1) Was the "No facial hair rule" ever actually a rule in the Mafia or is that just a myth started by Donnie Brasco?
2) What was Joey Gallo's official ranking? I've heard of him and his brothers having guys around them but never heard of whether Joey was a Soldier or a Capo. How respected was he by Gambino and the other Bosses? Did any of them support his play to take over the Profaci Family?
3) What is the most powerful American family at the moment?
4) Who is the REAL father of American La Cosa Nostra: Salvatore Maranzano or Lucky Luciano? Lucky gets the credit usually, but Marazano created the "Family" structure of Capos, Soldiers, etc and the idea of the Five Families and the Commission and the "Making" ceremony.
5) Can you be half Italian and be made today?
6) Was there ever a figure named "Jack the Barber" or something like that who was a Capo or at least a Soldier in Bensonhurst--I'm talking back in the '60s and '70s? What about a guy with the last name Scotto--same neighborhood, same time period?

Selwyn Raab, in his authoritative "The Five Families," says it was a rule that applied to all the Five Families, long before the Brasco affair.

The Gallo brothers were a faction in the Profaci family. The eldest brother, Larry, may have been a crew chief at one time, but they declared war on Profaci ca. 1960, and were basically on their own after that. Your namesake was widely regarded as a pazzo by everyone else in the Mafia, and with good reason. No one took him seriously after he got out of prison.

Some people here think it's the Genovese Family.

Maranzano did all of that, but he was a "moustache Pete," clinging more to Sicily than America. Luciano, though born in Sicily, was a thoroughly American businessman with thoroughly American ideas--such as creating the Commission as a kind of Board of Directors for organized crime, and using non-Sicilians and even non-Italians if they had something to contribute to the enterprise.

According to some sources, people whose father was Italian (mother not Italian) could be made at one time, but that apparently has been rescinded--now two Italian parents are required.
Keep in mind that the "rules" aren't always binding--Dons are all-powerful and can do just about what they want.

Perhaps you're thinking of Joseph Barbara, the host of the infamous Apalachin conference in 1957. He was sometimes known as "Jack Barber."

You're probably thinking of Anthony Scotto.

He made a fortune back in the '50s and '60s running the waterfront for the Gambinos, and was at least an acting captain at one time. He was reportedly put on the shelf by John Gotti (in one of his more boneheaded moves, and that's really saying something) back in the '80s.

Today he's retired but helps run his family's restaurant in midtown Manhattan (Fresco by Scotto). He is the father of Rosanna Scotto of Fox 5 News here in New York City.

Also:

Could a guy ever get out from under the thumb of loan sharks? Another ancestor of mine had a big gambling problem from the time of his teenage years (1930s) and by the early '60s loan sharks were visiting him and his house often. Apparently (I don't know the full story), they tried to put a lien on the house or take it, but couldn't since it was in his wife's name. His wife also cowed down some of these loan sharks--Standing up to them. It didn't get her hurt or anything. By the late 60s the situation had become so bad that my ancestor was resorting to stealing money from the mail to pay for his debts, which got him fired from his longtime job as a postal worker; He was coming up on 15 years of working there, which (combined with his military service which was counted as years of employment) would've meant a lifetime pension, which he forefeited due to the circumstances. Only his great WWII record as a brave soldier, no history of any prior arrests, the fact that he had a wife and young children, and the corruption of NYC cops at the time stopped him from doing any time.

By the time he died in the late 70s (natural death), he was a card carrying OTB member and no loan sharks visited his house (that I know of). He was absent from the family (living with a mistress) from around 1968 through 1973, so his activities between those years are unknown. But a check done shows he ha police record However, when he died, it was discovered that his life insurance money had been entirely used up by him--Probably taken out to cover debts.

It just makes me wonder--if his slate with the loan sharks was clean at the time of his death in 1976, or if he would've been killed at some later point had he lived. He seems to have been able to avoid being killed--since he had dealt with loan sharks since probably the 50s, if not earlier.

That's an all too familiar story in the neighborhood I grew up in, buddy. But the truth of the matter is, loan shark and gambling debtors are rarely killed. The old saying "dead men can't pay" is really true. And wiseguys want their money.

There really is no honor among these people. They prey on people who have vices and faults, and they don't even help each other.

An ancestor of mine was a wiseguy of sorts. Very well respected. Was arrested in the early '30s as being a member of an arson ring. Was also known as a bookie, but I suspect he may have been more given Meyer Lanksky was a guest at his house on several occasions (but I've looked this ancestor's name up and came up empty). Had a brass horse made to commemorate one of his horses. When arrested for the arson burst, he stood up, stayed quiet, and did 5 years. And during those five years, his wife and their small children got NO help; His wife had to get a job, etc. Decades after he died, his name still carried clout and respect in his neighborhood, but when the chips were down--when he was in the can after staying quiet--his family got no help.

That single act of "betrayal" as it were by guys who were supposed to take care of his family inspired his son to never even flirt with being in OC.

TB and PB are right. About the facial hair thing, it only is for the five familes of New York for the most part, not the smaller ones. There were and still is mafiosi in other States that had mustaches and even beards. I think the only NYC mobster that has facial hair today is Charles Carniglia of the Gambino's, but now he is in prison. He almost looked like Santa Clause he had a beard so long.

Just like Harry Riccobene.

Makes me wonder that Philip Testa may have been whacked because he had a mustache. And what about Frank Cali?

In the last decades you see mobsters growing a mustache more often, so I'm wondering how much this rule still applies. It seems that it's more a code of conduct or behaviour and that higher ranking mobsters can pretty much do what they like.

What about Frank Cali? You've seen him with a mustache or facial hair?

In Italy, men with facial hair is seen as dirty and unkempt (unless you're a footballer lol). As far as the mafia goes, if you're sloppy with your hygiene, you're sloppy with everything. Still, it's more of a cultural thing. Most men in Italy don't have facial hair, mafia or not.

Exactly. And I think it extends to Italian Americans as well.

Most young men that I grew up with frowned at facial hair and looked down at the hippies who wore beards back in the '60s and '70s.

I've never worn a beard or mustache in my life, and being that I'm almost 53, it's not likely that I'm going to grow one from here on out.

Definitely. There are some recent surveillance pictures around of him talking with others and you can see he has a mustache. Maybe it was a fake mustache though...

Well, he tends to always have that dark line over his mouth, and it gives the appearance from a distance of it being a mustache (like the pic of him walking with Tall Pete). Like a 5 o'clock shadow type thing. I'd love to see one with him with a full mustache. If you find it, share.

[img]http://bitterqueen.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8342adfcf53ef01156fba522c970c-800wi[/img]

It's this picture, but I believe I've seen a better version of it. This one is rather vague. Maybe I've seen it wrong...

I thought a lot of (non) Mob Italian-Americans grew moustaches..At least in my family my great grandfather and my great great grandfather, both immigrants from Italy wore moustaches and my grandfather wore one in his middle age.

Those non facial hair people in the 60's that didn't like long haired hippies were the Rednecks.

Seems to be a virtual consensus across the board that it's the Genovese family. Not just on mob forums but in law enforcement, among OC journalists, and even the mob itself.

Hi, Crazy Joe.
First of all, welcome to the boards!

Extremely hard to know for sure who this "Jack the Barber" might have been. However, I know of one "Jim the Barber" (real name James Rubertone 1902-1966) who was a member of the Colombo Family.
He briefly served as an acting capo on behalf of Ambrose Magliocco in 1964. Employed by the Truck Rental Coporation, owned by the Magliocco brothers. Rubertone was active in shylocking and crapgames. He seems to have operated out of the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn and lived someplace near the 70th street, according to informants.
He was very short, had dark hair and wore eyeglasses.

Does this ring any bell?

Joe Gallo and his older brother Larry, were both soldiers in the Colombo Family. There are some indications that Larry however, was given a capo spot by Joe Colombo as part of a peace treaty between the warring factions in the Profaci/Gallo war. Larry died in 1968.
The third brother, Albert was later inducted into the Genovese Family.

Yeah, that pic is the one I was referring to, it's hard to tell if it's a mustache or just one beginning to come in. I know Cali' was always a clean shaven guy.

There's always exceptions, even in Italy, but in the end it still comes down to just being a cultural thing over there. Nobody tells them they can or can't have facial hair, but many do see it as sloppy, even today.

Off the top of my head, I know Antonino Lo Nigro had a mustache, both Lo Piccolo's father and son, Gianni Nichi had a goatee thing going on for a while. There's been a few.

Leoluca bagarella also comes to mind.

farese the colombo consig had/has a moustache

I've told this story before, but it's kind of fun for me, so here's another shot at it ( ) :

My father was in the jukebox business in Brooklyn. When I was a young kid I'd go to work with him occasionally. My "job" was to separate the coins (nickels, dimes, quarters) from the jukeboxes and pinball machines.

It was the summer of 1961, I was ten years old and following the big story of that summer.... the home run chase of Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle against Babe Ruth's record. It was some time in July and the two M&M boys had about 35 homers each and my dad took me to work with him. It was early afternoon and the bar wasn't open yet which meant I could sit at the bar, have a Coke and pretend I was drinking whiskey while watching the Yankee game on tv. One of them hit a homerun (I honestly don't remember which one, though) and I started cheering. The bartender/owner who had been setting up to open, laughed and we talked "baseball" for a few minutes.

A few weeks passed and my dad showed me the newspaper with the front page picture of Larry Gallo with a big mark around his neck. He then told me about the attempted strangling and how it was the same place that we had been in a few weeks earlier (the Sahara Lounge).

(This was the basis for the attempted killing of Frank Pentangeli in "Godfather Part II").

Turnbull remembers the front page photo of Larry Gallo after the strangulation. I wish I had saved that paper.

SC, good story!
It´s not good only because its linked to OC, but because of its sentimental value.
Keep on telling it ´til our ears fall off. It´s worth it...

Agreed. Awesome story. It's what makes this BB great. Personal experiences shared first hand are what keeping history alive is all about!

Sc did you go to Vietnam?

Great story SC!!!

Some more...

1) When was the apex, the peak, of the Mafia here in America? The 40s? 50s? 60s? 70s? 80s?
2) Was Paul Castellano's path--turning the Mob toward white collar crimes and away from blue collar crimes--a wise one? Disregarding himself as a Boss and his own personal pettiness which got him killed, was that strategy one which could've held LCN strong in the long run?
3) A second question about Castellano--how powerful/influential was the Family under his reign? Did anyone respect Paul?
4) How did anyone ever support Gotti as being Boss? He would've been a great soldier but did no one in the Gambino Family worry about how flashy he was?
5) What was the state of the Mafia in the early 1990s--From around 1990 until Gravano flipped?
6) Do you think Neil DellaCroce could've been a good Boss had he been picked?
7) Are there any really interesting Mafiosos I should read about? I only really know about Costello, Luciano, Gotti, Castellano, Gravano, Ruggierio, etc.
8) Are there any books which illustrate what it's like to be a Capo? I ask because most movies usually show the Mob from either the side of the Boss/Guys on top (Godfather, Sopranos) or guys on the lowest ends (Donnie Brasco, etc)
8) Could the Italian American Mafia ever be revived? Even in theory, what would it require?

The 1950's. Nationally, it was still very powerful in the 1960's and 1970's but the 1950's was the absolute peak. The cracks started to appear in the 1960's and 1970's but the real damage began in the 1980's due to several factors.



I think he just took more of a personal interest in the "white collar" rackets. It's not like he turned his nose up at money from gambling, car theft rings, extortion, or even drugs in some cases.



People respected and feared Paul, though he was known across the board for being greedy and standoffish, and that respect waned in the later years. It was during his reign that the Gambinos were said to go back from simply rivaling the Genovese to being a strong #2.



Intimidation (the captains didn't want to end up like Paul). In hindsight, obviously guys like Failla and Marino weren't crazy about it.



The first decade of the FBI's war against the mob (the 1980's) had taken a real toll on the mid-size and smaller families around the country. But the NY families were still going strong due to their size and diversity. But it wouldn't be too long until prosecutions started doing big damage there too, leading to a lot of new turncoats. As well as Giuliani cleaning up different industries that had been mobbed up for decades.





In answer to both questions above, one of my favorite books is by Philadelphia turncoat, George Freselone, called Blood Oath. It gives a really good firsthand look at the mob life from the perspective of a guy who was an associate, soldier, and later a capo for a time.



The last family to really be revived was the Bonannos during the 1990's. But that was mainly due to the fact the feds took their eye off the ball with them during that time. Now the best a family can hope for is to stabilize, and remain so, for however long they can. It's really a case of which families are declining faster than others.

The New York families still enough of a recruiting pool to keep their numbers consistent. Though that's more in terms of quantity than quality. But it's general attrition that has really effected the other families. Even more than the government or rats. Italian-Americans now in the mainstream and the families fading out of existence.