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American Mafia Timeline
Part 5. 1934-1958

Mafiosi look to various forms of gambling and to narcotics trafficking to compensate for the loss of Prohibition Era liquor income. The American Mafia is exposed to the public as a result of the convention at Apalachin and hearings conducted by the Kefauver and McClellan committees of the United States Senate. The FBI, long skeptical of a nationwide criminal conspiracy, wholeheartedly joins the fight against organized crime.(The buttons below may be used to jump ahead to a certain era, to earlier or later timeline pages or to the main website homepage.)

Back to Part 4 1935 1940 1950 1955 Ahead to Part 6 Home
1934
Chicago, IL US
Phil D'Andrea
D'Andrea is president of Chicago's Unione Siciliana.
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1934 Jul 2
Hartford, CT US
Paul Castellano
Castellano robs a Hartford shop. Is identified and arrested for armed robbery upon his return to New York. Castellano serves just over three months of his one-year sentence before being released.
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1934 Oct
New York NY US
Fiorello LaGuardia, Frank Costello
LaGuardia takes on Costello by smashing 1,000 of Costello's slot machines. Costello had permits for the machines.
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1934 Dec
Brooklyn, NY US
Paul Castellano
Upon his release from the Hartford County Jail, Castellano is highly regarded by hometown Mafiosi.
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1935

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1935 Mar
Montgomery County, PA US
Salvatore Sabella
Sabella is arrested, convicted and imprisoned for three months for illegally distilling alcohol.
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1935
Hot Springs, AR US
Owney Madden
Madden leaves New York and settles in Hot Springs, where he establishes gambling operations and forms political attachments.
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1935 Jul 16
New York, NY US
Ignazio Lupo
Lupo is charged with extortion. He has been working to compel Italian bakers to join his "union."
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1935
New York, NY US
Arthur Flegenheimer (Dutch Schultz), Charlie Luciano
Luciano-led Commission authorizes the murder of Dutch Schultz. Schultz had been planning to assassinate New York State prosecutor Thomas Dewey.
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1935 Oct 23
Newark, NJ US
Arthur Flegenheimer
Schultz is murdered, along with his gang leadership, at Palace Chophouse in Newark, NJ.
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1935 Dec 21
New York, NY US
Fiorello LaGuardia, Ciro Terranova
LaGuardia temporarily prohibits the purchase or sale of artichokes within the city limits, arguing that Ciro Terranova and organized criminals profit from an illegal monopoly on the vegetable. He also authorizes the police to arrest Terranova as soon as he is seen crossing into Manhattan.
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1936 Jan 4
New York, NY US
Ciro Terranova
Police arrest Terranova, charging him with vagrancy, as he attempts to enter Manhattan.
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1936
New York, NY US
Charlie Luciano, Thomas Dewey
Dewey wins a conviction against Charlie Luciano, linking the crime boss with a New York prostitution syndicate. Luciano is jailed at Dannemora.
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1936
Philadelphia, PA US
John Avena, Lanzetti Brothers, Joe Bruno
The Lanzettis gun down Philly mob boss Avena at the corner of Washington and Passyunk Avenues. Joe Bruno steps to leadership of the local Mafia organization. Bruno (Joe Dovi) runs Philadelphia affairs from his headquarters in New Jersey.
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1936 Jul 15
Washington, DC US
Ignazio Lupo, Franklin Roosevelt
FDR finds that Lupo has violated the terms of his conditional release, sends him back to prison to serve the remainder of his counterfeiting sentence.
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1936 Aug
New York, NY US
Ciro Terranova
Terranova is arrested again for vagrancy as he attempts to enter Manhattan. Terranova is subjected to intense questioning and ridicule in a lineup, reportedly wilts under the pressure.
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1937
New York, NY US
Ciro Terranova
Terranova is arrested again as a vagrant. Without income, he loses his Pelham Manor home.
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1937
New Orleans, LA US
Nicola Gentile
Gentile is arrested for drug trafficking in New Orleans. Mafia higher-ups order Gentile, who has been profoundly unhappy with the disrespect shown to him since 1931, to flee to Sicily and avoid trial.
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1938
New York, NY US
Ciro Terranova
Quietly returns to live in the city.
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1938 Feb 19
New York, NY US
Ciro Terranova
Terranova is admitted to a hospital after a stroke. He dies the next day. He is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Brooklyn.
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1939
Chicago, IL US
Sam Giancana
Giancana begins a three-year prison stay.
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1939 Summer
Los Angeles, CA US
Jack Dragna, Benjamin Siegel
Government pressure forces the shutdown of Dragna's offshore gambling ships, which had been doing good business since the 1920s. Siegel, who participated in the gambling racket in L.A. and became involved in the motion picture industry, turns his attention to Las Vegas. Dragna fails to see the possibilities in the nearby desert.
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1939 Aug 24
New York, NY US
Louis Buchalter, J. Edgar Hoover, Walter Winchell
Law enforcement agencies and the public clamor for prosecution of Lepke. Through Winchell, Lepke turns himself in to Hoover to face flimsy federal charges. But, while in custody, New York City prepares capital case against the Murder, Inc., leader, which will later result in his execution.
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1939
New Orleans, LA US
Nicola Gentile
Out on bail, Gentile flees back to Sicily to escape prosecution.
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1939
Philadelphia, PA US
Willie Lanzetti
War between Philly Mafia and Lanzetti brothers results in the death of William Lanzetti. His remains were found in a burlap bag. The remaining Lanzettis flee the city.
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1939
New York, NY US
Vito Genovese
Genovese is wanted by police on murder charges. He escapes to Italy.
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1939
Chicago, IL US
Alphonse Capone
Capone is released from Alcatraz, but he is mentally incompetent, the result of a lost battle with syphillis.
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1940

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1940 Feb 2
Brooklyn, NY US
Abe Reles
"Kid Twist" Reles is arrested for a 1933 murder. His legal predicament causes him to begin feeding authorities information about Murder Inc. and the national crime Syndicate.
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1940 May 23
New York, NY US
Abe Reles, Harry Maione, Frank Abbandando
Thanks largely to Reles' information, the state wins a conviction against Harry Maione and Frank Abbandando for the May 25, 1937, killing of George Rudnick. While the conviction is overturned on appeal, a second trial results in another conviction and a death sentence for the hitmen.
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1941 Jun 12
New York, NY US
Abe Reles, Harry Strauss, Bugsy Goldstein
Strauss and Goldstein are electrocuted. The two were found guilty of murder based on Reles testimony.
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1941 Nov 12
New York, NY US
Abe Reles, Louis Buchalter, Albert Anastasia, Frank Costello
Abe "Kid Twist" Reles dies after plunge from his room window in the Half Moon Hotel. Hitman Reles was key witness in the case against Lepke Buchalter and Murder, Inc. By the time of Reles's unfortunate accident, Lepke was already on death row. Reles was about to begin testifying in state case against Anastasia. That would have brought law enforcement right into the underworld's ruling Commission. It is believed that Costello paid police officers guarding Reles to see to it that he did not testify.
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1942 Feb 19
New York, NY US
Harry Maione, Frank Abbandando
Death sentence against Maione and Abbandando is carried out.
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1942 May 12
Comstock, NY US
Charlie Luciano
Luciano is moved to Great Meadow Prison in Comstock, NY, while he provides vague assistance (the precise nature of which is unknown) to military intelligence. Luciano had been doing his time in the isolated and dreary Clinton State Prison at Dannemora. The move to Comstock permitted greater visitation by attorney Moses Polakoff and friend/business associate Meyer Lansky.
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1942
Chicago, IL US
Sam Giancana, Tony Accardo
Upon Giancana's release from prison, he becomes the top adviser and enforcer for Accardo.
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1943 Jan 25
Newark, NJ US
Gaetano Lucchese
Lucchese is naturalized a citizen of US.
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1943
Chicago, IL US
Frank Nitti, Phil D'Andrea, Paul Ricca, Tony Accardo
A federal grand jury indicts Chicago Mafia leadership for extortion relating to the show business industry. Among the accused are Frank Nitti, Phil D'Andrea, Paul Ricca and John Roselli. Nitti is believed to have committed suicide upon learning of the indictment. Accardo becomes the leader of the Chicago Family.
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1943 Oct 28
New Orleans, LA US
Carlo Matranga
Matranga dies of natural causes. He was an influential member of the Mafia in New Orleans.
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1944 Mar 4
New York, NY US
Louis Buchalter
Lepke is sent to the electric chair.
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1944
Bergen County, NJ US
Joe Adonis
Longtime Brooklyn Mafia power Adonis leaves his Brooklyn empire and moves to Bergen County, NJ.
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1944
Sicily, Italy
Calogero Vizzini
Vizzini, who survived the Mafia purges by siding with the Fascists, switches sides and embraces the invading Allies. He becomes overall Mafia head in Sicily and a political power.
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1945

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1945
New York, NY US
Charlie Luciano
Reportedly as compensation for his assistance to the Allied war effort, Luciano is freed from prison but deported to Italy.
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1945
New York, NY US
Vito Genovese, Frank Costello, Charlie Luciano
Genovese returns from Italy, faces murder trial and is acquitted. In Luciano's absence, Genovese and Costello compete for dominance in the Luciano "Family" and on the commission.
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1946 Jan
New York, NY US
Charlie Luciano, Thomas Dewey
Gov. Dewey announces that Luciano will be freed and deported, reward for his service to military intelligence during the war.
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1946 Feb 2
Ellis Island, NY, US
Charlie Luciano
In preparation for his departure, Luciano is moved from Great Meadow Prison to Ellis Island.
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1946 Feb 9
Ellis Island, NY US
Charlie Luciano
Luciano departs for Italy aboard the Laura Keene. Legend says he was treated to a large party with underworld colleagues before his departure.
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1946 Jul
Atlantic City, NJ US
A small Mafia gathering is noted by federal agents in this city.
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1946
Philadelphia, PA US
Joe Bruno, Joe Ida
Joe Ida takes control of the Philadelphia Mafia organization.
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1946
Palermo, Sicily Italy
Charlie Luciano, Calogero Vizzino
Luciano and Vizzini reportedly meet in Palermo, decide to increase cooperation between Sicily and U.S. Mafia groups. Legends say Luciano becomes a lieutenant to Vizzini.
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1946 Oct
Havana, Cuba
Charlie Luciano, Meyer Lansky
Luciano travels to Havana to meet with Lansky and other business associates.
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1946 Dec 22
Havana, Cuba
Charlie Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Benjamin Siegel
A Mafia convention is reportedly held at Havana's Hotel Nacional. At the meeting, it is believed that leaders decide to eliminate Benjamin Siegel.
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1947 Jan 25
Miami, FL US
Al Capone
Capone dies in Miami of natural causes.
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1947
Bergen County, NJ US
Albert Anastasia
Anastasia follows Adonis from Brooklyn to Bergen County, NJ, moving into a home just a short distance from Adonis's. The two begin meeting regularly, along with the Moretti brothers and Tony "Bender" Strollo at Duke's Bar & Grill in Cliffside, NJ.
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1947 May 30
New Orleans, LA US
Sam Carolla, Carlos Marcello
Carolla is deported to Sicily. New boss of New Orleans Mafia is unknown. It may be Marcello.
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1947 Jun 20
Beverly Hills, CA, US
Benjamin Siegel
After losing financial control of a mob-sponsored Flamingo hotel construction project, Siegel is assassinated under orders from the commission. He is shot through a window at the home of girlfriend Virginia Hill.
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1947 Sep 20
New York, NY US
Fiorello LaGuardia
Former mayor LaGuardia, who battled organized crime in New York City for more than a decade, dies after a battle with cancer.
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1950

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1950 May 11
Washington, DC US
Estes Kefauver
Kefauver Committee (U.S. Senate committee) hearings into organized crime's influence on interstate commerce begin. Committee will hear 600 witnesses during its first year. Kefauver will take the show on the road, conducting hearings in 14 cities.
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1950 Dec 13
Washington, DC US
Willie Moretti
Moretti testifies about organized crime to Senate investigators. Moretti's mind seems to be slipping, and Syndicate Commission is fearful of what he might accidentally reveal.
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1950
Chicago, IL US
Sam Giancana
Giancana becomes Chicago Family's gambling expert and serves as Chicago representative for dealings in Las Vegas. Giancana's power, wealth and prestige are greatly enhanced by his new position.
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1951
Palisades, NJ US
Willie Moretti
Mob discipline results in the shooting death of Moretti.
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1951
Los Angeles, CA US
Mickey Cohen Jack Dragna
Cohen, who had been a thorn in the side of Dragna (and somehow avoided being killed in Dragna's numerous attempts) since 1947, was jailed for income tax evasion.
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1951 Apr 19
Brooklyn, NY US
Philip Mangano, Vincent Mangano, Albert Anastasia
The body of Philip Mangano is found in a marsh near Jamaica Bay in Brooklyn. He had been shot three times in the head. Albert Anastasia is believed to be responsible for the assassination of Philip Mangano and the unexplained earlier disappearance of Vincent Mangano. Anastasia, Joe Adonis and Frank Costello are questioned by authorities.
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1951 May 28
Trenton, NJ US
Joe Adonis
Adonis begins a two-year jail term in New Jersey State Prison for gambling violations.
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1951 Sep 08
New York, NY US
Meyer Lansky
Lansky is indicted for running gambling operations in Saratoga Springs, NY.
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1952 May
Florida
Federal agents note a small meeting of Mafiosi in the Florida Keys.
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1952 Aug 15
New York, NY US
Frank Costello
Costello is sentenced to 18 months in prison for contempt of the U.S. Senate. Charges resulted from Costello walking out on Kefauver Committee hearings in New York.
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1953 May 02
New York, NY US
Meyer Lansky
Lansky serves three months in a New York prison after pleading guilty to five of the 21 gambling charges against him. He is also fined $2,500 and put on three years' probation.
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1953 Jul 16
Trenton, NJ US
Joe Adonis
Adonis is released from prison but still faces perjury charges.
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1953 Aug 05
Washington, DC US
Joe Adonis
Upon learning that Adonis lied about his birthplace (it wasn't Passaic, NJ) and is an Italian alien, U.S. Attorney General Herbert Brownell Jr. orders that he be deported. Order is not immediately carried out.
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1953 Oct 29
New York, NY US
Frank Costello
Costello is released from prison.
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1954 March 25
Washington, DC US
Joe Adonis
Adonis is found guilty of perjury. He faces two-year jail term as well as possible deportation. While appealing verdict, Adonis offers to voluntarily leave the U.S. in exchange for elimination of the jail term.
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1954
New York, NY US
Lacking street soldiers, the Mafia reopens its membership. With just a few exceptions, new members had not been added since 1932.
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1954
Sicily, Italy
Calogero Vizzini
Vizzini, 77, dies.
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1954
Los Angeles, CA US
Federal agents report Mafia gathering in Los Angeles suburbs.
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1954 Jul
Chicago
Federal agents report Mafia gathering just outside Chicago.
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1954 Dec 13
Mountainside, NJ US
Federal agents report Mafia meeting.
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1955

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1956 Jan 03
Washington, DC US
Joe Adonis
Federal authorities agree to let Adonis leave the country.
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1956 Feb 23
Los Angeles, CA US
Jack Dragna, Frank DeSimone
Dragna dies and is succeeded as boss by DeSimone.
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1956
Chicago, IL US
Tony Accardo, Sam Giancana
Accardo decides to retire from day-to-day operations. Giancana becomes boss of the Chicago Outfit. Accardo continues to serve in an advisory capacity, further evidence of the cooperative nature of Chicago leadership since the start of Frank Nitti reign.
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1956 Apr 05
New York, NY US
Johnny Dioguardi, Victor Riesel
Johnny Dio is believed to be behind the acid-blinding of crusading journalist Victor Riesel. Key witnesses against Dio disappear or change their stories, and charges are dropped. Riesel continues to use radio and print for attacks on organized crime.
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1956 May 14
New York, NY US
Frank Costello
Convicted on tax evasion charges, Costello enters federal prison.
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1956 May 18
New York, NY US
Mafia meeting draws 35 known criminals.
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1956
New York, NY US
Albert Anastasia, Carlo Gambino
Anastasia makes Gambino his underboss.
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1956
Italy
Joe Adonis
No longer able to convince authorities that he was born in America and facing perjury charges, Adonis agrees to be deported to Italy. Adonis's departure is a severe blow to the Mafia leadership faction headed by Frank Costello, and consisting of Costello, Adonis, Albert Anastasia.
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1956 Oct 17-18
Binghamton, NY US
Federal agents report small Mafia meeting.
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1957 Mar 11
New York, NY US
Frank Costello
Costello wins temporary release from federal prison while his appeal is being heard by the Supreme Court.
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1957
Bronx, NY US
Frank Scalise
Scalise is assassinated in a Bronx produce market. Two possible motives are considered for the hit, which appears to have been officially sanctioned: 1. Scalise had encouraged bosses to participate in a heroin smuggling venture that ended badly and expensively. 2. Scalise had been found selling Mafia memberships for many thousands of dollars apiece, bringing in unreliable individuals.
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1957 May 02
New York, NY US
Frank Costello
Costello's head is grazed by a would-be assassin's bullet. He reportedly announces that he's retiring from the rackets, leaving Luciano Family to Genovese.
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1957 Oct 25
New York, NY US
Albert Anastasia, Meyer Lansky, Carlo Gambino, Vito Genovese
Anastasia is killed in the Park Sheraton Hotel's barber shop. Gambino moves into leadership position and may have organized the hit. Genovese also had reason to act against the strong supporter of his rival for power, Frank Costello. Lansky is also believed to have had motive, as Anastasia was unhappy with Lansky's administration of the Mafia's offshore gaming houses in Cuba and Bahamas. It appears that Anastasia was negotiating his own deal with Cuba.
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1957 Nov 10
Livingston, NJ US
Mafia meeting held.
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1957 Nov 14
Apalachin, NY US
Joseph Barbara
Sixty Mafiosi from around the country are known to have attended a convention in rural Apalachin, NY, at the home of Joseph Barbara. Their presence was documented by police who collected license plate numbers at the scene and rounded up, identified and searched the conventioneers as they attempted to leave the Barbara property. More may have attended and escaped police notice by exiting through a wooded area. Some accounts say the convention was organized by Vito Genovese in order to mend fences after his takeover of the Costello organization. In the wake of Apalachin, authorities are forced to acknowledge that there is indeed a significant level of cooperation among criminal gangs across the United States.
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1957 Nov 27
Washington, DC US
J. Edgar Hoover
The FBI's immediate response to Apalachin revelations is to initiate the Top Hoodlum Program, focusing on interstate racketeers. At this time, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover looks to the Hobbs Act of the early 1940s for federal authority to combat racketeering. Additional legislation authorizing FBI action against mobsters will be passed in subsequent years.
Source:
1958 Jan 08
New York, NY US
Johnny Dioguardi
Convicted of labor extortion and conspiracy, Johnny "Dio" is sentenced to serve 15-30 years in prison. During his trial, Dio was described as a good friend of Teamster leader James Hoffa. Dio would spend much of his remaining life behind bars, as he was repeatedly convicted of frauds and tax evasion.
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1958
Brooklyn, NY US
Joe Gallo, Joseph Profaci
Gallo rebellion against Profaci crime family begins.
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1958
Washington, DC US
Confronted with the undeniable complicity of Mafiosi at the Apalachin meeting, the FBI redefines its position on the "Mafia" and compiles a report on Mafia history. (The first report is later discarded.) By the early 1960s, the FBI refers to the Sicilian-Italian underworld in the U.S. not as Mafia but as La Cosa Nostra or LCN. The new name appears to stem from informant Joe Valachi's use of the term "cosa nostra" (our thing) when discussing the Sicilian-Italian criminal society.
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1959 Jan 01
Havana, Cuba
Meyer Lansky, Fulgencio Batista
The Mafia's casino operations in Havana are lost as Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista is forced into exile. Meyer Lansky returns to Miami after losing a huge investment, sets sights on Bahamas and trans-Atlantic gambling possibilities.
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1959 Feb 26
Orange, NJ US
Abner Zwillman
"Longie" Zwillman is found hanging from a plastic clothesline in his home, an apparent suicide. Zwillman's coin-op machine rackets were being shut down by government attention and a tax evasion charge was haunting him.
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1959 Apr 17
New York, NY US
Vito Genovese, Natale Joseph Evola, Vincent Gigante
Genovese Family leadership is convicted of narcotics trafficking and sent off to prison. Genovese gets 15 years. Gigante gets seven years. Evola, a lieutenant in the Bonanno organization, is also sentenced to a 10-year jail term.
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1959 Sep 25
New York, NY US
Anthony Carfano
Carfano (Little Augie Pisano) and his date, Mrs. Janice Drake, are called away from a dinner at a Lexington Avenue restaurant and later found dead in a new Cadillac in Queens. Both were shot in the back of their heads by a gunmen in the back seat of the car.
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1959 Dec 18
New York, NY US
Paul Castellano
Castellano is convicted of working to obstruct a government investigation. A month later, he is sentenced to five years in prison. He serves seven months.
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1960

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1960 Apr 29
New York, NY US
Johnny Dioguardi
Johnny "Dio" is sentenced to four years in prison and a $5,000 fine for income tax evasion.
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1960 Nov 28
New York, NY US
A U.S. appeals court nullifies earlier conspiracy convictions against 20 men who attended the 1957 meeting at Apalachin, NY.
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1961 May 04
Kansas City, MO US
A grand jury finds evidence that the Kansas City police conspired with the local Mafia to permit criminal activities.
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1961 Jun 29
New York, NY US
Frank Costello
Costello is released from prison.
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1962 Jan 26
Naples, Italy
Charlie Luciano
Luciano dies of an apparent heart attack at Capodichino Airport in Naples. At the time, he was suspected of guiding a U.S.-Italian narcotics smuggling operation.
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1962 Jun 06
Bay Shore, Long Island, NY US
Joseph Profaci
Profaci dies of cancer at Southside Hospital. He was 64. The Gallo-Profaci War continues. Profaci's brother-in-law Joseph Magliocco appears to take control over the crime family leadership.
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1962
Philadelphia, PA US
Salvatore Sabella
Sabella dies in a Philadelphia hospital.
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1963 Sep 27
Washington, DC US
Joseph Valachi
Valachi testimony before the Senate Investigations subcommittee are broadcast on radio and television. Valachi tells of his induction into "Cosa Nostra" and of the Castellamarese War Era.
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1963 Sep 28
Washington, DC US
Joseph Valachi, Vito Genovese
Valachi reveals that Genovese is the "Boss of Bosses" of the American Mafia.
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1963 Dec 28
West Islip, NY US
Joseph Magliocco
Magliocco, 65, dies of a heart attack at Good Samaritan Hospital. Authorities do not become aware of his death until days later. Magliocco, an attendee of the Apalachin conference and a brother-in-law of Joseph Profaci, reportedly led the Profaci crime family from June of 1962 until his death.
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1964 Jan 19
Detroit, MI US
Santo Perrone
A Detroit Mafia leader, Perrone is seriously injured when a bomb explodes in his car. Perrone's right leg is destroyed in the blast.
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1964
Sicily, Italy
A long, bitter and bloody civil war between Sicilian Mafiosi ends. The warfare and public opposition to it triggered numerous violations of the omerta code, and Sicilian authorities benefit in their struggle against the secret society.
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1964 Mar 18
Buffalo, NY US
John C. Montana
A leading mafioso in the city, John C. Montana dies at age 70 in Buffalo General Hospital. Montana was among those arrested at the Apalachin meeting in 1957.
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1964 Oct 21
Manhattan, NY US
Joseph Bonanno
The media reports that Joe Bonanno was kidnapped early in the morning from the front of a Park Avenue apartment building. Bonanno was scheduled to appear before a federal grand jury later in the day.
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1965 Jan 13
New York, NY US
Vincent Rao
Federal prosecutors seek to force 67-year-old Vincent John Rao to testify about Lucchese crime family rackets. Prosecutors grant Rao immunity from prosecution in an effort to circumvent 5th Amendment protection.
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1965 Jan 15
New York, NY US
Joseph Bonanno
Authorities believe the Bonanno crime family has fractured and will experience a civil war.
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1965 Mar 18
New York, NY US
Vincent Rao
A federal grand jury indicts Rao for perjury.
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1965 Apr 24
Hot Springs, AR US.
Owney Madden
Madden dies in a Hot Springs hospital.
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1965 Nov 23
Chicago, IL US
Murray Humphreys
Hours after resisting arrest by federal agents, Humphreys dies of a heart attack. He was believed to be a link between Chicago's Outfit and influential politicians.
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1966
Chicago, IL US
Sam Giancana, Tony Accardo
Released from prison in 1966, Giancana temporarily flees country to escape further prosecution. Accardo comes out of retirement as Family boss.
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1966 May
New York, US
Joe Bonanno, Gaspar DiGregorio
Absent for years, Bonanno suddenly resurfaces and announces he is once again in command of his New York crime Family. Gaspar DiGregorio, who at the urging of Bonanno enemies on the Commission has been fighting the leadership of Bonanno's son, loses support of the Commission and the rebellious Bonanno men. The Banana Wars will shortly conclude.
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1966 May 17
New York, NY US
Joseph Bonanno
Bonanno, 61, turns himself in at the U.S. Courthouse at Foley Square. Authorities had been looking for him for 19 months. Recent speculation had put Bonanno in Tunis, controlling the flow of narcotics in the Mediterranean.
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1966 Sep
Queens, NY US
Carlo Gambino, Tommy Eboli, Joe Colombo, Joey Gallo, Mike Miranda, Aniello Dellacroce
Police raid the Lastella Restaurant in Queens to discover a meeting of top Mafia leaders from New York and New Orleans. The meeting is dubbed "Little Apalachin." One purpose of the meeting seems to be the distribution of Tommy Lucchese's rackets. Lucchese has been hospitalized with various ailments for more than a year.
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1967 Mar
New Jersey, US
Harold Konigsberg
Helped by information supplied by convicted extortionist Harold Konigsberg, federal authorities discovered the location of a Mafia burial ground in New Jersey.
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1967 May
Montreal, Canada
Joseph Bonanno
Authorities say the Bonanno crime family runs a narcotics trafficking route between Montreal and New York City.
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1967 Jun
Westchester County, NY US
Authorities claim that Westchester County, NY, garbage carting is monopolized by members of the Genovese and Gambino crime families.
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1967 Jul 13
Long Island, NY US
Tommy Lucchese
After years of illness, Lucchese dies of natural causes at his Lido Beach, Long Island, home at the age of 67. Lucchese entered Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in August 1965 with a brain tumor and a heart condition. After a year, his rackets were divided up at the "Little Apalachin" conference at Lastella Restaurant in Queens. He left the hospital for home on April 11, 1967.
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1967 Nov 17
New York, NY US
Vincent Rao
Rao is convicted of perjury and faces up to five years in prison. Media reports indicate that Rao has taken over Lucchese's crime family.
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1967 Dec 11
New York, NY US
Johnny Dioguardi
Convicted of bankruptcy fraud, Johnny "Dio" was sentenced to five years and a $10,000 fine.
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1969
New York, NY US
Vito Genovese, Tommy Eboli
After Genovese's death in prison, leadership of Genovese Family appears to pass to Eboli. There is reason to believe that Eboli was merely a front man, as the actual boss attempted to remain inconspicuous.
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1970

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1971 Jun 28
New York, NY US
Joe Colombo, Joey Gallo, Carlo Gambino
Italian-American Unity Day ends bloody, as organizer Joe Colombo is mortally wounded by an assassin's bullet. The hit is believed to have been set up by Joey Gallo. There is speculation that former Colombo ally Carlo Gambino may have been aware of and may have approved of the shooting.
Source:
1971 Oct 23
Las Vegas, NV US
Meyer Lansky
Lansky is charged with skimming money from the Flamingo Hotel, the casino built by Lansky's departed friend, Benjamin Siegel. A federal grand jury charged that Lansky and three other men conspired to conceal and distribute $36 million in unreported income.
Source:
1972 Apr 07
New York, NY US
Joey Gallo
Renegade Mafioso Joey Gallo is gunned down at Umberto's Clam House in Little Italy on his 43rd birthday.
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1972 Jul 16
Brooklyn, NY US
Tommy Eboli
Eboli is killed - shot five times in his head and neck - at his girlfriend's home in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn.
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1973 Dec 22
New York, NY US
Johnny Dioguardi
As he nears completion of a five-year prison term for bankruptcy fraud, Johnny "Dio" is convicted of stock fraud. He was accused of conning money from investors in a car-leading company.
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1973
Frank Costello
Costello dies.
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1975 June 19
Chicago, IL US
Sam Giancana
Giancana is shot to death at his home in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park. The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence had just located Giancana and was poised to call him to testify. His murder also coincides with the discovery of combined CIA-underworld involvement in 1961 attempts on the life of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. Investigators believe Giancana was the victim of an underworld rebellion.
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1975 Jul 30
Bloomfield Hills, MI US
Jimmy Hoffa, Anthony Provenzano, Anthony Giacalone, Russell Bufalino
Hoping to mend fences with his former underworld associates on his return to the Teamster union presidency, Hoffa schedules a meeting at the Machus Red Fox restaurant outside of Detroit. It is generally believed that Hoffa was to meet "Tony Pro" Provenzano and Detroit mobster Anthony Giacalone. Hoffa calls his wife at 2:15 to say he has been stood up. He is never seen or heard from again. Investigators focus their attention on Provenzano and Giacalone. Each has alibis for the date.
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1976 Oct 15
New York, NY US
Carlo Gambino, Aniello Dellacroce, Paul Castellano
Gambino dies of a heart attack. Family passes over underboss Aniello Dellacroce to select Gambino protege Paul Castellano as boss. Dellacroce wing of the family is offended, but loyal Dellacroce keeps them in line.
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1978 Mar 21
Manhattan, NY US
Salvatore Briguglio, Anthony Provenzano, Harold Konigsberg
Briguglio is found shot to death in Manhattan's Little Italy. He was 48. Briguglio, Anthony Provenzano and Harold Konigsberg were scheduled to go on trial May 1 in Kingston, NY, for the 1961 murder of Anthony Castellito. Witnesses said Briguglio was knocked down by two men in front of the Andrea Doria Social Club, 165 Mulberry Street (near Grand). The men drew weapons and shot Briguglio four times in the face and once in the chest. Briguglio, an official in Provenzano's Union, NJ, Teamster organization, had been questioned in connection with James Hoffa's disappearance.
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1978 Jun 15
Kingston, NY US
Anthony Provenzano, Harold Konigsberg
Provenzano is convicted of participating in the murder of his union rival, Anthony Castellito, in 1961. Also convicted was a Provenzano enforcer, Harold Konigsberg.
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1979 Jan 12
Pennsylvania, PA US
Johnny Dioguardi
Johnny "Dio" dies of natural causes at a Pennsylvania hospital. He is 64. Dioguardi, a longtime Mafia leader and labor racketeer, was serving a sentence in federal prison for stock fraud.
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1979 Jul 11
Newark, NJ US
Anthony Provenzano
Provenzano, 63, is sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for labor racketeering. "Tony Pro" was convicted of extracting payoffs from trucking companies in exchange for guaranteeing labor peace.
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1979 Jul 12
Brooklyn, NY US
Carmine Galante
Former Bonanno underboss Carmine Galante is murdered at Joe & Mary's Italian Restaurant in Brooklyn.
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1980

Return

1985 May 11
New York, NY US
The Federal Bureau of Investigation brings charges against the alleged heads of the five Mafia families in New York City.
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1985 Dec 02
New York, NY US
Aniello Dellacroce
"Neil" Dellacroce, protege of Albert Anastasia and idol of John Gotti, dies. His departure frees his supporters to act against the Castellano leadership.
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1985 Dec 16
New York, NY US
Paul Castellano, Thomas Bilotti, John Gotti
Gotti is believed to have masterminded the assassination of "Big Paul" Castellano and his driver/bodyguard Thomas Bilotti outside of Sparks Steakhouse in Manhattan. Gotti allegedly seizes leadership of the Gambino crime family.
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1986
United States
Federal authorities estimate that the Mafia families across the United States include 1,700 "made" members and many thousands of associates. The Mafia, which remains the dominant force in the American organized crime Syndicate, continues to draw its membership from those of Italian and Sicilian descent. But affiliated organizations include gangs and individuals of every ethnic background.
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1988 Dec 12
Lompoc, CA, US
Anthony Provenzano
"Tony Pro" dies of a heart attack while serving a 20-year sentence for labor racketeering. He was 71 years old.
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