Hi BarrettM -
Yes, he took out the Volpe brothers without Commission approval. Volpe were not necessarily his 'members", they were his business partners and they were becoming very powerful in the Pittsburgh, Wilmerding and Turtle creek areas, and they were becoming politically connected and they were a threat to Bazzano. Volpe's even made their own brother in law police chief.
Bazzano became angry, maybe jealous when the Volpe clan started expanding their territory towards the City of Pittsbrugh.
In 1932 the Mob family Hierarchy as it has become known was not in place yet. I am not sure many "members" were sworn members like they were a decade later. It was in its infancy.
And incase you were not aware Barrett - John Bazzano' s son, John Jr became Family boss in 2006 when Michael Genovese passed away and served as the Boss for 2 years until his passing in July 2008.
John Jr was 4 1/2 yrs old when his father was ice picked to death and dumped in a New York gutter.
Some say Chucky Porter became Underboss when Jo Jo Pecora passed in 1987 until his conviction in 1990, others say John Jr became served as Genovese's Underboss after Jo Jo Pecora passed until Genovese died at home on Halloween night 2006.
He was sentenced to 7 years in Federal prison and paroled in 1981.
Thats largely correct Millspgh. The Volpe brothers were Napolitani, unlike Bazzano who was Sicilian. In those early days before the amalgamation and blending of Sicilians, Neopolitans and Calabrians there was much competition among them as they fought for supremacy. In 1931 with the formation of the Commission in NY all southern Italian brotherhoods were brought in as "friends." When Bazzano made the unauthorized move to rid himself of his Napolitano problem he paid with his life. Because at that point the entire underworld ruled against him. In particular back in NYC underbosses Vito Genovese and Albert Anastasia (both non-sicilians) insisted on Bazzano's demise. Thereafter with Genovese's assistance fellow Napolitano Frank Amato was installed as the new boss of Pittsburgh.
