Gaspare Messina (; August 7, 1879 – June 15, 1957) founded the New England Mafia that would later be known as the

Patriarca crime family The Patriarca crime family (, ), also known as the New England Mafia, the Boston Mafia, the Providence Mafia, the Boston–Providence Mafia,

. He immigrated to

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 ...

from

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

with his wife in 1905. Messina and his family arrived in Boston by 1915 and retired as head of the Boston Mafia in 1932. He was succeeded by Phil Buccola. Messina died on June 15, 1957, in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Early life

Gaspare Messina was born on August 7, 1879, in Salemi,

, to Luciano Messina and his wife, Gaspara Clementi. Gaspare married Francesca Riggio on November 4, 1905, in Salemi. Within the same month the couple immigrated to

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 ...

, arriving in New York Harbor on November 25, 1905, for an extended honeymoon. The couple settled in the

Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...

section of

and decided to stay in the United States permanently. While living in Brooklyn with a growing family, Messina opened a bakery and joined the local mafia that would later become known as the

Bonanno crime family The Bonanno crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City. The family was known as the Maranzano crime family until its founder Sal ...

Boston

By 1915, Messina and his family had moved to

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. He opened a new bakery there and soon became recognized as the

boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, ...

of the local Sicilian-based mafia. The exact circumstances of his crime family's formation and his elevation to boss are unknown. All that is certain is that he arrived in Boston by 1915, and in Nicola Gentile recalled being invited to a banquet in his honor in 1921 by Messina, the local mafia boss in Boston. In 1923, the U.S.

Secret Service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For i ...

found evidence of Messina's involvement in a counterfeiting scheme when they arrested Salvatore Leonardi, finding a letter in his possession addressed to Messina and discovered that Messina had sent a $100 money order to the leaders of the scheme. Over fifty people were arrested for being involved in the scheme to distribute a half-million dollars worth of counterfeit $10

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, commonly known as the Boston Fed, is responsible for the First District of the Federal Reserve, which covers New England: Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont and all of Connecticut excep ...

notes. Messina was never charged in the scheme, but he took an extended trip to Sicily, returning in December 1924. In 1925, Messina was the president of a wholesale grocery business called G. Messina & Company. One of his partners in the business, Frank Cucchiara, was arrested on March 26, 1925 for possession of guns, six sticks of dynamite and 96 ounces of morphine. Later that year, Cucchiara was fined $50 for running an illegal lottery. Around 1927, Messina and his family moved to the nearby suburb of Somerville. In a December 1930 meeting in Boston, Messina was selected to become a temporary capo di capi, by fellow mafiosi after stripping the title from

Joe Masseria Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria (; January 17, 1886April 15, 1931) was an Italian-American Mafia boss in New York City. He was boss of what is now called the Genovese crime family, one of the New York City Mafia's Five Families, from 1922 to ...

during Masseria's struggle with rival gangster

Salvatore Maranzano Salvatore Maranzano (; July 31, 1886 – September 10, 1931), nicknamed Little Caesar, was an Italian-American mobster from the town of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, and an early Cosa Nostra boss who led what later would become the Bonanno cr ...

, often referred to as the

Castellammarese War The Castellammarese War () was a bloody power struggle for control of the American Mafia between partisans of Joe "The Boss" Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano that took place in New York City from February 26, 1930, until April 15, 1931. The feu ...

. Maranzano acquired the title after he proved victorious in the conflict.

Death

According to an

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

listening device placed in Raymond Patriarca's office, Messina stepped down as boss in 1932 and was replaced by Phil Buccola. After his retirement he retained an "advisory" role to his successors. Messina died on June 15, 1957, in Somerville, Massachusetts.

References

External links

Biography of Messina on ''The American Mafia'' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Messina, Gaspare 1879 births 1957 deaths Patriarca crime family American gangsters of Italian descent People of Sicilian descent People from North End, Boston Italian emigrants to the United States Criminals from Massachusetts Capo dei capi

Early life

Boston

Death

See also

References

External links