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Leo Lanzetta
Leo Lanzetta was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1895. Leo had five other brothers, with whom he formed the bootlegging and drug trafficking Lanzetta Brothers gang. He and his brothers were also called "the Lanzetti brothers" (due to incorrect documentation and newspaper retrieving incorrect information). Early life Leo Lanzetta was born in Washington, District of Columbia on December 22,1984 to Italian American parents Michele and Ignatius Lanzetta. Leo had five other brothers: Ignatius, Pius, Willie, Teo, and Lucien; Leo being the oldest and Pius being the second oldest. Prohibition Leo formed the Lanzetta Gang with Ignatius, Pius, and their other brothers in the early 1920s. Leo, Ignatius, Pius, and their other brothers ran the gang. The brothers controlled bootlegging in Little Italy. They were allied with Italian gangsters Michael Falcone and Louis "Fats" Delrossi and their rivals included: Polish mob boss William Michael Cusick, Sicilian Mafia and Bruno c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ward (electoral Subdivision)
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to the area (e.g. William Morris Ward in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, England). It is common in the United States for wards to simply be numbered. Origins The word “ward”, for an electoral subdivision, appears to have originated in the Wards of the City of London, where gatherings for each ward known as “wardmotes” have taken place since the 12th century. The word was much later applied to divisions of other cities and towns in England and Wales and Ireland. In parts of northern England, a ''ward'' was an administrative subdivision of a county, very similar to a hundred in other parts of England. Present day In Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States, wards ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Italy, Philadelphia
The Italian Market is the popular name for the South 9th Street Curb Market, an area of South Philadelphia featuring awning covered sidewalks, curb carts, grocery shops, cafes, restaurants, bakeries, cheese shops, butcher shops, etc., many with an Italian influence. The historical heart of the market is the area of 9th Street between Christian Street and Washington Avenue,Historical Society of Pennsylvania Phila Place - 9th Street Market (hsp.org/default.aspx?id=1077) the commercial district chartered in 1915, the South Ninth Street Business Men's Association, covered the area between Catharine to Federal and Eighth to Tenth streets, and the market is now generally considered to extend from Fitzwater Street at the north to Wharton Street at the south. The term Italian Market is also used to generally describe the surrounding ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bookmaking
A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookmakers in many countries focus on accepting bets on professional sports, especially horse racing and association football or Indian Premier League cricket. However, a wider range of bets, including on political elections, awards ceremonies such as the Oscars, and novelty bets are accepted by bookmakers in some countries. Operational procedures By "adjusting the odds" in their favour (paying out amounts using odds that are less than what they determined to be the true odds) or by having a point spread, bookmakers aim to guarantee a profit by achieving a 'balanced book', either by getting an equal number of bets for each possible outcome or (when they are offering odds) by getting the amounts wagered on each outcome to reflect the odds ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rum-runner
Rum-running or bootlegging is the illegal business of smuggling alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law. Smuggling usually takes place to circumvent taxation or prohibition laws within a particular jurisdiction. The term ''rum-running'' is more commonly applied to smuggling over water; ''bootlegging'' is applied to smuggling over land. It is believed that the term ''bootlegging'' originated during the American Civil War, when soldiers would sneak liquor into army camps by concealing pint bottles within their boots or beneath their trouser legs. Also, according to the PBS documentary ''Prohibition'', the term ''bootlegging'' was popularized when thousands of city dwellers sold liquor from flasks they kept in their boot legs all across major cities and rural areas. The term ''rum-running'' was current by 1916, and was used during the Prohibition era in the United States (1920–1933), when ships from Bimini in the western Bahamas transported cheap Caribb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Made Men
In the American and Sicilian Mafia, a made man is a fully initiated member of the Mafia. To become "made", an associate first must be Italian or of Italian descent and sponsored by another made man. An inductee will be required to take the oath of ''omertà'', the Mafia code of silence and code of honor. After the induction ceremony, the associate becomes a "made man" and holds the rank of soldier (Italian: ''soldato'') in the Mafia hierarchy. Made men are the only ones who can rise through the ranks of the Mafia, from soldier to caporegime, consigliere, underboss, and boss. Other common names for members include ''man of honor'' ( it, uomo d'onore), ''man of respect'' (Italian: ''uomo di rispetto''), ''one of us'', ''friend of ours'' (Italian: ''amico nostro''), ''good fella'', and ''wiseguy''; although the last two terms can also apply to non-initiated Mafia associates who work closely with the Mafia, rather than just official "made men". Earning or making one's "bones" or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Mafia
The American Mafia, commonly referred to in North America as the Italian American Mafia, the Mafia, or the Mob, is a highly organized Italian American criminal society and organized crime group. The organization is often referred to by its members as Cosa Nostra (, "our thing" or "this thing of ours") and by the American government as La Cosa Nostra (LCN). The organization's name is derived from the original ''Mafia'' or ''Cosa nostra'', the Sicilian Mafia, with "American Mafia" originally referring simply to Mafia (or ''Cosa nostra'') groups from Sicily operating in the United States, as the organization initially emerged as an offshoot of the Sicilian Mafia (known also as ''Cosa nostra'' by its members) formed by Italian immigrants in the United States. However, the organization gradually evolved into a separate entity partially independent of the original Mafia in Sicily, and it eventually encompassed or absorbed other Italian immigrant and Italian-American gangsters and It ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Max Hoff (mobster)
Max "Boo Boo" Hoff (1892 – April 27, 1941) was an ex-boxer who later became a bootlegger and gambler. Early life Hoff was born in Little Italy, Philadelphia, in 1892 to poor Russian Jewish immigrants. After quitting school, Hoff worked for many years in a cigar store where the service also included gambling. His pay was raised from $12 a week to $15 after his boss noticed how his amiable personality appealed to customers. In 1917, he started a gambling operation in the section of Philadelphia now known as Society Hill. Boxing In the late 1920s, he had the largest stable of prizefighters in the nation, and he staged boxing matches for many years at several Philadelphia sites. None of his boxers won a world championship, but several were highly ranked contenders in a period when boxing was a widely popular form of sports entertainment. In 1928, his stable of boxers became Max Hoff Inc. His group was the first group of prize fighters to be incorporated. In 1927, Hoff filed a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jewish Mafia
Jewish-American organized crime initially emerged within the American Jewish community during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It has been referred to variously in media and popular culture as the Jewish Mob, Jewish Mafia, Kosher Mob, Kosher Mafia, and Kosher Nostra"Forgetting sixth commandment: Jewish gangsters were once known in organized crime circles as the 'Kosher Nostra'" , ''The Jewish Independent'', September 19, 2008 or Undzer Shtik ( yi, אונדזער שטיק). – literally 'our piece,' 'our share', 'our thing'. Also compare to nl, ons stuk, af, ons stuk, fry, ús stik. The last two of these terms are direct references to the [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salvatore Sabella
Salvatore Sabella (; July 7, 1891 – 1962) was an Italian-born crime boss of the Philadelphia crime family in the 1920s. Early life Sabella was born in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, on July 7, 1891, who became a butcher's apprentice as a young boy. In 1905, tired of dealing with the butcher's violent outbursts, 14-year-old Sabella murdered him. In 1908, Sabella was convicted of the butcher's murder and sent to prison in Milan, Italy for three years. At some point, either in prison or after his release, Sabella became involved with the Sicilian Mafia. After his release, Sabella left Italy for the United States, apparently as an illegal immigrant. In 1912, Sabella arrived in Brooklyn, New York and joined the Salvatore D'Aquila criminal organization, which consisted of many other Castellammarese immigrants. During the next few years, mobster Giuseppe Traina trained Sabella for a future role in the organization. Philadelphia mob boss In 1919, Sabella was sent to Philadelphia to b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philadelphia Crime Family
The Philadelphia crime family, also known as the Philadelphia Mafia, the Philly Mob or Philly Mafia, the Philadelphia-South Jersey Mafia, or Bruno-Scarfo family is an Italian-American Mafia family based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed and based in South Philadelphia, the criminal organization primarily operates in various areas and neighborhoods in Philadelphia, the Greater Philadelphia Metropolitan Area (i.e. the Delaware Valley) and New Jersey, especially South Jersey. The family is notorious for its violence, due in particular to its succession of violent bosses and multiple mob wars. As the Bruno crime family under the 20-year reign of boss Angelo Bruno (1959–1980), the family enjoyed an era of peace and prosperity. A complex dispute involving disgruntled subordinates and territory claims by New York's Genovese crime family led to Bruno's murder in 1980. The killing marked the beginning of years of internal violence for control of the Philadelphia family, leading ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sicilian Mafia
The Sicilian Mafia, also simply known as the Mafia and frequently referred to as Cosa nostra (, ; "our thing") by its members, is an Italian Mafia- terrorist-type organized crime syndicate and criminal society originating in the region of Sicily and dating to at least the 19th century. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organisational structure and code of conduct and honor and present themselves to the public under a common brand. The basic group is known as a "family", "clan", or '' cosca''. Each family claims sovereignty over a territory, usually a town or village or a neighbourhood (''borgata'') of a larger city, in which it operates its rackets. Its members call themselves " men of honour", although the public often refers to them as ''mafiosi''. By the 20th century, following wide-scale emigration from Sicily, mafiosi established gangs in North and South America which replicate the traditions and methods of their Sicilian ancestors. The Maf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mickey Duffy
Michael "Mickey" Duffy (born William Michael Cusick; 1888 - August 30, 1931) -- also known as John Murphy and George McEwen -- was a Polish- American mobster and rival of Maxie "Boo Boo" Hoff during Prohibition. He became one of the most famous and powerful beer bootleggers in Philadelphia and in Atlantic City. Career Born William Michael Cusick to Polish immigrants in Grays Ferry, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he changed his name to fit in well with the Irish gangs in Philadelphia. Duffy became involved in petty theft and other misdemeanors during his youth before more serious crimes during his teenage years, including armed robbery and hijacking prior to entering bootlegging during Prohibition. In May 1919, Duffy was arrested for assault and battery with intent to kill serving two years and eleven months at the Eastern State Penitentiary, Philadelphia. Upon his release, Prohibition was law and organized crime syndicates began smuggling, making and selling illegal alcoho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
