The war between camorra and the mafia

One of the warring parties was the Sicilian mafia of New York, represented primarily by Harlem groups Giuseppe Morello and and Brooklyn gangs and , the latter mainly consisted of natives of Castellammare del Golfo . , which until 1909 was led by Giuseppe Morello , and then his half-brothers - , and Terranova. Vincenzo and Nicola sometimes used the name of their older half-brother Giuseppe, although according to the documents they were Terranova. The Morello family and its allies controlled Harlem and much of northern Manhattan, being part of the traditional Sicilian mafia.

The Morello family and its allies were opposed by the New York camorra, which in the first half of the 1910s was a significant force in the underworld of Brooklyn. Unlike the mafia, camorra recruited new recruits from immigrants from Italian Naples and Campania. The Neapolitans were the strongest in Brooklyn, where the group, the Coney Island boss, and the Navi Street gang led by Leopoldo Lauritano and , both closely with American camorre leader Andrea Ricci from Philadelphia . But in Manhattan, the position of the Neapolitans was strong. So, in Harlem , one of the districts of Manhattan, the Neapolitan Josue Gallucci, who emigrated from Naples back in 1891, had long lived. In the police records, he appeared as "the mayor of Little Italy" ( English The Mayor of Little Italy ), which worked as a Neapolitan and Sicilian street gangs. Using his image and wealth, Gallucci was very active in political campaigns and was able to achieve great influence, which gave him immunity from law enforcement.

As in many gangster conflicts, the mafia and camorra war began because of greed - both sides wanted to control all of Manhattan. ^{[4] The} Mafia and Camorra have long fought for control of drug trafficking, gambling, food and other goods, and basic utilities. ^[3]

The war was launched by a joint action of the mafia and camorra. On May 17, 1915, Josue Gallucci and his son were killed. The murder was jointly carried out by Sicilians and Neapolitans. ^[5] The latter thus hoped to avenge the murder of the Neapolitan gangsters Agnielo Prisco and Amadio Buonomo, nephew of Pellegrino Morano. But basically, the organizers of the assassination of the “mayor of Little Italy” were driven by a desire to take control of the Gallucci business empire. So, the Morello family took possession of the gaming enterprises of Gallucci, ^[3] in particular the " ".

The next goal of Morello was Joseph Demarco, who ran a restaurant and several gambling establishments on Mulberry Street in Lower Manhattan , the main street of Little Italy. Previously, Demarco was an ally of the Morello family, but then quarreled with her, organizing an unsuccessful attempt on Nicholas Morello. After Demarco survived two assassination attempts and tried unsuccessfully, the Morello family decided to seek help from gangs from Navi Street and Coney Island.

On June 24, 1916, Morello met with gang leaders from Navi Street and Coney Island. The reason for the meeting was the expansion of the gambling business of the mafia and camorra in New York. At the meeting, Nick Morello and his colleague Steve Lasalle offered to kill Demarco, the main rival of both groups. The Neapolitans agreed, and Lauritano, the boss of Navi Street, made an appointment at his Brooklyn cafe to plan the murder.

Three weeks later, Nick Morello and his comrades-in-arms Steve Lasal, Ciro “Artichoke King” Terranova and Giuseppe Veritstsano, met with members of the Brooklyn gang in the cafe Lauritano. The main problem in organizing the attack on Demarco was that he knew all the members of the Morelloso family and would not allow them to approach him. However, Verizzano was a close friend of Demarco; therefore, he was instructed to set a trap. The plan was for Veritzano to transfer the killer from Navi Street to one of Demarco's gaming establishments and point the killer to the victim.

The first attempt to kill Demarco failed, as hitman from Navi Street John Fetto was late to the game room; by this moment Demarco is gone. When planning the second attempt, the conspirators found that Demarco's friend, Joe "Chuck" Nadzaro, would accompany Demarco that day. To increase their chances of success, they decided to bring another person to business, John Esposito became them. On the same day, Esposito and Fetto went to a salon on Elizabeth Street to wait for a signal from Verizzano. At about five o’clock, Verizzano arrived at the salon and notified the militants that Demarco had arrived at the game room. After that, Verizzano and both killers left the salon and headed to the entrance to the game room.

Verizzano, Esposito and Fetto are located at the entrance to the Demarco games room. Nick Sassi, an employee of Demarco, associated with a gang from Navi Street, led all three past the doorman into the hall. The killers went into the back room, where the card games took place. In the back room, Demarco, Charles Lombardi, other gangsters and numerous spectators watched the game. To determine the goal for Esposito and Fetto, Verizano sat across from Demarco. Outside the room, Sassi and Rocco Valente from Navi Street were on guard to make sure that all participants in the murder had a way to escape.

Esposito suddenly pulled out a gun and shot at Lombardi, mortally wounding him; the nervous fighter misinterpreted Verizzano's signals and thought it was time to shoot, confusing Lombardi with Demarco. Acting quickly, Verizano managed to kill Demarco himself. Then the militants from Naive Street got out of the room on the Oliver Street through a window and fled safely. That night, Nick and Vincent Morello, Lazal, Terranova and Verizzano went to the gang’s headquarters from Navi Street. They confirmed to Lauritano that Joe Demarco was really dead and transferred him $ 50 (equivalent to $ 1,151 in 2018) to transfer them to his fighters.

With the death of Joe Demarco, the mafia and camorra were able to expand their gambling business in Lower Manhattan. As both sides were weighed down by the union, seeking to establish a monopoly on gambling in the area, the ground was set for conflict. Morano was the first to act, joined by Allesandro Vollero, who wanted to avenge the murder of the Neapolitan gangster Nicola Del Gaudio in 1914, in which Morello was involved in his opinion. The Neapolitans believed that they could seize control of Harlem if they could destroy the Morello gang. They devised a plan in which they would try to lure the entire Morello leadership into Brooklyn and ambush them. In Philadelphia , Vollero met with the boss of Camorra Ricci over a blow to Morello and gain complete control of Manhattan. Having discussed this, both parties agreed on an alliance. A plan was developed to lure the Morello family leaders to a meeting in Brooklyn, ambush and kill them.

September 7, 1916 Nick Morello and his Eugene Ubriako went to the city center to meet with Lauritano and Morano. As soon as they arrived, Ralph Daniello served them drinks. After some time, Tom Pagano arrived to take Morello and Ubriako to a nearby coffee shop where they were waiting. On the way, they were ambushed. Nick Morello was shot by Pagano, and Ubriako by Thomas Carillo and Left Esposito. When the police arrived, they searched Morello's body; finding a savings account from NY Produce Exchange Bank, Harlem, with a balance of $ 1,865 (equivalent to $ 42,941 in 2018). Police later asked Ciro Terranova to identify her brother’s body. Police arrested Vollero, but was forced to release him 19 days later for lack of evidence.

Giuseppe Verratzano, associated with the Morello family, wanted to open another gambling house; this did not like the gang from Navi Street, which decided to kill him. Verratsano, spotting Lorenzo Liccari from the Coney Island gang in a cafe, tried to kill the gangster, but was forced to flee.

On October 5, 1916, Andrea Ricci surrendered to the police for interrogation, this was to give him an alibi for the events that were supposed to happen the next day. On October 6, Alfonso Sgroa and Mike Notaro shot Verratzano in an Italian restaurant at Occidental Hotel on Broome Street.

On October 13, 1916, Salvatore Demarco, the brother of the murdered Joseph Demarco, was found dead. The newspapers claimed that he was going to tell the police everything he knew about the murderers of his brother and the latest executions, and this led to his violent death.

Camorra harbored various plans to destroy the remains of the Morello family leadership, but not one of them was brought to life, however, four members of Morello's gang were killed by the Corrorists in Philadelphia. Since the Neapolitans could not kill the new leaders of the Morello family, they, trying to undermine the financial strength of their competitors, decided to seize control of the supply of artichokes to New York from Ciro Terranov. In addition to artichokes, camorra also tried to establish its monopoly on the supply of other goods, including coal and ice. After a series of murders and assassinations, a gang from Navi Street for a short time managed to take over Morello's business.

On November 8, 1916, George Esposito, the bodyguard of the Neapolitan Gaetano Del Gaudio, owner of gambling establishments in East Harlem , was assassinated. Later that same month, November 30, Gaetano Del Gaudio himself was shot with a shotgun. He was taken to Flower Hospital, where he died. On March 16, 1917, Demarco’s friend Joseph “Chuck” Nadzaro, who was seen talking to Morello’s gang, was shot dead in Yonkers .

The decisive role in the victory of the mafia was played by New York law enforcement agencies. The Neapolitans were not afraid of police investigations, because they took many police officers to support, and the omerta , as it seemed, was supposed to guarantee the silence of the gang members. But omerta did not stop , who in May 1917 became a police informant and testified against the chamberlords, which led to numerous charges and indictments against them. ^[4] It all started with the fact that Daniello appeared in court on charges of robbery and abduction. Having achieved temporary release, he fled to Reno with his new girlfriend. The police eventually tracked down Daniello and returned him to Brooklyn. When charges of murder, theft and perjury, he began to tell the police everything he knew about camorra and recent murders against Daniello. On November 27, Daniello was sued along with John Esposito, Allesandro Vollero, Alfonso Sgroya and other gang members from Navi Street who were arrested by Ralph's confession. So, it was the beginning of the collapse of the gang from Navi Street and the end of the long feud between camorra and the mafia. The subsequent trials of 1918 completely destroyed the Vollero-Lauritano gang. It was the end of the camorra in New York, the mafia came to power. ^[3]

Rocco Valenti was arrested for participating in the murder of Demarco and Lombardi. After spending ten months in prison, he was released in November 1918. In March 1919, he appeared in court to testify against Charles Giordano. Alessandro Vollero was convicted of first-degree murder in the case of Nicholas Morello and Charles Ubriako. Ralph Daniello testified against Vollero and stated that the gang paid money to a detective named Michael Meally, who was demoted and transferred to patrol.

After that, on February 18, Judge Kapper became ill, as a result of which a new trial was announced. Vollero's sentence was reviewed on March 4 and sentenced to life in prison at Sing Sing . Pellegrino Morano, the leader of the Coney Island gang, was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 20 years in Sing Sing. , a member of the gang from Navi Street, was sentenced to 12 years in on June 17, 1918 for the murder of Nick Morello. Sgroya testified against his associates, for which he was reduced to a sentence and sentenced to deportation to Italy. Justice did not stop there.

In June 1918, John Esposito and Antonio Notaro were sentenced to 6-10 years in prison for participating in the murder. In the same month, Ciro Terranova was convicted of complicity in the murder of Demarco and Lombardi. Johnny Esposito, the killer of Lombardi, testified against Terranova, but as soon as it was proved that they belonged to the same gang, Ciro was acquitted, as the law of the State of New York required confirmation of the testimony of data by accomplices from outside witnesses. Ralph Daniello's sentence was suspended due to testimony he gave in court. In the end, he received five incarcerations. After his release in 1925, he was found shot dead near Metachen, New Jersey .

Frank Fevrola was found guilty by Judge Tompkins for the murder of Chuck Nadzaro in 1917 and sentenced to death in Sing Sing, his wife Tessi witnessed the case. However, the defense filed a motion for reconsideration of the Fevrola case. All previous testimonies were recalled by his wife, who stated that the police had threatened her and bribed her to testify. Repeated trial counteracted mockery of Tessi Fevrol. Tompkins was opposed to re-trial. On May 29, 1923, lawyer Thomas O'Neill made a final attempt to save Fevrol. Seven hours before the execution, it was decided to re-trial. As a result, Fevrolet's death sentence was eventually commuted.

Agnello Parretti was lucky, all charges against him regarding the death of Nadzaro were dropped. He was released from Sing Sing in 1923. Antonio Parretti was sentenced to death at Sing Sing for participating in the murder of Nick Morello. Parretti initially fled to Italy to avoid being arrested. He returned to New York in March 1926, believing that most witnesses would not testify against him. In the end, Parretti was convicted of first-degree murder, despite witnesses who “suddenly found an amazing lack of memory” - responding “I can't remember” to all the questions he asked. ^[6] In connection with his execution, security measures were strengthened. Parretti put pressure on politicians to obtain a pardon, but to no avail. He was electrocuted on February 17, 1927 at the age of 35. One of his last visitors was the future mafia boss Vito Genovese .

Mafia

• , the eldest of the Terranov brothers, led the Morello family after the arrest of its head.
• , the middle of the brothers, was able to escape punishment for complicity in the murder of Demarco and Lombardi.
• (real name Terranova) - the youngest of the brothers, was killed by the camcorrists in 1916.
• Eugene Ubriaco - Assistant Nick Morello, killed with him in 1916.
• Giuseppe Verratzano - killed.

Camorra

• is the boss of Coney Island, sentenced for the murder of Nick Morello and Ubriako to 20 years in prison.
• Alessandro Vollero is the boss of Navi Street, sentenced for the murder of Nick Morello and Ubriako to life imprisonment.
• Leopoldo Lauritano, the second boss of the gang from Navi Street, was sentenced to 21 years in prison for manslaughter in 1918, conditionally released after 7.5 years.
• Ralph Daniello - became a police informant, thanks to his testimonies, such large figures as Vollero, Lauritano and Morano managed to be condemned.
• - was sentenced to 12 years for complicity in the murder of Nick Morello, later testified against Tony Parretti and Fevrola, for which he was rewarded with a reduction in sentence and deportation to Italy.
• Frank Fevrola - sentenced to death for the murder of Chuck Nadzaro, the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.
• - executed for complicity in the murder of Nick Morello and Ubriako.
• Agello Parretti - brother of Tony Parretti, was sentenced to death for participating in the murder of Chuck Nadzaro, but later the charges are dropped, released.
• Rocco Valenti - arrested for participating in the murder of Demarco and Lombardi, was released after ten months.
• Antonio Notaro - sentenced to jail for participating in a murder.
• Johnny Esposito - sentenced to jail for participating in a murder.

• Nelli, Humbert S. The Business of Crime: Italians and Syndicate Crime in the United States . - Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1981.- 314 p. - (American History). - ISBN 978-0226571324 .