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1930:
Chicago/New York, US: Police link weapons from St. Valentine's Day Massacre with those used in Frank Uale murder. Implies that Capone was responsible for Uale's death.
New York/Chicago, US: Joe Masseria attempts to broker a peace arrangement between Joe Aiello and Alphonse Capone. When Aiello resists and threatens Masseria, Joe the Boss approaches Gaspar Milazzo, leader of Detroit Mafia, in an effort to dissuade him from continuing to support Aiello. Milazzo won't budge, and Joe the Boss begins to see the start of a Castellammarese conspiracy against his authority. The Castellammarese in Brooklyn (Cola Schiro's group), Buffalo (Stefano Magaddino) and Detroit (Milazzo) appear to be backing Aiello in Chicago. The allegiance of Gaetano Reina in the Bronx is also in question at this time. This incident is thought by some to be the beginning of the Castellammarese War.
Giuseppe "Joe" Aiello
New York, US: Joe Masseria designates Giuseppe (a.k.a Peter, "The Clutch Hand") Morello as supreme arbiter of Mafia disputes. Joe the Boss probably hopes to enhance his image by appearing to turn over supreme authority to Morello. One source states that Masseria and Morello had previously been at each other's throats and Masseria's action are an attempt to win over the allegiance of the Castellammarese. Morello's position was probably akin to national president of the Unione (and may have been precisely that), which was disintegrating at the time.
New York, US: Joe Masseria is believed responsible for the death of Gaspar Milazzo, boss of Detroit Mafia and elder statesman among the Castellammarese in America. Milazzo aide Sasa Parrino is also killed in the attack. Joe the Boss installs Lemare atop Detroit group. Probably believes he is undermining Aiello by this action and also striking at the Castellammarese conspiracy. But he is undermining his own support by meddling in the internal affairs of Mafia "families."
New York, US: Joe Masseria, demands $10,000 cash tribute from Cola Schiro. Schiro pays and then vanishes. Masseria installs Joe Parrino, brother of recently deceased Sasa Parrino in Detroit, as head of Brooklyn Castellammarese family.
Bronx, US: Gaetano Reina, whose Bronx rackets include a monopoly on ice, is killed and replaced by Joe Pinzolo. Masseria is believed responsible. Gaetano Gagliano and Gaetano Lucchese split off from Pinzolo and ally themselves with Maranzano.
Chicago, US: Capone is released from Philadelphia prison and resumes warfare against Joe Aiello. Capone supports Masseria in struggle against Castellammarese.
New York, US: Salvatore Maranzano men gun down Giuseppe (Peter) Morello, 60, at his offices, 362 E.116th Street. Morello bodyguard Giuseppe Piranio is also killed. Joe Valachi says "Buster" from Chicago was the gunman, indicates that Morello put up a fight even after being shot.
New York, US: Maranzano allies from Reina's old family eliminate Joe Pinzolo in early September. Gaetano Gagliano and Tommy Lucchese are believed to have cooperated on the hit, which occurred at a Lucchese office, 1487 Broadway. Bobby Doyle is believed to have pulled the trigger.
New York, US: Gaetano Lucchese is arrested and charged with murder of Joe Pinzolo. Charges are later dropped.
Brooklyn, US: Joe Parrino is murdered by the Castellammarese. With the blessing of Stefano Magaddino of Buffalo (who has ruled the Brooklyn Castellammarese in absentia), Salvatore Maranzano becomes war leader of the group.
Chicago, US: Capone eliminates Joe Aiello, sends financial support to Masseria in New York. Capone takes over what remains of the Unione by assigning Agostino Loverdo to be its president. Aiello is murdered by machine gun fire in front of a friend's home at 205 Kolmar Avenue.
New York, US: Ignazio Lupo believed responsible for murder of Roger Consiglio. Probably had more to do with Lupo's efforts to extract money from Italian bakeries than to the "Castellammarese War," as Lupo was retired from "big-time" Mafia politics.
New York, US: Luciano, his associates and Ciro Terranova begin secret negotiations with Salvatore Maranzano over betrayal of Masseria.
New York, US: Salvatore Maranzano soldiers ambush and kills Al Mineo, powerful ally of Joe the Boss, and Steve Ferrigno, an important Mafia figure, outside of Ferrigno's home at 759 Pelham Parkway South. Masseria, who had met with the two men, lagged behind as Mineo and Ferrigno left the building and so escaped the ambush.
Providence,RI: Gunmen kill Peleg Champlin, a prison trusty, and George McVay, a prison guard at the state jail at Howard, in an unsuccessful attempt to free two convicts: Fifteen years later Raymond Patriarca is later indicted as an accessory before the fact of murder.
1931:
New York, US: Joe Masseria sends peace feelers to Salvatore Maranzano. The Castellammarese say they will not end the war until Joe "the Baker" Catania, a firm Masseria and Terranova ally, is killed. Catania, 29, is killed at 647 Crescent Avenue. Maranzano, who accused Catania of hijacking his liquor shipments, reportedly ordered the hit.
Coney Island, US: “Lucky” Luciano arranges for Joe Masseria to be assassinated after a big lunch at Coney Island's Nuova Villa Tammaro restaurant (also known as Scarpato's Restaurant) while Luciano is in the bathroom. Ciro Terranova said to be the driver, Benjamin Siegel, believed to have been one of the shooters.
Chicago, US: Despite Nicola Gentile's urging for the establishment of a national Mafia commission, Salvatore Maranzano proclaims himself boss of bosses at a meeting held in Chicago. The meeting also serves to patch up differences between Maranzano and his host, Al Capone. Luciano and his allies plan to eliminate Maranzano, as he begins working against them.
Chicago, US: Alphonse Capone's trial for income tax evasion. Capone sentenced to 11 years.
New York, US: “Lucky Luciano”, “Meyer Lansky” and crew eliminate Salvatore Maranzano the last of the “Mustache Pete” bosses, abolish the idea of Capi di tutti capi (boss of all bosses) and form “The Commission”. An organizational form where heads of regional crime families meet to settle disputes, discuss and vote on ideas and actions. This changes the face of Italian organized crime in America.
Meyer Lansky
Boston, Mass: Fillippo “Phillip Buccola” Bruccola and Joseph Lombardo were responsible for the elimination of Frankie Wallace, leader of the Gustin Gang who attempted to take over Lombardo’s liquor racket. This event changed the way the New York families viewed the Boston Family.
New York, US: There was a need for the New York Castellammarese family to elect a new boss. Stefano Magaddino, boss of the Buffalo family, urged his cousin, Joe Bonanno, to seek the position. With this prestigious support Bonanno was easily elected boss by the 300 members of the family. Early in his reign, Bonanno played a part in the creation of the Commission. Initially composed of seven bosses, this board of directors was to arbitrate disputes between families in the hopes of avoiding bloodshed. It was to be a safer alternative to the former practice of looking to the most powerful mafia leader to make the decision.
Giuseppe "Joe Bananas" Bonanno
1932:
Boston, Mass: Buccola was named head of the Boston Family by the newly formed Luciano commission. Joseph Lombardo as consigliere and later an elder statesman to Buccola was very important in the shaping of the New England Family.
Philip Buccola
US: The Mafia officially closes its membership rolls. After huge membership leap during Castellammarese War, Mafia leadership feels smaller numbers would increase profits and reduce risks. Some sources indicate that the closed membership is an order from Charlie Luciano.
Chicago, US: Frank Nitti takes over day-to-day operations of Chicago underworld while Capone is in prison. Tony Accardo serves as underboss. Chicago becomes virtually united under the new regime and Chicago Family leadership becomes a cooperative group effort rather than the brutal dictatorship it was under Capone.
New York, US: Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll is gunned down in a telephone booth in a 23rd Street drugstore. Dutch Schultz is believed partly responsible. It is also believed that Owney Madden cooperated on the hit, as it was Madden who was on the other end of the phone conversation. The drugstore was just a short distance from Madden's home in the London Terrace apartments.
New York, US: Carlo Gambino becomes a minor Mafia boss and brings relative Paul Castellano into the organization.
Rome,Italy: Vito Cascio Ferro dies in prison.
New York, US: Luciano establishes a formal relationship between the Mafia and Louis “Lepke “Buchalter who ran the Murder Inc. group. Buchalter's professional killers will be employed for Syndicate-ordered hits.
1933:
Boston, Mass: Jewish Mob Boss and Boston's most prominent crime leader and bootlegger, Charles "King" Solomon was killed at his Roxbury, Boston speakeasy, known as the Cotton Club on January 24, 1933. Law enforcement theorize that either Italian or Irish underworld leaders in the North End Buccola Family of Boston, Massachusetts or the Walsh Mob of Providence, Rhode Island had Solomon assassinated, either way, Solomon became another victim of the mob war for dominance in New England's underworld. As Irish Bosses Wallace and Walsh were killed by Boston's North End Italians, Solomon was most likely killed by them as well, being that Italian dominance was uncontested in the New England underworld there after.
Chicago, US: Sam Giancana, noticed for taking a recent prison stretch "with honor," is appointed to be Tony Accardo's chauffer and bodyguard. Accardo is an important man in the post-Capone Chicago mob but not yet the boss.
Providence, RI, US: Daniel L. “Danny” Walsh was a bootlegger who by the 1920's had put together a fleet of planes, boats and cars and earned the reputation of being one of “the most daring rum-runners on the East Coast.” Walsh spent his money on prize horses for his Charleston farm, and two plush apartments he kept in Providence. On February 2, Walsh said goodbye to several associates after dining at a Pawtuxet Village café and was never seen again. Several days after his disappearance a ransom note arrived for Walsh’s brother Joseph demanding $40,000. Joseph traveled to Boston, paid the demand, but Danny was never returned.
Providence,RI: Raymond Patriarca is offically listed by the Providence Police as a public enemy.
1934:
Chicago, US: Phil D'Andrea is president of Chicago's Unione Siciliana.
New York, US: Meyer Lansky and Johnny Torrio believed to have taken leadership roles in an underworld conference at the Waldorf Astoria hotel as the details of the nationwide criminal Syndicate are ironed out.
Hartford, CT, US: Paul 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.
New York, US: Fiorello LaGuardia takes on Frank Costello by smashing 1,000 of Costello's slot machines. (Costello had permits for the machines.)
Brooklyn, US: Upon his release from the Hartford County Jail, Paul Castellano is highly regarded by hometown Mafiosi.
San Francisco, US: Al "Scarface" Capone was transferred to Alcatraz prison.
1935:
New York, US: Ignazio Lupo is charged with extortion. He has been working to compel Italian bakers to join his "union."
New Jersey, US: Luciano-led syndicate commission authorizes the murder of Arthur “Dutch Schultz” Flegenheimer. Schultz had been planning to assassinate New York State prosecutor Thomas Dewey.
Newark, US: Arthur “Dutch Schultz” Flegenheimer is murdered along with his gang leadership, at Palace Chophouse in Newark, NJ. Luciano gives Michael "Trigger Mike" Coppola the Harlem number rackets.
New York, US: Fiorello LaGuardia temporarily prohibits the purchase or sale of artichokes within the city limits. Also authorizes the police to arrest Ciro Terranova as soon as he is seen crossing into Manhattan.
1936:
New York, US: Thomas Dewey focuses his attention on Luciano and wins a conviction, linking the crime boss with prostitution. Luciano is jailed at Dannemora.
Washington, D.C., US: Franklin Roosevelt finds that Ignazio Lupo has violated the terms of his conditional release, sends him back to prison to serve the remainder of his counterfeiting sentence.
1937:
New Orleans, US: Nicola 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.
California,US: the East Coast mob sent Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel to California to develop syndicate gambling rackets with Los Angeles mobster Jack Dragna. Once in Los Angeles, Siegel recruited gang boss Mickey Cohen as his lieutenant. Siegel used syndicate money to set up a national wire service to help the East Coast mob quicken their returns.
1938:
Brookline, Mass: Raymond Loreda Salvatore Patriarca participated in the robbery of a jewelry store in Brookline. He was convicted of carrying a gun without a permit, possession of burglar’s tools and armed robbery. He was sentenced to three to five years in state prison. Less than three months into the sentence Patriarca was paroled setting off a political corruption storm in the wake of his release. The ensuing investigation lasted three years. In 1941 Daniel H. Coakley, a Massachusetts Governor’s Councilor, was impeached and removed from office for his involvement in the incident. During his lifetime Patriarca was arrested or indicted 28 times, convicted seven times, imprisoned four times, and served 11 years in prison. More than half of his prison time was for a murder conspiracy charge during the 1960s. Patriarca returns to Providence where his influence and power increase during the 1940s.
1939:
Chicago. US: Sam Giancana begins a three-year prison stay.
New York, US: Law enforcement agencies and the public clamor for prosecution of Louis “ Lepke” Buchalter, Through Walter Winchell, Lepke turns himself in to J. Edgar 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.
Sicily: Nicola Gentile gets out on bail. Gentile flees back to Sicily to escape prosecution.
Sicily: Vito Genovese is wanted by police. Escapes to Sicily.
Chicago, US: Alphonse Capone is released from Alcatraz, but he is mentally incompetent, the result of a lost battle with syphilis.
1940:
Brooklyn, US: Abe "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.
New York, US: Thanks largely to Abe 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 hit men.
1941:
New York, US: Harry Strauss and Bugsy Goldstein are electrocuted after the two were found guilty of murder based on Abe Reles testimony.
New York, US: Abe "Kid Twist" Reles dies after a plunge from his room window in the Half Moon Hotel. Hit man Reles was key witness in the case against Louis “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 Albert Anastasia. That would have brought law enforcement right into the underworld's ruling Commission. It is believed that Frank Costello paid police officers guarding Reles to see to it that he did not testify.
1942:
New York, US: Death sentence against Harry Maione and Frank Abbandando is carried out.
Comstock, NY, US: Charlie Luciano is moved to Great Meadow Prison in Comstock, NY while he provides 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.
Chicago, US: Upon Sam Giancana's release from prison, he becomes the top adviser and enforcer for Tony Accardo.
1943:
Chicago, US: 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.
Los Angeles, US: Carlo Matranga dies of natural causes. He was an influential member of Mafia organizations in New Orleans and Los Angeles.
1944:
New York, US: Louis “Lepke “ Buchalter is sent to the electric chair.
Sicily: Calogero 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.
1945:
Sicily: As payment for his perceived assistance with Allied landings in Sicily, Charlie Luciano will be freed from prison but deported to Italy.
New York, US: Vito Genovese returns from Sicily, faces murder trial and is acquitted. In Luciano's absence, Genovese and Costello compete for dominance in the Luciano "Family" and on the Syndicate commission.
Providence,RI: The Rhode Island Supreme Court dismisses the murder-accessory indictment against Patriarca and his co-defendants citing the statute of limitations.
1946:
Sicily: becomes an autonomous region.
New York, US: Gov. Thomas Dewey announces that Luciano will be freed and deported, reward for his service to military intelligence during the war.
Ellis Island, NY, US: In preparation for his departure, Charlie Luciano is moved from Great Meadow Prison to Ellis Island. After a big underworld send-off, Luciano departs for Italy aboard the Laura Keene.
1946:
Palermo, Sicily: Charlie Luciano, and Calogero Vizzino meet in Palermo, decide to increase cooperation between Sicily and U.S. Mafia groups. Luciano becomes a lieutenant to Vizzini.
Havana, Cuba: Charlie Luciano travels to Havana to meet with Meyer Lansky and other business associates.
Havana, Cuba: A convention of the U.S. crime Syndicate is held at Havana's Hotel Nacional. At the meeting, it is believed that the Syndicate decides to eliminate Benjamin Siegel.
1947:
Providence, RI, US: Frank Morelli was summoned to testify before a jury which was investigating the allegation of Morelli harboring Genovese Family capo Michael "Trigger Mike" Coppola and his family. Coppola was a suspect in the beating death of a political district captain. Due to heavy drinking, the unwanted public attention and a bout with cancer Phil Buccola of Boston forced Morelli to retire and placed the Morelli gang rackets under his wing.
Miami, US: Al Capone dies in Miami of the physical and mental damage caused by a long bout with syphilis.
Palisade, NJ: Albert Anastasia follows Adonis from Brooklyn to Palisade, 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.
New Orleans, US: Sam Carolla is deported to Sicily. New boss of New Orleans Mafia is unknown. It may have been Carlos Marcello, who certainly had the attention of law enforcement, but another may have held the job behind the scenes until around 1950, when Marcello was certainly in command.
Beverly Hills, CA, US: After losing financial control of a mob-sponsored Flamingo hotel construction project, Benjamin Siegel is assassinated under orders from the commission. He is shot through a window at the home of girlfriend Virginia Hill.
1950:
Washington, DC: 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 conducted hearings in 14 cities and describes Patriarca as "king of the rackets" in New England.
Boston, Mass, US: Leadership in Boston fear the publicity might expose them and their operations and order all bookmaking operations shut down, or to operate without a central layoff bank and without police protection. This opens the door for Gennaro Angiulo to move in on the gambling operations of the city.
Washington, D.C.: Willie 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.
Chicago, US: Sam 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.
1951:
Trenton, NJ,US: Joe Adonis begins a two-year jail term in New Jersey State Prison for gambling violations.
New York, US: Meyer Lansky is indicted for running gambling operations in Saratoga Springs, NY.
1952:
Cranston, RI, US: Carlton O’Brien, a former Rhode Island Public Enemy #1 and bootlegger went into gambling and took control of the area’s race-wire service. He was shot to death in the backyard at his Cranston home and was Raymond Patriarca's only rival in Providence.
New York, US: Frank 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.
1953:
New York, US: Meyer 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.
Trenton, NJ: Joe Adonis is released from prison but still faces perjury charges.
Washington, DC: Upon learning that Joe 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.
New York, US: Frank Costello is released from prison.
1954:
Boston ,Mass, US: Bruccola leaves for Italy where he retired leaving Raymond Loreda Salvatore Patriarca in charge of the family. Lombardo would retire from the rackets that same year and Patriarca chose Frank "The Cheeseman" Cucchiara, who was a close associate of Charles "Lucky" Luciano and Vito Genovese as his consigliere. Little is known about Cucchiara besides the fact that he was a fast rising capo in the state of Massachusetts and was known to hide his illegal activities and launder his money through the guise of a cheese importer.
Providence, RI, US: Patriarca merged the Providence and Boston Families into one and moved the New England Family's headquarters from Boston to Providence, Rhode Island. He expanded business all over New England. His interests included gambling, loan sharking and hijacking to name a few. He ran his empire from The National Cigarette Service Company and Coin-O-Matic Distributors, a vending machine and pinball business located at 168 Atwells Avenue in an area known as Federal Hill and known to family members as "The Office.". Enrico Henry "The Referee" Tameleo who was a member of the Bonanno crime family served as under boss for Patriarca and as second-in-command for the Providence, RI group while Genarro "Jerry" Anguillo was considered the under boss of the Boston, Mass. faction. Tameleo, held the most power and respect with the Italian organized crime underworld. Tameleo who, also had ties to the 5 New York families, was known as a stone cold killer. Patriarca built a relationship with the Genovese and Profaci/Colombo crime families.
The Office
Boston, Mass, US: Gennaro Angiulo was shaken down regularly by mob heavies in Boston because he was not a made member of the Mafia. Angiulo solved this paying Patriarca promising him an additional money every year. These payments led to Angiulo becoming a made member of the family without having to “make his bones” as other members were required. The Patriarca-Angiulo relationship was strictly financial. Angiulo was never well liked or respected, but as long as he kept the money flowing into Providence he had the backing and protection of Patriarca.
Brooklyn, US: The Gottis move to East New York, Brooklyn. Gotti skips school, gets a tattoo of a serpent on his right shoulder, and runs errands for local Mafia mobsters.
Washington, DC: Joe Adonis is found guilty of perjury. He faces two-year jail term as well as possible deportation. While appealing the verdict, Adonis offers to voluntarily leave the U.S. in exchange for elimination of the jail term.
New York, US: Lacking street soldiers, the Mafia reopens its membership. With just a few exceptions, new members had not been added since 1932.
Sicily: Calogero Vizzini , 77, dies.
1956:
Washington, DC: Federal authorities agree to let Joe Adonis leave the country.
Chicago, US: Tony Accardo decides to retire from day-to-day operations. Sam 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.
New York, US: Frank Costello is convicted on tax evasion charges, Costello enters federal prison.
New York, US: Albert Anastasia, makes Carlo Gambino his underboss.
Italy: No longer able to convince authorities that he was born in America and facing perjury charges, Joe 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, and Albert Anastasia.
Providence,RI: Patriarca's business, the National Cigarette Service,is ordered by the Superior Court to cease interfering with the operation of the Rowe Cigarette Service of Pawtucket, a rival firm.
1957:
Providence, RI, US: December 7, Preston S “Mousie” Strang , a small time thief disappeared from a social club in the Federal Hill section of Providence two days after breaking in and stealing silverware from the Narragansett home of Mrs. Eugene Nobel. It is rumored that Kevin Hanrahan and Robert Fairbrothers were responsible for his disappearance.
Kevin Hanrahan
New York, US: Frank Costello wins temporary release from federal prison while his appeal is being heard by the Supreme Court.
Bronx, NY, US: Frank Scalise is assassinated in a Bronx produce market. Two reasons have been given 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 individuals who were not the secretive, loyal sort the Mafia was seeking.
New York, US: Frank Costello's head is grazed by a would-be assassin's bullet. He announces that he's retiring from the rackets, leaving Luciano "Family" to Genovese.
New York,US: Albert Anastasia is killed in the Park Sheraton Hotel's barber shop. Carlo Gambino moves into leadership position and may have organized the hit. Vito Genovese also had reason to act against the strong supporter of his rival for power, Frank Costello. Meyer 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.
Apalachin, NY: 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.
Boston,Mass: The Massachusetts Crime Commission describes Patriarca as the "most powerful influence" in an interstate gambling network and is doing an estimated $2-billion business annually in the Bay State.
1958:
Washington, D.C.: 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. FBI decides that organization will be referred to as La Cosa Nostra or LCN.
Washington,DC: Patriarca, giving a Providence address, testifies in Washington before the McClellan committee. He states he has no knowledge of strong-arm distribution tactics on behalf of his National Cigarette Service company and testifies that the capital he used in starting up his business came from $80,000 to $90,000 that his late mother left to him in a box kept in the cellar. Robert F. Kennedy, committee counsel asks why Patriarca, if he had $80,000 sitting in the basement, had gotten involved in burglaries. Patriarca replies, "Why do a lot of young fellows do a lot of things, when they haven't a father?"
1959:
Washington,DC: Senate rackets committee Q&A crime leaders from around the country. Patriarca refuses to take the Fifth Amendment. Questioned by Robert F. Kennedy, Patriarca describes himself as an honest businessman stating "I have been a goat around Rhode Island for 20 years." When he is asked to describe his employment record, Patriarca says his first job was as a bellboy at the Biltmore Hotel in 1923 or 1924, then he was a salesman who "used to buy stuff and go out and sell it in cars." Patriarca says he didn't do anything from 1932 to 1944, when he went to work as "a counterman and manager, like," in Louie's Restaurant on Atwells Avenue. After a year at that job, he says, "I think I played horses until 1950."
Havana, Cuba: 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.
Orange, NJ: Abner "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.
New York, US: Genovese Family leadership is convicted of narcotics trafficking and sent off to prison. Vito Genovese gets 15 years. Vincent Gigante gets seven years. Natale Joseph Evola, a lieutenant in the Bonanno organization, is also sentenced to a 10-year jail term.
New York, US: Anthony Carfano 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 gunmen in the back seat of the car.
New York, US: Paul 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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