Alessandro Vollero (1889–1959) was a New York mobster and a high-ranking member of the Neapolitan

Camorra The Camorra (; ) is an Italian Mafia-typeMafia and Mafia-type orga ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. Vollero served as a lieutenant to gang boss Pellegrino Morano during the Mafia-Camorra War of 1916. Born in Italy, Vollero emigrated with his family to the United States in 1909 and settled in Brooklyn. He soon became involved with the Camorra-aligned street gangs in that area. Vollero eventually bought a coffee shop on Navy Street in Brooklyn, which became the home of the Navy Street Gang. The Neapolitan gangs were the chief rivals of the Morello crime family, a

Sicilian Mafia The Sicilian Mafia or Cosa Nostra (, ; "our thing"), also referred to as simply Mafia, is a secret society, criminal society and criminal organization originating on the island of Sicily and dates back to the mid-19th century. Emerging as a form of ...

gang from Manhattan that was trying to expand its territory. The Neapolitan gangs eventually united against the Morello family. On September 7, 1916, Vollero participated in the murders of mob boss Nicholas Morello and Charles Ubriaco. Vollero wanted revenge against the Morellos for their murder of his friend Nicholas DelGardio. Vollero lured Morello and Ubriaco to his coffee shop on the pretext of arranging a ceasefire with Morano. When they reached the cafe, Morello and Ubriaco were gunned down. Although the murders were successful, the assassins, "Torpedo" Tony Notaro and Ralph Daniello, were eventually apprehended. Daniello agreed to

turn state's evidence A criminal turns state's evidence by admitting guilt and testifying as a witness for the state against their associate(s) or accomplice(s), often in exchange for leniency in sentencing or immunity from prosecution.Howard Abadinsky, ''Organized ...

in exchange for a reduced sentence. Based on Daniello's testimony, Vollero and Morano were convicted of first degree murder. On June 20, 1918, Vollero was sentenced to death at

Sing Sing Prison Sing Sing Correctional Facility is a maximum-security prison for men operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining, New York, United States. It is about north of Midtown Manhattan ...

in Ossining, New York. However, Vollero's sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment. In 1925, during his imprisonment, Vollero became acquainted with Jimmy "The Shiv" DeStefano and his boyhood friend, future mob turncoat Joe Valachi, and served as their mentor. On April 28, 1933, after 14 years in prison, Vollero was released and sent to his birth town, Gragnano, a small town near Naples.

External links

The American "Mafia": Who was Who ? - Alessandro Vollero

American Mafia: Allessandro Vollero

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vollero, Alessandro American gangsters of Italian descent Mafia–Camorra War American Camorristi 1889 births 1959 deaths