Hi all, first time poster, long time lurker/reader.

Can't be sure where I read it, but someone had claimed that the picture of a younger Salvatore Maranzano that we all know was not actually him, that it was some hood from England.

I didn't really believe it, but after seeing a few photos of Maranzano dead in his office online and in Bonnano's book, it doesn't look like an older Maranzano from the one in the photo we all know.

can anyone shed some light, and maybe a few more photos of the man? like I said, the only ones I have ever seen are the young portrait of him, and the one of him dead in his office. maybe that's all that is out there.

Can you post the photo that you're referring to?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Salvatore-Maranzano.jpg


this is the one that was in dispute. Its in "Man of Honor", so I am assuming its legit?

Turnbull? anyone?

Several years ago, I put that very same question to Jerry Capeci, the editor of Ganglandnews.com. I posited that the guy in it didn't look like a "Moustache Pete." Jerry replied that it was indeed Salvatore Maranzano.

cool, thanks.

yeah, and the photo of him bleeding on the ground looks like a totally different guy. way more moustache pete, that's why the confusion over the younger photo.

is that Maranzano on the floor?

I believe it is.

wow, he really let himself go. can't even recognize him from the younger picture.

that original photo must have been taken back when he was in Palermo.

This is one thing I asked before.

The same pic is of one of the Messina brothers.

Lompac is right. Capeci was wrong. The photo is of Salvatore Messina, one of six brothers who ran a string of brothels in London in the '40s and '50s.

So far as is known, Maranzano was never arrested so there are no known live photos of him at this time.

Not sure but I believe this photo was first published as Maranzano in one of Jay Robert Nash's books, none of which are even worth looking at.

Plus Maranzano came from Italy to the States and as such a file on him wouldn't exist.

so the only photo we can absolutely confirm is the one of him dead in his office?

Also, its coincidental that Maranzano left Italy for the USA at the same time as Messina left Britain.

Bonnano took many liberties with his autobiography, its true, but the part that everyone can agree is fact is his account of the Castellemmarese War.

its also assumed that he saw the photos of all the Fathers before their picture made it into the book.

Wouldn't he stop the inclusion of Maranzano's picture, of his mentor, if it wasn't him?

Bonanno provides a fascinating account of the Castellemmarese War that is probably the most detailed telling extant. I'd like to believe it's true, but given the liberties and embellishments he took with other aspects of his life, the question remains open.
One of the unresolved questions is the extent to which he knew about, or was involved in, Maranzano's assassination. He'd like us to believe that he was surprised by it, then was elected boss of the family by the other members because of his popularity, force of personality, etc. And, when Charlie Luciano came calling to explain his role, Bonanno accepted it. I find it hard to believe that Luciano would have acted unilaterally against Maranzano without consulting people close to Maranzano--if for no other reason than to determine if others in the family were part of the conspiracy to whack Luciano. And I also doubt Bonanno suddenly got lucky, with the people in the family declaring him boss.

As for the photos: He no doubt supplied the publisher with photos from his personal collection. But the publisher might have used that stock photo of Maranxano without running it by Bonanno. Too bad, because there's probably no one alive today who could verify it.

Maybe Albert Facchiano could. He was there in 1931.

The picture ain't Maranzano, it ain't no Mustache Pete

In two films, Maranzano has been with a mustache and is older then the photo suggests. The two films are The Youngest Godfather and The Valachi Papers.

Capieci can't be too bright when it comes to the mob. After all, he is charging for his info when its free all over the net. Why pay for it at A when you can get it free from B?

Capieci, Italian, is this a racket on his part?!!

Nah, he's only one of the most prolific journalists to ever cover the subject of organized crime.



Why, are you suggesting that Italians only prosper through "rackets"?

And his name is spelled C-A-P-E-C-I.

Asshole.

And plagarize it?

Who plagarised?

C'mon now, don't play coy. You know what you did. You know what happened here before. You wanna bring it up again?

You know you plagarized.

That was Mini, not me.