Anthony Milano (December 5, 1888 – August 5, 1978) was an American mobster who rose to power working for the
Cleveland crime family
The Cleveland crime family, also known as the Scalish crime family or the Cleveland Mafia, is an Italian American Mafia crime family based in Cleveland, Ohio, and throughout the Greater Cleveland area. The organization formed during the 1900s, an ...
in the
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 terms Italian Mafia and Italian Mob apply to ...
. He served as the longtime
underboss
Underboss () is a position within the leadership structure of certain organized crime groups, particularly in Sicilian Mafia, Sicilian and Italian-American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the Crime boss, boss. The un ...
in the Cleveland crime family from 1930 until his retirement in 1976. He was the godfather of future Cleveland crime family underboss Angelo Lonardo.
Anthony Milano founded the Italian American Brotherhood Club in 1928 in Cleveland’s Murray Hill neighborhood. The Club still exists today.
Milano was born on December 5, 1888, in
Reggio Calabria
Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...
in Southern
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
to Pietro and Grazia Milano (née Mazza). His family eventually immigrated to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and made their way to
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...
. Milano and his brother Frank were active in Black Hand extortion and bootlegging during prohibition. His younger brother Frank was leader of the "Mayfield Road Mob", an Italian gang that fought the Porrello crime family for control of criminal rackets in Ohio. In the early 1930s, the Porrello family was defeated and Frank became boss of the Cleveland crime family, being an original member of The Commission. Anthony served as his underboss. In 1935, Frank fled the country due to
tax evasion
Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to red ...
charges. Alfred Polizzi took over as boss of the family and kept Anthony on as underboss. Milano remained underboss for decades despite the changes in leadership over the years.
Milano had significant control over several local labor unions in Cleveland due to his connection to Jackie Presser. As the years went on, Milano spent less time involved in the Cleveland crime family and he began to take on more of an advisory role while other influential crime family members served as acting underbosses. Even so, he kept the title of underboss until his retirement in 1976.
Milano became a naturalized citizen on June 27, 1924. He married Josephine DiSanto and had four sons:
Peter
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a su ...
, Frank, John and
Carmen
''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...
. His wife and kids moved to Los Angeles in the 1940s while he split time between Los Angeles, Cleveland and Las Vegas. Milano had many legitimate and criminal business interests in all three cities. His eldest son Peter was a member of the Los Angeles crime family and the Milanos' relationship strengthened the ties between the two crime families. His niece's husband John Nardi, an influential associate of the
Cleveland crime family
The Cleveland crime family, also known as the Scalish crime family or the Cleveland Mafia, is an Italian American Mafia crime family based in Cleveland, Ohio, and throughout the Greater Cleveland area. The organization formed during the 1900s, an ...
, went against the Cleveland family in the 1970s and sided with the Irish gang led by Danny Greene.
He died of natural causes on August 5, 1978, at Lakeside Hospital in Cleveland. He was buried at All Souls Cemetery in