Blood and Terror: The Reign of Giuseppe Morello (2/3)

By Thibaut Maïquès -

 This article is the chronological continuation of my previous one dedicated to the Mafia organization led by Giuseppe Morello and his associates. Here, I focus on the criminal events that took place mainly in New York and were connected to the Morello gang.

If you haven't read the first part yet, I invite you to do so by clicking on this link: [Part 1]
Thank you, and enjoy your reading!


Giuseppe Morello, 1910



Business resumed:

Giuseppe Morello and his associates were released after the Barrel Murder trial. Not long after, Ignazio Lupo opened a grocery store with his father and his brother John at 310 West 39th Street, under the name "Rocco Lupo & Sons." In 1904, Ignazio Lupo also opened his own store on Mott Street, which was described as very flashy for the neighborhood. He used magnificent horses to transport goods, maintained a lavish storefront, and had large reserves of food. His store appeared to generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue, and if it did so well, it was because Lupo had threatened nearby shops to purchase their supplies from him. Police had already noticed shipments being sent by boat, likely bound for Sicily.

Giuseppe Morello, for his part, had been running a real estate company for several years called "The Ignatz Florio Co-operative Association of the Corleonesi," located at 335 E 106th Street. All its members came from the same village, and many were related to Morello by marriage. Among them were Antonio Milone, a third cousin of Morello; Francesco Badolato, the brother-in-law of the LoMonte brothers; and Marco Macaluso, whose brother-in-law was a cousin of Milone. The company also had its own dedicated bank, which was common in New York’s immigrant neighborhoods. Thanks to this setup, Morello was able to acquire numerous properties.

Real estate cooperatives were common in New York, and migrants from Corleone had already founded one as early as 1891. The organization was called the "Società Co-operativa Corleonese Francesco Bentivegna," a name well known in Corleone and associated with the local aristocracy. It paid tribute to Francesco Bentivegna, a Sicilian revolutionary and emblematic figure of the revolt against the Bourbons (the Spanish royal family that ruled southern Italy). He led several uprisings against the Bourbons until his capture in 1853, and again in November 1856. He was ultimately sentenced to death in December, along with his companion Salvatore Spinuzza.

Among the members of the Bentivegna cooperative were its president, Giuseppe Coniglio and Paolo Streva as treasurer (from the ruling Fratuzzi family). The financial secretary was a man named Dragna, joined by Francesco Saltaformaggio (whose family was connected by marriage to Morello’s half-sister) and Giuseppe Vasi. The organization took part in various Italian-American events and thrived until 1905, when it faced financial difficulties. Morello likely took inspiration from this model, and by the end of 1905, a new cooperative named the "Francis Bentivegna Corleonese Company" was launched by some of his former associates.

It was during this period that Lupo and Morello reached the height of their wealth and power, controlling businesses and real estate worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.


La Societa Cooperativa Francesco Bentivegna, 1892




Kidnapping of Morello’s Banker’s Son :

On March 4, 1906, young Tony Bozzuffi was kidnapped while on his way to the post office to buy stamps for his father. His aunt had noticed that Tony was walking alongside a disheveled Italian man with long hair. That evening, Tony hadn’t returned home, and his father grew worried, searching the neighborhood in vain. The following day, he received a letter informing him that his son had been kidnapped and that he needed to pay a $20,000 ransom by March 8 to ensure the boy’s safe return.

Tony’s father was no ordinary man, he was a well-known banker named John Bozzuffi, who operated a bank at 1149 First Avenue. Over 2,000 Italians held accounts there, with a combined deposit of $180,000 in its vaults. Upon receiving the ransom note, Bozzuffi immediately went to the central police station to alert the authorities. It was Italian Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino who took his statement and led the investigation, as he often did in matters involving threats to the Italian community.

Two days later, Bozzuffi received a second letter, stating that his son was suffering and urging him to hurry with the payment. The letter was signed “Rotino,” a Sicilian word meaning “knife grinder.” Bozzuffi, however, said he had no intention of paying a single cent. He suspected his son had been taken by business rivals—especially since, just a few months prior, a barber shop on the same street had been blown up with dynamite.

On the morning of March 7, the boy managed to escape from the place where he was being held after pretending to be asleep. The kidnappers had left his room open and unattended. He ran to Second Avenue and went to his uncle Eugene’s house. Shortly after, they went together to the police station so Tony could explain his abduction. He said he had been approached by two men who insisted that he become their interpreter. After a great deal of pressure, Tony agreed and was taken to a room above a saloon at 318 East 59th Street. One of the kidnappers pushed him into a room and locked him inside. The description of the two abductors matched Giuseppe Costanza (38 years old) and Antonio Giaimo (39 years old), who had rented the floor. Tony also confessed that another man had been present. Joe Petrosino showed him several mugshots of well-known Sicilian criminals, and the child recognized Ignazio Lupo.

Petrosino arrested Lupo at his home the very next day, placing him in custody alongside the two other suspects for 48 hours. As the investigation continued, Petrosino discovered that Giaimo and Costanza were originally from the village of Borgetto, in the province of Palermo. It was true, as I found Costanza’s naturalization document stating that he was born in 1867 in Borgetto. He migrated in 1901 and listed his uncle Calogero Salamone. As for Antonio Giaimo, he was born in 1866 in Borgetto; I found a migration record from September 1906 that matches. Interestingly, he was accompanied by a Francesco Lo Jacano who listed a mother named Rosalia Giaimo. What’s notable is that Costanza was married to Angelina Lo Jacano, who was likely Francesco’s sister or cousin.

Many former residents of Borgetto had immigrated and settled in the area between East 63rd Street and First Avenue. According to some sources, the future boss of Los Angeles, Vito DiGiorgio, lived for a time in New York. He was originally from Borgetto, and his mother was a Casabianca, whose family was connected by marriage to the Salamone family. Giaimo and Costanza were related by marriage and also connected to the notorious Rappa family from their hometown. In fact, one member of that family, Filippo Rappa, would go on to become consigliere to Joe Bonanno during the 1930s.

On March 9, Lupo was taken to the Center Street courthouse to be identified by Tony Bozzuffi. However, likely out of fear, the boy was unable to confirm Lupo as one of the kidnappers. Lupo was immediately released following the hearing. In the meantime, six more individuals were arrested in connection with the case, including a man named Antonio Barbuto from New Jersey.


Antonio Bozzuffi and his kidnappers, Costanza and Giaimo.



Bozzuffi didn’t clearly identify his kidnappers, but thanks to the details he had given, Petrosino pressed charges against Giaimo, since he had rented the room above the saloon. Just over a week after the kidnapping, the body of an Italian man was found in a canal in Newark. He had been mutilated, strangled, and shot. His corpse had drifted through the canal before getting caught in some roots near a golf course in Forest Hill. Petrosino was contacted by the Newark police and went there to investigate. He asked the officers to photograph the body so he could show it to the Bozzuffi family.

Tony struggled to confirm whether it was one of the kidnappers, so Petrosino decided to bring him to the Newark morgue. The boy was accompanied by his father’s right-hand man and employee, Arturo Salamone (who would later play a significant role).

Once there, Tony declared that this was indeed one of his captors, though he remembered the man having a mustache, which had since been shaved. Salamone claimed to have seen the man entering the bank and loitering around the Bozzuffi home, yet no formal identification could be made. Petrosino noticed a scar running from ear to ear across the throat, he immediately thought back to the same type of wound found on the body of Benedetto Madonia in 1903...


Sketch of the man found in the Morris Canal




Petrosino continued questioning Italians in Newark and New York, hoping to uncover the identity of the deceased, but without success. A French pastry shop owner at 316 East 59th Street recognized the man as a customer who used to buy bread rolls from her during the time of Bozzuffi’s kidnapping, but the lead went no further.

Enough about the kidnapping case ; Who really was John Bozzuffi?

He appeared to be a man closely connected to the Morello gang, several of whose members already had accounts at his bank. In December 1902, the Ignatz Florio Co-operative Association among Corleonese filed its certificate of incorporation through Bozzuffi’s bank. He may have invested in it or granted Morello a loan to launch his real estate business.

By the early 20th century, Bozzuffi was also active in politics: in 1904, he served as president of a Republican club in the 24th District. One of its members was Arturo Salamone, his closest confidant. According to his naturalization petition, Arturo was born in April 1883 in Palermo. What intrigues me even more is that on his return from Sicily in 1909, he was accompanied by another Salamone who listed Borgetto as his hometown. Achille Salamone, Arturo’s brother, also gave Palermo as his place of birth. Was it just a coincidence that the two names appeared next to each other on the passenger list?

In 1912, Bozzuffi ran for Senate in the 16th District. He received a large number of votes but narrowly lost to his opponent. He also acquired a considerable amount of real estate, over a dozen properties along First Avenue as well as on East 61st and 62nd Streets. Bozzuffi continued helping to establish new businesses, such as the “Galati Company Incorporated” in Manhattan, which sold wine and spirits. While it may seem like a regular enterprise, it was in fact founded by the father-in-law of mafioso Giovanni Pecoraro (who had married Vincenza Galati). Among the shareholders were Marianna Pecoraro, Giovanni’s daughter, and the wife of mafioso Marco LiMandri. 

Galati Company Incorporated, 1914


In 1916, Bozzuffi was arrested for embezzling $2,000 from a family who had entrusted him with the money to send it to Italy. In March, he pleaded guilty to attempted grand larceny but that was far from the only stolen amount. Other Italian compatriots noticed that their money had been invested without their consent into real estate holdings that were, in fact, registered under Bozzuffi’s name. Altogether, over $180,000 was embezzled, a staggering sum that led directly to the banker’s imprisonment in Sing Sing for a three-year sentence.




The Corleonese Court of the Foresters of America :

In the United States, there was a mutual aid society known as the "Order of Foresters." Founded in the 19th century, its goal was to unite members in a kind of fraternity that provided financial support in times of illness, for funerals, or to help with access to education. Members paid a regular (often modest) fee, which contributed to a shared fund. It was not a religious organization, although many members were religious and ceremonies could reflect Catholic cultural influences.

In some immigrant communities in the U.S. (particularly Italian), members formed their own local chapters, called "Courts," to support each other as countrymen. In New York, there existed the Court Corleone (No. 446), made up exclusively of members from that town.

Petrosino was already investigating mutual aid associations and very likely the "Court Corleone," though he never explicitly named it in his reports. These structures often facilitated mafia gatherings and helped organize money collections for criminal operations.


“In East Harlem, several colonies of Sicilian immigrants have organized themselves into so-called mutual aid associations. However, behind these respectable façades, some of these associations serve to collect funds for recently arrived criminals and to plan extortion schemes against Italian shopkeepers.” Excerpt from an Italian Squad document (1906)


The Italian Squad continued investigating these types of associations, and in January 1907, suspicions of a possible criminal organization were confirmed. A man was found lying lifeless in the snow near 411 East 106th Street by a local milkman. Police quickly arrived at the scene, followed by Petrosino. The man was identified as Salvatore Canale, a shoemaker residing at 226 East Ninety-seventh Street with his wife and their four children. Originally from Corleone, he had immigrated to New York in 1899. At the time of his death, he had been unemployed for several weeks, and his wife had fallen ill.


Photo of an unidentified Italian man, killed in 1907 (NY archives)




It was his cousin, Giuseppe Canale, who identified the body at the morgue. He explained that Salvatore had gone the previous evening to a meeting of the Court Corleone. Indeed, police had found a membership card in his pocket, and witnesses had seen him accompanied by three men. After attending the meeting, Canale went to a saloon near his home where he received a mysterious letter from the bartender. He placed it in his wallet and continued walking down the street to return home. Along the way, he was struck violently on the head with a blackjack (a small leather club weighted with lead). One of the attackers pulled out a cleaver and tried to decapitate him, unsuccessfully, likely because a passerby witnessed the scene. Unfortunately, the murder remained unsolved despite several arrests.

Court Corleone was once again in the spotlight following a second murder, in May 1909: that of Biaggio Puccio, a well-known cigar seller and treasurer of the association. He was returning from a Court Corleone meeting, which had ended around 12:30 a.m., when a man was waiting for him near the entrance to his residence at 321 East Seventy-fifth Street. Puccio was shot multiple times and robbed, as he was carrying money, letters, and Court Corleone medals. His murder made headlines across the country, with Puccio being described as a close friend of Petrosino, who was said to have helped fund part of his funeral.


Illustration of the murder of Biaggio Puccio, 1909




In reality, this was only a rumor according to Petrosino’s wife and the Italian Squad, although it’s possible the two men had met on several occasions. The Puccio family was an old Corleone bloodline tied by marriage to several prominent Mafia names, including Riina, Streva, Pomilla, and Nicolosi. Biaggio was born in 1853 and emigrated to New York with his wife Giuseppa in 1896. Their life remained relatively quiet, with no press mentions, yet Biaggio had earned considerable notoriety in the Italian community of his neighborhood. He had been working at Davy’s Cigar, on the corner of Eighty-sixth Street and West End Avenue, since his arrival and had accumulated a significant amount of money.

It was after this murder that newspapers revealed the Court Corleone was located at 158 East Eighty-Sixth Street. However, I don’t believe that was the actual headquarters of the society, but rather a hall they rented for meetings. The building was also used by other associations, such as the Y.M.C.A. These tragic murders of Corleonese countrymen gave us insight into the existence of a so-called charitable association, secretly controlled by Morello to help finance his Mafia organization.



The Sicilian Cosca and the Morello Gang :

The Morello/Lupo organization continued to grow, and their influence made them the most powerful mafiosi in the country. This was notably emphasized by Nicola Gentile in his autobiography, where he wrote, “Back then, we were all under Morello.”
I’ve often wondered how the gang recruited new members, was it only after they arrived in the United States, or were they already part of a Sicilian cosca ?

One of these theories is supported by the story of Salvatore Marchione, a young Sicilian from Carini who arrived in March 1907. He migrated aboard the ship Neckar along with several companions, including the Mannino family I mentioned in my previous article. Marchione already had a brother in the United States named Giacomo, who lived in Detroit, but he didn’t travel to join him. Instead, he settled in Brooklyn, at 13 Coles Street.

After some research, this address turned out to be that of Antonio Ganci, a notorious criminal previously arrested for assault and fraud. His photo appeared in Manhattan’s Rogues Gallery (no. 8567) as well as in the Brooklyn police archives (no. 2756). According to newspaper reports, Ganci was also originally from Carini and appeared to be affiliated with the Morello mafia, as he had married the sister of Joseph Fanara, who had notably been arrested in 1903 in connection with the infamous Barrel Murder case.

It turns out that Giuseppe “Peppino” Fanara was not originally from Carini but from Palermo. His father, Gregorio, married Giuseppa Caccamo there in November 1871. Another interesting discovery was a marriage record from 1891 between a Gaetano Fanara and Anna Motisi, a member of the well-known Motisi Mafia family in Palermo (possibly a cousin?). However, it's true that when tracing the family back several generations, one finds that his great-grandmother was a Badalamenti, possibly from Cinisi or Carini. Giuseppe's brother, Rosolino, married in New York in 1915, with mafioso Vincenzo Figlia of Villabate serving as his witness. This seems to suggest a close connection between the Fanara family and the men from Villabate.


Marriage of Rosolino Fanara, with mafioso Vincenzo Figlia serving as witness.



On the morning of February 20, 1908, a 17-year-old boy stumbled upon a large bundle wrapped in canvas at the corner of Rutland Road and Rochester Avenue in Brooklyn. Curious, he cut the strings binding it and discovered a corpse inside. Terrified, he ran to find the police, who brought the body to the station. Officers noticed the victim’s nose and chin had been sawed off, and that his throat and jugular vein had been cut. Investigators believed the mutilation was done to prevent identification, although the killers had left the victim's clothes and personal belongings intact. Lieutenant Vachris was called to the Brooklyn precinct and ordered his men to search the surrounding area thoroughly.

What ultimately allowed police to identify the body were two letters found in his pocket, both addressed to a Salvatore Marchione. The return address listed was 48 Union Street, which turned out to be the bank of Antonio Sessa. Like many newly arrived Italians without a permanent residence, Marchione had used the bank’s address to receive mail. Sessa was brought to the morgue and confirmed that the body was indeed Marchione’s. Both letters bore postmarks from Palermo, and one of them was from Vincenzo Marchione, the victim’s father, expressing deep concern for his son :

“I believe you’ll be safer here in Sicily than in New York, because here you have your family to protect you.”


Room and Sketch of Salvatore Marchione




The second letter found on Marchione is quite interesting, it was addressed to Antonio Ganci and that’s how the police traced him to his address at 13 Coles Street. When they arrived at his home, Ganci wasn’t there; his wife and children claimed they hadn’t seen him for several days. He eventually turned himself in to the Hamilton police three days after Marchione’s body was discovered.

Ganci explained his absence by saying he had gone to visit his brother-in-law before the murder and had only learned about his boarder’s death through the newspapers. His statements were fairly inconsistent: he also claimed that Marchione had letters in his name because “he didn’t know how to read.” That particular letter had been written by a Giuseppe Cataldo from Sicily. Here’s an excerpt:

“The business isn’t going well here. The police are being very careful. Give my regards to the boys. Tell them to remember the word: Prudence.”

This was the only excerpt made public by the police; however, some newspapers mentioned that the name Fanara was explicitly cited. This suggests that Ganci and Fanara were likely already part of the Mafia in their hometowns. We can deduce that Morello’s Mafia members remained in constant contact with their native Sicilian networks and were, for the most part, initiated or recruited directly from Sicily.


Mafia's rituals


Marchione had lived with Ganci during his first three months in New York, before moving into an old shack at 33 Coles Street, owned by a woman named Maria Randazzo (probably from Carini, though I haven’t been able to confirm this). This rundown lodging was also shared by two other individuals: Salvatore Scutore and Vincenzo Priola. In Marchione’s room, more letters were found, including one written by a close friend of his father’s:

"I’ve heard from several townspeople who returned from America that you are constantly in the company of many bad individuals. It is your father and mother’s wish that you distance yourself from them, as no good can come from keeping such company."

Antonio Ganci and his brother-in-law Giuseppe Fanara were the two main suspects, yet there was not enough evidence for the police to charge them with Marchione’s murder. The only real lead was that the three had been seen walking together in Manhattan a few days before the killing.

In a strange coincidence, Joe Petrosino received a telegram on the evening of February 19, 1908 (the day after Marchione’s body was found), reporting that Vito LaDuca had been shot to death in Carini, just outside a theater. This led police to wonder whether the incident might be connected to the recent events in New York. LaDuca had last been tracked five months earlier in Baltimore under the name “Vito Passalacqua” (his wife’s maiden name). Oddly enough, his wife was still living in Baltimore at the time of his death, along with their four children. She told police that he had traveled to help expand the business of Antonio Lanasa, the godfather of one of LaDuca’s sons and a man known to be involved with Black Hand gangs.


Anna "Passalacqua" LaDuca and his husband Vito





Raffaele Palizzolo in New-York :

At dusk on June 8, 1908, the elegant steamship Martha Washington, freshly built, arrived in New York. Among the passengers was the Sicilian politician Raffaele Palizzolo, who was traveling free of charge thanks to his many connections in the maritime world (especially Ignazio Florio). What Palizzolo didn’t know was that he was being closely monitored by the New York director of the Bureau of Immigration, since U.S. law forbade entry to anyone previously convicted of a crime.

This raises a question: why were both the Italian Secret Service and Italian authorities so concerned about a politician like Palizzolo?


Raffaele was born in 1843 in Termini Imerese and developed an early interest in politics. His uncle, Mario Palizzolo, had been a colonel in the infantry and participated in the revolution. In 1877, Raffaele ran for parliament for the first time but was blocked by Interior Minister Giovanni Nicotera, who dismissed him as “not a true representative of the voters’ will, but useful to satisfy the mafia.” This statement already suggests that Palizzolo had ties to Sicilian criminal networks at the time. Eventually, however, Nicotera lost his position as minister, and Palizzolo’s influence grew, allowing him to rise to high-ranking political roles.

In 1883, a new electoral law was passed that required candidates for deputy to secure 8–10% of the population’s vote, up from the previous 2%. Palizzolo needed to expand his influence, so he built a vast clientelist network and formed alliances with mafia families in various villages.

A resident of Ventimiglia later testified that Palizzolo was once welcomed into the town by about fifty mounted men led by a certain Domenico Nuccio, an individual previously indicted for murder and known to be close to the bandit Antonio Leone (himself from Ventimiglia). In fact, Palizzolo had already collaborated with Leone during his first election attempt, using violence to terrorize villages east of Palermo.


Raffaele Palizzolo and the Bandit Antonino Leone




Clearly, Palizzolo was not a man of good faith. He was suspected of Mafia association on multiple occasions. However, it must be admitted that he was a highly educated and patriotic man. Like any good Sicilian politician, he sat on the board of the Banco di Sicilia. Its president at the time was the former mayor of Palermo, Emanuele Notarbartolo, an honest man and the complete opposite of Palizzolo.

When Palizzolo was elected as a deputy in 1882, Notarbartolo was kidnapped that very same week by brigands disguised as Bersaglieri (elite Italian riflemen). The rivalry between the two continued until 1893, when Notarbartolo was stabbed to death on a train by two mafiosi from the Villabate cosca, one of whom was a certain Giuseppe Fontana. Palizzolo was quickly suspected and arrested, but was ultimately acquitted in the early 20th century despite overwhelming evidence. (Palizzolo’s story particularly interests me, and I plan to write a dedicated article about it soon.)

This brief background explains why Palizzolo was so closely monitored by the authorities. Many of the suspects in the Notarbartolo case had migrated to the United States, including the killer Giuseppe Fontana. He traveled with his daughters in October 1905 to settle in New York, where his son Vincenzo was already living, only a few months after being acquitted of the murder. Fontana was likely advised by his cosca members to flee Italy and join Giuseppe Morello’s gang in New York.

In June 1906, Andrea Fendi was found murdered in Yonkers. He had just arrived in New York from his hometown of Corleone. The first suspect was Ignazio Milone, as his name was discovered on the victim’s body. He was also a business associate of Thomas Lucchesi, who was described as Fendi’s cousin and owned a saloon at 226 East 106th Street. Several Italians close to Fendi were arrested, including his associate Giuseppe Fontana, Fontana’s son Vincenzo, and Gioacchino Lima (the brother-in-law of Giuseppe Morello). They claimed that Fendi hadn’t visited them in several weeks and that he often went to the countryside for treatment with someone named “Giovanni Zaccani” in Danbury (likely referring to Giovanni Zarcone).

An interesting detail is that one of Fontana’s daughters married a certain Matteo Zarcone in 1909, who appears to have been from Altavilla Milicia. Milone was eventually found by police and released due to lack of evidence. One of his witnesses was Stefano Lasala, the cousin of his namesake who would later become the underboss for Thomas Lucchese.


Giuseppe Fontana and an old picture of his son Vincenzo



Palizzolo thus arrived in New York to meet with the Sicilians of the New World. A committee had been carefully organized in advance to welcome the former deputy under the best possible conditions. Its leader was Dr. Giuseppe Antonio Purpura, who, according to historian Salvatore Lupo, operated behind the scenes on behalf of Fontana. Purpura was a physician based in Harlem, originally from Termini Imerese (the same town as Palizzolo) and hosted him during his stay at 157 East 116th Street.

Another member was Marquis Enrico V. Pescia, who had been living in New York for several years. Police described him as a disreputable man; he had already done business with the Ignatz Florio Society between 1904 and 1905. Pescia was also implicated in the disappearance of his own sister in January 1908, after she mysteriously vanished from her luxurious home, leaving behind a suicide note.

Palizzolo had come to speak publicly about his convictions and to warn Sicilians that bad elements had migrated among them. According to him, they needed to protect themselves in their own way by forming their own system of justice. In doing so, Palizzolo was indirectly encouraging the formation of a state within the state, essentially the definition of the Mafia. He promoted the continuation of this cultural practice of self-justice and even referred to the idea of a "virtuous mafiosity" as a means of protection against the Black Hand. He also stated that America was a difficult country where Sicilians were unjustly monitored and persecuted by dishonorable people, a thinly veiled jab at Lieutenant Petrosino, whose name he pointedly never mentioned.

Palizzolo stayed in New York for about twenty days, living at Purpura’s home in Harlem. Every day, a line of Sicilians would gather to meet him, possibly including members of Morello’s gang. Regardless, the apartment was under constant surveillance by Petrosino, who wryly told the newspapers that it gave him “the privilege of being in the presence of such a great man.”

At the time, the New York Police Commissioner was Theodore A. Bingham, known for his highly controversial policing tactics. He was interviewed about Palizzolo’s visit to New York, here’s a brief excerpt:

"I’m aware of Palizzolo. Lieutenant Petrosino has his criminal record, which is also known to Washington and to the immigration authorities. Normally, a foreigner with such a record could be arrested, questioned by the police, placed under surveillance, or even escorted to the border. But I have no authority to take such decisive action against a man like him. I’ve been told Palizzolo carries letters from high-ranking Italian figures."

During his final days in New York, Palizzolo’s committee organized a grand reception at the Astor Hotel. Over 100 Sicilian compatriots attended, and among the committee leadership was a certain F.C. LoMonte. It turns out this was Fortunato C. LoMonte, the cousin of boss Fortunato LoMonte, who succeeded Giuseppe Morello. Fortunato C.’s father was Francesco (born 1841), who migrated in 1897 along with his brother Alfonso, known to be an associate of boss Paolo Orlando in the "LoCurto & Co" company. The presence of Fortunato C. once again shows that Palizzolo was surrounded by members of the local Mafia.


Raffaele Palizzolo at the Astor Hotel (4th from the left, top row)




He continued his journey for two months across the United States, visiting major Sicilian hubs including Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Pittsburgh, and New Orleans. Some journalists remarked that “he was following in the footsteps of Vito Cascio Ferro.” Upon his return to Sicily, he was once again greeted with spectacular acclaim...



The Counterfeiting Network:

At the beginning of 1908, Giuseppe Morello’s Ignatz Florio Company was on the brink of bankruptcy, mainly due to the infamous 1907 real estate crash. Morello found himself in a precarious situation, owing large sums to associates who were growing impatient and starting to threaten him. Ignazio Lupo wasn’t in better shape: he had fallen seriously ill and was barely able to walk. Faced with mounting pressure, Morello came up with the idea of launching a counterfeiting operation to repay his creditors, using his extensive network of contacts across the country. The Secret Service tracked his train trips to Chicago and other cities. He even flew to New Orleans, where he was escorted by Italian accomplices to a small café.

He had most likely gone there to persuade local Mafia bosses to distribute his counterfeit bills, promising they would make a fortune in return. All he needed now was a printer. His agents were tasked with identifying a young Italian migrant with the required skills. That’s when the gang began taking interest in a Calabrian named Antonio Comito. Recently arrived in New York, Comito was involved in mutual aid societies such as The Sons of Italy and The Order of Foresters (previously mentioned). During one of these meetings, he was approached by a Sicilian known only as “Don Pasquale.” This mysterious figure seemed well aware of Comito’s situation and told him he had a friend who owned a print shop in Philadelphia. Comito was immediately intrigued, and “Don Pasquale” arranged a meeting.

On November 6, 1908, someone knocked at Antonio Comito’s door. It was Don Pasquale, accompanied by the owner of a Philadelphia print shop named Antonio Cecala—who, in reality, was one of Morello’s lieutenants. For a long time, Cecala was thought to have been born in Corleone, but he actually came from Baucina and was born in April 1873. He emigrated in 1889 with his father Salvatore and his uncle Felice, the latter returning in 1901 and listing Baucina as his residence.

Cecala told Comito he was ready to hire him to run his print shop and that he had a place where Comito and his partner Caterina could live free of charge. It seemed like a golden opportunity, and Comito agreed.

Soon after, Cecala introduced Comito to several men. The first was Salvatore “Don Turi” Cina, whom he described as his godfather and an extremely wealthy man. Cina was born in May 1874 in Bivona (Province of Agrigento) and emigrated to the United States in 1892 after being accused of murdering a teacher in his hometown. He also confessed to having been an associate of the brigand Varsalona, who held sway over Cammarata, Girgenti, Bivona, and Caltanissetta.

Cina and Cecala went to Comito’s home to help him label his luggage for the trip to Philadelphia. However, upon closer inspection, the label read: “A. Cina, Highland, New York.” Cecala quickly explained that they were actually going to travel by boat, as it was cheaper, and that they would reach Philadelphia by carriage from there.


Antonio Cecala (wearing a bowler hat) with Antonio Comito and Catherina





The boat brought the couple and the shady men to Highland on a freezing night. Cecala told the Comitos they would be staying with Vincenzo Giglio, whom he described as another of his “godfathers.” Salvatore Cina had married Rosalia Giglio on Christmas Eve 1900 in Tampa. The Giglio family came from Santo Stefano Quisquina, but Vincenzo was reportedly born on December 29, 1878, in Bivona. Vincenzo also married Salvatore Cina’s sister, whose name was Giuseppa, on October 14, 1907, in Highland. Her first husband, Pietro Cina, who was also her cousin, had died in 1902 in Tampa.

Giglio picked the men up at the Highland dock with a carriage and loaded the furniture. The group went to an isolated house in the woods, owned by the Cina-Giglio family. Their families were already living there, and Comito was welcomed by the women with a warm dinner. Conversations during meals often revolved around thefts and murders, leaving no doubt about the dangerous nature of these men. In the following days, Comito’s furniture was moved into an old stone house, also isolated, by Antonino “Peppino” Cina, Salvatore’s brother, who lived with them.


Rosalia Giglio and Salvatore Cina, 1900 Tampa



This was the infamous printing press. Comito was eventually locked up and forced to print counterfeit bills for the gang. During his captivity, he encountered several mafiosi, including Nick Sylvester, who was very close to Nick Terranova, Morello’s half-brother. The guard watching over the property was a man known as “Uncle Vincent,” who admitted he had never worked a day in his life but had lived off extortion: “If I ever met the man who invented work, I’d kill him.” He claimed to have been a cattle breeder in his hometown and had cold-bloodedly murdered two farmers to steal their animals. Vincent lived by theft and blackmail across the world, including in Japan and England, before settling in New York. He owned a bank on Elizabeth Street, which went bankrupt in early 1909. I haven’t been able to find more information about it, except that a bank and a barbershop burned down during that same period—likely an insurance scam.

Although Comito was a printer, he didn’t know how to mix the ink colors required to produce high-quality fake bills. So the gang brought in a Neapolitan expert forger named Giuseppe Calicchio, who had forged banknotes for Neapolitan aristocrats in the late 19th century. Calicchio had already partnered with the gang shortly after his arrival in 1906, though that first operation apparently went wrong. He joined Comito in Highland and produced excellent results, so much so that Comito fell out of favor and was regularly insulted and threatened by the Cina-Giglio group. He made several trips back to New York in an attempt to cut ties with the gang, but he was always tracked down and psychologically coerced into returning to Highland to finish the job.

In June 1909, the counterfeiting operation was suspended, and Comito was finally able to return to a somewhat normal life, working for an honest printer. In August, newspapers reported a wave of counterfeit bills circulating in New York. Comito immediately recognized them as his own and decided to write a letter to Salvatore Cina, claiming he had left for Italy to visit relatives. In truth, he was still in New York and wanted nothing more to do with the gang.

On November 15, 1909, numerous members of the Morello gang were arrested for counterfeiting. Among the key names were:

  • Giuseppe Morello (from Corleone)

  • Antonio Cecala (from Baucina)

  • Domenico Milone (from Corleone)

  • Giuseppe Boscarino (possibly from Corleone)

  • Leoluca and Pasquale Vasi (brothers from Corleone)

  • Stefano and Giacomo Lasala (brothers from Corleone)

  • Nicholas Terranova (from Corleone, Morello’s half-brother)


Fearing retaliation, Comito went into hiding with a family on Dominick Street. But after a month, he was found by Secret Service agents. He was taken to William Flynn’s office, where he confessed everything, claiming he had been kidnapped and forced to print counterfeit money.

In the following days, more key members of the gang were arrested, and on January 26, the trials began. Comito bravely testified against the criminals, and the following members were sentenced to heavy prison terms:

  • Giuseppe Morello: 25 years in prison and a $1,000 fine

  • Ignazio Lupo: 30 years in prison and hard labor

  • Giuseppe Calicchio: 17 years in prison and a $1,000 fine

  • Nicholas Sylvester: 15 years in prison and a $1,000 fine

  • Salvatore Cina: 15 years in prison and a $1,000 fine

  • Vincenzo Giglio: 15 years in prison and a $1,000 fine

  • Giuseppe Palermo: 18 years in prison and a $1,000 fine

  • Antonio Cecala: 15 years in prison and a $1,000 fine


Salvatore Cina, Ignazio Lupo and Antonio Cecala


The sentences were colossal, but none of the prisoners served them in full—starting with Sylvester, who was pardoned by the President in October 1913, despite a five-year prison sentence. The second prisoner to see his term cut short was Vincenzo Giglio, though not for the same reasons. During the May 5, 1914 meal, Giglio suffered a heart attack in the prison dining hall and died on the spot.

Following this tragic event, Giuseppe Palermo claimed to be in poor health and asserted that he only had a few years left to live—years he wished to spend with his family. He wrote to the President at the end of June 1914 and pleaded for clemency: “If there is no hope of freedom for me, I gladly await another paralytic attack to put an end to my suffering.” He was released on parole in February 1916 due to his health condition.

Giuseppe Boscarino wasn’t so lucky. He was the oldest of the convicted men and died in 1919 as a result of illness. Antonio Cecala was paroled in February 1915, and both Morello and Lupo were released during the year 1920.




The Detective’s One-Way Journey :

On February 9, 1909, Detective Joseph Petrosino left New York in a foul mood. He said goodbye to his closest colleagues, including Sergeant Vachris, and headed to the docks bound for Italy. The mission would later be revealed in the newspapers as an investigation into the Sicilian Mafia—but in reality, it wasn’t quite that. Police Commissioner Bingham had tasked Petrosino with building an espionage network in collaboration with the Italian authorities, working in direct association with American law enforcement. It was therefore not advisable to publicly reveal that the U.S. intended to be omnipresent in Italy.

The ship he boarded was the Duca di Genova, bound for Genoa, as the name suggests. Petrosino traveled under the alias Simone Velletri. His luggage consisted of two suitcases, official letters addressed to the Italian Minister of the Interior, and a notebook listing the names of several mafiosi (Giuseppe Morello, Giuseppe Fontana, Ignazio Lupo…). His goal was to obtain their criminal records in order to expedite their deportation from the United States.


lieutenant Giuseppe Petrosino


Petrosino arrived on the morning of February 22. He asked the ship’s captain about the best local hotels and quietly continued his journey through the land of the Mafia. Well… not quite, because 24 hours earlier, New York Police Commissioner Theodore Bingham had publicly stated that Petrosino had left for Sicily to investigate the Mafia. His cover was blown. It’s likely Bingham revealed this information to gain political visibility during the presidential campaign season. Antonio Comito later recalled that after reading the article, Ignazio Lupo arrived in Highland to inform everyone that Petrosino was in Sicily and that he would likely be killed. That said, Mafiosi of such stature hardly needed a newspaper article to find out that Petrosino had landed in Sicily.

When he arrived in the Italian capital, Petrosino had the unsettling feeling that he was being followed by a man he claimed to have seen before. This individual sent a telegram to Sicily addressed to someone named “Noto,” the surname of the Mafia boss from the Olivuzza district in Palermo. Some sources suggest the man was the Camorrista Gaetano Donadio, a figure closely connected to the Sicilian cosca.

While walking through the streets of Rome, Petrosino was recognized on Via Sistina by Camillo Cianfarra, editor-in-chief of L’Araldo in New York (an Italian-language newspaper affiliated with the New York Herald). Cianfarra called out Petrosino’s name and asked him to visit Rome. The detective was immediately angered and demanded that his presence remain confidential. This incident demonstrated how well-known Petrosino’s face was among Italians from New York and how Bingham’s disclosure had jeopardized his undercover mission.

On February 25, Petrosino met with Francesco Leonardi, head of the Italian police, and explained the purpose of his visit. Leonardi wrote a letter on Petrosino’s behalf, instructing police officers throughout the country to assist him in his fight against organized crime.


Francesco Leonardi, Chief of Police




Joseph Petrosino eventually learned, through his brother Vincenzo, that New York newspapers had revealed he was on a secret mission in Italy, which made the detective furious. Still, he decided to go through with his plans and arrived in Palermo on February 28. He rode by carriage past Piazza Marina and noticed a row of election posters for Raffaele Palizzolo, “the friend of the people.” Petrosino checked into the Hôtel de France under a false name. He then went to the courthouse to examine the criminal records of several individuals on his list.

In truth, Petrosino was nervous and irritable at the slightest provocation. In numerous letters sent to his wife, he expressed how much he hated Italy and how little trust he had in the Sicilian police, after learning things that would, in his words, “make your hair stand on end.” Petrosino stayed in Sicily and visited the questore (chief of police) of Palermo, Baldassare Ceola, to build a close collaboration with the local police. However, the detective clearly didn’t trust him, as he believed the local justice system was too lenient and handed out passports to criminals far too easily.

During his various trips around Palermo, he was recognized by several notorious criminals, in part because he had no fear of walking through the most dangerous neighborhoods of the Sicilian capital. Moreover, some mafiosi he had arrested in the United States were now in Sicily and wanted revenge, in particular, the pimp Paolo "Paliddu" Palazzotto. 

Petrosino had arrested Palazzotto in New York and had him extradited for sex trafficking, a sadly common practice at the time, especially among Neapolitans. Young women in Italy were promised a charming husband waiting to marry them in America. Once they arrived, they were instead greeted by criminals who forced them into prostitution. Palazzotto was one of these men. In Palermo, he was often seen with another well-known pimp, Ernesto Militano, infamous for making the rounds of the city’s brothels.


Forced Prostitution by the Camorra





Another individual who returned to Sicily around the same time was Carlo Costantino, who settled in his hometown of Partinico. He was born around 1875 to Antonio Costantino and Domenica Cusimano. One of his mother’s sisters married Benedetto Grippi, who was the father of the mafioso Salvatore Grippi. Later on, he married the sister of Brooklyn boss Nicolo Schiro. Costantino migrated to the United States in the early 20th century and listed the address of his cousin Salvatore Grippi. Authorities noted that he used the alias LoBaido, notably in a telegram sent to Morello and in various businesses in New York. A photo was even found in Costantino’s pocket with the storefront marked LoBaido/Fontana. 

An interesting point is that LoBaido was also the surname of two individuals arrested in the Barrel Murder case, including a certain Lorenzo. According to newspapers, Lorenzo was approximately 48 years old in 1903, and I found a baptism record that might correspond to him in Partinico from January 1857, though no immigration record has been found to confirm his arrival in New York (as is the case with many members of the Morello group).

Carlo Costantino was present at the welcoming dinner for Vito Cascio Ferro. Among the other members in attendance were:

  • Giuseppe Morello: Capo Dei Capi

  • Giocchino DiMartino: Born in 1869 and originally from San Cipirello, he made numerous trips back and forth to Sicily. During his travels, he identified Brooklyn boss Nicolo Schiro and Giovanni Pecoraro as close contacts, referring to Pecoraro as his "cousin" in 1923. Pecoraro had indeed lived in San Cipirello and had even been arrested there; the two likely knew each other from their hometown. DiMartino was also connected by marriage to the Sunseri family from Trabia.

  • Francesco Megna: Born in 1874 and originally from Tommaso Natale. He was related to the Scalisi-Virzi-Riccobono families of Sferracavallo and migrated to New York in 1899. He undoubtedly became involved with the local Mafia and was an important point of contact for boss Vincent Mangano. He later moved to Long Island, gradually distancing himself from organized crime. A man named Francesco Megna was known as the Mafia boss of the Pallavicino district (Palermo) during the 1920s—likely a cousin, since our Megna remained in the U.S. until his death in 1952.

  • Giuseppe Fontana: A namesake of the infamous mafioso from Villabate, though I was unable to identify his exact identity due to the high number of Fontanas in New York.

  • Salvatore Brancaccio: The man who sent the invitation letter to Cascio Ferro, signing off as “Your devoted.” Brancaccio is not typically a Sicilian name but rather Neapolitan. Some have identified him as a Neapolitan living on Navy Street, which is historically known as a Camorra stronghold. This raises the theory that he may have been representing Camorrist interests at the welcoming event for Cascio Ferro.


Carlo Costantino and Francesco Megna




Extremely dangerous individuals, who held a personal grudge against Petrosino, were therefore present. Costantino had already paid the bail for his friend Girolamo Asaro to secure his release after being arrested by the lieutenant. The Asaro family is a historic Mafia clan from Castellammare del Golfo, closely tied to the Brooklyn Mafia, just like Costantino.

Petrosino continued his investigation in Palermo in a surprisingly relaxed manner, despite the constant danger surrounding him. On the evening of Friday, March 12, 1909, Petrosino was dining at the "L’Oreto" restaurant, near Piazza Marina in Palermo. He was finishing his dessert when two men entered and spoke with him briefly. Petrosino signaled that he would join them shortly and quickly finished his plate. He then abruptly left the restaurant and walked along the fence of the Garibaldi Garden, likely to meet the two men at a rendezvous point.

Shortly after his departure, four gunshots rang out. People nearby began to flee. Only a sailor from a docked ship had the courage to investigate, and he found the body of a stocky man, with his bowler hat rolling down the street. The sailor called the ship’s doctor to assess the cause of death. According to him, the man had been shot at close range by individuals facing him, while he was leaning against the fence.

During the inspection of the body, the gas-powered streetlights mysteriously went out, prompting speculation that it was intentional in order to hinder identification. Investigating judge Cosentino eventually arrived with police officers and identified the victim as Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino. That night, several suspected mafiosi were arrested in Palermo, including Paolo Palazzotto, who had previously made threats against Petrosino.

The police learned more about him: he had emigrated to New York aboard the San Giovanni in 1906 and was expelled on July 31, 1908. His brothers Domenico and Michele were also notorious criminals in the city. Michele Palazzotto was murdered in October 1918 under mysterious circumstances in Brooklyn. Newspapers never followed up on the case, I only discovered the murder through his death certificate. The Palazzotto family appeared to be originally from Santa Ninfa, as that’s where their grandfather had married. 


Paolo "Paliddu" Palazzotto and Joe Petrosino



This was followed by the manhunt for Carlo Costantino and Antonio Passananti, who had been seen on a bench in the Garibaldi Garden that same day by a resident of Partinico. They were supposed to still be in the United States but had traveled under false names. However, the authorities in Partinico were aware of their return, as a detailed report had been written upon their arrival. That document mentioned that Costantino had sent a telegram to Giuseppe Morello. It also stated that Vito Cascio Ferro had visited Partinico to check on them, and that they later went to Bisacquino, to Ferro's home, which was located on the main square.

Costantino was arrested at his home the day after the murder but was unable to provide a coherent explanation. As for Passananti, he had vanished. Within 48 hours, several other suspects were arrested by Baldassare Ceola. Here are the main ones, all of whom had spent time in the United States :


  • Pasquale Enea, identified as a capo di cosca (mafia clan leader) in Palermo. For a long time, I believed he had settled in Milwaukee, as there was an Enea married to a DiCarlo there, and rumors claimed that Pasquale Enea (the clan leader) was the uncle of Giuseppe DiCarlo (Buffalo).

  • Salvatore Seminara, born in 1869, originally from Palermo and related by marriage to Pasquale Enea. He migrated to New York in 1905 to join his brother-in-law Antonio Enea at 66 Oliver Street. He was expelled from the United States in 1908 by Petrosino, whom he later saw drinking in Palermo.

  • Giuseppe Battista Ruisi, born in 1869 and originally from the Resuttana district of Palermo. Upon his arrival in New York in February 1906, he gave 66 Oliver Street as his address — the location of Pasquale Enea's grocery store, where mafia meetings were frequently held.




Ceola’s investigation :

Baldassare Ceola received hundreds of letters from Italians living in New York just after the detective's murder.
Some were likely informants of Petrosino, as two particular letters caught Ceola’s attention for describing powerful mafiosi possibly involved. Below are excerpts from these two letters:


Letter No. 1:
"I just wanted to tell you that the organizers of this murder were Giuseppe Morello, head of the Black Hand, Giuseppe Fontana, the murderer of Marquis Notarbartolo, Ignazio Milone, Pietro Inzerillo, owner of the ‘Etoile d’Italia,’ a seedy bar. And the two Terranova brothers — all very dangerous. They entrusted the task to their associate Vito Cascio Ferro from Bisacquino, whose photo Petrosino always carried with him."

Letter No. 2:
"Be aware that a certain Paolo Orlannu (Orlando) was a sworn enemy of Petrosino. He is the mafia boss of Brooklyn, and used to be the head of the mafia in Tunis. They expelled him from there, and he came to Brooklyn. His house is on 32 Hopkins Street. He had Petrosino killed by two men from Partinico who disappeared from Brooklyn because they went bankrupt and took a lot of money. If you don’t believe me, call Tunis and you’ll see it’s true. As for the two men from Partinico, their names are Antonio Passananti and Carlo Costantino, Savannah 593 Flusking Avenue."


These pieces of information gave us new insight into Petrosino’s enemies in New York, especially Brooklyn boss Paolo Orlando. He was born in 1864 in Camporeale. I noticed that one of the paternal uncles of Nick Licata was married to a Vita Pisciotta, who later remarried a certain Luigi Orlando, also from Camporeale. Paolo Orlando settled in Tunis, where his son Lawrence was born in January 1896. According to the letter, he was known as the godfather of the city.

Tunis had a large network of Sicilian migrants tied to the mafia. Vito Cascio Ferro stayed there for several months during the summer of 1894 after being pursued for assaulting a villa in Entinella. Ferro established a smuggling network between Sciacca and Tunis, taking advantage of the frequent ship traffic. Giuseppe Fontana also made regular trips for lemon smuggling. Even the son of Emanuele Notarbartolo had to travel to Tunis to question a priest about Fontana. Orlando migrated to the United States in 1898 and took leadership of the Brooklyn mafia. Interestingly, his move seems to have been rushed, as his wife Elisabetta was pregnant at the time with Anthony, who was born in Tunis in 1899, without his father's presence… .

Ceola continued his investigation and finally arrested Vito Cascio Ferro in Bisacquino on April 3rd as he stepped off a train. The godfather said, "I didn’t know I was wanted, otherwise I would have come willingly." He claimed that he had been living for some time in Burgio, at the home of the honorable Domenico De Michele Ferrantelli. However, he admitted that he spent the rest of the year living with his wife,who was partially paralyzed and that he also had a mistress and an illegitimate son in town.

His house, located near the main square of Bisacquino, was searched by the police, who discovered numerous letters and postcards. Among them was a photograph featuring several individuals, including Vito Cascio Ferro, Giuseppe Morello and his wife, Giuseppe Fontana, Giuseppe Zito, and Carlo Costantino.


Cascio Ferro’s house, first door on the right.



Some interesting letters written by members of D’Aquila’s Mafia were found at his residence. One of them was written by a man named Riccobono, who I suspect to be Giovanni, the father of future consigliere Joe “Staten Island” Riccobono. Giovanni was born in 1852 to a mother named Virzi, a prominent Mafia family from Sferracavallo (a district of Palermo). He married Rosalia D’Aleo, who belonged to the same family as Tommaso D’Aleo, the boss of Acquasanta in the 1890s.

Giovanni migrated in 1899 and settled at 426 East 13th Street with his family, just a few doors down from his cousin Saverio Virzi, who lived at number 416. Saverio was described as a high-ranking Mafia member and a capo under Lupo and D’Aquila.

In May 1908, his son Cosimo Riccobono was arrested for attempting to rob a broker carrying $40,000. However, a bystander managed to subdue Cosimo until the police arrived and later testified. His brothers Domenico and Salvatore, as well as his father Giovanni, were also arrested as accomplices. During the trial, Cosimo was sentenced to 10 years in prison. This sentence drove him into a rage, and he shouted in the courtroom: “The Mafia will get you for this,” explicitly admitting his affiliation.

A few months later, Saverio Virzi was also arrested by Joe Petrosino on suspicion of bomb attacks. For several months, residents who were victims of extortion had seen their homes blown up. When police searched Virzi’s house, they found materials to make bombs and a list of targeted homes, several of which had already been destroyed.

Giovanni Riccobono was again involved in a case in May 1916. He and his son Damiano killed Officer Henry Schwartz while he was patrolling alone on First Avenue. Shortly after, a wanted notice was circulated across several states. Giovanni and his son went into hiding for months before being captured in December. The father was sentenced to life in Sing Sing prison. He was 64 at the time. His only moment of reprieve came in 1925, when he was granted special permission to spend Christmas with his family. At that point, he was the oldest inmate in the facility. Giovanni died there in 1936.


Giovanni and Damiano Riccobono



Moreover, Vito Cascio Ferro maintained ties with numerous criminals. One such individual was Vincenzo DiLeonardo, born in Bisacquino. However, Cascio Ferro appeared confident thanks to his alibi. He also claimed not to know Giuseppe Morello, “who was just one of many people he had met in New York.”

Someone less confident was Commissioner Ceola, who, knowing Sicily well, feared retaliation. While he was still searching for Antonio Passananti after three months, Ceola received a letter from Rome informing him that he had been relieved of his duties and recalled to the capital. Once there, he was officially retired with an "honorary" title. Around the same time, Commissioner Bingham in New York was also dismissed for incompetence. One councilman even declared: “From what I’ve learned, the real killer of Petrosino is you, Commissioner Bingham.”

Following Ceola’s forced retirement, the investigation into Vito Cascio Ferro and his associates gradually ended in the dropping of all charges. The suspects were all released one by one after posting bail, and the case faded into oblivion amid Italy’s growing diplomatic concerns (particularly the onset of war in Africa). Unfortunately, this is how the Petrosino affair came to an end. Toward the end of his life, Cascio Ferro reportedly admitted to being the detective’s killer, claiming that “a man like that couldn’t have been murdered by just anyone.”

However, Vito would end his days in isolation in prison after a trial in the summer of 1930. Having mistreated his first wife Brigida Giaccone, he received no visitors. According to his fellow inmates, who rarely saw him leave his cell, Ferro was described as a strange man, like a mad old man with a devilish expression.


Vito Cascio Ferro





Next article preview :

Thank you all for taking the time to read my article to the end! I hope I was able to bring some new insights, such as the men from Borgetto, the Court Corleone, and other revelations.

As for the chronological continuation of this investigation, I will now focus on the period following Morello's incarceration. I plan to shed light on several letters he wrote and received during this time. I will also delve into the territorial war between the LoMonte faction and Salvatore D'Aquila, and attempt to uncover new information about Manfredi Mineo and the structure of his organization.


Sources :


Part 1: Business Resumes

Part 2: Kidnapping at Morello’s Banker

Giuseppe Costanza’s documents:

Antonio Giaimo’s documents:

John Bozzuffi’s documents:

Arturo Salamone:

Part 3: The Corleonese Court of the Foresters of America

The Canale/Canali Brothers:

Biaggio Puccio:


Part 4: Recruitment of Young Sicilians

Salvatore Marchione:

Giuseppe Fanara:



Part 5: Raffaele Palizzolo in New York

Giuseppe Fontana:

Andrea Fendi:

Fortunato C. LoMonte:


Part 6: The Counterfeit Ring

Salvatore Cina: FamilySearch ID: G29P-61M

Vincenzo Giglio: FamilySearch ID: G29P-QQ1

Antonino Cecala:



Part 7: The Detective’s One-Way Trip

  • Books used: Joe Petrosino by Arrigo Petacco and I Padrini

Paolo "Paliddu" Palazzotto:

Carlo Costantino:

Giocchino DiMartino:

Francesco Megna:

Salvatore Seminara:

Giuseppe Ruisi:



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Written by Thibaut Maïquès, also known as Harry Horowitz on certain social media platforms.

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