The five men, killed around the time Maranzano was killed, were Sam Monaco, Louie Russo, Jimmy LaPore (Marino), Joseph Siragusa (Pittsburgh) and a Philly mafioso whose name escapes me right now. Dutch Schultz´s lawyer, Richard "Dixie" Davis, is most probably the one responsible for the myth of the purge, claiming more than 30 old mustache petes were knocked out across the country the day Maranzano was killed. This number snowballed later into 50 and more by newspapermen and authors. Dixie claimed he had learned about the purge from one of Schultz´s gunmen Bo Weinberg. But no crime historian or Mafia expert has ever found any evidence of 50 plus mafiosi killed. The story was retold in The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano, claiming close to 100 mafiosi were killed around the same time as Maranzano. Plain bullshit! The myth is a prime example of Mafia sensationalism, the kind used to sell newspapers and books. The story even made The Guinness Book of Records! And it was all lies.




Monaco and Russo were close allies of Masseria, not Maranzano. They were the leaders of a Newark, NJ Family, formed by Masseria and unhappy about Maranzano´s and Luciano´s joint effort in the Masseria killing.