NEWS
North Beach cocaine bust still hasn't hit its target
Seth Rosenfeld, OF THE EXAMINER STAFF | on May 14, 1995

1995-05-14 04:00:00 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- At the center of the North Beach cafe cocaine probe is a one-time saloon keeper who has beaten a murder rap, allegedly dealt in drugs, stolen goods and fraud, and was protected by both the nation's largest illegal sports bookie and corrupt San Francisco cops, FBI wiretap affidavits say.

Giovanni Pietro Toracca emerges as a larger-than-life if small-time character in the gritty underside of North Beach, a violent man "with an aura of invincibility," at once hated and feared along the espresso-scented streets off Washington Square Park.

Toracca, 35, was described as a target in the federal probe of cocaine dealing, money laundering and illegal gambling, a man at the convergence of several criminal circles.


But Toracca used his North Beach connections to insulate himself from squads of drug agents who tried to trace his alleged drug activities to more than half a dozen well-known local restaurants, the affidavits show.

Extensive wiretaps on phones and pagers he used last week led to federal charges against more than two dozen people, including a Sausalito woman with alleged ties to a Colombian cocaine cartel and the director of Oakland's Safe Streets Now! anti-drug group. All have pleaded not guilty.

But Toracca has not been charged, and U.S. Attorney Barbara Silano would not comment on the case. Toracca could not be reached for comment last week.

Born, raised in North Beach<

Toracca was born and raised in North Beach and worked in restaurants before becoming a part owner of the Grant & Green, a blues bar named after its corner location, and the Condor, which was a famous strip joint at Columbus Avenue and Broadway.

Along the way he built up a rap sheet. He was charged in 1978 with assault with a deadly weapon and in 1983 with drug sales, but both cases were dropped. In 1986 he was convicted for misdemeanor receipt of stolen property. In 1986, he was charged with gambling, but the case was dropped.

In 1988, Toracca came to the FBI's attention during a federal probe of alleged cocaine dealing at the Portofino Cafe, a Columbus Avenue saloon that is packed on weekends with elderly Italian men playing cards.

The probe led to the cocaine conviction of Sergio Maranghi, owner of another bar, who told the FBI he had delivered kilogram-size bags of cocaine to Toracca at the San Francisco Marina.

Before the FBI pursued those allegations, Toracca in 1990 was charged with murdering restaurant worker Francesco Tarsitano, 40, in front of Calzone's restaurant on Columbus Avenue. Tarsitano was having an affair with Toracca's wife.

Toracca followed Tarsitano outside Calzone's. They exchanged words and Toracca stepped back, drew a .357-Magnum and shot him, the prosecutor said. Toracca then waited outside to be arrested, a witness said, quipping as Tarsitano lay dying, "Where are the cops when you need one?"

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Toracca admitted killing Tarsitano but said it was self-defense.

A jury acquitted him of murder and deadlocked on lesser charges of manslaughter.

The acquittal boosted Toracca's profile in North Beach and gave him an "aura of invincibility," the FBI said.

In 1992, the FBI, state narcotics agents and San Francisco police began to focus on suspected cocaine dealing at the Portofino Cafe and the Columbus Cafe, around the corner on Green Street.

Over the next months, agents saw Toracca frequent the Columbus Cafe, and informants alleged that he was a part owner of the cafe and used it to make cocaine deals, an affidavit said.

Agents snapped "numerous" photographs of Toracca holding almost daily meetings on the sidewalk in front of the cafe, it said.

But they were frustrated in trying to follow Toracca through narrow alleys below Coit Tower.

"Countersurveillance'<

"Toracca has exhibited clear countersurveillance techniques, including driving down dead-end streets in areas known to him, in an obvious effort to detect surveillance," an affidavit said.

"As longtime residents of a very close-knit Italian community, Toracca . . . (is) likely to be notified by local residents and business patrons of law enforcement surveillance," it said.

In June 1992, agents put "pen registers" on the Columbus Cafe's phone and two pay phones down the street to trace phone numbers, an affidavit said.

They found calls to other local establishments, including the Northstar Bar, Capp's Corner Restaurant, and Gino & Carlo Bar. They saw one of Toracca's associates deliver small amounts of suspected cocaine to people at or near those places, it said.

In April 1993, the FBI obtained court approval to put a

"spike mike" outside the Columbus Cafe, and to plant other microphones in the restaurant. They also bugged the women's bathroom at the Portofino, saying it was the alleged site of cocaine deals.

The spike mike picked up Toracca having a sidewalk chat with an associate named "Peg Leg John" about the need to diversify into other areas of crime, an affidavit said.

"If one thing goes sour'<

Toracca allegedly said that if he and his associates do

"gambling, move cash, fencing and credit card fraud . . . all those are different departments," it said.

"If one thing goes sour . . . you always have the next thing . . . this way here, you don't get desperate and get yourself caught," Toracca said.

In June 1993, another microphone in the basement of the Columbus caught Toracca discussing his connection to a police officer he called "Johnny' and "Colla" who, he said, had told him, "if you guys are doin' something, you guys should just be calm and under the hat right now," an affidavit said.

The officer, Toracca continued, said that whenever the Portofino closes early law enforcement officers "shift their eyes over here" to the Columbus, it said.

Associate in SFPD?<

FBI Agent Jeffrey Iverson said in the affidavit that the conversation showed Toracca believed he had "an associate in the San Francisco Police Department . . . who Toracca can use to probe law enforcement efforts to investigate his crimes."

The officer was later identified by informants as John Colla, who at the time was a plainclothes officer at Central Station. He has since been promoted to sergeant at Mission Station.

His brother, Frank Colla, is an owner of Gino & Carlo on Green Street.

In an interview late Saturday, Colla denied he ever tipped off Toracca or had any business with him. He said he grew up in North Beach and has known Toracca socially since he was a child.

Colla said he never pried into any drug probes. "No way in the world," he said. "I'm not going to risk my family and my career for that. The lowest thing on earth is drugs."

Several informants told state and federal narcotics agents that some San Francisco officers "protected" the alleged dealers and warned them about drug probes, FBI affidavits said.

Three officers were named in the affidavits between June 1993 and May 1994, but none has been charged in the case.

Another alleged cocaine dealer told an informant that unidentified members of the San Francisco Police Department are "bought," and will tip off owners of the Portofino Cafe about drug investigations, an affidavit said.

The owners - Gaetano Balistreri, 74, and his sons Frank Balistreri, 35, and Vincent Balistreri - have pleaded not guilty to cocaine charges in the case.

On Jan. 14, 1994, San Francisco police searched Gaetano Balistreri's home and found a gun that was registered to San Francisco police Officer Angelo Spagnoli, an affidavit said.

Spagnoli could not be reached for comment Saturday, but Colla said both he and Spagnoli were completely innocent

"victims of circumstance. It's just a social relationship."

Police Chief Anthony Ribera confirmed that some officers' names had come up in the case but said there was no substantial information any were corrupt.

"At this point in time I don't suspect any officers of misconduct," he said.

Toracca also allegedly received a tip in April 1993 from Ron "The Cigar" Sacco, a Bay Area native convicted earlier this year of running the nation's largest-ever illegal sports betting ring.

In a talk recorded outside the Columbus Cafe, Toracca said he had recently called Sacco, who warned him that an informant would "lock all you guys up," an affidavit said.<

This group is still in business. Are we still to assume that the San Francisco outfit is defunct?

This article was 23 years ago? And it seems like it’s oc of a well connected family, not necessarily LCN. Wouldn’t the feds/newspapers be screaming LCN for the better headline?

I'm agree with streetbossliborio.A criminal with an italian surname doesn't mean that there a crime damily behind him and the San Francisco mob died in the 1980s.

It is dead. Many of the criminals with Italian last names are independent and do take part in the same crimes that LCN does. This also includes many former associates of the San Francisco crime family. The Ndrangheta does have a small presence in the San Francisco, followed by the Genovese, Lucchese, and Chicago crime families having interests in the area ( San Francisco, Oakland, and San Mateo). The latest I can give you is a Stidda who moved into Belden Place, is said to be into narcotics, grand theft auto, gambling, and associated with one of the people mentioned in the above article.