Vito Di Giorgio
Encyclopedia
Vito Di Giorgio was an early crime boss
of the Los Angeles crime family
. Originally from Palermo
, Sicily
, Di Giorgio lived most of his life as a grocer in New Orleans. While he lived in Los Angeles
he was known as a wealthy food importer. During his New Orleans years he was an active Black Hander. As a Mafia boss in California, he was even feared by members of other crime families. He survived two shootings, only to be killed while visiting Chicago in 1922.
. Born to Filippo and Giuseppa Di Giorgio in Palermo
, Sicily
, in 1880, he came to the United States
around 1904. After a brief stay in New York
with his reported cousin, he moved to New Orleans. There, he married Maria Cristoforo April 23, 1909, and joined the community of organized criminals. He was acknowledged as a cousin and a friend to New York City
Mafia boss Giuseppe Morello
, and with this connection became a leading Black Hander. It is not known when he joined the Honored Society; he may have been a member in Sicily
. Using the alias of Joseph Caronia, he was arrested in 1908 for extortion. He was the leader of a Black Hand group that sent an extortion letter demanding money from a leading Italian grocer. He signed the letter "King of the Mafia." He and his associates were freed after a short stay in jail due to lack of evidence. Further investigation showed that Di Giorgio killed a man, Joseph Campisciano, in self-defense
about a year earlier. He had used the name Caronia at that time too.
In 1914 he became the owner of a grocery and saloon that was sold to him by the brother of the original proprietor. It had been a successful business and the press did not understand why the owner would sell it. It is likely that the owner, Henry Sciambra, was forced to sell. Sciambra's brother Anthony, the original owner, was murdered in 1912 by an intruder while he was in his home sleeping.
Even for a powerful Mafioso life could be dangerous. Di Giorgio was shot and almost fatally wounded
by an assassin on May 13, 1916. He recovered, but an associate who was in the saloon with him did not fare so well and died soon after. One of Di Giorgio's men was captured after he fired at the shooter and was found to have a letter from Frank Sicola of St. Louis. Sicola was a St. Louis Black Hand leader who was shot and killed in 1922. This is evidence of the connections early Mafiosi had, a network that remained unknown to the public until the 1957 Apalachin meeting
.
Four years later Di Giorgio was alleged to have masterminded a robbery to some acquaintances that led to the death of Dallas Colmes, an Independence restaurant owner, on May 7, 1921. This resulted in the infamous hanging of the six men responsible in 1924.
. Nicola Gentile
, who was a Mafia leader in Pittsburgh and several other cities, noted that he was feared throughout California
. Nevertheless, Di Giorgio continued to have enemies and was shot a second time, on July 18, 1921, after returning home from a trip to the beach with his family. He was shot in the leg and recovered. Di Giorgio, described as a "wealthy fruit dealer," and his wife both told LAPD
officers that he had no enemies and did not know who shot him or why.
Apparently not long after this incident, Gentile (who noted Di Giorgio's leg injury) visited him in the home of his underboss, Rosario DeSimone
. Gentile was on a mission to remove a "death sentence" placed on his compare, Vincenzo Chiappetta. Gentile did not know the reason for the death sentence
on Chiappetta, only that it concerned an unresolved issue between the two of them. Chiappetta was one of the men arrested with Di Giorgio in 1908, and was now a member of the Kansas City
Family. Before meeting Di Giorgio, Gentile transferred his membership from the Cola Schiro crime family
in Brooklyn
(Salvatore Maranzano
's predecessor), to the San Francisco Mafia organization. From there arrangements were made to meet with the Los Angeles
Mafia leader. When they did meet, it was cordial and respectful. In the end, Gentile was successful in convincing Di Giorgio to drop the death sentence, and a letter of explanation was sent to the Kansas City
leader Paolo DiGiovanni.
. Shortly before their visit, a number of organized crime
figures and bootleggers were killed in the Buffalo area. From there they went to Chicago
. While the purpose of their meeting is unknown, it is likely that they met with Chicago Mafia leader Michele Merlo, who was also president of the Chicago chapter of the Unione Siciliana
. On May 13, Di Giorgio, Lo Cascio, and an unidentified third man, went to a barber shop
and pool hall
on Larabee Street. While Di Giorgio was in a barber's chair for a shave and a haircut, and Lo Cascio was playing a game of billiards, two or three gunmen entered the shop, walked up to both men from behind and shot and killed them both. Their deaths were reported not only in Chicago, but in New Orleans and even by the New York Times. However, none of the Los Angeles
papers reported on the killings.
succeeded Di Giorgio as the Los Angeles boss, but appears to have stepped down in the mid-1920s. Joseph Ardizzone
succeeded him. DeSimone died in 1946 of natural causes
. Ten years later, DeSimone's son Frank DeSimone
became boss of the Los Angeles crime family
. Michele Merlo, known as the peacemaker among the warring Chicago bootlegging factions, died of cancer in 1924. Paolo DiGiovanni died in 1929. Vincenzo Chiappetta relocated to St. Louis, where he died in 1970 at the age of 83. Nick Gentile fled the country in 1937 to avoid prosecution for drug trafficking
and remained in Italy for the rest of his life. He lived to be in his 90s.
Crime boss
A crime boss or boss is a person in charge of a criminal organization. A boss typically has absolute or near-absolute control over his subordinates, is greatly feared by his subordinates for his ruthlessness and willingness to take lives in order to exert his influence, and profits come from the...
of the Los Angeles crime family
Los Angeles crime family
The Los Angeles crime family is an Italian American criminal organization based in Los Angeles, as part of the American Mafia . Since its inception in the early 1900s, it has spread throughout Southern California. Like most Mafia families in the United States, the L.A. family gained power...
. Originally from Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, Di Giorgio lived most of his life as a grocer in New Orleans. While he lived in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
he was known as a wealthy food importer. During his New Orleans years he was an active Black Hander. As a Mafia boss in California, he was even feared by members of other crime families. He survived two shootings, only to be killed while visiting Chicago in 1922.
Early Life and Life in New Orleans
Vito Di Giorgio was an early (and possibly the first) Mafia boss of Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Born to Filippo and Giuseppa Di Giorgio in Palermo
Palermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
, Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, in 1880, he came to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
around 1904. After a brief stay in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
with his reported cousin, he moved to New Orleans. There, he married Maria Cristoforo April 23, 1909, and joined the community of organized criminals. He was acknowledged as a cousin and a friend to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Mafia boss Giuseppe Morello
Giuseppe Morello
Giuseppe "the Clutch Hand" Morello , also known as "The Old Fox", was the first boss of the Morello crime family and later top adviser to Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria. He was known as Piddu and his rivals the Castellammarese knew him as Peter Morello...
, and with this connection became a leading Black Hander. It is not known when he joined the Honored Society; he may have been a member in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. Using the alias of Joseph Caronia, he was arrested in 1908 for extortion. He was the leader of a Black Hand group that sent an extortion letter demanding money from a leading Italian grocer. He signed the letter "King of the Mafia." He and his associates were freed after a short stay in jail due to lack of evidence. Further investigation showed that Di Giorgio killed a man, Joseph Campisciano, in self-defense
Self-defense
Self-defense, self-defence or private defense is a countermeasure that involves defending oneself, one's property or the well-being of another from physical harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in times of danger is available in many...
about a year earlier. He had used the name Caronia at that time too.
In 1914 he became the owner of a grocery and saloon that was sold to him by the brother of the original proprietor. It had been a successful business and the press did not understand why the owner would sell it. It is likely that the owner, Henry Sciambra, was forced to sell. Sciambra's brother Anthony, the original owner, was murdered in 1912 by an intruder while he was in his home sleeping.
Even for a powerful Mafioso life could be dangerous. Di Giorgio was shot and almost fatally wounded
Death
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
by an assassin on May 13, 1916. He recovered, but an associate who was in the saloon with him did not fare so well and died soon after. One of Di Giorgio's men was captured after he fired at the shooter and was found to have a letter from Frank Sicola of St. Louis. Sicola was a St. Louis Black Hand leader who was shot and killed in 1922. This is evidence of the connections early Mafiosi had, a network that remained unknown to the public until the 1957 Apalachin meeting
Apalachin Meeting
The Apalachin Meeting was a historic summit of the American Mafia held on November 14, 1957, at the home of mobster Joseph "Joe the Barber" Barbara in Apalachin, New York. The meeting was attended by roughly 100 Mafiosi from the United States, Canada, and Italy...
.
Four years later Di Giorgio was alleged to have masterminded a robbery to some acquaintances that led to the death of Dallas Colmes, an Independence restaurant owner, on May 7, 1921. This resulted in the infamous hanging of the six men responsible in 1924.
Life in Los Angeles
In 1920 Di Giorgio and his family were renting a house at 1017 East 21st Street in central Los AngelesLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Nicola Gentile
Nicola Gentile
Nicola Gentile , also known as Nick Gentile, was a Sicilian mafioso and an organized crime figure in New York City during the 1920s and 1930s. He was also known for publishing his memoirs which, violating the mafiosi code known as omerta, revealed many details of the Sicilian and American underworld...
, who was a Mafia leader in Pittsburgh and several other cities, noted that he was feared throughout California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Nevertheless, Di Giorgio continued to have enemies and was shot a second time, on July 18, 1921, after returning home from a trip to the beach with his family. He was shot in the leg and recovered. Di Giorgio, described as a "wealthy fruit dealer," and his wife both told LAPD
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
officers that he had no enemies and did not know who shot him or why.
Apparently not long after this incident, Gentile (who noted Di Giorgio's leg injury) visited him in the home of his underboss, Rosario DeSimone
Rosario DeSimone
Rosario "the Chief" DeSimone , was the head of an Italian crime family that was the predecessor to the Los Angeles crime family of the American Mafia from 1922 to 1925. Rosario was the father of the future California mob boss, Frank DeSimone.-Biography:DeSimone was born in Salaparuta, Sicily in...
. Gentile was on a mission to remove a "death sentence" placed on his compare, Vincenzo Chiappetta. Gentile did not know the reason for the death sentence
Death Sentence
Death Sentence is a short story by the American science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the November 1943 issue of Astounding Science Fiction and reprinted in the 1972 collection The Early Asimov.-Plot summary:...
on Chiappetta, only that it concerned an unresolved issue between the two of them. Chiappetta was one of the men arrested with Di Giorgio in 1908, and was now a member of the Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
Family. Before meeting Di Giorgio, Gentile transferred his membership from the Cola Schiro crime family
Crime family
A crime family is a term used to describe a unit of an organized crime syndicate, often operating within a specific geographic territory. The term is used almost exclusively to refer to units of the Mafia, both in Sicily and in the United States, although it is occasionally used to refer to other...
in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
(Salvatore Maranzano
Salvatore Maranzano
Salvatore Maranzano was an organized crime figure from the town of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, and an early Cosa Nostra boss in the United States. He instigated the Castellammarese War to seize control of the American Mafia operations, and briefly became the Mafia's "Boss of Bosses"...
's predecessor), to the San Francisco Mafia organization. From there arrangements were made to meet with the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
Mafia leader. When they did meet, it was cordial and respectful. In the end, Gentile was successful in convincing Di Giorgio to drop the death sentence, and a letter of explanation was sent to the Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
leader Paolo DiGiovanni.
Death
Nothing is heard of Di Giorgio until May 13, 1922. He and a friend from New Orleans, Vincenzo "James" Lo Cascio, had been traveling the country, most recently in Buffalo, New YorkBuffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
. Shortly before their visit, a number of organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
figures and bootleggers were killed in the Buffalo area. From there they went to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. While the purpose of their meeting is unknown, it is likely that they met with Chicago Mafia leader Michele Merlo, who was also president of the Chicago chapter of the Unione Siciliana
Unione Siciliane
The Unione Siciliana was a Sicilian-American fraternal organization which eventually was rumored to have controlled much of the Italian American vote within the United States during the early twentieth century...
. On May 13, Di Giorgio, Lo Cascio, and an unidentified third man, went to a barber shop
Barber
A barber is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, and to shave or trim the beards of men. The place of work of a barber is generally called a barbershop....
and pool hall
Pool hall
A billiard/billiards, pool or snooker hall is a place where people get together for playing cue sports such as pool, snooker or carom billiards...
on Larabee Street. While Di Giorgio was in a barber's chair for a shave and a haircut, and Lo Cascio was playing a game of billiards, two or three gunmen entered the shop, walked up to both men from behind and shot and killed them both. Their deaths were reported not only in Chicago, but in New Orleans and even by the New York Times. However, none of the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
papers reported on the killings.
Legacy
When Vito Di Giorgio was killed in Chicago the rest of his family had already returned to New Orleans. His wife struggled and was arrested for bootlegging a year later. She died in 1933. Rosario DeSimoneRosario DeSimone
Rosario "the Chief" DeSimone , was the head of an Italian crime family that was the predecessor to the Los Angeles crime family of the American Mafia from 1922 to 1925. Rosario was the father of the future California mob boss, Frank DeSimone.-Biography:DeSimone was born in Salaparuta, Sicily in...
succeeded Di Giorgio as the Los Angeles boss, but appears to have stepped down in the mid-1920s. Joseph Ardizzone
Joseph Ardizzone
Joseph "Iron Man" Ardizzone was an early Los Angeles mobster, who became the first Boss of the Los Angeles crime family. He was involved in a long-standing feud with the Matranga family, and became the only Los Angeles boss to be murdered by his own men...
succeeded him. DeSimone died in 1946 of natural causes
Death by natural causes
A death by natural causes, as recorded by coroners and on death certificates and associated documents, is one that is primarily attributed to natural agents: usually an illness or an internal malfunction of the body. For example, a person dying from complications from influenza or a heart attack ...
. Ten years later, DeSimone's son Frank DeSimone
Frank DeSimone
Frank A. DeSimone was the Boss of the Los Angeles crime family from 1956 to 1967. DeSimone was the son of former don Rosario DeSimone. He was sometime referred to as "One Eye" because one of his eyes drooped, in the same way as Charles "Lucky" Luciano...
became boss of the Los Angeles crime family
Los Angeles crime family
The Los Angeles crime family is an Italian American criminal organization based in Los Angeles, as part of the American Mafia . Since its inception in the early 1900s, it has spread throughout Southern California. Like most Mafia families in the United States, the L.A. family gained power...
. Michele Merlo, known as the peacemaker among the warring Chicago bootlegging factions, died of cancer in 1924. Paolo DiGiovanni died in 1929. Vincenzo Chiappetta relocated to St. Louis, where he died in 1970 at the age of 83. Nick Gentile fled the country in 1937 to avoid prosecution for drug trafficking
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
and remained in Italy for the rest of his life. He lived to be in his 90s.