Bazzano, John (1889-1932)

Born Palizzi Marina, Calabria, May 22, 1889.

Killed Brooklyn, NY, Aug. 6, 1932.

Bazzano, owner of a Pittsburgh coffee shop and a dealer in bootlegging supplies, took over the Pittsburgh Mafia family upon the assassination of boss Giuseppe Siragusa on Sept. 13, 1931. (The killing of Siragusa, a former ally of Salvatore Maranzano in the Castellammarese War, is cited by those who claim that there were underworld purges following Luciano's assassination of Maranzano.)

Soon after taking control of the Family, Bazzano had to fend off incursions by the Volpe brothers. The Volpes, powerful in the Wilmerding PA area, were moving into the established territories of the Pittsburgh and Cleveland Mafia organizations.

Three Volpes were shot to death at Bazzano's coffee shop on July 29, 1932. Bazzano was believed to be responsible.

The rest of the Volpe clan reportedly protested the murders to the newly formed Mafia Commission, and Bazzano was sentenced to die for his offense.

Bazzano's corpse was found in a large sack in Brooklyn. He had been stabbed to death with ice picks. Santo Volpe, a Pittson PA mob boss who was not related to the deceased Volpe brothers, and Anastasia were both suspects in the Bazzano slaying. No one was ever prosecuted for the crime.

Vincenzo Capizzi replaced Bazzano as Pittsburgh crime boss.


Related Links:

•  Crime boss listing
•  Informer (Feb 2011): A Test of Resolve - Bazzano Murder

Barbara, Joseph "Barber" (1905-1959)

Born Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, Aug. 9, 1905.

Died Johnson City, NY, June 17, 1959.

A wealthy gangster operating in New York, Barbara owned the Apalachin, NY, estate that was the site of 1957's Mafia convention. Police crashed the gathering, taking most of those present in for questioning (a number of Mafiosi are believed to have eluded arrest either by escaping through the woods around the Barbara estate or by remaining out of sight in Barbara's home).

Barbara came to the United States from his native Sicily on May 26, 1921. He participated in Mafia bootlegging operations and had underworld contacts in New York City, Buffalo and Endicott, New York. In the post-Prohibition years, he gained control of the beer/soft drink distribution in the Binghamton, NY, region.

Barbara was suspected of involvement in a number of gangland killings. During World War II, authorities noted that rationed gasoline was being stolen from Barbara's bottling plant. Just after the war, he was convicted of the illegal acquisition of sugar, a federal crime.

Many believe that Barbara led a Mafia organization with a territory that included northeastern Pennsylvania and adjacent New York. However, it appears far more likely that he was a Buffalo Mob capodecina with regional authority in the Endicott area. The northeast Pennsylvania Mafia appears to have been an independent crime family ruled by the "Men of Montedoro."

The 1957 Mafia convention was organized by Buffalo crime boss Stefano Magaddino after New York City crime boss Tommy Lucchese requested it on behalf of new bosses Vito Genovese and Carlo Gambino. Barbara's Apalachin estate had been used for a Mafia convention one year earlier.

After they were apprehended, many of the 60-plus Mafiosi told authorities that they were at Barbara's home to look in on him after his recent heart attack. Barbara was in ill health at the time and was able to avoid much post-convention interrogation due to his heart condition (his son, however, was repeatedly interrogated). After having chest pains for several days, Barbara collapsed at his home in Endicott on May 29, 1959. He was rushed to Wilson Memorial Hospital in Johnson City. He died there on June 17.

Related Links:

•  Informer (Jan 2009): The Mob's Worst Year - 1957.
•  "Party-crashers" (Writers of Wrongs - 14 Nov 2016)
•  Read about Joe Barbara in:
  Dicarlo: Buffalo's First Family of Crime - Vol. II

Balsamo, Giuseppe "Battista"

Balsamo was a Mafia leader in Brooklyn at the dawn of the 20th Century, according to some of his descendants, self-described experts in Brooklyn underworld history. The descendants say he was a transplanted Sicilian Mafioso who settled in Brooklyn in 1895 and became Brooklyn's "first godfather."

Giuseppe Balsamo reportedly retired from Mafia leadership in the 1920s, turning his organization over to Vincent and Phillip Mangano. 

These claims have been made in two books. The first of the books was published under a number of different titles, including Under the Clock and Crime Incorporated (authored in 1988 by William Balsamo and George Carpozi). The second book, Young Al Capone, by brothers William and John Balsamo, was published in 2011. Both books contain fiction elements and unsupportable assertions.