Ralph "The Barber" Daniello (1886–1925) was a New York criminal who belonged to the

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

Navy Street Gang and participated in a major gang slaying. Daniello eventually became an informant and helped destroy the Camorra crime gangs in Brooklyn.

Early life

Daniello's real name was Alfonso Pepe. In Italy he was arrested for attacking a woman and on suspicion of involvement in a murder.Raffaele Daniello
GangRule.com After his escape from prison in 1906 he made his way to the French port of

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, ver ...

, from which he sailed to New York where he was smuggled in illegally.Di Marco Murder Is Again Described
The Daily Standard Union, March 7, 1918 In New York, Daniello became a low-level criminal who participated in labor

racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. Originally and ...

and

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

. He was involved in the 1913 Labor slugger war.

Mafia-Camorra War

In 1916 he became involved in the Mafia-Camorra War. He was a member of the Navy Street Gang, made up primarily of Italians from Naples, Italy. In November 1916, Daniello participated in the ambush murders of Nicholas Morello and Charles Ubriaco on a New York Street.Camorra: The Navy Street Gang
GangRule.com These killings were part of an ongoing gang war between the Morello crime family, part of the traditional Sicilian mafia, and the Brooklyn

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

, a Neapolitan crime organization. During this era, a crime organization would usually consist of individuals from the same clan, village, or region in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. In later years, the gangs would be based more on individual families and would allow any Italian to become a full member.

In hiding

After being acquitted on

robbery Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

and

abduction Abduction may refer to: Media Film and television * "Abduction" (''The Outer Limits''), a 2001 television episode * " Abduction" (''Death Note'') a Japanese animation television series * " Abductions" (''Totally Spies!''), a 2002 episode of an ...

charges, Daniello decided it wasn't safe to stay in New York. In May 1917, Daniello and his girlfriend fled to

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the c ...

. In July 1917, the

New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest i ...

(NYPD) police issued a warrant for Daniello's arrest for the May 7 murder of Louis DeMarro in

. Meanwhile, Daniello and his girlfriend were running low on money in Reno. He wrote the Camorra Gang asking for help, but they ignored his requests. Daniello was eventually arrested in Nevada and extradited back to New York.Confession May Clear 23 Feud Murders
The New York Times, November 28, 1917

Informant

Facing indictments on murder, grand larceny and

perjury Perjury (also known as foreswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an inst ...

, Daniello began to tell the police about the Navy Street crew and its connection to the Morello and Ubriaco murders. He provided evidence about 23 murders. Several Grand Juries issued 21 indictments in November 1917.Nelli, ''The Business of Crime''
pp. 133-134
/ref>Indict Twelve In Murder Conspiracy
The New York Times, December 1, 1917 New York prosecutors offered Daniello a deal if he would testify against

Alessandro Vollero Alessandro Vollero (1889 - 1959) was a New York mobster and a high-ranking member of the Neapolitan Camorra Navy Street gang in Brooklyn. Vollero served as a lieutenant to gang boss Pellegrino Morano during the Mafia-Camorra War of 1916. Born i ...

, the Camorra leader. Daniello, who had attended several high level meetings with Vollero, agreed to the deal. In 1917, Vollero was extradited to New York and indicted in the murders of Morello, Umbracio and Manhattan gambler George Verrizano (which Daniello later claimed he had participated in). Daniello's testimony, along with that of "Johnny the Left" Esposito, Tony Notaro, and other Navy Street and Coney Island gang members, led to Vollaro's conviction. The conviction of Vollero and his associates marked the end of both the Navy Street Gang and the Brooklyn Camorra organization.

Death

Because of the abuse he received after testifying at the trial against Vollero, Daniello was moved to a different prison. He received a suspended sentence in consideration of his testimony. However, shortly later he was arrested for assaulting a man in Coney Island. Daniello claimed he shot the victim thinking that he had been sent on a vendetta from his former associates of the Navy Street gang. He was sentenced to five years in prison. Released in 1925 he was shot in his saloon, near Metuchen, New Jersey.

References

* Asbury, Herbert. ''The Gangs of New York''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928. *Nelli, Humbert.
The Business of Crime: Italians and Syndicate Crime in the United States
'. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1981. *''Tells Of New York "Murder Syndicate"; Daniello Confession Leads to 17 Indictments Alieged Gang Accused of 23 Killings--Controlled Italian Gambling''. Boston Daily Globe 01 Dec 1917 *''Last Of Old Gang Shot From An Auto; Ex-Convict Sole Survivor of Band Depleted by Killings and Electric Chair''. New York Times 17 Jun 1929