Onofrio Sciortino was an Italian-American mobster and boss of the San Jose crime family.

Early career

The date of his accomplishments was considered to be 1942. It is almost certain that organized crime existed before this date. Sciortino would derive a majority of his profits from

loansharking A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high or illegal interest rates, has strict terms of collection, and generally operates outside the law, often using the threat of violence or other illegal, aggressive, and extortionate ...

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

and

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

. He was considered the first official La Cosa Nostra crime boss of San Jose until his death from natural causes on September 10, 1959.

His successor

Sciortino's successor was his

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 ...

, Joseph Cerrito. Cerrito came to America from Sicily during the 1920s and moved to the San Jose area in the early 1940s. During the November 1957 Appalachian Summit of mob bosses, Cerrito was one of many who was caught by law enforcement and would answer to a grand jury on the matter in 1959. In October 1964, Cerrito was identified when he was found meeting Bonanno LCN Family former

consigliere Consigliere ( , ; plural is a position within the leadership structure of the Sicilian, Calabrian, and Italian-American Mafia. The word was popularized in English by the novel ''The Godfather'' (1969) and its film adaptation. In the novel, a c ...

Frank Garofalo, at a hotel in

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

, Sicily. It was believed that the two were discussing the ensuing war within 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 ...

, which would later be dubbed as the "Banana War." Cerrito was a well-accomplished businessman with two car dealerships in San Jose and one in Los Gatos. In the late 1960s, Cerrito and "made" soldier, Pete Misuraca, were implicated but never tried for attempted extortion plot against of a Reno-based resort. In 1968, LIFE Magazine publicly identified Cerrito as the crime boss over San Jose. He sued for libel, but the case was eventually dismissed. He died on September 8, 1978, from natural causes as one of the most successful crime lords over a very small family.

Addiction

Sciortino was reportedly a gambling addict, often squandering upwards of a million dollars per day. To support his habit, he engaged in extensive racketering, ranging from

counterfeit A counterfeit is a fake or unauthorized replica of a genuine product, such as money, documents, designer items, or other valuable goods. Counterfeiting generally involves creating an imitation of a genuine item that closely resembles the original ...

ing and shylocking to prostitution and

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

throughout San Jose.

Death

Sciortino died from a massive heart attack in his Sicilian while reading a newspaper.

References

''San Jose crime family''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sciortino, Onofrio American gangsters American gangsters of Italian descent 1959 deaths Year of birth uncertain Criminals from the San Francisco Bay Area People from San Jose, California