Friday, October 11, 2013

October 2013 Issue of Informer

October 2013 Contents
Editorial

The name “Giuseppe Ruffino” occurs often in the history of the Mafia criminal society. Giuseppe Ruffinos have been associated with Mafia operations on both sides of the Atlantic. A number have received a good deal of press ink and interest from historians. In this issue, organized crime historian Joshua Henze takes a close look at one Giuseppe Ruffino who has been largely neglected.

Though involved in a high-profile federal case in the early years of the Twentieth Century, this Ruffino has been virtually forgotten. The reason is unclear. Perhaps he was merely overshadowed by the other underworld figures in the United States and Italy who shared his name. Perhaps he was brushed aside because his primary illicit enterprise was offensive, awkward to write about or at odds with the legendary “rules” of Mafioso conduct. This Giuseppe Ruffino procured young Italian women for American houses of prostitution. (Preview)

Also in this issue of Informer:

- Author Christian Cipollini provides an excerpt from his recently published book Diary of a Motor City Hit Man. (Preview).

- Bill Feather dedicates his latest Mafia Membership Chart to the early Sicilian-Italian underworld of southern California (Preview).

- Columnist Richard N. Warner discusses various organized crime figures who have “found” religion (Preview).

- A recently released biography of Joseph DiCarlo revises the history of the Magaddino Crime Family of western New York (Preview).

- Thomas Hunt reviews Diary of a Motor City Hit Man by Christian Cipollini and discusses its relationship to organized crime history (Preview).

Sixty-eight pages including cover.

Preview/purchase electronic and print editions through MagCloud.
Preview/purchase electronic edition through Scribd.

Ruffino and the White Slave Trade

October 2013 Contents
Feature Article

Ruffino and the 'White Slave' trade
By Joshua R. Henze

"The history of the Mafia criminal society is brimming with Giuseppe Ruffinos, and each of the men mentioned above has caught the attention of gangland chroniclers. However, one Giuseppe Ruffino, has virtually escaped the notice of history. Neglected to date, Giuseppe Ruffino of San Giuseppe Jato, Sicily, is worthy of some attention. In the summer of 1908, he gained sensational headlines as an elusive “Black Hand” leader who evaded law enforcement in Rochester, New York, and Chicago, was captured in Milwaukee, and was ultimately convicted in New York for white slavery..."

Thirty-three pages, including eight images and ten and a half pages of notes.

Preview/purchase electronic and print editions through MagCloud.
Preview/purchase electronic edition through Scribd.

Hit Man Chester Wheeler Campbell

October 2013 contents
Feature Article

Pandemonium in the Courtroom
By Christian Cipollini

An excerpt from Diary of a Motor City Hit Man.
"As if the Detroit-area judicial system did not already have more than its share of legal mischief, outlandish courtroom antics became the norm in the summer of 1975. Scandal, rumor and conspiracy worked their way into legal proceedings, and accusations of unsavory behavior were not directed solely toward accused criminals. The supposed “good guys” were under scrutiny for doing some not-so-good things, and the “bad guys” were being testified against by, well, basically just a bunch of other bad guys. In Michigan’s sultry summer months, various elements combined to create Pandemonium in the courtroom. Decorum surrendered to more arguments, physical altercations, threats and theatrics than could be seen in any television drama..."

Eight pages, with seven images.

Preview/purchase electronic and print editions through MagCloud.
Preview/purchase electronic edition through Scribd.

Los Angeles Mafia Chart

October 2013 contents
Mafia Membership Chart

Los Angeles Mafia Chart, 1910s-40s
By Bill Feather

Sixty-five documented and suspected members of the Southern California crime family based in Los Angeles active in the period of the 1910s through the 1940s. Chart contains information on aliases, birth, death, immigration, family connections and underworld rank.

Four pages.

Preview/purchase electronic and print editions through MagCloud.
Preview/purchase electronic edition through Scribd.

Books: Motor City Hit Man

October 2013 contents
Column

Just One More Thing
By Thomas Hunt
Review: Diary of a Motor City Hit Man

"In Diary of a Motor City Hit Man, author Christian Cipollini expertly crafts the intriguing story of Chester Wheeler Campbell's life and criminal career. Campbell was a freelance killer, who worked for various narcotics outfits in the Midwest and was for a time considered the most-feared man in Detroit. The narrative springs from a detailed description of a single, random event, the 1975 near-collision of Campbell's rented Oldsmobile with a Keego Harbor, Michigan, patrol car..."

Six and a half pages.

Preview/purchase electronic and print editions through MagCloud. Preview/purchase electronic edition through Scribd.

Books: 'DiCarlo' revises Buffalo mob history

October 2013 contents
Books

DiCarlo biography revises
Buffalo underworld history

"The crime family of western New York was not at all a Magaddino-monolith as it is often portrayed. The Buffalo branch of that organization predated notorious Mafia boss Stefano Magaddino’s arrival in the region by decades, frequently resisted his control and eventually threw off his leader-ship to briefly restore the older DiCarlo-Pieri underworld dynasty, according to a coauthor of DiCarlo: Buffalo’s First Family of Crime..."

Four pages.

Preview/purchase electronic and print editions through MagCloud.
Preview/purchase electronic edition through Scribd.

The Warner Files: Religion and Mafia, Part 2

October 2013 Contents
Column

The Warner Files
Religion and the Mafia, Part 2
By Richard N. Warner

"In this issue we look at the personal side of religion and the Mafia. Most readers of the Cosa Nostra, except for those who live under rocks, have heard of Michael Franzese. He is the son of Colombo crime family underboss John “Sonny” Franzese, a former caporegime, and was one of the Mafia’s biggest earners thanks to a scheme to cheat the United States government of gaso-line taxes by using dummy corporations..."

Three and a half pages.

Preview/purchase electronic and print editions through MagCloud. Preview/purchase electronic edition through Scribd.

SITE INDEX

100 Years Ago (2) 1891 (1) 1909 (3) 1928 (3) 1929 (2) 1931 (2) 1932 (1) 1937 (1) 1957 (2) 1964 (1) 2008 (1) 2009 (1) 2009 April issue (1) 2009 January issue (1) 2009 July issue (1) 2009 October issue (2) 2010 January issue (1) 2011 April issue (9) 2011 January issue (7) 2011 July issue (10) 2011 October issue (10) 2012 April issue (9) 2012 January issue (10) 2012 July issue (9) 2012 October Issue (6) 2013 April issue (10) 2013 July issue (8) 2013 October issue (8) 2014 January Issue (7) 2014 May Issue (4) 2014 November issue (8) 2015 June issue (16) 2015 October issue (9) 2016 October Issue (8) 2016 September issue (1) 2017 August issue (11) 2018 November issue (10) 2019 August Issue (22) 2020 October issue (36) 2021 October issue (18) 2022 November issue (30) 2023 October issue (21) 2024 November Issue (1) a look back (9) Accardo (3) ad rates (2) Address Book (1) Addresses (1) adobe (1) advertisers (12) advertising (4) agnello (2) Aiuppa (1) Al Capone and His American Boys (1) Albany (2) aleman (1) alfano (1) Allen (1) alo (1) Altamura (1) Amazon (8) Analysis (1) anarchists (4) anastasia (6) anastasio (2) andolino (1) Angelo Carbone (1) Angelo DiCarlo (1) Angersola (1) angiulo (3) Anna Antonio (2) apalachin (5) apparel (1) April (1) ardizzone (3) ardonia (1) Arrigo (1) articles (32) artis (3) Asbury (4) ask the informer (7) Assassination (1) atlanta federal prison (3) atlantic city (2) audiobook (4) authors (4) avena (1) Baby Face Nelson (2) Back issues (1) Bad Seeds in the Big Apple (1) Baff (2) balsamo (1) Banana War (1) bandits roost (1) bangor maine (2) bank robber (1) bank robbery (2) barbara (1) Barber brothers (2) Barre (2) barrel murder (4) Barricade (1) batista (2) bazzano (5) beck (1) Behind the Murder Curtain (1) Benevento (1) Benld (1) berrien county (2) bettini (1) bilek (3) Bill the Butcher (2) bingham (1) binion (1) Biographies (2) Biography (1) Biondillo (1) Biondo (1) Birmingham (1) Black (1) black hand (6) blade (1) Blasi (2) blog (1) Blurb (2) Bo Weinberg (1) boardwalk empire (1) Bobby Doyle (1) Boccia (3) bolton (1) bombtown (1) Bommarito (1) bonanno (19) Bonomo (2) Book (1) books (55) books. (1) Bootlegging (2) Boss of Bosses (6) boston (9) brady gang (2) Brod (1) Brogno (1) brooklyn (11) brouillette (1) Bruce Sackman (1) bruno (1) buccellato (2) buccola (2) buchalter (3) bufalino (3) buffalo (13) Bugsy Siegel (1) bulger (3) Bureau of Investigation (1) burke (2) bushwick (2) buster from chicago (2) Butch Cassidy (1) Butsey (1) C. Joseph Greaves (1) Cain (1) calabrese (4) calabria (7) Calamia (1) calendar (1) calicchio (1) california (7) Cammarata (1) campagna (1) Campbell (3) campisi (1) canada (4) Capital Punishment (2) Capitano (1) capodecina (1) capone (14) Car-bombs (1) caracappa (1) carbondale (2) carbone (2) carfano (1) Carlino (5) Carlisi (1) carneglia (3) Carollo (1) Carressi (1) Carroll (2) Cascio (2) Cascio Ferro (1) cascioferro (1) casinos (2) Castellammare del Golfo (5) castellammarese war (18) castro (2) Catanzaro (1) Cavallaro (1) cecala (1) Cheese (1) Cheese War (1) chepesiuk (3) chiappetta (2) chicago (27) chicago heights (3) Chicago Outfit (1) Chilanti (1) chinatown (1) Christian Cipollini (2) CIA (1) Ciaramello (1) cina (1) cipolla (1) Cipollini (5) circulation (12) civello (2) Clark (1) classified ads (1) cleveland (14) Cocchiara (1) cocozza (1) cohen (5) Cokey Flo (1) colacurcio (1) Coll (1) colombo (10) Colorado (6) colosimo (2) coluccio (1) columnist (1) columns (44) comito (2) communism (1) congress (1) connecticut (6) connolly (1) Conti (2) contributors (3) Corallo (1) corleone (9) coronavirus (1) corozzo (2) costantino (1) costello (4) counterfeiting (10) COVID-19 (1) crescent city lynchings (1) Crime History (1) crimetown (1) critchley (19) Crooked Brooklyn (1) cuba (6) Cuccia (1) Culotta (1) cumberland house (1) cuntrera (1) Customs (1) Cutrone (1) d'alessandro (1) d'andrea (2) d'aquila (4) d'elia (1) dallas (6) danbury (6) dane (1) danny greene (1) Dara (1) Dark History and Horror Convention (1) dash (4) David Critchley (1) Daytona Beach (1) dead guys in suits (5) dead rabbits (1) deadlines (9) deaths (5) decavalcante (1) deep water (7) Deirdre Marie Capone (2) deitche (4) DeJohn (1) delancey street (1) deleo (1) DelGaudio (1) delivery (2) DeLosa (1) deluna (1) DeMarco (1) DeNiro (1) Denver (2) depalma (1) desimone (2) Detroit (11) devecchio (2) dewey (1) DiCarlo (8) dicola (1) DiDato (1) DiFranchi (1) DiFronzo (1) Digest Format (1) digiorgio (2) digiovanni (1) Dillinger (4) DiLucia (1) dinunzio (3) dioguardi (1) DiPalma (1) discount (5) dispenza (2) display ads (43) distribution (15) Ditte (1) Dixie Davis (1) dmoz (1) Dock Boss (3) Dom DeLuise (1) domingo (1) downey (15) download (1) Doyle (1) dragna (4) drugs (1) dugard (4) Dunn (1) Dusseldorf (1) Dutch Schultz (1) Dutchess County (2) E-book (7) East Harlem (1) eastern state (2) ebook (1) Eddie McGrath (1) Editorial (5) Edmond Valin (3) Electric Chair (2) electronic edition (12) Elia Corti (2) Ellen Poulsen (1) Emmino (3) Engel (1) eppolito (1) EPUB (3) Erra (1) Esperia Film (1) Esperti (1) esposito (4) Ethics (1) evola (1) facebook (2) Falcone (1) family secrets (2) Farah (1) Faranzano (1) Father Cerruti (1) fbi (25) FBN (3) feather (30) features (9) federal bureau of narcotics (1) federal hill (2) ferrara (1) Filasto (1) five points (1) florida (5) Florino (1) Floyd (2) flynn (4) Fond du Lac (2) fontana (1) foxit (1) frank lanza (1) Frank Romeo (1) Frank Zito (1) frankie rio (1) Fratuzzi (2) free (1) Freemasonry (1) Fusco (1) Galleani (2) gambino (7) gambliing (1) gambling (4) gangster (1) Gangster City (1) Gangsters (1) gangsters incorporated (3) gangsters of miami (1) gatto (1) Genealogy (4) genna (1) genovese (12) gentile (31) George Morton Levy (1) Geraci (1) Germany (1) Ghost (1) Giancana (1) Giannola (1) gift (1) giunta (1) Giuseppe Morello (1) Gizzeria (1) Google Play Books (2) Gorilla Convict Publications (1) Gosch (2) gotti (7) Government (1) grand street (1) Grande Cheese (1) Greaves (3) greene (1) Guardalabene (2) gustin (1) H.K. Petschel (1) H.L. Mencken (1) Haggerty (1) hamer (1) Hamilton (1) Hammer (2) hardcover (1) harmon (8) Haseltine (1) Hatrack (1) havana (2) hawkins (1) hayde (1) helmer (5) hennessy (2) Henry Hill (2) henze (4) Hillsville (1) Hillsville PA (3) hoffa (2) holiday (2) Hollywood (1) hoover (10) hortis (3) hotel statler (3) Houk (1) houston (1) howard prison (1) hudson (1) humble (1) hunt (38) iaconi (1) Ignazio Lupo (1) Illinois (2) Impastato (1) in the news (8) index (4) Informant (2) Informants (7) informer (8) innocenti (1) interview (3) introduction (2) ipad (1) Issues to date (2) italian squad (1) Italy (1) Jacob Stoops (1) James Howell (1) Jeffery S. King (6) Jerry Schmetterer (1) Joe the Boss (3) john mcgurk (1) johnny spanish (1) Jones (2) Joseph Petrosino (2) Jungle Inn (1) Just One More Thing (9) Justin Cascio (2) kansas city (5) kaplan (1) karpis (1) KDP (1) Keeler (1) kefauver (2) kennedy (8) Kill-Crazy Gang (1) Kindle (8) King (1) knockbacks (4) knokaround (4) kovacic (1) Krist (1) la cosa nostra (7) Labor Racketeering (1) labriola (1) LaGaipa (1) lansky (3) lanza (3) larocca (2) las vegas (4) LaSala (1) LaTempa (1) latorre (2) law enforcement (1) Leggio (1) Legs Diamond (6) Lennert Van`t Riet (1) leo (1) LePore (1) letters (1) Levy (2) Licavoli (1) limone (1) lindbergh (1) lockwood (2) lolordo (1) lombardo (2) Lombardozzi (2) lonardo (2) Lopresto (2) los angeles (11) louisiana (5) Lower East Side (6) Lucania (9) lucchese (5) luciano (23) Lucky Luciano: Mysterious Tales of a Gangland Legend (4) lucky luciano: the real and the fake gangster (1) lupo (7) Lynching (1) lyon (1) macheca (4) madonia (1) mafia (61) mafia denials (2) mafia monograph (1) mafia son (1) Mafia Summit (1) Mafia: Inside the Dark Heart (1) Mafia's demise (2) Mafiahistory.us (1) mafiosi (1) magaddino (11) Magazine (1) magcloud (15) magliocco (1) Mahoning Valley (2) Maisano (1) Mallamo (1) mangano (4) manhattan (1) manocchio (1) maranzano (27) marcello (4) Marion OH (1) marlow (1) masseria (10) massullo (1) Matranga (2) mattix (6) mcclellan (4) McGrath (2) McKeever (4) McNeiley (2) membership chart (24) Memorandum Book (1) men of montedoro (2) messina (4) meyer lansky (1) Miami (2) Michael R. McGowan (1) Michael Vecchione (1) michigan (1) milano (1) Milwaukee (7) Minore (1) Minutolo (2) Miracle of Brooklyn (1) Miranda (1) Miriam Davis (1) Missouri (1) mistretta (1) Mob Corner (1) mob tours (1) mock duck (1) Monaco (1) monk eastman (1) montagna (1) montreal (3) moran (4) morelli (3) morello (15) moretti (2) morgenthau (1) morici (1) Movies (1) mr. new orleans (4) mulberry bend (1) murder (6) Murder Incorporated (2) murdered brothers (2) murders (2) murdertown (1) museum of the american gangster (1) Musolino (1) Mussolini (1) Naples (2) Narcotics (2) nardi (1) Naturalization (1) Neil G. Clark (1) Nelson (1) New Castle PA (4) new england (12) new jersey (4) new orleans (8) new york (43) New York City (6) newark (4) Niagara Falls (2) nicolo schiro (1) nicolosi (2) nitti (1) northeastern Pennsylvania (4) novel (1) novels (1) nucky johnson (2) O'Connell (1) O'Connell Machine (1) O'Haire (1) o'malley (1) obituary (1) oct 2010 (8) oddo (1) office (1) ohio (3) oldfield (1) on the rock (1) on the spot (4) onewal.com (1) Ontario (2) open city (1) Organized Crime (1) Origin of Organized Crime in America (2) Oscar Goodman (2) Oswald (3) otway (1) ouseley (2) outfit (3) Palermo (4) palizzolo (2) Palmer (1) palmer raids (2) palumbo (1) Panto (1) Paperback (5) Paretti (1) Park Avenue (2) parke (1) patriarca (2) Patrick Downey (2) paul kelly (1) pdf (4) peduto (2) pennachio (1) Pennsylvania (5) pennsylvania crime commission (1) penology (1) Perri (1) persico (5) Peter Kurten (1) Petrelli (2) petrosino (7) Petschel (3) Petto (1) philadelphia (8) Photograph (3) photographs (2) Picco (1) Piccola (2) Pierce (1) Pieri (3) Pinsky (1) piranio (2) pittsburgh (12) pittston (2) pizza connection (1) Podcast (1) police (1) policy (2) Politics (1) pollaccia (2) pollina (1) porrello (4) post office (1) postal inspection service (2) Postal Inspector (2) Postal Inspectors (1) Poughkeepsie (1) poulsen (5) Prato (1) Pre-Order (3) preorder (1) Press Releases (1) Pretty Boy Floyd (3) price increase (1) Pricing (3) print edition (10) print version (11) profaci (12) Prohibition (21) prostitution (3) Protheroe (1) Provenzano (1) providence (7) Publishing (1) Pueblo (2) purchase (1) Purge (4) purpose (1) quakers (1) Queens (3) Racco (2) racism (3) racketeeers (1) Ralph Pezzullo (1) randazzo (1) rannelli (1) rastelli (1) Ray (1) Raymond Street Jail (3) readership (2) Reavill (1) Red-Nose Mike (1) Regina Pacis (3) Reina (2) Reles (2) Religion (5) restivo (1) rfk (2) rhode island (3) riccobene (1) Richard Warner (4) Richetti (1) rio (1) Rizzotto (2) rizzuto (4) robbery (1) Rochester (1) romano (3) Romeo (3) Romero (1) roosevelt (1) Rosato (1) rosenthal (1) rossetti (1) ruby (3) Ruffino (2) Russo (1) sabella (2) sacco and vanzetti (2) sack murders (1) safari (1) sai wing mock (1) salemi (1) Saltfleet Township (1) Sam Giancana (1) sammartino (1) San Francisco (5) San Giuseppe Jato (1) San Jose (2) San Pedro (1) sanfilippo (1) Santa Rosa (1) Santantonio (2) Santino (2) Santuccio (2) Sberna (1) Scaglia (2) scala (1) scalise (1) Scandifia (2) scarpa (4) Scarpato (1) schedule (2) Schmitt (1) schweihs (1) sciandra (2) scranton (3) scribd (6) seattle (1) second avenue (1) secret service (3) secret societies (1) Sewickley PA (1) shaw (2) sheldon (5) Shenango Valley (2) shillitani (2) sica (1) Sicilian Vespers (1) Siciliano (2) Sicily (8) Siegel (1) Siragusa (1) skelly (1) Smario (1) social clubs (1) Socialists (2) Society of Honor (1) society of the banana (2) sources (1) spatafora (1) Special Issue (6) spero (1) Sporting Goods (1) springfield (4) st. laurent (1) St. Louis (2) St. Petersburg (2) St. Rosalia (2) st. valentine's day massacre (3) Stamp Counterfeiting (2) stamps (1) Stephan Talty (1) stevens (2) Strange (1) Street Gangs (2) Streva (1) Strollo (2) submissions (1) subscription (3) suicide hall (1) superthief (1) sylvester (1) Syracuse (1) T-shirts (1) tampa (4) Tape Bandits (1) Taranto (2) television (1) Tenora (1) terranova (4) Terrorism (1) texas (3) The Axeman of New Orleans (1) The Black Hand (1) the case against lucky luciano (3) the first vice lord (1) The Gangs of New York (4) The History of Street Gangs (1) the mafia and the machine (1) the man (1) The Members Only Podcast (1) The Milwaukee Mafia (3) The Mob and the City (3) The Writers of Wrongs (1) Thomas Dewey (1) Thomas Hunt (3) timelime (1) timeline (4) todaro (1) Tom & Lucky and George & Cokey Flo (1) tom lee (1) tona (9) tongs (1) top 10 (1) top hoodlum program (1) tornabene (2) Toronto (2) torrio (2) trafficante (4) traina (1) Trapani (2) Travels (1) Troia (2) true crime books (10) true crime websites (6) true-crime books (2) Turner (8) twitter (2) Two Mafias (1) u.s. postage (1) uk (1) Unabomber (1) Uncle Al Capone (4) unione siciliana (1) USPS (1) VA (1) vaccarelli (1) valachi (15) valente (2) valenti (1) Valin (8) van meter (1) Van Tress (1) van`t Reit (11) Vermont (2) vice trial (2) villabate (2) Villano (1) Vita di Capomafia (3) Vitale (1) Voelker (1) vol 1 no 1 (21) vol 2 no 1 (13) vol 2 no 2 (12) vol 2 no 3 (16) vol 2 no 4 (15) vol 3 no 1 (13) vol 3 no 2 (9) vol 3 no 3 (8) Vollero (1) volpe (3) Wappingers Falls (1) warner (26) warner files (16) Warren Commission (3) Warren Ohio (1) Washington D.C. (1) Waterfront (1) Waugh (1) welcome (1) White League (1) White Slave traffic (1) white slavery (1) whyos (1) William Dara (2) Willie the Tile Maker (1) winkeler (2) Wiser Guy (1) worcester (1) world war i (1) Wrongly Executed? (1) yale (4) Yanowsky (1) Yonkers (1) young (1) young al capone (1) Youngstown (24) zagona (1) zanghi (1) zarcone (8) Zito (1)