1958 JOHNNY DIO GANGSTER VINTAGE PHOTO MOB LABOR RACKETEER ORGANIZED CRIME for Sale

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1958 JOHNNY DIO GANGSTER VINTAGE PHOTO MOB LABOR RACKETEER ORGANIZED CRIME For Sale

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1958 JOHNNY DIO GANGSTER VINTAGE PHOTO MOB LABOR RACKETEER ORGANIZED CRIME:
$295.18

1958 JOHNNY DIO GANGSTER VINTAGE ORIGINAL PHOTO OF THE MOB LABOR RACKETEER FROM ORGANIZED CRIME MEAUSRING APPROXIMATELY 7 X 9 INCHES
Giovanni Ignazio Dioguardi known as John \"Johnny Dio\" Dioguardi, was an Italian-American ... With Plumeri and another gangster, Dominick Didato, Dioguardi established and ran a protection racket in New York City\'s garment district.
Johnny ‘Dio’ Dioguardi was popularly called as ‘master labor racketeer’ who is said to have known all the illegal ways to make money. It was at a very young age that Dio started to be regarded as a treacherous thug, with Thomas E. Dewey, the U.S. attorney in 1936 was compelled to call him his a young gorilla.
Characteristics of Dio
It was on 28th April 1914 that Dio was born in Downtown Manhattan’s Forsyth Street. Vincent and Frank his two brothers were into legitimate work, while Thomas the third brother became a capo with the Luchesse Mafia Family. Giovanni B. Dioguardi, his father was a bicycle shop owner was killed in August 1930 in Coney Island, which according to the police officials was mob related execution.
Dio is known to have graduated grammar school from Stuyvesant High School. However, he had dropped out before the completion of two years, to work for uncle who was a gangster called James Plummeri ‘Jimmy Doyle’. Dio according to those known to him said to appear like Rudolph Valentino, the silent movie star. He grew up as tough youth, terrorizing the street vendors to give him some portion of the wares for free. His talents were realized by his uncle, who had him to work as leg breaker (schlammer) at Doyle’s Garment Center of Louie Buchalter. The specialty of Dio was said to be union related extortion, in which he had topped.
A trucking association for the garment workers was initiated by Doyle and Dio, where the truckers employed with the Garment Center had been compelled to join the union and pay up hefty union dues. Failing to make payments would mean facing the threat of broken bones and resistance would mean even death. Moreover, the truckers were also instructed as to where to buy their meats, clothing, wine, and other essential items, how much was to be spent on every item, etc. Strike ensued if the employers did not pay up extortion fees. However, after running out of luck, they found themselves imprisoned for five years.
Later, on being released, they left New York City to Allentown, Pennsylvania. Soon he got into legitimate dress wholesaling business, trucking and real estate and investments in the stock market. When he turned 40, he got inducted officially into the Luchesse Mafia family. Both his sons also became Mafia members, with one Dominick becoming a Made Man with the Luchesse Family and another son joining the Colombo Crime Family.Giovanni Ignazio Dioguardi (Italian: [dʒoˈvanni iɲˈɲattsjo dio\'guar:di]; April 29, 1914 – January 12, 1979), known as John \"Johnny Dio\" Dioguardi, was an Italian-American organized crime figure and a labor racketeer. He is known for being involved in the acid attack which led to the blinding of newspaper columnist Victor Riesel,[3] and for his role in creating fake labor union locals to help Jimmy Hoffa become General President of the Teamsters.[4]Contents1 Childhood and early criminal career2 Labor racketeering in the 1950s2.1 Teamsters paper locals scandal2.2 McClellan Committee revelations2.3 Role in Victor Riesel acid attack2.4 Extortion and tax evasion trials3 Later life and legal troubles3.1 Stock and bankruptcy fraud trials4 Death5 In popular culture6 References7 Further reading8 External linksChildhood and early criminal careerJohn Dioguardi was born on April 29, 1914, on the Lower East Side of New York City and brought up on Forsyth Street in Little Italy, to Giovanni B. Dioguardi and Rose Plumeri.[1] He was the eldest of two brothers, Thomas (Tommy Dio) and Frank J. (Frankie Dio) Dioguardi.[5][6][7] His father was murdered in August 1930 in what police called a mob-related execution.[8] Dioguardi\'s uncle, James \"Jimmy Doyle\" Plumeri, was a member of the gang run by Albert Marinelli[9] and his patron, Charles \"Lucky\" Luciano, head of the rapidly forming Genovese crime family.[10] Dioguardi was introduced to organized crime at the age of 15 by his uncle.[5][11] At the time, labor racketeering in the garment district was controlled by Luciano and Tommaso \"Tommy\" Gagliano, head of the Lucchese crime family. Plumeri, John Dioguardi, and brother Tommy were working for both gangs.[10][12] He also associated with hitmen and labor racketeers Louis \"Lepke\" Buchalter and Jacob \"Gurrah\" Shapiro.[13]
With Plumeri and another gangster, Dominick Didato, Dioguardi established and ran a protection racket in New York City\'s garment district.[11][13] He was arrested several times between 1926 and 1937, but never brought to trial.[11][14] For a time in 1934, Dioguardi was executive secretary of the Allied Truckmen\'s Mutual Association, an employer association, and represented the employers during a strike by 1,150 Teamsters in September 1934.[15] In March 1937, Dioguardi was arrested on charges of extortion, conspiracy, and racketeering, He pleaded guilty and received a three-year prison term in Sing Sing.[16]
After his release from prison, Dioguardi moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania, where he established a dress manufacturing plant.[1][13] He later sold the plant (taking a $11,200 bribe to ensure that it remained non-union before he sold it),[17] and set up a dress wholesaler operation in New York City.[1] Dioguardi also dabbled in stock investing, real estate, and trucking.[13]
Dioguardi later returned to New York to live again on Forsyth Street. He married the former Anne Chrostek, and had two sons, Philip and Dominick, and a daughter, Rosemary, who died.[1][18] Philip (\"Fat Philly\") later was a soldier in the Colombo crime family.[19] Dominick became a soldier in the Lucchese family.[18]
Labor racketeering in the 1950sIn 1950, Dioguardi returned to labor racketeering.[20] He was appointed Regional Director of the United Auto Workers-AFL (UAW-AFL),[21] and received 12 charters for paper locals in the garment industry.[22] Criminals formed the membership of the paper locals, and Dioguardi demanded money from employers who wished to remain union-free and extorted cash from unionized employers who wished to avoid strikes and other labor troubles.[20] Dioguardi was arrested for extortion in July 1952.[23] Meanwhile, New York state officials charged Dioguardi with tax evasion (see below). Although Dioguardi was never convicted for this labor racketeering incident, he was removed from his post in February 1953 by the UAW-AFL and ejected from the union in April 1954.[24][25]
In the midst of the 1952-54 labor racketeering scandal, Dioguardi was charged with tax evasion. New York state tax officials charged that Dioguardi had taken a bribe when selling his Pennsylvania dress factory, and failed to report the bribe as income.[17] Dioguardi denied the charge, but he was found guilty in March 1954 and sentenced to 60 days in prison.[26] This conviction, rather than the allegations of labor racketeering, was the pretext used to remove him from his UAW-AFL position.[25]
Teamsters paper locals scandalDioguardi\'s association with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters was a long one. He became acquainted with New York City Teamsters leaders Martin T. Lacey and John J. O\'Rourke in 1934, when Dioguardi represented the employers in a trucking strike.[15] Dioguardi was involved again with the Teamsters by 1954, when police suspected him of involvement in a protection racket run by several Teamsters locals aimed at trucking employers.[27] His ties soon deepened. He met in a New York City hotel room with Midwestern Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa and plotted to help Hoffa oust Teamsters General President Dave Beck.[13][28] Between November 29 and December 15, 1955, Dioguardi obtained charters from the Teamsters for seven paper locals.[29] O\'Rourke, a Hoffa ally, was planning to challenge Lacey (a Beck supporter) for the presidency of the 125,000-member New York City Teamsters Joint Council.[30] Winning control of the delegate-rich Joint Council would significantly boost Hoffa\'s chances of ousting Beck, and might lead other large, important joint councils and locals to join a Hoffa bandwagon.[4][30] O\'Rourke fought to have the \"Dio locals\" admitted to the Joint Council, and a major political battle broke out in the international union over admitting the new unions.[31][32] After a deadlocked election, the seating of the \"Dio locals\", the unseating of the \"Dio locals\", a grand jury investigation, several rulings by President Beck, and a successful lawsuit by Lacey, Lacey withdrew from his re-election offer and O\'Rourke was elected president of the Joint Council.[28][33] Although more paper locals established by Dioguardi petitioned for membership in the Joint Council, the Teamsters dismantled nearly all the \"Dio locals\" by mid-1959.[34]
McClellan Committee revelationsBeginning in 1955, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the U.S. Senate Committee on Government Operations began holding hearings into labor racketeering. Senator John L. McClellan, chair of the committee and chair of the subcommittee, hired Robert F. Kennedy as the subcommittee\'s chief counsel and investigator.[35] Dioguardi became an object of the subcommittee\'s inquiries in March 1956. Initially, the subcommittee limited its investigation to the \"Dio locals\" scandal.[36]
On January 30, 1957, the United States Senate created the Select Committee on Improper Activities in Labor and Management. The select committee was directed to study the extent of criminal or other improper practices in the field of labor-management relations or in groups of employees or employers. Membership was derived from the two standing committees, the Committee on Government Operations and the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare.[35] The Select Committee continued to focus on Dioguardi\'s activities. In February 1957, the Select Committee released Federal Bureau of Investigation wiretaps which showed Hoffa and Dioguardi allegedly discussing the establishment of a paper local to organize New York City\'s 30,000 taxi cab drivers and then use the charter as a means of extorting money from a wide variety of employers.[37] Testifying before the Select Committee, Hoffa claimed that the tapes only showed that he wanted the best organizer in the city to work on the taxi organizing campaign, and that he could not have engaged in conspiracy because Dioguardi was not a member of the Teamsters union.[4] The Select Committee accused Hoffa of being behind the \"Dio locals\", and of arranging for a $400,000 loan to the graft-ridden International Longshoremen\'s Association in a offer to take over that union and gain Teamsters control of the waterfront as well as warehouses.[38][39] Dioguardi, who by this time was in prison serving time on bribery and conspiracy charges (see below), was paroled by a federal court in order to testify at the Select Committee\'s hearings.[40] The Select Committee developed evidence that the UAW-AFL had paid Dioguardi $16,000 to leave the union but he wouldn\'t, and that even after his ouster Dioguardi had maintained effective control over his UAW-AFL paper locals for nearly a year.[41] Michigan Governor G. Mennen Williams testified that, when he was director of the Mennen toiletries company, Dioguardi asked him for a $15,000 bribe in order to call off a 1951 strike.[42] In a two-hour appearance before the Select Committee, Dioguardi invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination 140 times, and refused to answer any of the committee\'s questions.[43] The Select Committee\'s evidence was further undermined when one of its star witnesses against Dioguardi was found to be mentally incompetent.[44]
A notorious and iconic photograph of Dioguardi was taken at the time of his testimony (see infobox, above). As Dioguardi was leaving the committee hearing room, a crowd of press photographers gathered around him. Dioguardi attempted to flee so that his photograph would not be taken. United Press photographer Stanley Tetrick raced ahead of Dioguardi to take a photograph. International News Photos photographer Jim Mahan snapped a photograph (see infobox, above) of a snarling Dioguardi, cigarette dangling from his mouth, pushing Tetrick out of the way with one hand (not shown) and his other clenched in a tight fist (not shown).[45][46] Dioguardi also screamed, \"You sons of bitches, I got a family!\"[45] The photograph was widely published in American newspapers, and became an iconic image of Dioguardi, mafioso in general, and the way in which chic dress and charm conceal brutality and thuggery.[47] The image is also a widely known symbol of Teamsters union corruption.[48]
Role in Victor Riesel acid attackIn the midst of the Teamsters paper locals scandal, Dioguardi was indicted for planning the acid attack on crusading newspaper columnist Victor Riesel. At 3 a.m. on April 5, 1956, an unknown assailant threw a vial of acid into Riesel\'s face as he left a late-night interview at Lindy\'s, an attack which left the journalist permanently blind.[49] The FBI identified Abraham Telvi as the assailant in August 1956, but Telvi had been murdered on July 28, 1956, by mobsters for demanding an additional $50,000 on top of the $500 he had already received for the crime.[3][50] On August 29, 1956, Dioguardi was arrested for conspiracy in the Riesel attack, pleaded not guilty, and was released on $100,000 bond even though prosecutors later publicly linked him to the Telvi murder.[51]
Dioguardi was tried separately for the attack on Riesel. Joseph Carlino, the Dioguardi associate who had hired Telvi to attack Riesel, pleaded guilty on October 22, and prosecutors severed Dioguardi\'s trial from the others.[52] Carlino later testified that Dioguardi had ordered Gandolfo Maranti to find a hitman and identify Riesel, and that Maranti had contacted Dominick Bando to assist him in finding the hitman (Bando contacting Carlino, who sought out Telvi).[53] Maranti and Bando were found guilty (Bando pleading guilty at the last moment).[54]
Conspiracy charges against Dioguardi were later dropped despite the convictions. Dioguardi\'s attorney delayed the trial for nearly five months with motions.[55] When the trial finally began, Carlino and Miranti recanted their pre-trial statements and courtroom testimony, claiming they did not know who had ordered the attack on Riesel.[56] By September 1957, the government no longer sought to prosecute Dioguardi for the attack.[57]
Extortion and tax evasion trialsDioguardi\'s legal troubles worsened during his trial for the Riesel attack, when he was indicted in October 1956 on extortion and conspiracy charges. The indictment alleged that Dioguardi and others had extorted money from truck drivers in the New York City garment industry, and received bribes from employers in exchange for refusing to call strikes.[58] Dioguardi\'s trial was due to begin in January 1957, but key government witnesses either refused to testify or recanted earlier statements implicating Dio in the labor rackets.[59] Dioguardi sought lengthy delays once again prior to his trial, but the court refused to permit them and empanelled a special jury to try him.[60] Dioguardi\'s bond was revoked in June 1957, and his trial resumed.[61]
Dioguardi was convicted of extortion in July 1957. Key prosecution witnesses again recanted their testimony against him.[62] The special jury considered the case for nine days, but nonetheless found him guilty on July 25, 1957, and he was sentenced in September to two years in prison.[63]
As Dioguardi was awaiting sentencing in his extortion case, a federal grand jury indicted him on tax evasion charges.[64] Dioguardi denied the charges and again sought lengthy trial delays, but the government halted the trial.[65]
The reason for the tax trial delay soon became apparent as state charges on extortion and conspiracy were once more brought against Dioguardi. The charges had originated in June 1956, but Dioguardi had never been prosecuted.[66] With the collapse of the Riesel case, state officials finally decided to act on the 1956 indictment and Dioguardi\'s second trial for labor racketeering began two days after his tax evasion trial halted.[67] Dioguardi\'s tactic of delay was denied once more, and he was quickly found guilty on both charges in December 1957.[68] He was sentenced to 15 years in Sing Sing, and began serving time on January 10, 1958.[69] However, Dioguardi appealed his conviction, and on June 23, 1959, a New York state appellate court reversed his conviction.[70]
Within an hour of his release from state prison, however, Dioguardi was re-arrested on federal tax evasion charges.[71] His tax evasion trial began in March 1960, he was found guilty a month later, and was sentenced to four years in federal prison.[72] Although a United States court of appeals reversed his conviction and ordered him retried in July 1960, a United States district court found that he had filed his appeal too late and reinstated his conviction.[73]
Later life and legal troublesDioguardi\'s state sentence on extortion and conspiracy ended in June 1959, and he entered federal custody to serve his sentence for tax evasion. He was paroled in 1963, and went to work for Consumers Kosher Provision (a kosher meat products supplier).[18]
Stock and bankruptcy fraud trialsIn April 1966, Dioguardi and his son, Dominick, were indicted for bankruptcy fraud.[74] According to prosecutors, Consumers Kosher Provision was losing market share to its competitor, American Kosher Provisions.[18] Owner Herman Rose asked the Lucchese crime family for help, and Dominick Dioguardi convinced Rose that his father (up for parole and needing a job in order to win his release) could help.[18] Rose died in July 1964, and soon Dioguardi and the Genovese crime family, in control of American Kosher, agreed to merge the two companies.[18] The merging companies then attempted to dominate the kosher meat market in the United States. Local unions of the Amalgamated Meat Cutters controlled by the Lucchese and Genovese crime families would selectively strike other kosher meat producers, causing supermarkets to switch to the merged company in order to ensure a steady supply.[18] Distributors and supermarkets were also bribed or coerced by mobsters to switch kosher meat suppliers.[18] The company also slashed costs by distributing spoiled and rotten meat to stores, and raising prices dramatically.[18][75] Companies such as First National Kosher Provisions, Mizrach Kosher Provisions, Tel Aviv Kosher Provisions, Finest Kosher Provisions, and others were taken over when they collapsed and assets (raw and processed meat) transferred back and forth among them.[18] Thomas Plumeri (\"Jimmy Doyle\" Plumeri\'s son and Dioguardi\'s nephew) was named Consumers Kosher\'s president, and Dominick Dioguardi the company\'s vice president.[76] Consumers Kosher filed for bankruptcy in January 1965, and Dioguardi (who was not part of the management team) ordered his son and Plumeri to sell more than $33,000 in raw and processed meat assets and disburse the money received to Dioguardi and other mob associates.[76] Dioguardi was convicted on November 10, 1967, and received a five-year prison sentence.[76][77] He appealed his conviction, but his appeal was denied and he began serving his prison term in October 1970.[78]
While Dioguardi\'s appeal in his bankruptcy fraud conviction was pending, he was indicted for securities fraud.[79] According to prosecutors, Dioguardi and Anthony Di Lorenzo, heir-apparent to the Genovese crime family, conspired to purchase 28,000 shares of Belmont Franchising Corporation, a substantially worthless over-the-counter stock.[80][81] Dioguardi, Di Lorenzo and others opened accounts at numerous brokerages under false names, and purchased shares of Belmont from themselves and from each account in an attempt to inflate the price.[80][81] They agreed to sell the stock to other investors, and then share the proceeds (estimated at $1 million) among themselves.[80][81] Lucchese crime family member Michael Hellerman, who was part of the conspiracy, turned state\'s evidence and entered the federal witness protection program.[80] At trial, Dioguardi was not only accused of running the stock fraud scheme but also of beating the original owner of the shares in order to get him to sell the securities to Dioguardi for just pennies.[82] Midway through the trial, a high-level aide to Senator Hiram Fong (R-Hawaii) pleaded guilty to charges he had attempted to quash the federal government\'s inquiry into the case.[83] Dioguardi\'s defense attorney argued that Hellerman, the government\'s chief witness, could not be believed, and the jury agreed—finding Dioguardi not-guilty on July 12, 1972.[80][84]
Within a year, however, Dioguardi was indicted again for stock fraud.[85] Dio had just recently finished serving his five-year sentence for bankruptcy fraud.[86] Prosecutors alleged that Dioguardi had conspired with Lucchese crime family boss Carmine Tramunti, Vincenzo \"Vinny\" Aloi, Michael Hellerman, and others to float $300,000 in fake stock in At Your Service Leasing Corp., a luxury car leasing company which did extensive business with organized crime figures.[80][86] Under the scheme, prosecutors said, Dioguardi and the others bribed securities dealers to sell the stock and then pocketed the money paid by investors.[80][86] This time, the jury did not believe the defense\'s description of Hellerman\'s character, and Dioguardi was convicted and given sentences of ten years and nine years in prison, to run concurrently.[86] Dioguardi appealed his conviction, but a federal appellate court upheld his conviction.[87] A second appeal was also made, but his conviction was upheld again.[88]
DeathDioguardi was briefly paroled three times in order to testify about labor racketeering. The first occasion was in early 1958, when he testified before a special New York state grand jury investigating labor racketeering.[89] The second time was in December 1967, when he testified extensively before the New York State Investigation Commission regarding labor racketeering, theft, sabotage, and assault at John F. Kennedy International Airport.[90] He testified again before another New York state commission in May 1968.[91]
Dioguardi\'s last years were spent incarcerated at Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary. His cell was on \"mobsters row\", a series of cells on the same level and wing of the prison where a number of famous and important organized crime figures, including Anthony Loria, Henry Hill and Paul Vario, were serving time.[92] Dio became well known for being able to get better prison work assignments for other incarcerated mobsters.[93]
Dioguardi was increasingly in ill health in the 1970s. He had applied for parole during his stock fraud trial, arguing that his poor physical condition made prison cruel and unusual punishment, but his parole request was denied.[94] Dioguardi appealed the decision of the parole board, but a federal appellate court upheld the parole board\'s decision in August 1978.[95] Dioguardi\'s health became precarious. A few weeks before his death, he was moved from the federal prison to a local hospital.[96]
Dioguardi died in the hospital on January 12, 1979.[1] He was survived by his wife, Anne; his son, Dominick; and his daughter, Rosemary Dioguardi Lester.[1]
In popular cultureActor Frank Pellegrino portrayed Johnny Dio in the 1990 film Goodfellas.[6]Dio was portrayed in the 1994 television movie Getting Gotti by actor Rino Romano.[2]Johnny Dio is the basis for Lee J. Cobb\'s character \"Johnny Friendly\" in the film On the Waterfront.[97]Singer Ronnie James Dio (born Ronald James Padavona) adopted the last name \"Dio\" after Johnny Dio.[98] The JoJo\'s Bizarre Adventure character Dio Brando takes his name from Ronnie James.[citation needed]Archival film footage of Dio is included in the documentary film I Due Kennedy (Two Kennedys).[99]
John (Johnny Dio) Dioguardo was born in 1914 at 170 Forsythe Street on the Lower East Side. He resided for many years at 108 Freeport Avenue in the exclusive oceanfront community of Point Lookout, Long Island.
FBI #665273, NYPD #B-1142
He was the brother of Thomas Dioguardi and Frank Dioguardi, nephew of James (Jimmy Doyle) Plumeri, and cousin of Thomas (Tommy Flowers) Plumeri – all affiliates of the Lucchese Family.
Originally hanging out as a youth on the mean streets of the Lower East Side, his haunts included the Forsythe Street Boys Social Club, Delaney St., Ludlow St., Rivington St., Ridge St., Stanton St., Forsythe St., Houston St., and Norfolk St., before expanding into the NYC garment district and beyond.
Johnny Dio was arguably the most venerable labor racketeer, not only in the NYC area, but also in the nation.Johnny DioAt 5-foot 8-inches tall and a compact 165-pounds with dark brown eye, jet black hair and a dark olive complexion, he was very handsome and dapperly dressed,
Dio looked like he stepped out of “central casting”, the prototype of what the public thought a mafioso and racketeer should look like!
He became a media darling almost immediately with women readers fawning over him in spite of his notorious gangster reputation.
He married a Jewish girl, the former Anne Chrostek. They had a daughter, Rose, and one adopted son named Dominick after Johnny Dio’s father.John DioguardiHis exploits in the labor union and management field were unparalleled in scope and breadth.
He was a Lucchese Family “star” and heir apparent to Tommy Lucchese.
Starting in his teens with his uncle, notorious garment racketeer (Jimmy Doyle) Plumeri, they took over a garment truckmen’s assn., and then utilized it to “shakedown” dress makers and garment truckers alike.
Charged and convicted in 1937 for extortion, he served a 3 to 5-year term. Upon being paroled, he dove head first deeper into all facets of labor union rackets:
• Teamsters Joint Council of NY/NJ • Local #295 Air-Freight Union (IBT)
• Local #805 Vending Machines (IBT) • Local #102 Ladies Garment Workers
• Union (ILGWU) • Local #172 Butchers Union (AFL)
• Local #405 Retail Clerks Assn. • United Auto Workers Union • The United Federation of Labor
• Bakery-Confectionery Workers Union (AFL-CIO)
• Master Truckmen of America- (controls garment district truckers)
Appx 20 dress factories including:
>> a shoulder pad-garment contractor
>> Mary-Anna Sportswear Co.
>> Dio Garment Mfg., Co.
.….to list but a very few of the unions and industries Dio controlled:
>> Equitable Research Associates, Inc. – vice president
>> 257 W. 57th Street, NYC. – a labor relations consulting firm utilized to extort money and form sweetheart contracts for victim companies.Johnny Dio mugshotDioguardi had an arrest record from 1932:
1932 – coercion1933 – felony assaultconspiracycoercion1936 – vagrancy1936 – forgery1937 – extortion (twice)
Johnny Dio arrested again.1937 – malicious mischiefassaultconspiracy (3 to 5 years) Sing Sing1944 – conspiracy to violate alcoholtax laws (bootlegging)1953 – tax law violations (60 days)1956 – reckless driving1956 – conspiracy to obstruct justice (15 to 30 years)1967 – criminal contempt of court1968 – bankruptcy fraudconspiracy (5 years)1971 – stock fraudwire and mail fraudconspiracy (9 years)An intimate of Teamsters President James R. Hoffa, Johnny Dio’s other associates included:
• Thomas (Tommy Brown) Lucchese
• James (Jimmy Doyle) Plumeri
• Thomas (Tommy Dio) Dioguardi
• Vito Genovese
• Carmine Lombardozzi
• Paul (Paulie Ham) CorrealeTommy Lucchese, James Plumeri, Vito Genovese, Carmine Lombardozzi, and Jimmy Hoffa• Antonio (Tony Ducks) Corallo
• Carmine (Gribbs) Tramunti
• Joseph (Joe Brown) Lucchese
• Ettore (Eddie) Coco
• Charles (Charlie Woppie) Carlino
• Gandolfo (Shiekie) Miranti
• Charlie Tuso
• Theodore (Teddy) Rae
• Joseph (Joe Pilo) Carlino
• Domenico (Nicky) BandoTony Corallo, Paul Correale, Carmine Tramunti, and Harry Davidoff• Abe Telvi
• Harry (Little Gangy) Davidoff
• Samuel Goldstein
• George Baker
• Abe Gordon
• Moe Klemis
• Joe Berger
• Samuel Berger
• Sam Sobel
• Sam Smith
• Max Block
…..among many, many others. Many of the above names were in his crew.
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster.[1] Gangs provide a level of organization and resources that support much larger and more complex criminal transactions than an individual criminal could achieve. Gangsters have been active for many years in countries around the world. Gangsters are the subject of many novels, films, and video games.Contents1 Etymology2 Gangs3 Regional variants3.1 Europe3.2 Asia3.3 United States and Canada3.4 Latin America4 Notorious individuals4.1 Johnny Torrio4.2 Lucky Luciano4.3 Al Capone4.4 Frank Costello4.5 Carlo Gambino5 In popular culture5.1 United States5.2 Latin America5.3 East Asia6 See also7 Citations8 References8.1 In the United States8.2 In popular culture9 External linksEtymologySome contemporary criminals refer to themselves as \"gangsta\" in reference to non-rhotic black American pronunciation.
Gangs
Yakuza, or Japanese mafia are not allowed to show their tattoos in public except during the Sanja Matsuri festival.In today\'s usage, the term \"gang\" is generally used for a criminal organization, and the term \"gangster\" invariably describes a criminal.[2] Much has been written on the subject of gangs, although there is no clear consensus about what constitutes a gang or what situations lead to gang formation and evolution. There is agreement that the members of a gang have a sense of common identity and belonging, and this is typically reinforced through shared activities and through visual identifications such as special clothing, tattoos or rings.[3] Some preconceptions may be false. For example, the common view that illegal drug distribution in the United States is largely controlled by gangs has been questioned.[4]
A gang may be a relatively small group of people who cooperate in criminal acts, as with the Jesse James gang, which ended with the leader\'s death in 1882. But a gang may be a larger group with a formal organization that survives the death of its leader. The Chicago Outfit created by Johnny Torrio and Al Capone outlasted its founders and survived into the 21st century. Large and well structured gangs such as the Mafia, drug cartels, Triads or even outlaw motorcycle gangs can undertake complex transactions that would be far beyond the capability of one individual, and can provide services such as dispute arbitration and contract enforcement that parallel those of a legitimate government.[5]
The term \"organized crime\" is associated with gangs and gangsters, but is not synonymous. A small street gang that engages in sporadic low-level crime would not be seen as \"organized\". An organization that coordinates gangs in different countries involved in the international trade in drugs or prostitutes may not be considered a \"gang\".[6]
Although gangs and gangsters have existed in many countries and at many times in the past, they have played more prominent roles during times of weakened social order or when governments have attempted to suppress access to goods or services for which there is a high demand.[citation needed]
Regional variantsEurope
Sketch of the 1901 maxi trial of suspected mafiosi in Palermo. From the newspaper L\'Ora, May 1901The Sicilian Mafia, or Cosa Nostra is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share common organizational structure and code of conduct. The origins lie in the upheaval of Sicily\'s transition out of feudalism in 1812 and its later annexation by mainland Italy in 1860. Under feudalism, the nobility owned most of the land and enforced law and order through their private armies. After 1812, the feudal barons steadily sold off or rented their lands to private citizens. Primogeniture was abolished, land could no longer be seized to settle debts, and one fifth of the land was to become private property of the peasants.[7]
Organized crime has existed in Russia since the days of Imperial Russia in the form of banditry and thievery. In the Soviet period Vory v Zakone emerged, a class of criminals that had to aoffere by certain rules in the prison system. One such rule was that cooperation with the authorities of any kind was forofferden. During World War II some prisoners made a deal with the government to join the armed forces in return for a reduced sentence, but upon their return to prison they were attacked and killed by inmates who remained loyal to the rules of the thieves.[8] In 1988 the Soviet Union legalized private enterprise but did not provide regulations to ensure the security of market economy. Crude markets emerged, the most notorious being the Rizhsky market where prostitution rings were run next to the Rizhsky Railway Station in Moscow.[9]
As the Soviet Union headed for collapse many former government workers turned to crime, while others moved overseas. Former KGB agents and veterans of the Afghan and First and Second Chechen Wars, now unemployed but with experience that could prove useful in crime, joined the increasing crime wave.[9] At first, the Vory v Zakone played a key role in arbitrating the gang wars that erupted in the 1990s.[10] By the mid-1990s it was believed that \"Don\" Semion Mogilevich had become the \"boss of all bosses\" of most Russian Mafia syndicates in the world, described by the British government as \"one of the most dangerous men in the world\".[11] More recently, criminals with stronger ties to big business and the government have displaced the Vory from some of their traditional niches, although the Vory are still strong in gambling and the retail trade.[10]
The Albanian Mafia is active in Albania, the United States, and the European Union (EU) countries, participating in a diverse range of criminal enterprises including drug and arms trafficking.[12][13] The people of the mountainous country of Albania have always had strong traditions of family and clan loyalty, in some ways similar to that of southern Italy. Ethnic Albanian gangs have grown rapidly since 1992 during the prolonged period of instability in the Balkans after the collapse of Yugoslavia. This coincided with large scale migration throughout Europe and to the United States and Canada. Although based in Albania, the gangs often handle international transactions such as trafficking in economic migrants, drugs and other contraband, and weapons.[14] Other criminal organizations that emerged in the Balkans around this time are popularly called the Serbian Mafia, Bosnian Mafia, Bulgarian Mafia and so on.
Asia
Du Yuesheng (1888–1951), a Chinese gangster and important Kuomintang supporter who spent much of his life in ShanghaiIn China, Triads trace their roots to resistance or rebel groups opposed to Manchu rule during the Qing dynasty, which were given the triangle as their emblem.[15] The first record of a triad society, Heaven and Earth Gathering, dates to the Lin Shuangwen uprising on Taiwan from 1786 to 1787.[16] The triads evolved into criminal societies. When the Chinese Communist Party came to power in 1949 in mainland China, law enforcement became stricter and tough governmental crackdown on criminal organizations forced the triads to migrate to Hong Kong, then a British colony, and other cities around the world. Triads today are highly organized, with departments responsible for functions such as accounting, recruiting, communications, training and welfare in addition to the operational arms. They engage in a variety of crimes including extortion, money laundering, smuggling, trafficking and prostitution.[17]
Yakuza are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. They are notorious for their strict codes of conduct and very organized nature. As of 2009 they had an estimated 80,900 members.[18] Most modern yakuza derive from two classifications which emerged in the mid-Edo period: tekiya, those who primarily peddled illicit, stolen or shoddy goods; and bakuto, those who were involved in or participated in gambling.[19]
United States and CanadaAs American society and culture developed, new immigrants were relocating to the United States. The first major gangs in 19th century New York City were the Irish gangs such as the Whyos and the Dead Rabbits.[20] These were followed by the Italian Five Points Gang and later a Jewish gang known as the Eastman Gang.[21][22] There were also \"Nativist\" anti-immigration gangs such as the Bowery Boys. The American Mafia arose from offshoots of the Mafia that emerged in the United States during the late nineteenth century, following waves of emigration from Sicily. There were similar offshoots in Canada among Italian Canadians.[citation needed]
In the later 1860s many Chinese emigrated to the United States, escaping from insecurity and economic hardship at home, at first working on the west coast and later moving east. The new immigrants formed Chinese Benevolent Associations. In some cases these evolved into Tongs, or criminal organizations primarily involved in gambling. Members of Triads who migrated to the United States often joined these tongs. With a new wave of migration in the 1960s, street gangs began to flourish in major cities. The tongs recruited these gangs to protect their extortion, gambling and narcotics operations.[23]
The terms \"gangster\" and \"mobster\" are mostly used in the United States to refer to members of criminal organizations associated with Prohibition or with an American offshoot of the Italian Mafia (such as the Chicago Outfit, the Philadelphia Mafia, or the Five Families).[citation needed] In 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution banned the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol for consumption. Many gangs sold alcohol illegally for tremendous profit, and used acute violence to stake turf and protect their interest. Often, police officers and politicians were paid off or extorted to ensure continued operation.[24]
Latin America
Members of Colonel Martinez\'s Search Bloc celebrate over Pablo Escobar\'s body on December 2, 1993Most cocaine is grown and processed in South America, particularly in Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, and smuggled into the United States and Europe, the United States being the world\'s largest consumer of cocaine.[25] Colombia is the world\'s leading producer of cocaine, and also produces heroin that is mostly destined for the US market.[26] The Medellín Cartel was an organized network of drug suppliers and smugglers originating in the city of Medellín, Colombia. The gang operated in Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Central America, the United States, as well as Canada and Europe throughout the 1970s and 1980s. It was founded and run by Ochoa Vázquez brothers with Pablo Escobar. By 1993, the Colombian government, helped by the US, had successfully dismantled the cartel by imprisoning or hunting and gunning down its members.[27]
Although Mexican drug cartels, or drug trafficking organizations, have existed for several decades, they have become more powerful since the demise of Colombia\'s Cali and Medellín cartels in the 1990s. Mexican drug cartels now dominate the wholesale illicit drug market in the United States.[28] Sixty five percent of cocaine enters the United States through Mexico, and the vast majority of the rest enters through Florida. Cocaine shipments from South America transported through Mexico or Central America are generally moved over land or by air to staging sites in northern Mexico. The cocaine is then broken down into smaller loads for smuggling across the U.S.–Mexico border.[29] Arrests of key gang leaders, particularly in the Tijuana and Gulf cartels, have led to increasing drug violence as gangs fight for control of the trafficking routes into the United States.[30]
Cocaine traffickers from Colombia, and recently Mexico, have also established a labyrinth of smuggling routes throughout the Caribbean, the Bahama Island chain, and South Florida. They often hire traffickers from Mexico or the Dominican Republic to transport the drug. The traffickers use a variety of smuggling techniques to transfer their drug to U.S. markets. These include airdrops of 500–700 kg in the Bahama Islands or off the coast of Puerto Rico, mid-ocean boat-to-boat transfers of 500–2,000 kg, and the commercial shipment of tonnes of cocaine through the port of Miami. Another route of cocaine traffic goes through Chile, this route is primarily used for cocaine produced in Bolivia since the nearest seaports lie in northern Chile. The arid Bolivia-Chile border is easily crossed by 4x4 vehicles that then head to the seaports of Iquique and Antofagasta.[citation needed]
Notorious individualsJohnny TorrioMain article: Johnny Torrio
Mugshot of Johnny Torrio in 1936Born in southern Italy in 1882, Torrio immigrated to the United States with his mother after his father\'s death, which happened when he was three years old. Known as \"The Fox\" for his cunning, he helped the formation of the Chicago Outfit and he is credited for inspiring the birth of the National Crime Syndicate.[31] He was a big influence on Al Capone, who regarded him as a mentor.[32] After the assassination of Big Jim Colosimo, Torrio took his place in the Chicago Outfit. He was severely wounded by members of the North Side Gang while returning from a shopping trip, forcing him, along with other problems, to quit the criminal activity. He died in 1957 and the media learned about his death three weeks after his burial.[33] Elmer Irey, official of the United States Treasury Department, defined Torrio \"the biggest gangster in America\", \"the smartest and the best of all the hoodlums\"[34] while Virgil W. Peterson of the Chicago Crime Commission considered him \"an organizational genius\".[35]
Lucky LucianoMain article: Lucky LucianoCharles Lucky Luciano born Salvatore Lucania[36] [salvaˈtoːre lukaˈniːa];[37] November 24, 1897 – January 26, 1962) was probably the most influential Mafia boss, he was an Italian-born mobster, criminal mastermind, and crime boss who operated mainly in the United States. Along with his associates, he was instrumental in the development of the National Crime Syndicate. Luciano is the father of modern organized crime in the United States for the establishment of The Commission in 1931. His crime family was later renamed the Genovese crime family.[38]
Al CaponeMain article: Al Capone
Mug shot of Al Capone. Although never convicted of racketeering, Capone was a protégé and successor of Torrio, later convicted of income tax evasion by the federal government.Al Capone was one of the most famous gangsters during the roaring twenties. Born in Williamsburg, Brooklyn in 1899 to immigrant parents, Capone was recruited by members of the Five Points Gang in the early 1920s. Capone\'s childhood friend, Lucky Luciano, was also originally a member of the Five Points Gang. Capone would rise to control a major portion of illicit activity such as gambling, prostitution, and bootlegging in Chicago during the early twentieth century.[39]
Frank Costello
American gangster Frank Costello, testifying before the Kefauver Committee, during an investigation of organized crime.Main article: Frank CostelloFrank Costello was an influential gangster. He was born in southern Italy but moved to America when he was four years old. He later changed his name from Francesco Castiglia to Frank Costello when he joined a gang at age 13. His name change led some people to mistakenly believe he was Irish. He worked for Charlie Luciano and was in charge of bootlegging and gambling. He was also the Luciano gangs emissary to politicians, he later held sway over politicians which enabled him political protection to continue his business. He took charge of Lucianos gang when Lucky Luciano was arrested, during his time in power he expanded the gang\'s operations into white collar crimes. He decided to step down from power when Vito Genovese returned from Italy and challenged him for power to run the Luciano crime family. Costello retired from the gangster life style and died peacefully in 1973.
Carlo GambinoMain article: Carlo GambinoCarlo Gambino was an influential gangster in America. From 1961 until he died in 1976, he was known for being very low key. Gambino was born in Palermo, Sicily, but moved to the United States at the age of 21. Through his relatives the Castellano, he joined the Masseria Family while Lucky Luciano was the underboss in the Masseria Family, Gambino worked for him. After Luciano had Masseria killed, Luciano became the boss, and Gambino was sent by Luciano to the Scalise Family. Later Scalise was stripped of his rank, and Vincenzo Mangano became boss until 1951, when Mangano disappeared. His body was never found. Gambino then worked his way up the ladder to be the last known boss to have full control of the commission besides Luciano. Gambino was known to have taken the Mafia out of the lime light and kept it in the dark and away from the media. [40]
In popular cultureFurther information: Gangster filmGangs have long been the subject of movies. In fact, the first feature-length movie ever produced was The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906), an Australian production that traced the life of the outlaw Ned Kelly (1855–1880).[41] The United States has profoundly influenced the genre, but other cultures have contributed distinctive and often excellent gangster movies.[citation needed]
United StatesThe classic gangster movie ranks with the Western as one of the most successful creations of the American movie industry. The \"classic\" form of gangster movie, rarely produced in recent years, tells of a gangster working his way up through his enterprise and daring, until his organization collapses while he is at the peak of his powers. Although the ending is presented as a moral outcome, it is usually seen as no more than an accidental failure. The gangster is typically articulate, although at times lonely and depressed, and his worldly wisdom and defiance of social norms has a strong appeal, particularly to adolescents.[42]Publicity still of Romanian-born Edward G. Robinson, who starred in several American gangster moviesThe stereotypical image and myth of the American gangster is closely associated with organized crime during the Prohibition era of the 1920s and 1930s.[43]
The years 1931 and 1932 saw the genre produce three classics: Warner Bros.\' Little Caesar and The Public Enemy, which made screen icons out of Edward G. Robinson and James Cagney, and Howard Hughes\' Scarface starring Paul Muni, which offered a dark psychological analysis of a fictionalized Al Capone.[44] These films chronicle the quick rise, and equally quick downfall, of three young, violent criminals, and represent the genre in its purest form before moral pressure would force it to change and evolve. Though the gangster in each film would face a violent downfall which was designed to remind the viewers of the consequences of crime, audiences were often able to identify with the charismatic anti-hero. Those suffering from the Depression were able to relate to the gangster character who worked hard to earn his place and success in the world, only to have it all taken away from him.[45]
Latin AmericaLatin American gangster movies are known for their gritty realism. Soy un delincuente (English: I Am a Criminal) is a 1976 Venezuelan film by director Clemente de la Cerda. The film tells the story of Ramón Antonio Brizuela, a real-life individual, who since childhood has to deal with rampant violence and the drugs, sex and petty thievery of a Caracas slum. Starting with delinquency, Ramón moves on to serious gang activity and robberies. He grows into a tough, self-confident young man who is hardened to violence. His views change when his fiancée\'s brother is killed in a robbery. The film was a blockbuster hit in Venezuela.[46]
City of God (Portuguese: Cidade de Deus) is a 2002 Brazilian crime drama film directed by Fernando Meirelles and co-directed by Kátia Lund, released in its home country in 2002 and worldwide in 2003. All the characters existed in reality, and the story is based on real events. It depicts the growth of organized crime in the Cidade de Deus suburb of Rio de Janeiro, between the end of the \'60s and the beginning of the \'80s, with the closure of the film depicting the war between the drug dealer Li\'l Zé and criminal Knockout Ned.[47] The film received four Academy Award nominations in 2004.[48]
East AsiaThe first yakuza (gangster) film made in Japan was Bakuto (Gambler, 1964). The genre soon became popular, and by the 1970s the Japanese film industry was turning out a hundred mostly low-budget yakuza films each year. The films are descendants of the samurai epics, and are closer to Westerns than to Hollywood gangster movies. The hero is typically torn between compassion for the oppressed and his sense of duty to the gang. The plots are generally highly stylized, starting with the protagonist being released from prison and ending in a gory sword fight in which he dies an honorable death.[49]
Although some Hong Kong gangster movies are simply vehicles for violent action, the mainstream movies in the genre deal with Triad societies portrayed as quasi-benign organizations.[50] The movie gangster applies the Taoist principles of balance and honor to his conduct. The plots are often similar to those of Hollywood gangster movies, often ending with the fall of the subject of the movie at the hands of another gangster, but such a fall is far less important than a fall from honor.[50] The first movie made by the acclaimed director Wong Kar-wai was a gangster movie, As Tears Go By. In it the protagonist finds himself torn between his desire for a woman and his loyalty to a fellow gangster.[51] Infernal Affairs (2002) is a thriller about a police officer who infiltrates a triad and a triad member who infiltrates the police department. The film was remade by Martin Scorsese as The Departed.[52]
Gangster films make up one of the most profitable segments of the South Korean film industry. Films made in the 1960s were often influenced by Japanese yakuza films, dealing with internal conflict between members of a gang or external conflict with other gangs. The gangsters\' code of conduct and loyalty are important elements. Starting in the 1970s, strict censorship caused decline in the number and quality of gangster movies, and none were made in the 1980s.[53] In the late 1980s and early 1990s there was a surge of imports of action movies from Hong Kong. The first of the new wave of important home grown gangster movies was Im Kwon-taek\'s General\'s Son (1990). Although this movie followed the earlier tradition, it was followed by a series of sophisticated gangster noirs set in contemporary urban locations, such as A Bittersweet Life (2005).[54]
See alsoGangDacoityOrganized crimeBanditryIllegal drug tradeCategory:Illegal occupationsList of crime bossesList of American mobsters of Irish descentList of Chinese criminal organizationsList of Italian American mobstersList of Jewish American mobstersList of mobsters by city