Originally Posted by Giacomo_Vacari
On Sacramento, Giuseppe Vicari of San Jose had the most say in the city until he died in 1957, then it went to San Francisco having much say with Mario Balasteri. But for all intent and purposes it was an open city with which ever high ranking mobster having the most say in the city. Sacramento is a city Jimmy Lanza had grown to hate cause Jimmy Fratianno had some interests their and a base of operations with his brother and another associate living there, plus a few hangarounds. Vincenzo Infusino even had a wire room in Sacramento which would eventually be taken over by Mike Rizzitello of the Los Angeles family through his friendship with Jimmy the Weasel. Sacramento had illegal gambling, narcotics (Mario Balasteri was the major factor in this), prostitution, and a few other things, but the three above were big. Politicians back in the day loved to have somewhere to unwind and relax, so gambling dens, and a couple of brothels were under protection from raids from the cops with the help of the politicians. Giuseppe Vicari, Salvatore Sabella, and a couple of others where known by politicians in Sacramento.


Great info as usual, GV. Thanks!


"...the successful annihilation of organized crime's subculture in America would rock the 'legitimate' world's foundation, which would ultimately force fundamental social changes and redistributions of wealth and power in this country. Meyer Lansky's dream was to bond the two worlds together so that one could not survive without the other." - Dan E. Moldea