Lansing State Journal from Lansing, Michigan • Page 13

Mobsters Change Organization's Name to Suit Tastes THE STATE JOLltN lL Nov. 14, 1971 A-13 pc Pk point out Maranzano. Non-Italians were used, he said, to divert attention from Luciano. Lansky was a close friend of Luciano and eventually rose to be the financial genius of organized crime. 'SICILIAN VESPERS' After Maranzano, said Gentile and Valachi, the younger Mafia leaders proceeded to eliminate many Mustache Petes in a single night of executions across the country that came to be called "the night of the Sicilian vespers." Neither Gentile nor Valachi said how many old Mafiosi were killed, former U.S.

Atty. Gen. Ramsey Clark in his book, "Crime in America," put the figure at 40. The death of Maranzano left the reins of the Mafia unofficially in the hands of Lucky Luciano, the shrewd, cold-eyed but soft-spoken man who had earned i nickname as a young racketeer by surviving hours of torture when kidnapped by rival hoodlums. After the purge of Maranza-no's followers, Luciano went to work improving the structure of the Mafia and expanding his own influence.

He added the consigliere (councillor) to the Mafia family to mediate grievances and cut down internal squabbling within groups. And he helped set up a national "commissione" of Mafia bosses across the country to arbitrate disputes between families, to confirm new family bosses and most of all, to keep the various Mafia groups operating smoothly and successfully. Luciano was convicted by special prosecutor Thomas Dewey of multiple counts of compulsory prostitution aaa four men' walked into the restaurant and shot Masseria to death. After Masseria, Gentile wrote, Luciano and the younger Mafia leaders wanted to replace the boss of bosses with a commission of several leaders. But Maranzano refused and had enough support among the older leaders, the "Mustache Petes" as they were called, to be named boss.

Maranzano then proceeded to make plans to have Luciano and his supporters eliminated, according to Gentile, but Luciano beat him to it. Maranzano was killed in his office on the afternoon of Sept. 10, 1931, Gentile wrote, and the execu-t i were "six Jewish youths, assisted and accompanied by an Italian." Valachi said that the youths were "Meyer Lansky's boys" with an Italian sent along to in Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Kansas City. By the mid-Thirties, his fortunes had declined desperately, however, and he fled to Sicily to avoid trial on a narcotics charge. He retired in the early 1950s and began writing about his experiences with the Mafia both in Sicily and in the United States.

The memoirs, written in Italian, were never published, but parts of them were quoted in the Italian press along with interviews with Gentile, who made no secret of his Mafia membership. Gentile's description of the Mafia's development in U.S. strongly supports the account offered in 1962 by Valachi, although the old man had never hard of Valachi when he wrote his memoirs. Valachi's version was much more detailed and went beyond Gentile, who left the United States was sent to prison in 1936 from where he was released and deported to Italy a decade later. He was succeeded by his un-derboss i Genovese, but Genovese fled to Italy in 1937 to escape the heat Dewey was still generating and was trapped there by the outbreak of World War II.

COSTELLO EMERGED After Luciano and Genovese the man who came to dominate the Mafia was Frank Costello. A dapper figure who treated himself to a professional manicure and shave every day and dressed like an aristocrat, Cos-See MAFIA, Page A-14, Col. 1 JOE COLOMBO tore Maranzano two powerful Mafioso, both Italian-born, ambitious and eager to be boss of bosses. Mafia leaders from other cities ultimately united behind a decision to end the war by having Masseria killed. Gentile's FRANK COSTELLO account of the killing parallels that of Valachi: Masseria was lured to a restaurant by one of his most trusted aides, Salva-tore Luciana, known as Lucky Luciano who, after the meal, excused himself to go to the men's room.

In his absence, Continued from Page A-l Dangerous Drugs and other law enforcement agencies have successfully infiltrated the Mafia numerous times. For instance, the kickback conspiracy involving New York City commissioner James Marcus and a Mafioso nmed Antonio "Tony Ducks" Corallo was exposed in 1968 by Herbert It-kin, who developed close ties to Corallo and then informed the FBI. John Ormento and Carmine Galente, probably the Mafia's most successful heroin importers in the 1950s, are now serving long prison terms because they trusted a man named Edward L. Smith who was a government informant. WANT NO CRIME It is true that the FBI has never sent an agent to join the Mafia and then come out to talk publicly about it.

In fact, it's a matter of policy with federal law enforcement agencies never to have their agents become members of any organization where they'd be called upon to commit a serious crime. Why has no one ever caught a Mafioso using the word "Mafia" even in monitored conversations with his fellow -bers? the word "Mafia" is an old term that members of the organization have not used for years. It has been replaced by numerous euphemisms that often vary from city to city. In New York and other cities on the East Coast, as Valachi pointed out, it has been called a Cosa Nostra" (Our thing). In Chicago it is often called "The Outfit," in Buffalo "The Arm" and in some parts of New England Office." The public can't be expected to keep up with these original variations and so continues to use the time-honored term "Mafia." But all these names have been picked up in monitored conversations, tinues to use the time-honored term "Mafia." But all these names have been picked up in monitored conversations.

As for Valachi, he is by no means the only Mafia member to talk in public about the organization. During' the 1918 murder trial of a New York Mafioso named Pelligrino Morano, the district attorney produced a witness named Tony a a who talked at length about the Mafia, particularly his own initiation into the organization. WROTE MEMOIRS Another man to describe his experiences in the Mafia was Nicola Gentile, who did it neither in a courtroom like Na-taro nor before a congressional Three blcp days I Eyeiry fashion coat So stock reduced 15! Reg. $21 to $85. Don't wait a moment Sjjjpf iH longer Get to Penneys now and pick out a and just about everything in between.

Real yv ulf 'MJ fur trims, plushy make-believe ones, lots 1 siff 3E itt! if more. In sizes for misses, rc5' in 1937, so there is no question of Valachi basing his story on the older man's memoirs. Other Mafia members have broken the sacred law of silence and talked about the organization to which they belong, but their statements have not been made public bylaw enforcement officials because they are too valuable for their lives to be endangered by public exposure. BEGAN IN PALERMO The Mafia had its beginnings in Palermo, Sicily in 1282 when the natives rose against their French rulers and succeeded in freeing Sicily of foreign domination for a hundred years. The motto in the uprising was, "Morte alia Francia Italia anelax" "Death to the French is Italy's glory." After the rebellion a secret organization was formed to protect poor Sicilians and it took its name from the first letters in the motto of the insurrection: MAFIA.

Sometime in the 19th century the character of the Mafia changed completely, allowing its members to be hired by rich landowners to oppress the peasants and extorting money and goods from the peasants directly. The first recorded Mafia killing in the U.S. occurred on Jan. 24, 1889, when a man named Vkncenzo Ottumvo was murdered during a card game. A gang war followed.

By 1910, there were Mafia gangs in many major U.S. cities. Mafia groups in those early days were "very democratic," Gentile wrote. Groups of ten members chose leaders (capos) who in turn elected the head of the (capo famiglia). The heads of families and their lieutenants elected the head of all the Mafia, known as the "capo dei capi" (boss of bosses) or "king." FIGHT BROUGHT CHANGE Both Valachi and Gentile said that Mafia leaders often waged bloody battles against each other, and that one of them ultimately led to profound changes in the organization.

The fight was started in 1930 and involved gangs led by Giuseppe Masseria and Salva- committee like Valachi. He set down his Mafia experiences in the course of writing his memoirs after retiring. Gentile was born in Sicily in 1884 and came to the United States 19 years later. He joined the Mafia and at various times served as a leader of families 25 Mafia Families Thrive in U.S. There are around 25 Mafia families throughout the United States.

As of this writing, the heads of the largest and most powerful families, according to Justice Department officials, are the following: New York: Carlo Gambino; Joseph Colombo, head of the former Magliocco family; Natale Evola, head of the former Bon-anno family; Carmen Tramunti, acting head of the former Thomas Luchese family; and Gerardo Catena, acting head of the Genovese family. Chicago: Anthony Accardo and Paul Delucia, acting heads due to the flight to Mexico of boss Sam Giancana in 1966 and imprisonment of his interim successor, Samuel Battaglia. Detroit: Joseph Zerilli. Buffalo: Stefano Megaddino. New Jersey: Simone Rizzo DeCavalcante (in prison).

New Orleans: Carlos Marcello. Philadelphia: Angelo Bruno. Boston: Raymond Patriarca (in prison). Los Angeles: Nicolo Licata. The death of informer Joseph Valachi of a heart attack on April 3, 1971, at the age of 67, came at a time of increasing attacks on the validity of his information.

His critics charge that he either made up everything or was told a lot of half-truths, rumors and lies by the FBI to repeat to the world as inside information. This criticism is part of the general campaign to raise doubts that the Mafia exists at all. But such an effort is based on wishful thinking rather than reality. It is just as wrong, and as dangerous, to deny the Mafia's existence as it is to claim that all gangsters are Italian. Joseph Valachi, himself the son of an Italian immigrant, was bewildered when he was told that his testimony had raised a clamor of protest from Italian-Americans who felt he was smearing them and their ancestors.

"I'm not talking about Italians," Valachi explained. "I'm talking about criminals." "Mom-Can I Sleep NO-YOU CAN'T -SPEND THE NIGHT. BECAUSE WET THE at Johnny's Help him Durinf lt PMf 17 ytfi, ovf ttm of thowvfi of of mt out. W. ENURTONE nrnhod in not ma1 by ottrnc dfcti at diMiwi Not rnolav yourwf-tn tht pn.aey of your ham-to Jovutoi bV bv tonight- BED! enjoy his youth pwtmi havo bd im Iho quoillon In ewr proved it cm StOf BED WETTING' lEnurmJ.

dr ua or dtt Jo mmpi tetinH you cm cornet badtlnt In link 2 to wain. 'eognind ftmily lomca. RtconvnantM agn MAIL COUPON TODAY Iir) a9e 12 years fy COMING TO PENNEYS NOV. 16TO NOV. 20 FREE JCPenney Christmas Catalog WWi win iwjf jmm Third Floor The values are here every day.

Shop JCPenney in DOWNTOWN LANSING Monday Friday 9:30 to 9:00 Thurs. 9:30 to 5:30 ENUKTONE CO. 2844 Scottwood, Toledo, Ohio 43610 Addroitu City Stat. Subject Agt.