Over the years mob historians have written volumes about various organized crime networks — Italian crime networks, in particular — that once dotted the American landscape and operated across the country.

Button Guys ought to know. After all, we’ve written enough of them ourselves, about nearly every family and crew operating from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

From major cities like New York and Chicago to remote towns like Steubenville, OH, Reading, PA, and Madison, WI. Regarding New York — arguably, the mob’s capitol — we’ve covered everything from The Big Apple up to Buffalo, including expansive exposes about many smaller cities and towns located along the way like Saratoga Springs, Schenectady, Albany, Binghamton, Utica, Syracuse and Rochester, to name but a few.

Subsequently, most mob aficionados assume there is little uncharted territory left to write about. But as it turns out, that assumption is dead wrong!

With this next release, ButtonGuys even surprised ourselves. Because we’ve broken new ground in mob research. This one is gonna be a showstopper, folks. We guarantee it!

Today, you’re going to read about the Italian underworld in Syracuse, New York like you never have before. Contrary to popular belief, these guys weren’t just a few loosely organized bookmakers and gamblers, with a few guys “connected” to Buffalo’s Magaddino Family or one of New York CIty’s Five Families. No, not at all.

At their core, the “original” Italian criminal network first established in that upstate city was a well organized Camorra Clan, whose members and descendants — even into later decades — still retained their camorrista-styled flavor, mindset and connections.

Although ButtonGuys previously released several in-depth exposes relating to Syracuse’s Cosa Nostra activities, this next story brings the reader down a completely different path…breaking into uncharted waters with new knowledge about the Camorra.

So, without further ado….we present, “La Camorra of Syracuse, NY.”

https://thenewyorkmafia.com/the-camorra-of-syracuse-ny/

If you enjoy reading about this historic Camorra Clan, then I think you're also really gonna enjoy the hierarchy and membership chart that is currently being completed and designed.

We name 160 Camorrista and allied racketeers of their clan, with an attached mugshot gallery boasting over 50 photographs, many of which are very rare and date back to the late-1800s and early-1900s.

How does Magaddino allow this?

Out of the goodness of his heart,or did he think they were such nice guys,he'd let it go?

Or was it because he couldn't do a thing about it and neither could Falcone?

Perhaps these small town guys were pretty tough and/or they had some connections to ex Camorristi in tone or more of the 5 Families in NYC?

Bingo! My point exactly.

If you notice, I weaved that exact 'theme' in-and-out throughout the story. And towards the end of the expose' I bring it all home.

[these are my beliefs, which I gathered as I did my research for this piece. A deep research that took me months to compile and sift through to be able to more clearly delineate what was what with the Syracuse underworld, before I put pen to paper.]

"Downtown" Brooklyn's Camorrista Clan...coming soon!

Magaddino's guys and maybe others like Bufalino's guys must have been chomping at the bit to get their hands on the rackets in Syracuse.And Magaddino probably could have came at them with an army of Castellamarese allies.And at times Magaddino's guys probably could have used the extra loot.

And yet ,somehow they stayed Independent. Did they have a formidable army or strong allies of their own?

Perhaps Camorristi in places like Chicago or NYC families that had strong Camorrista factions of their old Camorrista friends or maybe cities with strong Calabrese factions ?

Were Anastasia and Costello ever part of the Camorra clans in NYC before going with Cosa Nostra?

Why would a Camorra faction or its key members insist on staying Independent ?
Not wanting to answer to anybody new?
Not wanting to share their profits ?
Knowing that they have Camorrista allies in Cosa Nostra families that can represent their interests and who they could go to if needed,who may still be more loyal to their old Camorra members than to their new Cosa Nostra families?

In theory, maybe. But we have to remember the timeline involved in all this as well. During the 1910 and 1920s era, Magaddino and his allied Castellammrese clans, as well as other mafiosi from other Sicilian provinces were fighting amongst themselves as well as Camorrista for control of rackets across the entire country.

By the early 1930s, the vast majority of ALL three secret societies had merged together, forming what became an amalgamated Cosa Nostra.

Whatever remaining members of small Camorra clans were left still operating, didn't have either the desire nor the wherewithal to challenge Cosa Nostra. They either faded off into the sunset, or were happy to operate without being bothered. (And as I stated earlier, I'm certain that their continuing 'ties' to former men of honor from both the Neapolitan-based Camorra and Calabrian "Honored Society" who were friends, helped protect their interests.)

Quote possibly both of them. Anastasia and his brothers maybe more so than Costello himself. Some say Anastasia (a Calabrian), long before he ever became a mafioso, was in league with Frankie and key members of his Camorra Clan working the dock rackets along the Brooklyn waterfront. But I wasn't positive, thats why I left them off Frankie Yale's South Brooklyn membership chart.

In this Syracuse case it doesn't seem like their old Camorrista ties would be with any of the Castallamarese Familes,such as Magaddino,or probably not Bonnano
In what families would their old Camorra ties mostl be found ?

Thats correct, Havana. Although both the Magaddino and Bonanno memberships had a small faction of mainland Italians in their ranks, those borgatas were overwhelmingly staffed with Sicilians. Whereas the Luciano/Genovese Family and Profaci Family each had large segments of their rank-and-file composed of Neapolitans, Calabrese and other mainlanders. For that matter, so did numerous other Families in cities throughout the country, such as Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Chicago to name a few.

What was the composition of the Lucchese Family ?

The Profaci Family is now Colombo,isn't it?

What other NYS cities had significant Camorra Clans?

Maybe Saratoga area ?

The old Gagliano/Lucchese Family did have some members who hailed from Naples and other southern regions. One example is Carmine Tramunti, who was a highly trusted and respected member who later rose to become Family boss.

But the Lucchese Family paled by comparisonto the others I mentioned. The overwhelming majority of their members were Sicilian-oriented, with many hauling from the village of Corleone.

I don't know about Saratoga. But around the turn of the century, the Utica-Rome area had a decent faction. The City of Rochester was another.

The Syracuse Camorra "Membership Chart" will be ready for release late next week.

This hierarchy chart lists 160 bonafide 'camorrista' members and their closest associates. In addition, ButtonGuys has included a mugshot gallery with over 50 rare photographs, many of which date back to the late-1800s and early-1900s.

How big is Syracuse to have that many members ?

How did Syracuse compare in size and in numbers of mob guys in a Mafia,Camorra,or Calabrian Societa Onorata clan in cities like Rochester,Buffalo,Binghamton, or others ,even bigger cities like Chicago,NYC,Cleveland,etc?

Well, truthfully speaking, thats a tricky question, Havana.

I say that because at a certain point in time, I don't believe there was one top hierarchy boss, or "central command" in charge of Syracuse (for lack of a better term.)

After their "camorrista" years, as they morphed into the next generation, I view most of them as running friendly and sometimes cooperative, but largely separate, splintered rackets and activities.

Yet, because most of these men had grown up in Syracuse they knew one another, and many families went back decades together, most were on friendly terms, and many partnered in different gambling operations and even legitimate businesses with each other.

But they were not one Family in the traditional sense of the word.
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So I don't think its fair to try and compare them to a formal Mafia Family with their rigid hierarchal structure. Do you get what I mean by that?
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The initial criminal network that first formed in Syracuse was a large Camorra Clan. They ran the show for over three decades. Thereafter, as the Camorrista blended together with Mafiosi, I see Syracuse's former structure becoming more loosely structured in their later years.

Truthfully, the City of Syracuse was very unique in that regard. Because I cannot think of another major east coast city with such a large population that didn't end up being controlled by a 'resident' Cosa Nostra Family.

When you stop and really think about it, thats amazing!

Understood. In that case ,to rephrase the question:

How did the original initial Camorra Clan that ruled for 3 decades compare in size to other cities of the the size of Syracuse and how did its size compare to those in bigger cities,such as the Coney Island Clan?

It sounds like the initial Camorra Clan eventually had its "central clan" maybe retire or die off, that the next generations essentially in effect broke up into loosely connected smaller clans or units of some kind of their own with no one formal leader . Perhaps because of the reputations some had in the past

And not to mention that also because of some of their friendships or "connections" with ex Camorrista Cosa Nostra members in other cities, nobody wanted to,or rather dared to, try to move in and take over.

Especially in light of what you said about the fact that they all kind of grew up together and their families knew each other for decades. Probably in a few hours they could gather up a couple huundred ,maybe 500 guys to come together with no problem in a moments notice any time any of them were threatened with being ovetaken or shaken down by outside forces from other cities

Kind of like that movie with Vin Diesel where the mob guy defends himself in the mob trial of Newark guys, who all grew up together and stayed together for a lifetime.That Newark movie situation is what sounds like what you described. The movie was called something like "Find me Guilty"

Havana commented: 'Especially in light of what you said about the fact that they all kind of grew up together and their families knew each other for decades. Probably in a few hours they could gather up a couple huundred ,maybe 500 guys to come together with no problem in a moments notice any time any of them were threatened with being ovetaken or shaken down by outside forces from other cities.'
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Well, let's not get completely carried away with ourselves here, ok! "A couple of hundred guys? Maybe 500 guys to come together at a moments notice?

IMO, I highly doubt it. We're not talking about The Minutemen here. The U.S. Military couldn't muster up 500 troops on a moments notice if they had too? Know what I mean? Do you REALLY think that some knockaround guys had the wherewithal or even the ability to accomplish that? Of course not!
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And truth be told, these were street guys with varying experience and interests, many of whom probably never even held a gun in their lifetime. By the second generation, most Syracuse street guys were bookmakers, numbers guys, ran card games, some of them pulled heists, etc. We're not talking about stone killers here.

Where there a few potential killers in the bunch? I don't doubt that for a second. But those individuals would have been the minority, NOT the majority. (much the same as it is in any other city)

But 200-500 guys coming together as enforcers to protect and "defend" the city against a takeover to the death? No way! No how! Thats sheer fantasy.

We're talking second-generation guys here. They were not the old-style camorrista, the stone killers, who first gained control of Syracuse.
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And let's be honest with ourselves here. If --- during the 1940s-1950s era --- a full-fledged, established Mafia Family, had ever decided that they really wanted to go into Syracuse and start taking over, who was gonna stop them? I'm sure they could have. And they wouldn't have needed 500 guys to do it either.

If say, the Genovese Family had ever sent a single "regime" headed by a capodecina with say a crew of even 10-20 'swore' soldiers (all strong-arm enforcers and killers) into Syracuse, it would have been all over in short notice.

99% of Syracuse's guys would have laid down for a capo (under orders from the hierarchy back in NYC) leading a crew of "made" Cosa Nostra soldiers sent to strong-arm their way into power there....IMO, thats not a far-fetched 'guess' either.
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Would they have met some resistance from a few Syracuse street guys? Most probably. But as soon as those same few guys started disappearing or their few bodies were left in the street as examples to the others, that would have been the end of it. Case closed!
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PS: The more likely scenario (as you and I had previously discussed), is that in later years, through 'connections' and previously established friendships, members of the Syracuse underworld were left alone because they more than likely cooperated and partnered to a degree with various Mafia members/Families they knew in gambling, etc.

So in a sense, although the Mafia never fully "took over" Syracuse, there was still enough action and money coming out of there through a few partnerships that they were satisfied.

Which, on review, worked out beautifully for everyone, the guys in Syracuse, and LCN guys....Everybody was happy,

And the proof is in the pudding. Because, to my knowledge, there were very very few gangland killings in Syracuse (if any), after the early 1930s. Am I correct in saying that?

Not that familiar with their history outside of the things,I've read on sites like this,mostly written here or your valuable articles on the subject
My point was that I was comparing what you said in your prervious post to that movie about Newark with Vin Diesel as to my impression of how they were organized after they did have a Central Command Camorra Clan
And then to offer a reason for your other important point-Only East Coast city to not controlled by a resident Cosa Nostra Family

You said that in Syracuse they initially had a large Camorra Clan.And after about 30-40 years that their descendants got into rackets in various groups and partnerships and that these guys and their families had grown up together and had been together for decades and engaged in different rackets.
Those different segments could be looked at as having formed smaller crews who all knew each other but had no"central command"

And that's how I thought in that movie "Find Mer Guilty", those Newark guys got acquitted because they were able to convince the jury that they were just a bunch of close neighborood friends for decades

You added that you were amazed that they were not controlled by any Cosa Nostra Family-the only city like that,that you could think of.

If there were not many killings after 1930s,maybe it was because they just didn't need to kill anybody as long as they were all happy making money and not screwing each other over.They could have been separate groups but more united in blood,intermarriages and spirit,and long friendships that their forefathers from various Southern Italian villages.

Could 10 0r 20 Genovese soldiers/killers come into a strange territory and taken over probably a bunch of Italian born local guys who been together for decades? Maybe able to turn out a whole neighborhood (like in Newark) who would recognize strangers and who could keep their mouths shut to law enforcement after it went down? (I was not trying to say they could turn out 200 enforcers)
But I've seen whole neighborhoods turn out in a moment for trouble in cities and countries everywhere ,like in riot situations ,street fighters,etc

You are talking about second generation Americans. I'm talking about guys born in Italy or their sons born in the early 1900s,maybe 1920s,defending a territory from say 1930 to 1960.Some of then active with the Camorra in the 1920s as young men in their 20s ,maybe even late teens. Not guys born after after that (withmaybe a few exceotions).
Its hard to say without knowing the characters, if they would have had the will to defend the territory but a victory is not out of the question

After reading your previous reply the question in my mind was why they were the only major East Cast city not controlled by a resident Cosa Nostra Family. The relationship the Genovese and maybe other Families had with these guys from Syracuse because their "connections" and previous friendships including having been fellow Camorristi and the fact that they had partnerships together in gambling, etc . makes sense.
But why with Syracuse and non of the other major East Coast Cities? Why didn't the Cosa Nostra for the same business relationship with other cities and not "take over"?
My guess is that besides business being good and everyone being hasppy, that their were some very close friendships/Camorra connections between Syracuse guys and probably the Genovese Family or other NYC Family which is also why those Syracuse guys were left alone by Magaddino and others-Because of that friendship with maybe the Genovese.
And is it 100% positive that Genovese or some other NYC Family did not have a made guy in Syracuse?

Ok, now I understand the Vin Diesel reference. lol. I get what you meant.

And by the way Havana, thank you for those compliments. I'm humbled that you feel my articles are, as you say, "valuable articles on the subject."

Also, after reading your responses above, I do think you and I are pretty much in sync on most things regarding Syracuse and Upstate NY in general.
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Lastly, you asked, "Am I 100% positive that Genovese or some other NYC Family did not have a made guy in Syracuse?"

All I can say is that nothing in this life is 100% -- nothing. But as far as we know, according to what's known about their memberships, no NYC Family, Genovese or otherwise, ever had a made man "residing" in Syracuse. (but who really knows, am I right?)

BTW, since you're so interested in the upstate NY mob, and the Syracuse underworld, in particular, wait until you read our "Syracuse Membership Chart" and view the pictorial gallery of their members. I think you're really gonna love it.

We have it slated for release next week.

Mostly interested in the fact that Syracuse or any other Upstate City was a Camorra City--Or any other city like Clevland or Pittsburg were Camorra cities.All we ever heard of before were Camorra in NYC
And that there seemed to be others with Camorra presence
And then from your answers ,that these cities that were independent is explainable in that they did have old Camorra connections with ex Camorra guys in Other Cities who had joined Cosa Nostra ,notably Genovese or maybe Profaci.. I would suspect also connections / friendships in other Mafia cities that once had a strong Camorra presence
And that in many cases they formed partnerships and/or alliances for business or other matters with the Mafia cities which kept both sides happy and not needing bloodshed because of some kind of power struggle over Camorra Territories inherited by descendants of the original Camorristi along with the old timers that hung on for awhile longer while others did or retired

How likely do you feel it was that Syracuse or Independent mobs in Upstate NY or in other cities or type cities run by possibly some older Camorristi still active and their descendants of powerful Camorra Clans had close friendships with any of the NYC Five Families or any other powerful Mafia Families?
And which Families if any were most likely. And besides business partrnerships and strong friendships between those towns like Syracuse with ex Camorristi "Teammates" now in the Mafia, and /or the ability to work together on more risky ventures than say gambling situations?

I

I'll try to answer your question this way, ok.

In Saratoga Springs a fella by the name of "Doc" Farone and his top assistant, "Sonny" Pompay with the reigning powers in the local underworld. They ran major bootlegging operations during Prohibition -- complete with gangland gun battles and all. By the 1930s they and their gang they morphed into gambling rackets. Over the next thirty years they ran bookmaking businesses and a number of major restaurant/illegal casinos that catering to the horsey set visiting Saratoga Race Track each racing season. For over forty years they were never identified as Mafia-connected, generally being viewed as a 'local' gang done good. But, finally in the early 1950s Farone was closely tied into the Luciano/Genovese Family after he was nabbed with Meyer Lansky himself and a few of Lansky's boys for bookmaking at the track.

And although they were never ID'd as such, during one of my deep-dive research projects about Farone and his gang, I uncovered/discovered that three of his key bootlegging associates and 'aides' were soldiers Paolo (Paulie Marsh) Marchione, Matteo (Matty Brown) Fortunato and his brother, associate Eugenio (Genie Brown) Fortunato --- three documented members of that same Mafia Family. This dates back to the 1920s and 30s.
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In the City of Schenectady, although they had a vibrant underworld for over 70 years, they pretty much operated the same as Syracuse -- quiet, no violence to speak of, etc., with bootlegging and gambling galore. The cities acknowledged "unofficial' mob boss was a fella named Antonio (Tony) Bernardi. He ran a large gang. They were never directly connected to any particular Camorra or Mafia family, although law enforcement officials claim they tracked Bernardi down to Brooklyn on several occasions where he met "people."

But, during another one of my deep-dive research projects -- this time into Bernardi and his gang and the Schenectady underworld and their successors, I uncovered solid evidence that pointed towards strong connections to the Genovese, Barbara, and Bonanno Families.

In fact, several documented soldiers of the Joe Barbara and Genovese Families lived and operated in Schenectady, including Eugenio (Gene) Campo, who grew up there and was named in U.S. Senate Hearings as a Genovese soldier.

How likely do you feel it was that Syracuse or Independent mobs in Upstate NY or in other cities or type cities run by possibly some older Camorristi still active and their descendants of powerful Camorra Clans had close friendships with any of the NYC Five Families or any other powerful Mafia Families?
And which Families if any were most likely. And besides business partrnerships and strong friendships between those towns like Syracuse with ex Camorristi "Teammates" now in the Mafia, and /or the ability to work together on more risky ventures than say gambling situations?
[/quote]

I'll try to answer your question this way, ok.

In Saratoga Springs a fella by the name of "Doc" Farone and his top assistant, "Sonny" Pompay with the reigning powers in the local underworld. They ran major bootlegging operations during Prohibition -- complete with gangland gun battles and all. By the 1930s they and their gang they morphed into gambling rackets. Over the next thirty years they ran bookmaking businesses and a number of major restaurant/illegal casinos that catering to the horsey set visiting Saratoga Race Track each racing season. For over forty years they were never identified as Mafia-connected, generally being viewed as a 'local' gang done good. But, finally in the early 1950s Farone was closely tied into the Luciano/Genovese Family after he was nabbed with Meyer Lansky himself and a few of Lansky's boys for bookmaking at the track.

And although they were never ID'd as such, during one of my deep-dive research projects about Farone and his gang, I uncovered/discovered that three of his key bootlegging associates and 'aides' were soldiers Paolo (Paulie Marsh) Marchione, Matteo (Matty Brown) Fortunato and his brother, associate Eugenio (Genie Brown) Fortunato --- three documented members of that same Mafia Family. This dates back to the 1920s and 30s.
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In the City of Schenectady, although they had a vibrant underworld for over 70 years, they pretty much operated the same as Syracuse -- quiet, no violence to speak of, etc., with bootlegging and gambling galore. The cities acknowledged "unofficial' mob boss was a fella named Antonio (Tony) Bernardi. He ran a large gang. They were never directly connected to any particular Camorra or Mafia family, although law enforcement officials claim they tracked Bernardi down to Brooklyn on several occasions where he met "people."

But, during another one of my deep-dive research projects -- this time into Bernardi and his gang and the Schenectady underworld and their successors, I uncovered solid evidence that pointed towards strong connections to the Genovese, Barbara, and Bonanno Families.

In fact, several documented soldiers of the Joe Barbara and Genovese Families lived and operated in Schenectady, including Eugenio (Gene) Campo, who grew up there and was named in U.S. Senate Hearings as a Genovese soldier.


[/quote}
So I think you are kind of saying that where there is smoke there is usually fire.
In other words when Camorra Black Hand days were over, if in certain cities across the country (Syracuse,Schenectedy,and Saratoga being probably just a few of them) and the "local boys made good" in things like bootlegging and gambling ( sometimes former Camorra guys or their descendants) ,that somewhere, whether uncovered or not ,there is usually some kind of relationship or friendship with a Mafia Family's guys ?

100%!

I would actually be very surprised to find out that there were no connections whatsoever. That would be a complete anomaly.

Were these "blended" Camorra Clans, or Mafia in America ,in that ,like in places like Naples they had members that were as young as teenagers?
I'd guess that since some of the Italians probably married at 16 or 17, sometimes heads of their nuclear families, that they probably did have younger members than what the Cosa Nostra did in the last 60 years or so.