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The Jack Dragna-Nick Licata Family of LA
#1009435
04/11/21 08:15 AM
04/11/21 08:15 AM
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Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 12,482
NYMafia
OP
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OP

Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 12,482
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Good morning and Happy Sunday! Here's a little reading material to keep my followers entertained.... - They eventually earned the moniker the 'Mickey Mouse Mafia" for their failure to kill independent gang boss Mickey Cohan, and a few other bumbling incidents along the way. But in truth, back when boss Jack Dragna led the borgata, and even later when Nick Licata first took over after Dragna's death, they were basically a small but decent crew that earned millions and ran some lucrative rackets. Many of their 'original' members were old-time mafiosi imported direct from Sicily and Calabria. Tom Dragna, Mimi Li Mandri, Tony and Frank Milano, Tony Pinelli, and so many more. https://thenewyorkmafia.com/2021/04/11/the-dragna-licata-family-of-los-angeles-ca/
Last edited by NYMafia; 04/11/21 11:42 AM.
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Re: Dragna-Licata Family of Los Angeles
[Re: NYMafia]
#1009499
04/12/21 05:59 AM
04/12/21 05:59 AM
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 7,499 naples,italy
furio_from_naples
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 7,499
naples,italy
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I liked it.the LA family is intesting cause of really wasted potential California families should have had imported guys.from the old country To add strength to.the rank.and file Operating within a state such as Cali that had such a small Italian populous, they were always challenged for recruits. If it weren't for out of state imports, the Dragna's would have been hard pressed to build a crew in the first place. I think that if Bompensiero would be the boss the family would be in better shape.ok they was called the mickey mouse mafia but until frattiano flipping the family was still viable and even under the weak leadership of Milano during the Operation thin crust and in the Blitzstein murder,the family continue to be active. What I want to say is with a best leadership the family could be active like the Detroit family but unfortunaly they was absorbed by the Gambinos like the Tampa family.
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Re: Dragna-Licata Family of Los Angeles
[Re: furio_from_naples]
#1009500
04/12/21 06:11 AM
04/12/21 06:11 AM
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Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 12,482
NYMafia
OP
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OP

Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 12,482
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I liked it.the LA family is intesting cause of really wasted potential California families should have had imported guys.from the old country To add strength to.the rank.and file Operating within a state such as Cali that had such a small Italian populous, they were always challenged for recruits. If it weren't for out of state imports, the Dragna's would have been hard pressed to build a crew in the first place. I think that if Bompensiero would be the boss the family would be in better shape.ok they was called the mickey mouse mafia but until frattiano flipping the family was still viable and even under the weak leadership of Milano during the Operation thin crust and in the Blitzstein murder,the family continue to be active. What I want to say is with a best leadership the family could be active like the Detroit family but unfortunaly they was absorbed by the Gambinos like the Tampa family. Bompensiero was a decades long rat! So in truth the very foundation was weak to begin with. Imagine if the HAD installed an 'informant' as the boss?? Lol It would have been a worse shit show than they already had out there.
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Re: Dragna-Licata Family of Los Angeles
[Re: NYMafia]
#1009506
04/12/21 10:46 AM
04/12/21 10:46 AM
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 7,499 naples,italy
furio_from_naples
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 7,499
naples,italy
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I liked it.the LA family is intesting cause of really wasted potential California families should have had imported guys.from the old country To add strength to.the rank.and file Operating within a state such as Cali that had such a small Italian populous, they were always challenged for recruits. If it weren't for out of state imports, the Dragna's would have been hard pressed to build a crew in the first place. I think that if Bompensiero would be the boss the family would be in better shape.ok they was called the mickey mouse mafia but until frattiano flipping the family was still viable and even under the weak leadership of Milano during the Operation thin crust and in the Blitzstein murder,the family continue to be active. What I want to say is with a best leadership the family could be active like the Detroit family but unfortunaly they was absorbed by the Gambinos like the Tampa family. Bompensiero was a decades long rat! So in truth the very foundation was weak to begin with. Imagine if the HAD installed an 'informant' as the boss?? Lol It would have been a worse shit show than they already had out there. Bompensiero wasnt a rat when Dragna died in 1956 and the reason he ratted in 1967 is that he lost the boss position,and was demoted by frank Simone from capo to a soldier,if he would be the boss in the 1960s for sure he would preferenze to went to jail then rat on the family.
Last edited by furio_from_naples; 04/12/21 10:49 AM.
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Re: Dragna-Licata Family of Los Angeles
[Re: NYMafia]
#1009515
04/12/21 01:09 PM
04/12/21 01:09 PM
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Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 29,784
Hollander
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Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 29,784
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Very interesting NYMafia, funny I see the legendary Sidney Korshak in the family chart. Yes Hollander, he seems to have been a good schemer. Controlled by the Chicago Outfit if I'm not mistaken, but he operated out of Cali as well Yeah and never went to prison his contacts went up to the highest echelons. Wasn't LA represented on the Commission by the Outfit?
"The king is dead, long live the king!"
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Re: Dragna-Licata Family of Los Angeles
[Re: Hollander]
#1009521
04/12/21 01:54 PM
04/12/21 01:54 PM
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Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 12,482
NYMafia
OP
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OP

Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 12,482
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Very interesting NYMafia, funny I see the legendary Sidney Korshak in the family chart. Yes Hollander, he seems to have been a good schemer. Controlled by the Chicago Outfit if I'm not mistaken, but he operated out of Cali as well Yeah and never went to prison his contacts went up to the highest echelons. Wasn't LA represented on the Commission by the Outfit? In their later years you are correct. Chicago 'serviced' them.
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Re: Dragna-Licata Family of Los Angeles
[Re: Giacomo_Vacari]
#1009528
04/12/21 02:42 PM
04/12/21 02:42 PM
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Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 12,482
NYMafia
OP
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OP

Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 12,482
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There was more to it than Bompensiero just ratting. It was a combination of a lot of things going on under DeSimone and Licata reign.
The Lucchese family represented L.A. on the Commission until Jack Dragna died. After that Bonanno temporary represented them, then it was the Gambino and finally Detroit before Chicago represented everything west of the Mississippi.
You have guys from Chicago, Lucchese, Gambino, and Detroit on that list. Because LA was so convoluted, and so many guys resided out that way later in their careers, I didn't try and decipher each individual relationship. Suffice it to say that whether they were technically 'on record' with the Detroit crew, or Gambino's, or Chicago per se. The fact that they resided out west for years and interacted with the LA Family was enough for me. Most everyone on that list was either a member, or was 'associated' with the Dragna faction, even if they were made elsewhere. For instance Mimi Li Mandri was originally around the Anastasia/Gambino crew in NYC. Yet, he and his son, and son in law, worked hand in glove with Dragna, DeSimone, and Licata. Did they transfer their memberships? Or did they remain as NYC based guys and just did business with the LA crew? I do think that's a matter of semantics, because essentially nearly ALL of these fellas worked in tandem at one point or another. Another case in point was Tony Milano and his brother Ciccio, who was literally the boss back in Cleveland years earlier. Did Ciccio Milano just retire out there? Did he work in tandem with Dragna/Licata? Did he 'affiliate' with the boss of LA? ...... quite frankly, I don't think it really matters. At the end of the day, each was firmly planted out that way with residences, investments, etc. They lived and operated in LA. End of story! Do you get my point Giacomo?
Last edited by NYMafia; 04/12/21 02:43 PM.
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Re: Dragna-Licata Family of Los Angeles
[Re: NYMafia]
#1009569
04/13/21 07:39 AM
04/13/21 07:39 AM
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Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 855
Fleming_Ave
Underboss
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Underboss
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 855
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I liked it.the LA family is intesting cause of really wasted potential California families should have had imported guys.from the old country To add strength to.the rank.and file Operating within a state such as Cali that had such a small Italian populous, they were always challenged for recruits. If it weren't for out of state imports, the Dragna's would have been hard pressed to build a crew in the first place. I read that the L.A. police would threaten wiseguys from back east who came into L.A.. Telling them we know who you are, we will be watching you, etc. I guess that must have put a damper on at least some of the guys who wanted to do business in California.
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Re: Dragna-Licata Family of Los Angeles
[Re: Fleming_Ave]
#1009571
04/13/21 07:52 AM
04/13/21 07:52 AM
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Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 29,784
Hollander
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Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 29,784
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I liked it.the LA family is intesting cause of really wasted potential California families should have had imported guys.from the old country To add strength to.the rank.and file Operating within a state such as Cali that had such a small Italian populous, they were always challenged for recruits. If it weren't for out of state imports, the Dragna's would have been hard pressed to build a crew in the first place. I read that the L.A. police would threaten wiseguys from back east who came into L.A.. Telling them we know who you are, we will be watching you, etc. I guess that must have put a damper on at least some of the guys who wanted to do business in California. Yes I think they even did that with Alphonse Capone on a visit.
"The king is dead, long live the king!"
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Re: Dragna-Licata Family of Los Angeles
[Re: NYMafia]
#1009586
04/13/21 10:17 AM
04/13/21 10:17 AM
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Joined: May 2013
Posts: 29
thecooler
Wiseguy
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Wiseguy
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 29
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Re: Dragna-Licata Family of Los Angeles
[Re: Fleming_Ave]
#1009590
04/13/21 11:31 AM
04/13/21 11:31 AM
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 7,499 naples,italy
furio_from_naples
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Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 7,499
naples,italy
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I liked it.the LA family is intesting cause of really wasted potential California families should have had imported guys.from the old country To add strength to.the rank.and file Operating within a state such as Cali that had such a small Italian populous, they were always challenged for recruits. If it weren't for out of state imports, the Dragna's would have been hard pressed to build a crew in the first place. I read that the L.A. police would threaten wiseguys from back east who came into L.A.. Telling them we know who you are, we will be watching you, etc. I guess that must have put a damper on at least some of the guys who wanted to do business in California. So the L.A. family can deeply bribe the police like in the east coast? Damn if the police warm the wiseguys its normal that the family can replace the ranks.
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Re: Dragna-Licata Family of Los Angeles
[Re: furio_from_naples]
#1009703
04/14/21 03:11 PM
04/14/21 03:11 PM
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Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 12,482
NYMafia
OP
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OP

Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 12,482
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I liked it.the LA family is intesting cause of really wasted potential California families should have had imported guys.from the old country To add strength to.the rank.and file Operating within a state such as Cali that had such a small Italian populous, they were always challenged for recruits. If it weren't for out of state imports, the Dragna's would have been hard pressed to build a crew in the first place. I read that the L.A. police would threaten wiseguys from back east who came into L.A.. Telling them we know who you are, we will be watching you, etc. I guess that must have put a damper on at least some of the guys who wanted to do business in California. So the L.A. family can deeply bribe the police like in the east coast? Damn if the police warm the wiseguys its normal that the family can replace the ranks. They NEVER had the juice or corruption power like certain key deeply corrupted east coast cities had, but the LA crew of course tried bribing the cops just like every other mafioso did. But out in Cali most cops were often very foreign to that sort of thing. They didn't even truly understand who the hell they had in their midst for many years. In other words, they were 'green' themselves and often NOT receptive to bribes, etc. Trying to pull that altruistic bs.
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Re: Dragna-Licata Family of Los Angeles
[Re: thecooler]
#1009704
04/14/21 03:11 PM
04/14/21 03:11 PM
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Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 12,482
NYMafia
OP
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OP

Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 12,482
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Re: Dragna-Licata Family of Los Angeles
[Re: Fleming_Ave]
#1009705
04/14/21 03:12 PM
04/14/21 03:12 PM
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Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 12,482
NYMafia
OP
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OP

Joined: Sep 2019
Posts: 12,482
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I liked it.the LA family is intesting cause of really wasted potential California families should have had imported guys.from the old country To add strength to.the rank.and file Operating within a state such as Cali that had such a small Italian populous, they were always challenged for recruits. If it weren't for out of state imports, the Dragna's would have been hard pressed to build a crew in the first place. I read that the L.A. police would threaten wiseguys from back east who came into L.A.. Telling them we know who you are, we will be watching you, etc. I guess that must have put a damper on at least some of the guys who wanted to do business in California. I do believe you're correct with that Fleming
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