morello was ordered to kill Giovanni Vella, a head guard. Two witnesses were also murdered in the process. The Fratuzzi provided Morello with an alibi, and an innocent man was sentenced to 20 years in prison in his place. Despite evading justice in this instance, Morello remained under scrutiny and was convicted of counterfeiting in 1894. By then, however, Morello was nowhere to be found, having illegally migrated to the United States in 1892 with his future brother-in-law, Gioacchino Lima.

Morello and Lima arrived in New York City together, and the rest of Morello’s family followed the next year. Finding work proved challenging for Morello, especially given his partial disability. Desperate for financial stability, he moved to Louisiana, where he sought connections with local Mafia figures. During this time, he arranged for his half-sister Lucia Terranova to marry Antonino Saltaformaggio, a young man from Corleone.

In 1894, the family relocated to Texas, where a Corleonese colony had existed since the 1870s. Most of its members worked as cotton farmers. Following suit, Giuseppe Morello and Bernardo Terranova began farming on agricultural lands near Bryan in Brazos County.

Giuseppe Morello arranging the marriage of his half-sister

Back in New York for Counterfeiting:

After two years in Texas, the family returned permanently to New York, settling in Manhattan's Little Italy. Bernardo Terranova listed himself as a plasterer, a trade shared by his sons, while Giuseppe Morello attempted to run several small businesses, all of which quickly failed. After a brief attempt to lead an honest life, Morello resumed counterfeiting currency, working with associates in Louisiana, Chicago, and Boston.

During this time, Morello's housekeeper mysteriously disappeared, possibly because she had seen or heard something she shouldn’t have. Counterfeiting was a quick way to make money, but it came with significant risks, especially if the counterfeit currency was of poor quality. In New York, expert agents quickly noticed a surge in counterfeit coins in 1900. They pointed out issues such as poor engraving and low-carat materials. Suspecting Italian involvement—long recognized as experts in counterfeiting—the authorities began investigating East Harlem and Little Italy.

In June, the Secret Service arrested Morello and his young Corleonese associate, Calogero Maggiore, at the same address. Four other individuals were also apprehended, including a group of Irishmen.

In court, Maggiore falsely claimed to be Morello’s brother-in-law. While the others received prison sentences, Morello managed to evade conviction. Maggiore, however, spent two years in Sing Sing before being transferred with the Irishmen to Atlanta to serve the remaining four years of his sentence.

Calogero Maggiore, 1902

Despite the conviction of his associates, Morello did not abandon counterfeiting, a practice he continued throughout his reign. In 1902, he participated in a counterfeiting network in Pittsburgh, facilitated by his right-hand man, Vito LaDuca. LaDuca was one of Morello’s closest associates, a violent man with little moral compass. He was well-acquainted with an Italian fruit merchant in Pittsburgh named Antonino Lanasa. Lanasa was wealthy and used Black Hand gangs against his rivals; he was also the godfather to one of LaDuca’s sons.

Another figure in the city was LaDuca’s cousin, Vito Cottone, who was even more violent and unpredictable than LaDuca. Morello had also developed a counterfeiting network in Boston by partnering with remnants of Salvatore Mastropolo’s gang. Mastropolo’s group was one of the earliest criminal organizations in Boston but had suffered a series of arrests for counterfeiting since the late 19th century. Mastropolo hailed from the town of Marineo (in Palermo Province), as did many of Morello’s associates.

In January 1903, several of Morello’s associates were arrested for distributing counterfeit bills in Yonkers. Among them were three Italians named Isidoro Crocevera, Salvatore Romano, and Giuseppe DePriema. Another man was seen fleeing the scene and was described by agents as short and stocky. Secret Service director William Flynn later identified the individual as Giuseppe Giallombardo, a Sicilian who had recently immigrated through the port of Boston.

Looking back, Isidoro Crocevera’s name appeared in a report by Palermo Prefect Ermanno Sangiorgi. Sangiorgi had compiled a series of notes on the Sicilian Mafia between 1898 and February 1900, producing a 485-page document that remains one of the most detailed accounts of organized crime at the time. Crocevera was identified as part of the Mafia in Acquasanta (a district of Palermo) and a close friend of Giuseppe DiCarlo, the Mafia boss in Buffalo, whose uncle was a boss of a cosca in Palermo.

Crocevera and Giallombardo Arrested in 1903

A few days after the arrests of Isidoro Crocevera and Giuseppe Giallombardo, Vito Cottone and Vito LaDuca were apprehended in Pittsburgh. The Secret Service faced significant difficulty capturing them, especially Cottone, who was completely unpredictable. In a dramatic attempt to escape, Cottone lunged at detectives with a knife in hand before jumping onto a moving train. The agents requisitioned another train to pursue him, and when they finally cornered him, Cottone was shot in the back.

He was taken to the hospital to recover, but upon regaining consciousness, Cottone grabbed a pair of scissors and attempted to take a nurse hostage. Four men intervened to subdue him, and it was decided that he would be moved to a prison infirmary, as it was too dangerous to leave him in a public hospital.

Cottone, originally from Carini like LaDuca, was connected to the Mafia families of Buffa and Randazzo, who would later become prominent in the New York Mafia, particularly in the organization of Joseph Profaci. Cottone had been using the alias Mannino, which, according to some sources, was the first name of LaDuca’s mother.

Both Cottone and LaDuca were tried in March, but due to a lack of evidence, they were quickly released.

Vito Cottone and Vito LaDuca

Although Vito Cottone and Vito LaDuca were released due to lack of evidence, the same outcome did not await the counterfeiters arrested in Yonkers. Secret Service Director William Flynn had orchestrated a scheme to create conflict among those arrested. Remember, Giuseppe Giallombardo had fled the scene and hidden in New York. Flynn had identified him based on the description provided by the agents who had witnessed his escape, but he preferred to make it seem as if one of the arrested individuals had betrayed him.

In February, Giallombardo was arrested in New York by several officers, in front of Morello's men. The gang began to suspect there was a snitch among Crocevera, DePriema, and Romano. Flynn continued his ruse, knowing that neither DePriema nor Crocevera would talk if questioned. He decided to keep DePriema in the room for a long time, with the man remaining silent. When they finally left the room in view of Crocevera, Flynn warmly shook DePriema’s hand and patted his back.

The goal of Flynn’s strategy was to make Crocevera speak, but he revealed nothing. Instead, he planted the idea in Crocevera’s mind that DePriema had talked. Crocevera then shared this with the gang, and they linked it to Giallombardo’s arrest.

As a result, Crocevera, DePriema, and Romano were all sentenced to prison terms ranging from 3 to 5 years at Sing Sing.

True Lovers of Crime:

Giuseppe Morello returned to New York to lead a significant counterfeiting operation, his first wife died of illness in 1898, In 1903, Morello asked his sister Maria to find him a new wife. Maria showed him several photos of young women from Corleone, and Morello chose Nicolena Salemi. Maria went to Corleone to bring Nicolena to New York, and in December, Morello married her in East Harlem. The witnesses at the wedding were Ignazio "Lupo the Wolf" Lupo and Morello's half-sister Salvatrice Terranova. The choice of witnesses was not incidental—both would marry shortly after, just two weeks.

Ignazio Lupo was a key figure in Morello’s operations. Originally from Palermo, Lupo’s father, Rocco, was a member of the Pagliarelli Mafia, a well-known organization from the city. In 1898, Ignazio was forced to leave Sicily after killing a man in a store. Like many Sicilian, he made his way to the United States via Liverpool. Upon arriving in New York, Lupo settled in Manhattan, where he first opened a grocery store and later a saloon on Prince Street, collaborating with Giuseppe Morello. It was during this time that their partnership in crime began, specifically in the business of counterfeiting.

According to a theory proposed by the Secret Service, Lupo’s contacts in Sicily played a significant role in Morello’s counterfeiting network. The theory suggests that counterfeit bills were printed in Sicily and transported to New York by boat, allowing Morello’s operations to expand internationally. This connection between Morello and Lupo demonstrates the global reach of their illegal activities, which intertwined Mafia networks in both the United States and Italy.

Ignazio "Lupo the wolf" Lupo

In 1902, Ignazio Lupo became the subject of an investigation following the brutal murder of an Italian merchant named Giuseppe Catania. Catania’s body was discovered by children in July while they were looking for a place to swim, but instead, they stumbled upon a sack of potatoes near the bay. Upon investigating, they found the mutilated and fully naked corpse of a man. The horrific nature of the crime made headlines in New York for some time, as the act was deemed especially brutal. Lupo was the last person seen with Catania, and this wasn’t by chance. Catania was a mysterious figure, connected to a gang associated with Lupo. His murder and his past will be explored further in another part of the article.

Ignazio Lupo was an ideal candidate to work alongside Giuseppe Morello, and this partnership marked a merger between the Palermitan and Corleonese Mafia families. Lupo’s bloody reputation and his strategic association with Morello made him a powerful figure in the Mafia world. By this time, Lupo was believed to have become the leader of the Palermitan Mafia, consolidating his power through both fear and his ties to Morello. Together, they formed a potent alliance, bringing together their resources, influence, and criminal networks, solidifying their dominance in New York’s underworld.

Morello and Lupo’s Saloon and Restaurant on Santon Street

The Barrel Murder Case :

Before anything else, let's go back to the arrest of Giuseppe DiPriema, Isidoro Crocevera, and Giuseppe Giallombardo. Flynn had used tactics to make DiPriema appear suspicious to his associates, and this had unforeseen consequences. His brother-in-law, Benedetto Madonia, surfaced in town to demand money from the gang to give to DePriema’s family. The two men were from Lercara Friddi (the famous village of mafioso Charles Luciano). Benedetto had married Lucia DiPriema in 1891. This was Lucia’s second marriage, as her former husband, Giuseppe Saglimbene, had passed away a few years earlier. The DePriema family appeared to belong to the local bourgeoisie due to the "De" in their name. Benedetto, on the other hand, was the opposite; he had worked as a miner in the sulfur mines, a dangerous job due to the gases released from the extracted minerals.

Benedetto Madonia and His Wife Lucia DePriema/Madonia

Benedetto Madonia settled in Buffalo with his family in 1900. He made numerous trips across the states to oversee Giuseppe Morello's counterfeiters. He felt that Morello didn't have enough regard for his men who had been arrested, sometimes leaving them to fend for themselves in prison. This was the case with his brother-in-law DePriema after his altercation in Yonkers. Madonia sent $1000 to the Morello gang to be used to support DePriema. But the Yonkers men were sentenced in March 1903, and shortly after, agents observed Morello's crew meeting at the back of his saloon on Prince Street to discuss the situation. The Secret Service had plans to infiltrate the group and was closely monitoring the mafia headquarters. During the surveillance, an unknown face appeared on April 13, 1903; it was Benedetto Madonia, speaking very seriously with Giuseppe Morello and Vito Cascio Ferro.

The next day, a passerby spotted a barrel on East Eleventh Street and discovered the mutilated body of a man inside. Initially, the police had difficulty identifying the victim, and hundreds of people came to the morgue to view the body. The barrel murder case made the front page of New York and national newspapers, with thousands of articles mentioning it. The body was initially identified as belonging to George Morissetti, a Quebecer of Italian descent. His wife informed the press and New York justice that her husband had been missing for a month and said she recognized him from the victim’s photo published in the newspapers. The Morissetti family had settled in Taftville, Connecticut, and investigators wondered why George would have gone to New York and, more importantly, the reasons for his murder. Mrs. Morissetti mentioned that her husband was part of "the secret society" and had been repeatedly beaten and stabbed.

The photo released of the victim and George Morissetti.

The police then questioned Mrs. Morissetti several times, but her story began to be taken less and less seriously. Hundreds of other people continued to visit the morgue, and another family claimed the victim was Lazarus Loria, a truck driver, but this lead was also quickly dismissed. Meanwhile, the Morello gang was arrested on the same day the body was found in a barrel. The agents who were surveilling the saloon found it strange that the man who had visited Morello could no longer be found in the city. They also noticed a strong resemblance between the two men, and their suspicions were confirmed when an anonymous letter suggested the victim was Giuseppe DePriema's brother-in-law.

William Flynn and Detective Joe Petrosino visited DePriema to show him the photo of the victim, and he immediately identified him as his brother-in-law, Benedetto Madonia. Petrosino then went to Buffalo to speak with Madonia's wife and learned that he had disappeared while on his way to New York to help his imprisoned brother. Lucia Madonia went to the morgue with her son and officially confirmed the same theory as the anonymous letter. For the Secret Service and the New York police, there was only one suspect: the gang of Giuseppe Morello and Ignazio Lupo.

The gang of Giuseppe Morello located in the bottom left.

The barrel murder allowed the secret services to search the homes of the suspects, where they managed to seize multiple letters of dubious nature. At Morello's place, a letter written by Madonia was found, concerning the imprisonment of Mafia associates in Pittsburgh. The police also discovered correspondence with other Mafia members across the country. The twelve accused individuals were sent individually to the morgue to see if they could identify the victim, but none of them gave a positive identification. However, the police noticed that they were all armed with knives and revolvers, which was surprising considering they had obtained completely legal permits for carrying weapons. Tommaso Petto, one of the suspects, had a watch engraved with his name, which was confiscated. It was positively identified by Madonia's stepson as belonging to him.

The police immediately asked Salvatore Saglimbene (from Lucia DePriema's first marriage) to confront the gang members in court. They must have been optimistic, imagining a young man confronting some of the worst criminals in the country. Indeed, at first, Saglimbene wanted to avenge his stepfather by hurling the worst insults possible, but once in front of Morello and Petto, he pretended not to know the men nor the watch… .

Illustration of Giuseppe Morello facing Salvatore Saglimbene (right).

With a completely dark expression, Morello terrified the young Saglimbene throughout the trial. To summarize Tommaso Petto for you, he was nicknamed "The Ox" for a good reason. Weighing 100 kilograms and standing 1.73 meters tall, his body was composed entirely of muscle. In the past, he had grabbed a police officer attempting to arrest him, wrapping his arm around the officer's neck and nearly choking him to death. Some newspapers described him as the strongest man in New York City. Petto was detained for several months awaiting a new trial but was ultimately released in January 1904. Some politicians described Petto's release as an insult to American justice, as there was overwhelming evidence against him.

A photo of Tommaso Petto with Madonia's watch.

Thus, the Barrel Murder case came to an end, as no one dared to confront Morello's mobsters, despite Madonia's watch being found on Petto and the barrel used belonging to member Pietro Inzerillo. In reality, this case would resurface when several mobsters involved were killed under very suspicious circumstances after leaving New York. These assassinations occurred following the release of Giuseppe DePriema, leading some to suspect a vendetta. I will elaborate on this in detail later.

The Society of Bad Blood :

This part of the article is, for me, one of the most interesting. I traced an organization from "Bagheria" connected to the Morello gang in the production of counterfeit currency in New York.

Do you remember the 1902 murder of Giuseppe "the grocer" Catania that I briefly mentioned? In reality, he wasn't just a grocer but a man deeply tied to the Mafia. He was born around 1859 in Bagheria. We don’t have his birth record because, in fact, his real name wasn’t Catania but Caruso. He changed his last name after allegedly testifying against two Mafiosi from his town. That’s what his wife claimed shortly after his murder, but I doubt the Morello organization would accept a man who had collaborated with justice in Sicily, especially since several other members of the gang came from Bagheria.

By searching through Bagheria's baptismal registers, there indeed existed connections between the Caruso-Testa families, which we will hear about in the United States soon. I believe Caruso changed his surname for another, more obscure reason. Giuseppe Caruso emigrated to the United States around 1885 under the name "Joseph Catanio" and settled on Van Burnt Street in Brooklyn. Caruso worked as a dockworker, a profession often held by Sicilian migrants and Mafiosi.

The "Catania" family taken around 1891

The family kept a rather low profile. The eldest daughter, Anna, who appears on the right in the photo, married Domenico Tutrone in 1895. On the marriage certificate, Anna is listed with the surname Caruso. She had three children with him before dying of a dreadful illness in early 1902. Giuseppe Caruso moved his family to Columbia Street and opened a grocery store. He was known in the neighborhood as "Joe the grocer" Catania. On the surface, nothing suggested he was involved in any criminal associations. However, Caruso was closely tied to Ignazio Lupo in the distribution of counterfeit bills.

One of Caruso's flaws was his heavy drinking, which worsened after the death of his daughter. The family was described by neighbors as deeply depressed. Caruso's drinking often made him talk too much, something that naturally displeased the Morello gang.

One evening in July 1902, four boys went swimming near Bay Bridge in Brooklyn. By the rocks, they found a large fabric sack. Curious, they opened it and discovered the mutilated body of a man. The police arrived shortly after and traced the trail back to a residence on Columbia Street. Soon after, Caruso's wife reported that her husband had been missing for several days.

This particularly brutal murder was heavily publicized for months. The body bore multiple stab wounds, and Caruso's throat had been violently slashed in a manner reminiscent of Benedetto Madonia's murder.

The children and the place where Joe "Catania" was found.

The police's first lead was a dispute between Caruso and a man named Vincent Trica (pictured at the bottom right). Trica owed Caruso a small sum of money, and the two men had a physical altercation. Caruso even went to Trica’s house and kicked in his door, but they eventually reconciled shortly before the murder. Additionally, the police doubted that Trica would be capable of such a violent murder over just $14.

Caruso's wife later stated that her husband had changed his name after testifying against mafia members in Sicily. She also claimed not to know whether her husband had ever killed anyone before. The police speculated that Caruso had changed his identity for a reason different from the one he had told his wife. In December 1902, a 67-year-old man named Liborio Lavore was arrested in connection with the murder. Lavore was a bandit from Bagheria with a long criminal record, nearly a meter long according to detectives. He had been arrested multiple times in Bagheria for murder in 1869 and 1874, and again for banditry in 1880. It was during this trial that Giuseppe Caruso’s name appeared, but it was not clear whether he was a witness or an accused. Lavore was sentenced to 12 years in prison on the island of Ustica. He spent a few years in Sicily before showing up in New York just a few months before Caruso’s murder.

Normally, criminals could not migrate freely to the United States, but Lavore had arrived illegally and was living with his son on Main Street (remember this address). The police did everything they could to link Lavore to the murder, but it was to no avail. He was eventually deported in the fall, but his son remained in the country and would later be involved in other events. As a result, no one was convicted of the murder, but several pieces of evidence showed that Giuseppe Caruso was a mafioso, particularly during a search of Ignazio Lupo’s home in connection with the Barrel Murder case. Letters mentioned that "Catania" was a member of a mafia group (from Bagheria) associated with Lupo in the distribution of counterfeit bills. This was even confirmed by the mafia informant Salvatore Clemente, who stated that Caruso also used the alias DiTrapani. Clemente declared that Giuseppe Morello and Domenico Pecoraro decided Caruso’s fate. Pecoraro, also from Bagheria, was perhaps one of the leaders of this faction.

A few months after the Barrel Murder case, the secret services made a series of arrests at 50 Main Street. They had received information that Italians there were making large quantities of counterfeit money. When they began knocking on the door, the forgers started shooting through it. Several shots were fired, and a woman even tried to throw hot iron at the police. In the end, six Italians were arrested: Salvatore Bufalo, his wife Francesca, Joseph Lavore, Antonio Santini, Salvatore Speciale, and Domenico Parisi. William Flynn called this capture one of the most important ever made, and as you’ll see, these Italians were no ordinary criminals.

Facade of 50 Main Street, Brooklyn.

50 Main Street was a butcher shop with apartments above, a popular spot among mafiosos. In fact, it was the address of Giovanni Zarcone and Nicola Testa when they were arrested in connection with the Barrel Murder case. Testa, an 18-year-old and the nephew of Giuseppe Caruso, was also from Bagheria, as was Zarcone.

While researching marriage and baptism records, I found that a Giuseppe Bufalo was born in 1850 in Bagheria to Vito Bufalo and Rosaria Zarcone. Giuseppe Bufalo was the brother of Salvatore, as I found his marriage record with Francesca, with the same parents listed. This means that Salvatore Bufalo, who was arrested, was also from Bagheria and even an uncle to the mafioso Giovanni Zarcone. Bufalo was described as the leader of the counterfeiting operation in New York and at the head of a group known as "The Society of Bad Blood." I believe he was the leader of the Bagheria faction, he was observed multiple times with Giuseppe Morello, who was initially identified as one of his lieutenants.

Mugshot of boss Salvatore Bufalo, Atlanta 1906.

This building on Main Street was the headquarters of the Bagheria faction. It initially belonged to Bufalo, as some of his associates were tenants there. He likely helped the Zarcone family and young Testa find accommodation, and in exchange, they worked as butchers in his shop. Information about the counterfeiting network was provided by an informant who had infiltrated the operation: Salvatore "Antonio" Brancato, who openly testified against the accused in court in October 1903. He claimed to have become friends with the mafioso Antonio Santini while distributing counterfeit bills in Virginia, indicating that the gang had a wide area of influence. All the men arrested with Bufalo were from Bagheria, including the son of Liborio Lavore. Salvatore Bufalo and Antonio Santini were sentenced to hard labor and six years in prison. Francesca Bufalo was released, and tenants Salvatore Speciale, Joseph Lavore, and Domenico Parisi were acquitted.

But the case didn’t end there. In December 1903, a body was found in front of 50 Main Street. The body was identified as belonging to Salvatore Bufalo. However, this was absurd, as Bufalo had been convicted months earlier. It was actually the body of Salvatore Speciale, who had been arrested in the same case. The Bagheria faction suspected him of being an informant for the secret services, but William Flynn always denied it. What is striking is that his murder directly echoed the assassination of Giuseppe "Catania" Caruso because the two men knew each other. Once again, this is evidence that Caruso was part of the same faction, probably under the leadership of Salvatore Bufalo.

The main suspect in the murder was Joseph Lavore, who had accompanied Speciale. He allegedly shot Speciale before he could draw his weapon. He also shot himself deliberately to make it seem like another man had appeared to kill them. But in reality, the police had serious doubts, as witnesses claimed Lavore was alone. What is intriguing is that Speciale had planned to return to Sicily, as a ticket was found in his pocket with the name of his friend Antonio Cirincione . As for Lavore, he had been seen the night before at a dance with other criminals. The police believe this was when he received the order to kill Speciale. However, no concrete evidence led to his conviction, and Lavore was released in January 1904.

Shooting of Speciale in front of 50 Main Street.

After these events, the main representative of the faction was Domenico Pecoraro, who was very close to Giuseppe Morello. Pecoraro had contacts in places like Milwaukee (Wisconsin) and Buffalo, where he had family. His cousin Vincenzo Pecoraro from Milwaukee had a daughter married to Carl Zarcone. The couple's relationship appeared troubled, as Zarcone had a mistress in New York and would often visit her. His wife, Caterina, discovered this and, in a fit of rage, shot her husband several times in 1923 as he was getting into his car to head to New York.

Domenico Pecoraro also had a grandmother with the surname "Buttitta," and a young mafioso from Buffalo, Frank C. Buttitta, was also part of the same family. By the 1940s, Frank had the most sophisticated alcohol still in the county and was associated with mafiosos from the Magaddino family. Frank Buttitta was eventually killed, likely as part of a settling of scores. The Buttitta and Pecoraro families were also connected through marriage to the historic Galioto family, which ruled over the Bagheria mafia. A report from Prefect Cesare Mori notes: "The fall of Cirincione (mafioso) caused great confusion in the politics of Bagheria. The opposition bloc was made up of the former mafioso mayor Gino Galioto, cousin of the famous bandit Salvatore Galioto."

Frank Buttitta, Domenico Pecoraro and Carl Zarcone

The kidnapping of young Tony Mannino :

A sadly common case in the early days of the mafia was the kidnapping of children to demand ransom from families. On April 8, 1904, young Tony Mannino, aged 9, was lured by a teenager who promised him 50 cents if he would take a ferry ride to Manhattan. Hours passed, and Tony still hadn't returned. His father learned that his son had been taken on a ferry and waited with friends at the docks. He spotted the individual who had accompanied his son and captured him to take him to the police station. The young man was 18-year-old Angelo Cucuzza.

In front of the police, the young man claimed he had been threatened with death if he didn't carry out the kidnapping. He confessed to having dropped off Tony with two men at the corner of 39th and 2nd Avenue in Manhattan. However, when detectives searched the area, no trace of Tony was found, and Cucuzza seemed very nervous. There was no doubt he had lied to avoid angering the group of kidnappers.

Angelo Cucuzza interrogated by the police.

Despite numerous pressures, Cucuzza remained silent and kept repeating that he feared for his life. All the pieces of the puzzle pointed to a single man, but the police never managed to find enough evidence to arrest him.

After a long interrogation, Cucuzza confessed that he had handed the child over to a woman named Antonina Corneglia at 317 First Avenue. Detectives went there and arrested the woman and her husband, Francesco Corneglia. They confronted them with Cucuzza, who immediately pointed and said, "It's this man!" As a result, Corneglia was placed in provisional detention with a bail of $2,000. Cucuzza was compelled to testify under oath in court and admitted that two other men were involved in the kidnapping, named Antonio Galiti and Antonio Sciorino.

These two men were not just anyone, but the police never discovered their true identities. Antonio Galiti was born in 1870 in Carini, and he married Anna Altadonna, the cousin of Vito LaDuca's wife. In fact, when he was arrested in 1903 in Pittsburgh with Vito Cottone, he used the name "Vito Altadonna." Speaking of Cottone, he was also linked by marriage to Antonio Sciorino, who was arrested with Galiti. These two men were part of a faction from Carini, likely led by Vito LaDuca and Tommaso Petto.

To avoid arousing suspicion, the police also staged a fake arrest of Angelo Cucuzza and slapped him in the face to make the situation more credible. Cucuzza ended up locked up with Antonio Galiti, Antonio Sciorino, and the Corneglia couple. Sciorino was quickly released because the police didn't have enough evidence to hold him with the others. They were finally sent to trial on August 11, 1904. Cucuzza started talking again and revealed that he had also met someone named "LaDuca." This man had proposed kidnapping the Mannino child because the father, Vincenzo, was one of the wealthiest Italians in the neighborhood. LaDuca knew how to manipulate young children, especially since Cucuzza was actually a nephew—his paternal grandmother was a Cucuzza, and his mother was a Mannino.

Antonio Galiti with Angelo Cucuzza, then the Corneglia couple.

The fact that LaDuca was mentioned in the trial gave the police and secret services a good reason to arrest him, but he was nowhere to be found in New York. In the meantime, Vincent Mannino received another letter through the intermediary of "a mutual friend of the gang." The letter was not made public, probably because Mannino didn’t want to reveal that he knew these men. Cucuzza continued to give the names of the conspirators, including his uncle Salvatore Sano. Warrants were also issued for these individuals, but when the police arrived at Sano’s house, he had quietly jumped out of the window. The police were still hoping to find LaDuca and had been monitoring his butcher shop on Santon Street. A passerby informed them that LaDuca had taken a train two days earlier to Pittsburgh, wearing a wig. He was accompanied by a man matching the description of his associate, Tommaso Petto, who had recently been cleared of charges related to the murder of Benedetto Madonia.

The police were also constantly surveilling the Mannino house and noticed another suspicious letter, but Vincent Mannino claimed it was not from the gang. The father’s behavior was suspicious; he was one of the largest donors during the fundraising campaign for the defense of those accused in the "Barrel Murder" in 1903, which involved Vito LaDuca. He also claimed his son would be returning soon without giving too much information. In reality, he had confronted LaDuca at his butcher shop the day he left New York. Vito LaDuca was wanted in half a dozen cities, and his photo was circulated throughout the state. The police did manage to arrest his wife at 360 Hudson Avenue, along with her cousin Salvatore Altadonna, who was accused of being a close associate of LaDuca. The police discovered that Altadonna was the so-called mutual friend of Vincent Mannino with the gang, acting as a negotiator without legal involvement. Furthermore, Altadonna was also linked by marriage to the Manninos. Shortly after his arrest, the detective in charge of the case received a letter from the Black Hand, warning him to stop hunting them down, or he would be killed.

Salvatore Altadonna, cousin of Mrs. LaDuca.

Altadonna had been wanted for several days, and he knew exactly where the young boy and Vito LaDuca were. His arrest caused panic within the Carini gang, and just hours later, Tony Mannino was released. He was found wandering the streets of Brooklyn on the night of August 19th and was "accidentally recognized" by Salvatore Mannino, the father's cousin. The detectives found this very suspicious, and Salvatore was arrested and interrogated. Little Tony was also brought in to describe his captivity. He said he had been taken by Cucuzza to the Corneglia couple's home, where he stayed for two days. Then two men took him and locked him in a shack. A woman took good care of him and explained that he couldn't see his parents, and he was also forbidden from leaving the shack. After several days in captivity, the two men returned him to New York, where shortly after, Salvatore Mannino found him in a street in Brooklyn.

The police hoped the child would be the key to solving the mystery, but in reality, he provided almost no information. Furthermore, his father Vincenzo did everything to prevent him from answering the police's questions. The detectives openly accused Vincenzo of playing a double game; he had allegedly secretly paid a ransom of $500 without informing the police, according to a witness. Vincenzo unapologetically said, "I am very eager to see these individuals prosecuted, but I think the police should go after them without my help.

Vincenzo and Tony Mannino

The next day, the men previously arrested appeared together before the court, including Salvatore Mannino. Tony seemed very nervous as he walked along the line of prisoners, looking down and saying he didn’t recognize anyone. The only individual he pointed out was Angelo Cucuzza. Annoyed, Sergeant Vachris asked him if his father had forbidden him from recognizing these men. Tony denied it but eventually admitted that the kidnappers had handed him over directly to Salvatore Mannino, stating that he and his father were connected to the group.

Sketch of all the suspects, including Salvatore Mannino on the left.

At the end of August, most of the suspects were released due to lack of evidence. This case had made the front page of New York newspapers for the entire month. It demonstrated that Italians resolved their problems among themselves without police intervention. Sergeant Vachris said: "I could line up all the Italians in New York in front of Tony Mannino, and he wouldn't identify a single kidnapper." In reality, the fact that the Manninos were from Carini, just like most of the suspects, meant that Vincenzo didn't want to testify against a fellow member. As mentioned earlier, they had been tied by marriage for decades to mafia members, some Manninos were even criminals, such as Victor Mannino in Cleveland, who was a right-hand man to Angelo Lonardo during the gang wars. There's also Vito Cottone, whom I mentioned earlier in the article, who used the alias "Joseph Mannino." In fact, it was under this name that his murder in April 1914 in Toledo, Ohio, was reported. Someone rang the doorbell late at night, and he was shot when he opened. Such a tragic end was not surprising for such a dangerous man...

Article on the Murder of Vito Cottone, April 13, 1914

The Vendetta of the Barrel Murder :

The murder of Cottone serves as a good transition to the final paragraph of the article regarding the assassination of members of the Morello gang involved in the Barrel Murder case. It is also an odd coincidence that Cottone was killed on the same day as Benedetto Madonia, 11 years apart.

The only mafioso who was actually pursued for the murder of Benedetto Madonia was Tommaso Petto, mainly because he had the victim's watch in his pocket. Since the incident, Petto had been under close surveillance by the secret services. He temporarily left the city but resurfaced in mid-1904. In the spring of 1905, he was wanted for selling cigars without a license. Petto left New York and moved to Old Forge, Pennsylvania, under the name Luciano Perrino. He returned to his former activities and led a Black Hand gang (specializing in extortion and murder). Petto would later become a suspect in the murder of Frank Culloro, whose body was found near an old well on Cork Lane. Culloro's head had been severed and thrown into the pit, with some locals pointing to Petto as the potential culprit.

On the evening of October 21, 1905, Petto felt he was being followed as he walked toward his property. He turned around just a few steps from his door but didn't have time to draw his firearm. Petto was shot five times with large-caliber bullets, tearing through his body. William Flynn of the secret service stated that a knife had been plunged into his heart and, according to the newspapers, Petto had already been inside his house when he was killed. The press speculated that the killer was Giuseppe DePriema, recently released from Sing Sing, who had left the city swearing to kill Petto.

Murder of Petto with a photo of Madonia and DePriema in Sicily.

The murder of Petto might have been a coincidence, as Flynn informs us in his book that DePriema was still in prison at the time. However, some newspapers claimed that he had been free for two weeks. In any case, Petto’s murder wasn’t an isolated case, as another mafioso involved was also killed a few years later. This was Vito LaDuca, who, after hiding from the police for a long time, returned to Carini in 1907. His activities in Sicily remain unclear, but in October 1908, he was assassinated while standing in line to go to the cinema. This event continued to fuel the belief in a vendetta stemming from the Barrel Murder, even though once again, there was no evidence to accuse DePriema.

The next victim was Messina Genova, whom I deliberately haven’t mentioned earlier in the article. He is one of the most fascinating members of the Morello gang. The real name of this mafioso is Antonio Motisi, from the historic Mafia family of the Pagliarelli neighborhood in Palermo. This family has led the Mafia for over two centuries. Currently, Giovanni Motisi has been on Italy’s most wanted fugitives list for almost 30 years. He is considered the last great boss still at large from the era of Toto Riina and was the head of the Cuppola (Sicilian Mafia Commission) until 2002.

Antonio Motisi and his descendant Giovanni Motisi.

Antonio Motisi was born around 1866 in Palermo. He was the head of the Pagliarelli Mafia along with his older brother, Francesco Motisi, but they eventually fled Sicily after a murder. They settled in England before finally moving to the United States, a path similar to that of Ignazio Lupo, who also fled Palermo after killing a man in his shop. Antonio settled in New York and opened a butcher shop on Santon Street with Vito LaDuca. He was also associated with Ignazio Lupo in his saloon on Prince Street. It is worth noting that Ignazio's father was a member of the Pagliarelli Mafia before moving to the United States with his son, so they were very close.

Francesco Motisi settled in New Orleans and became the head of a Mafia organization. His close ally was Paolo Marchese, who had also fled Palermo after a murder. Marchese used the pseudonym Paolo DiCristina in the city, which is curious because it is the same surname as Rocco Lupo’s mother. I suspect Marchese used the name of a family member who may be connected to Lupo. Francesco Motisi became the leader of the Mafia in New Orleans and survived an assassination attempt in 1902 while he was in a carriage with Marchese. This attempt had been orchestrated by the Luciano brothers, who sealed their own fate. When the trial took place, no one showed up in court—again, the Italians didn't need a court to settle their differences.

A few months later, Motisi sent Bartolo Ferrara to kill Salvatore Luciano, who was sleeping at his shop desk. Ferrara entered quietly, stabbed him to death, and also killed his bodyguard, Vincent Vuterano. Ferrara attended the funeral of his victim and even approached the coffin. He took Salvatore Luciano’s hand and smiled. His brother, Antonio Luciano, followed Ferrara and killed him with a shotgun. Antonio was arrested and held in provisional detention. He spent several months in prison before being released after the trial due to lack of evidence. Another man, known as Sam Sparo, gained Tony Luciano's trust and became one of his close friends. In reality, he was a member of Motisi's gang and went by the name "Salvatore Aspara." In August 1903, the two men entered a building, and Aspara took the opportunity to kill Luciano from behind as he was descending the stairs. The following year, John Luciano, Tony's brother, was reported missing. The mafioso Calogero Gulotta, who often exchanged letters with Giuseppe Morello, told the press, "I believe he went to Houma with his wife to visit my son Vincent."

Sketch of Antonio Luciano after the murder of Ferrara.

Anyway, Francesco Motisi emerged victorious from this conflict with the elimination of the Luciano family. Having become the leader of the Mafia, he had the support of Giuseppe Morello, with whom he exchanged letters. His right-hand man, Paolo Marchese, was sponsored to briefly join the Morello gang in New York. In 1907, Francesco Motisi was heavily suspected in the kidnapping of a child named Walter Lalamia. An organization demanded $10,000 from the father for the safe return of his son, and the case made headlines in New Orleans. A few days later, Motisi was arrested as one of the main suspects. He was described as a suspect and dangerous leader of the Italian community. He quickly pleaded not guilty and paid the $100 demanded by the court. But the authorities took the opportunity to send his criminal record to the Italian police, and he was forced to leave the country before anyone could make the connection between Francesco Genova and Francesco Motisi. He then settled in Liverpool for a while before returning to Palermo to continue his criminal life.

Francesco Motisi aka "Genova"

His brother Antonio Motisi was one of the accused in the Barrel Murder case. He then left the city to settle in Dayton, Ohio. One evening in early 1909, he was killed by an unknown assailant while returning home. His murder revived the theory of the Barrel Murder vendetta.

The last victim linked to the Barrel Murder case was Giovanni Zarcone from the Bagheria faction. He migrated at an unknown date and lived for a time at 50 Main Street with Salvatore Bufalo and the young Nicolo Testa. Giovanni Zarcone was suspected of being the man who drove the cart with Benedetto Madonia's body, and Testa was the young man who provided the horse. The Zarcone family is very famous in the Mafia, especially in Milwaukee, which is the Mafia stronghold for the Sicilians from the western part of Palermo (Bagheria and Santa Flavia). The Zarcones were connected by marriage to many members, and Carmelo Zarcone even served as Consigliere for the Mafia in Milwaukee for many years. Another older Zarcone, Carlo Zarcone, was arrested in 1909 for distributing counterfeit bills, possibly in association with Giuseppe Morello."

Carmelo and Carlo Zarcone, Milwaukee Mafia

Giovanni Zarcone moved to Danbury, Connecticut, in 1905. His son Pietro was arrested for carrying a weapon the following year. Giovanni opened a grocery store and thrived in his business; he was well-liked by the community and the local parish. On the evening of July 27, 1909, Zarcone was followed as he left the hospital after visiting a niece. In front of his home, a bullet passed through his hat. Giovanni began to run under a hail of bullets, calling for his son. As he reached his door, Giovanni was hit by several projectiles and died at his son’s feet, who had just opened the door. His murder reignited a wave of articles about the 'Vendetta of the Barrel Murder.' He was the fourth and final member to die mysteriously after leaving New York. His nephew Pietro Zarcone killed a racketeer named Andrea Gambino shortly before Giovanni’s murder—perhaps as an act of revenge? Organized crime historian Tom Hunt also found a mention of Giovanni Zarcone during the assassination of mobster Joe Fendi in 1906.

Giovanni Zarcone and his nephew Pietro

Here is the end of the article. I tried to cover other events beyond just the life of Giuseppe Morello, which is often recounted. Another article will be written soon about the Morello gang and the events they are linked to, with a bit of genealogy as well.

Thank you for reading, and see you soon!

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Article written by Thibaut Maïquès aka Harry Horowitz on certain social media.

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