Giuseppe "Clutch Hand" Morello

Is he the first American LCN member, technically?
I see that he was born in 1867 and I am unable to find anyone who came onto US soil that was born before him.
Or does more credit go to the Terranova brothers?
Costello was also technically born 2-3 years after the Terranovas but didn't come to the US until 1895.

I do know that LCN originated from a multitude of youth gangs but I want to know who was the first adult to begin to run the show?

I know that if were were talking about the Italian mafia, there are a lot more people who began the criminal underworld at an earlier time.

The Morello family is widely considered to be the first Family but how true that is I don't know. But if you believe that scenario then you could make the assumption that Morello was the first.

I've also heard the Mafia in the US originated in New Orleans which would dispute Morello and his family being the first.

I think in Al D'Arco's book, he claims the first Mafia family originated in New Jersey and has a direct line to the modern day Lucchese family. So who the first was may be a question we never get an answer to.

I don't think any credit goes to the Terranova brothers as being the first because although they were Morello's step brothers they were much younger than he was. They pretty much followed in his foot steps and didn't take over the Morello family until Giuseppe the clutch hand was imprisoned in I believe 1910 or so.

Here is a link to a pretty good site with a lot of info, pictures, and documents about the Morello's and others from that era.

https://www.gangrule.com/

I also think New Orleans, Charles Matranga was born in 1857 and him and his brother settled in New Orleans during the 1870s.

Ive read that Morello fought the Camorra and won. Im just speculating now, if the Camorra would have won that war. Would they become what the Cosa Nostra was for US to this day? I mean i think the Black Hand was mostly out of people from Campania/Naples?

the Navy Street Cammora. thats a interesting question.... i dont think the structure would have changed. leadership as well as the Castellemare War probably wouldnt have happened.

I think the Camorra did influence the American Mafia with guys like Al Capone and Vito Genovese.

Capone was known as a Guappo in Chicago.

i don't think the camorra would be succesful like cosa nostra
the old camorra organization was dismantled in italy in 1909 after the cuocolo trial... in the 1800s the camorra was hierarchical with rituals and rules but that kind of camorra finisched in 1909 according to itaòian police

No, LCN came after when forming the new families across the nation. The first family is New Orleans, followed by San Francisco, Belleville and Camden New Jersey. New Orleans has activities that show there was a mob presence in the late 1860's, while the other three shows evidence in the early and mid 1870's. By late 1870's and 1980's, they start popping up in the eastern cities, as well as the Midwest states.

The so-called Palermitani clan, later known as the Gambino family, probably also had members in NYC as early as 1870. Men like Gaetano Russo, Guiseppe Esposito, Michel Cancemi and Nicolo Taranto have been mentioned by experts on the early New York mafia, as likely early members..

Not aware of Belleville or Camden being among the earliest Families, so if there are references or documentation to support this I'm sure we'd all love to see it.

Nicola Taranto was not only an early member, but he was identified as a Boss of Bosses before Morello. Russo was definitely a member and Esposito a probable one. Cancemi, he's more of a possible one. He would have been among the first if he was.

Capone was born in Brooklyn and even though he had Neapolitan blood, I haven't seen anything that suggested he was involved with the Camorra. He was in the Five Points Gang as a kid.

paul ricca

Regarding Capone and the Camorra, it is interesting that Alessandro Vollero of the Navy Street Gang suggested to Joe Valachi that he could join up with him when he gets released from Sing Sing (in the late 1920s).

I always thought N.O. is where it started