The Everything Mafia Book (11 page)

There have been many movies glorifying the Federal Bureau of Investigation. James Cagney starred in the 1935 movie G-Men, and James Stewart put on the badge in the 1959 movie The FBI Story. These were done in Hoover’s lifetime and with his approval, as was the long-running television show from the 1960s called The FBI. An updated version of that show, Today’s FBI, ran in the early 1980s.

Melvin and Hoover

Hoover was a man full of righteous indignation and by all accounts not blessed with a sense of humor or healthy self-deprecation. He was outraged by the romanticization of gangsters in the Roaring Twenties. He achieved national attention in the Depression-ravaged 1930s when a different breed of gangster terrorized America’s heartland. These were not the slick and well-oiled cogs of elaborate La Cosa Nostra machinery. These were oddballs and outcasts and misfits with colorful names like Machine Gun Kelly, Pretty Boy Floyd, Baby Face Nelson, Ma Barker, and Bonnie and Clyde.

As with the Mafia, the media often treated these cold-blooded killers as romantic modern-day Robin Hoods. Hoover was indignant and set the FBI on their trail. The spectacular shoot-’em-ups that ensued made the FBI the Wyatt Earps of the day. James Cagney took a break from his usual gangster roles to star in a movie called
G-Men
(gangster-ese for the FBI, the
G
stands for government).

The FBI has been venerated, but also criticized for their focus on the Mafia at the expense of other organized crime groups from both law enforcement and civil rights groups. In recent years the agency has formed task forces to combat emerging crime syndicates, coming a long way from the days when people joked that FBI stood for Forever Bothering Italians.

One of Hoover’s star agents in the bureau was the flamboyant Melvin Purvis. He is the agent who hunted down and killed the ruthless bank robber John Dillinger, with a little help from a shady dame who has gone down in history as the “Lady in Red.”

Purvis went on to corner and kill Pretty Boy Floyd and Baby Face Nelson shortly after that. He was outshining Hoover, and J. Edgar deeply resented it. Hoover made life in the FBI so miserable for Purvis that he finally resigned. Not satisfied with that, Hoover followed Purvis’s career with malevolent interest, often using his influence to prevent him from getting jobs in law enforcement. In 1960 Purvis shot himself with the same gun he had used to shoot down John Dillinger. He was a victim of the egotism and hubris of J. Edgar Hoover.

Denier of the Mafia

Hoover, the intrepid lawman, keeper of the national dish and dirt, did not have an exemplary record as an antagonist of the Mafia. In fact, he repeatedly denied that an organized crime network existed in the United States. His reason for this stubborn denial could have been his titanic ego. Conspiracy theorists may find more sinister reasons for his refusal to acknowledge the mob’s existence. Whatever the reasons for his belief, it made Hoover either a willing or unintentional accomplice in the Mafia’s rapid growth and increased influence on the American landscape.

The FBI originated in 1908. Called the Special Agents of the Department of Justice, the group was created by President Theodore Roosevelt and Attorney General Charles Bonaparte. Initially they investigated mainly financial crimes, but the list grew exponentially. After a few more name changes the agency officially became the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1935.

It’s All Politics

The theory that gives J. Edgar Hoover the benefit of the doubt is that he was afraid that corruption would spread through the bureau if his agents had close contact with the Mafia. The Mafia would not have become as powerful as it did if not for the greed of law enforcement officials at the local and state levels. Hoover’s rationale may have been to steer clear of the Mafia’s seductive allure and concentrate on his favorite pursuit, tracking down real and suspected communists. Skeptics suggest that Hoover focused on the easy targets to increase his crime-busting statistics, which would enhance his personal quest for acclaim and his ability to go to Congress to make the case for higher and higher funding for his bureau.

Kindred Spirits

Some of the critics of Hoover’s lack of conviction in going after the Mafia suggest that Hoover viewed the gangsters as ideological soul mates. The Mafia did not advocate the overthrow of the government and the American way of life. They were no threat to the status quo—in fact they thrived in the status quo. In some twisted way this could have mirrored Hoover’s patriotic, anti-Communist stance.

It has been alleged that Hoover mingled with the Mafia. Supposedly, they were often at the same parties and social functions. Hoover loved gambling, especially on the horses, and this was a main source of the Mafia’s income. Hoover was often at the racetrack with his pal Clyde Tolson. He was publicly seen betting at the $2 window, a seemingly innocuous pastime. But he had agents placing bets for him at the $100 window. It would have ruined his reputation as Mr. Law and Order if the public found out he was a high-stakes gambler.

While his track record on dealing with the Mafia is lackluster at best, Hoover was aggressive in his war against communism, called the “Red Menace” in those days. The FBI even published a pamphlet called Red Channels, which listed prominent men and women suspected of having communist affiliations.

Or were the stakes really that high? Hoover got his betting “tips” from the notorious syndicated columnist Walter Winchell, who in turn got them from Mafia boss Frank Costello. In other words, Hoover was, whether he knew it or not, betting on fixed races. Hence he was a big winner. If he did not know it then, he was being manipulated by the Mafia. If he did know about it then, Mr. FBI was engaging in behavior punishable by imprisonment.

Local Cops

For all the notoriety that the FBI has received over the years in regards to working against the Mafia, there have been scores of local and state police who had been on the front lines of the war on the rackets. The street-level cops were usually the ones who the mob tried to bribe first, but they were also the ones who usually knew what was going on in the neighborhood and where the gangsters’ operations were.

Irish Joe

Joe Coffey is one of the most recognizable mob busters, due to his book and numerous TV appearances on cable news shows. The one-time head of the Organized Crime Control Bureau for the NYPD, Sergeant Joe was on the front lines, going toe-to-toe with the bad guys until he himself was put under a cloud of suspicion. He retired from the police force, became a state investigator, and cemented his reputation as a respected authority on the subject. It was Joe who first heard about the murderous Irish gangsters, the Westies, and started investigating the group. Coffey also dealt with other criminals, including serial killer David “Son of Sam” Berkowitz. Joe’s sharp New York accent and stereotypical Irish cop appearance made him a natural for the news cameras. He’s now a consultant for numerous news channels.

Who promoted Joe Petrosino through the ranks?
That would be our twenty-sixth president, Theodore Roosevelt. Teddy was the police commissioner from 1895 to 1897. Petrosino was promoted to the head of the homicide division under Roosevelt’s tutelage.

The Original Mob Buster

Joe Petrosino was the original mob buster. An immigrant from Campa-nia, land of the Camorra, Joe was dedicated to ridding his ethnic community of the scourge of the Black Hand. It was unusual at that time for an Italian to enter the police force. The NYPD, though, had a need for new immigrants to tackle the emerging gangster menace. Joe was moved to a new division, the Italian Squad, dedicated to working the Italian community to root out Mafia influence. Joe hated the mob, and saw it as a stain on the character of his community. One of his targets was an elusive mob power, Vito Cascio Ferro. The mob boss fled New York to avoid prosecution. Petrosino made a bold move—he sailed to Italy to bring the criminal to justice. Unfortunately Ferro’s tentacles reached far. After an evening dinner in Palermo, Sicily, Petrosino was waiting for a trolley when he had to relieve himself. With the dearth of proper public restrooms, he took to the bushes. Two gunmen took that opportunity to shoot Joe in the back, killing him instantly.

CHAPTER 6
Meanwhile Back in the Big Apple

New York City was the breeding ground for thousands of mobsters over the years, as well as a place where many of them died. Some of the early formative wars that took place in New York shaped the modern mob. The blood was spilled on crowded streets and deserted back alleys. Some bodies were found, while others simply vanished, never to be seen again. The rivalries were ages-old, the young upstarts looking to wrest control from the older, lazy bosses. The young usurped the old, and the modern Mafia was born.

Old-School Dons

The term
Mustache Pete
was an old slang expression for a conservative and cautious fellow, but it became a derisive comment used for stodgy (and stingy) bosses. It had nothing to do with facial hair and everything to do with attitude. The earliest American mobsters were given this moniker by their rivals and the young turks who sought to seize power from the old guard. The old boys were believed to be too traditional and Old World to make the Mafia a viable enterprise in the New World. Static was their ways; tending to their olives and tomatoes or leisurely sipping a cappuccino or some vintage wine while business got done at a leisurely clip was their style. The younger breed of mobster was lean and hungry, and very dangerous. They had the eye on the prize, always looking to get into new schemes and team up with mobsters across ethnic boundaries.

Boss of Bosses

In the 1930s, the most powerful and influential of the Mustache Petes were Joe “the Boss” Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano. Salvatore Maranzano originally studied for the priesthood in his native Sicily, but by the time he came to the United States in 1918, he already took the path to the underworld. But his experience in crime was not enough. He was not inclined to think outside the criminal box, and that made him a target for the up-and-coming next generation.

From Sicily

Maranzano’s hometown was Castellammare del Golfo, so when he came to America, he hooked up with some people from the old neighborhood. Joseph Bonanno, Joseph Profaci, and Stefano Magaddino were all ruthless Mafiosi in their own right and future bigwigs in the new underworld order. Maranzano’s mandate was to solidify power for his Sicilian master. This compelled him to butt heads with the Mafia “mainlanders,” as they were called. His main nemesis among the mainlanders was Joe “the Boss” Masseria.

Who’s the Boss?

Joe “the Boss” was New York’s answer to Al Capone during the 1920s. He left his native Sicily, first seeing Lady Liberty in New York Harbor in 1903. Masseria did not come to America as a law-abiding transplant. A murder charge hung over his head in Sicily. Upon arriving in New York, he went to work for the Morello gang on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, where his singular talents as an enforcer were in great demand. It was the same story as so many immigrants before him.