OK...who is in charge?

Who is in charge in Milwaukee? Is it Joe Balistrieri? Is it Caminiti? Do they share power? I have read so many conflicting reports. Does anyone know for sure?

As of now the official boss is still Caminiti, though he semi-retired for the health reasons.

The Underboss is Joseph "Joey Bal" Balistrieri and the consigliere appears to be Peter "Pitch" Picciurro. John "Johnny Bal" Balistrieri also holds some influence within the family, he's a capo right now.

hope that helped

Yes, thanks. I assume that "semi-retired" means he does share some of the power with Joey Bal and that Joey Bal would be next in line for boss, no?

I think it's a safe bet Joey Bal is next in line unless he doesn't want it.

What kind of size is the mob now in Milwaukee and what sort of power do they still wield?

30-40 made guys

The're involved with gambling, loansharking, drugs, extortion, mainly street level activities.

I'd say their 4th in the midwest behind the Outfit, the Combination, and KC.

Thanks BDuff.

BDuff is full of it.

The Milwaukee Mafia never had 30 to 40 made guys, not even at the height of its power. It was always a small family. Very few made members. Very few associates, too. Back in the early 1980s, the boss and underboss were caught in the Donnie Brasco sting. There was a reason they wanted Brasco, who was really FBI Special Agent Joseph Pistone, to run their gambling business for them ... because they had no one else they could trust to do it.

BDuff read that inflated membership estimate on another message board by another poster who made it up and tried to pass it off as true information. It was fiction the first time it was posted on another site and it is fiction now on this site where BDuff reposted it as his own knowledge like he re-posted other people's charts from another site and claimed he put it together.

By the way, I want to point this out.

Joseph Balistrieri is a lawyer. He is the son of Frank Balistrieri, who I mentioned in the previous post without actually mentioning his name.

Joseph Balistrieri helped out his father in legal matters back in the 1970s and '80s and got himself in some trouble as a result of that.

There is not a single shread of evidence anywhere in any government report or publication of any kind that he was a made member of the Mafia (then or now), so he can't be the boss of Milwaukee, a family that may or may not even exist anymore.

He is carried on some Milwaukee Mafia organization charts online, but those charts are fiction charts. They are not real, but made up by posters who, for some reason or another, make them up. It's libelous.

NoName, we try to maintain a high level of civility and respect on these boards. If you want to criticize or disagree with a post, please do. But don't get personal with the poster.

BOSS



Al "Big Al" Delvecchio was college educated and attended cooking school for six months. Short in stature, Delvecchio took great pride in his appearance. As a young man, he started working for the Milwaukee crime family, which owed allegiance to the powerful Chicago Outfit criminal organization in Chicago. Delvecchio soon built a reputation for arrogance, cruelty and ruthlessness. Delvecchio allegedly received the "Mad Chef" nickname because he frequently used Improvised Explosive Ingredients (IEIs) added to dinner entrees as weapons against his enemies. His father-in-law and Milwaukee boss, Pat "Arnold" Morita, was soon grooming Delvecchio as his successor.

In 1961, "Arnold" retired and Delvecchio took control of the Milwaukee family. Delvecchio eventually referred to himself as, “....the most powerful man in Milwaukee.” After the "hit" on rival boss and Shotz Beer mogul, Carmine " The Big Ragu" Ragusa, Delvecchio was quoted as saying, "He called me a name - to my face - and now they can't find his skin!" Delvecchio conducted his business at a table at Arnold's Drive Inn in Milwaukee, giving orders over a red telephone. In March 1967, Delvecchio was convicted of income tax evasion and was sent to prison for two years. While serving time in prison he was able to give orders to the family through a close associate known only as "Arthur" who would take those orders over a phone set up in a Drive Inn restroom somewhere in Milwalkee. In June 1971, he was released.

Priceless, DC. Well done!

I think there's good evidence that Arthur is Arthur "Fonzi" Fonzarelli. He eventually took over as boss around '83 and is currently running things these days. He is the longest serving active boss who has not been imprisoned during his reign.



He is known to run chop shops and has a successful jukebox racket. "Fonzie" is known to give thumbs up to those who do a good job and those who don't are subjected to something he has been heard on FBI wiretaps as "jumping the shark" it is not yet known what exactly this means.

NoName is correct. A decade ago there was said to be less than 15 made members remaining. There hasn't been an indictment involving the Mafia there since the 1980's. 30-40 made guys? No way.

Hi everyone, I am doing some research into the Milwaukee mafia and the death of Augie Maniaci in 1977.

I wonder if anyone can recommend any Mafia historians/researchers that I could contact.

my email address is diana@artemisfilms.com

Kind regards

Diana