Apalachin Meeting

The Apalachin Meeting was a historic summit of the American Mafia held on November 14, 1957 at the home of mobster Joseph "Joe the Barber" Barbara in Apalachin, New York.

It was attended by roughly 100 mafia crime bosses from the United States, Canada and Italy. Expensive cars with license plates from around the country aroused the curiosity of the local and state law enforcement, who raided the meeting, causing mafiosi to flee into the woods and the surrounding area of the Apalachin estate. Over 60 underworld bosses were detained and indicted due to the disastrous meeting.

The direct and most significant outcome of the Apalachin meeting was that it helped to confirm the existence of a National Crime Syndicate, which some - including J. Edgar Hoover, head of the Federal Bureau of Investigations - had long refused to acknowledge.Sifakis, p. 19-20]

Vito Genovese' rise to power

Living in Naples, Italy in 1946, at the end of World War II, Boss Vito "Don Vito" Genovese, who had fled New York from a 1937 murder indictment was arrested and returned to the United States to face trial, but was eventually released due to the fact that the only witness to the murder, Peter LaTempa, was himself murdered in his jail cell while awaiting the trial. After his release, Vito Genovese began competing with Frank "The Prime Minister" Costello for control over the biggest and most powerful underworld crime family, La Cosa Nostra's Luciano Family of New York. Once Genovese had control of the Luciano Family, his intentions were to take control of the Commission and La Cosa Nostra, but to do this he had to remove the long established "Conservative Faction" or old guard mafia, which controlled the Commission.

The Commission's "Conservative Faction" of Bosses Bonanno-Profaci-Mangano-Gagliano-Magaddino had exerted a major influence over La Cosa Nostra's politics, policies and rules since the Commission's formation in 1931 and had dominated since the 1936 imprisonment of Boss and criminal powerhouse, Salvatore "Charlie Lucky" Luciano. By 1951 the New York underworld and the Commission were experiencing a change in the mafia that caused the formation of factions and infighting amongst the Bosses. By 1957 the new "Liberal Faction" had gained enough power and influence to rival the old mafia power structure and decided to make a grab for control of the Commission and La Cosa Nostra.

At the head of this new faction was Boss Vito Genovese and his allies Gaetano Lucchese and Carlo Gambino. The events and conflicts perpetrated by Genovese and his allies from 1951 through 1957, such as the assassination of five New York mafia bosses were designed to bring about a power change in the New York underworld and the Commission, but in 1957 the change was leading to a war in La Cosa Nostra and a solution was necessary. Genovese, who now controlled the most powerful Family in La Cosa Nostra, called for a national meeting of Bosses from around the country. Genovese elected Buffalo Boss and Commission member, Stefano "The Undertaker" Magaddino, who in turn chose Northeastern, Pennsylvania crime boss Joseph Barbara and his Underboss Rosario "Russell" Bufalino to oversee all the arrangements for the important meeting.

New York and the Commission

The Commission's "Conservative Faction" began its decline and loss of power in La Cosa Nostra with the 1951 alliance of Bosses Frank Costello, Albert Anastasia and Anthony Accardo. The Commission's Costello-Anastasia-Accardo faction, along with their allies began the rise of the new "Liberal Faction" over La Cosa Nostra's "old guard" of mafia bosses. The old guard mafia bosses consisted of mafiosi born in Sicily who were determined to obtain power, influence and profit by following the old world traditions and principles of the mafia, while the new "Liberal Faction" was made up of the Americanized bosses whose sole purpose was to obtain power, influence and profit through any means necessary. The old guards traditional mafia values had no place in the new mafia's future and this began a "cold war" among New York's mafia powers.

The new "Liberal Faction" began its rise to power with the 1951 disappearance of Boss and "Conservative Faction" member, Vincenzo "Don Vincent" Mangano and the assassination of his "Substituto" Underboss and brother, Philip Mangano, which placed Underboss, Albert "The Mad Hatter" Anastasia at the head of the Family and gave him a Commission seat. Also in 1951, mobster Vito Genovese began his plan to overthrow Boss Frank Costello and take control of the Luciano Family when he started campaigning to have Luciano Family Underboss and strong Costello ally, Quarico "Willie Moore" Moretti assassinated due to his advanced case of syphilis and his constant and wild conversations concerning La Cosa Nostra affairs. Vito Genovese's first move was accomplished in a New Jersey restaurant on October 4, 1951, when Willie Moretti was assassinated for the greater good of La Cosa Nostra and Vito Genovese was promoted to Underboss of the Luciano Family.

The cold war escalates

The 1951 assassinations of the Mangano brothers and Willie Moretti, along with Albert Anastasia's elevation to Boss of the second largest crime family in the United States elevated the "cold war" in the New York underworld and the Commission to a new level. After these events the New York underworld split even further with the most powerful Bosses and mafiosi lining up against one another. With the loss of ally Willie Moretti, Frank Costello and Albert Anastasia lined up against the alliance of Vito Genovese, Tommy Lucchese and their ally Carlo Gambino.

The evident changes in the New York mafia led the Sicilian, conservative Bosses to believe that the new Americanized Bosses and their allies were preparing for a possible takeover, but for the time being the conservative Bosses watched and waited as present and future events played out in La Cosa Nostra. One of these events was the 1953 death of "Conservative Faction" and Commission member, Gaetano Gagliano, leaving his successor, Gaetano "Tommy Brown" Lucchese, as the new Family Boss and Commission member.

By 1957 only three of the five original conservative or old guard Bosses still had a Commission seat. The "Conservative Faction" of Bonanno-Profaci-Magaddino was losing power and influence to the "Liberal Faction" and knowing this "Conservative Faction" member, Magaddino secretly sided with the "Liberal Faction" against his former allies Joseph Bonanno and Joseph "The Old Man" Profaci.

Luciano Family Underboss, Vito Genovese realized by 1957 that the mafia's political climate in New York and on the Commission was right for a power move. Genovese schemed with allies Tommy Lucchese and Carlo Gambino to remove Frank Costello and Albert Anastasia from power by assassinating them, thus allowing Genovese and Gambino to elevate themselves to the heads of their Families.

Genovese's final grab for power

Vito Genovese's final grab for total power and the domination of La Cosa Nostra came in 1957 with the removal of three of New York's most powerful mafia Bosses. On May 2, 1957, Genovese gunman and protégé, Vincent "Chin" Gigante tried to kill Luciano Family Boss Frank Costello in the lobby of his Manhattan apartment building, but botched the hit, leaving Costello with only a minor scalp/head wound. Costello got the message and sent word to Vito Genovese that he would step down as Boss of the Luciano Family and retire with his gambling interests.

The following month, Anastasia Family Underboss and Luciano/Costello ally, Frank "Don Cheech" Scalise was assassinated on June 17, 1957 by Anastasia nephew and gunman, Vincent "Jimmy/Jerome" Squilante. Past underworld reasons for Frank Scalise's murder range from a botched heroin shipment, to his sale of La Cosa Nostra memberships for $50,000 with his Boss, Albert Anastasia, but whatever the truth, the hit was most likely sanctioned by Anastasia, reinforced by Anastasia being Squilante's Boss and the only one who could sanction him as the shooter.

Genovese and his allies used the Scalise hit and Anastasia's attempt to muscle into the Havana, Cuba casino operations of Jewish Boss Meyer Lansky and his partner, Florida Boss Santo Trafficante, Jr. as another example of Anastasia's madness and a reason to kill him. On October 25, 1957, in the barber shop of Manhattan's Park Sheraton Hotel, Costello ally Albert "The Mad Hatter" Anastasia was shot and killed by two masked gunmen sent by Bosses Vito Genovese, Carlo Gambino and Joseph Profaci, who was also an Anastasia rival in Brooklyn. Vito Genovese was now Boss of the Genovese Family and a Commission member, making him the most powerful Boss in La Cosa Nostra.

The make up of the Commission would keep on changing, strengthening the "Liberal Faction" even more throughout the years. In 1957, Chicago mafioso, Salvatore "Sam Mooney" Giancana was elected to replace former Chicago Outfit Boss and Commission member, Anthony "Joe Batters" Accardo, giving the new "Liberal Faction" another strong ally. By 1960, two more Bosses who had achieved great power in La Cosa Nostra, Joseph "Joe Z." Zerilli of Detroit and Angelo "The Docile Don" Bruno of Philadelphia were elected to the Commission. They were both new to the National La Cosa Nostra political arena and naturally sided with one of the two factions. Detroit Boss Joseph Zerilli was related by marriage to New York crime boss Joseph Profaci, Zerilli's son having married Profaci's daughter gave the Detroit Boss great reason to side with the "Conservative Faction", while Philadelphia Boss Angelo Bruno was close to New York Boss Carlo Gambino and his friend and in law, New York Boss Tommy Lucchese. Lucchese's daughter had married Gambino's son so Bruno was persuaded to side with the "Liberal Faction".

The 1959 imprisonment of Boss Vito Genovese, along with the 1962 death of Joseph Profaci and the 1968 banishment of Joseph Bonanno from New York all led to the eventual elevation of Carlo Gambino to the de facto position of "Boss of Bosses" in New York until his death in 1976.

Apalachin meeting agenda

Powerful mafiosi from all over the United States, Canada and Italy convened at the Apalachin, New York estate of Northeastern Pennsylvania mafia boss Joseph Barbara to socialize and resolve the mafia affairs in New York and La Cosa Nostra operations such as gambling, casinos and narcotics dealing.

The Scalise and Anastasia murders were topics of great importance that needed immediate attention, since men in the Anastasia Family still loyal to the Anastasia/Scalise regime such as the powerful caporegimes Aniello "The Lamb" Dellacroce and Armand "Tommy" Rava were about to go to war against Vito Genovese and his allies. It hadn't been just the Genovese-Lucchese-Gambino alliance that wanted to see Albert Anastasia dead.

Some of the most powerful Cosa Nostra Bosses throughout the country, such as Tampa Family boss Santo Trafficante, Jr., Northeastern Family Underboss Rosario "Russell" Bufalino, New Orleans Family Boss Carlos "Little Man" Marcello and even Jewish Boss and mafia financier, Meyer Lansky, worried about Anastasia's attempts to muscle in on their Havana casino operations just before the Commission sanctioned his assassination. In fact, Cuba, was one of the Apalachin meetings topics of discussion, particularly La Cosa Nostra's gambling and narcotics smuggling interests on the island. The international narcotics trade was also an important topic on the Apalachin agenda. Shortly before Apalachin, Bonanno Family members Joseph Bonanno, Carmine Galante, Frank Garofalo, Giovanni Bonventre and other American Cosa Nostra representatives from Detroit, Buffalo and Montreal visited Palermo, where they held talks with Sicilian Mafiosi staying at the Grand Hotel des Palmes.

The New York Garment Industry interests and rackets, such as loansharking to the business owners and control of garment center trucking were other important topics on the Apalachin agenda. The outcome of the discussions concerning the garment industry in New York would have a direct and in some cases an indirect effect on the business interests of some of the other Bosses around the country, mainly those interests in garment manufacturing, trucking, labor and unions, which brought in large incomes for the Families involved. Thus all in all, the state of American Mafia affairs was to be discussed at this meeting, leaving no debates or questions as to who would now be leading the new "Liberal Mafia", controlling and enforcing its national rules and policies.

La Cosa Nostra exposed

On November 14, 1957, the bosses, their advisors, and many bodyguards (about a hundred men in all) met at Barbara's 53-acre estate in Apalachin to discuss these issues. Apalachin is a small place located about 200 miles west of New York City along the south shore of the Susquehanna River not far from the Pennsylvania border.

Barbara had been harassed by the local small town cops for a while after moving to the rural upstate region of New York. A local state trooper named Edgar D. Croswell had been aware that a guest had visited Barbara's estate the previous year; state troopers had pulled over Carmine Galante as he drove away from Barbara's house in 1956, and they had found that Galante was not only driving without a license, but he had an extensive criminal record in New York City.

In the time immediately preceding the November 1957 meeting, Croswell had become obsessed with the goings on there, and became aware that Barbara's son was reserving rooms in local hotels. That made Croswell suspicious, and he therefore decided to keep an eye on Barbara's house. When the state police found many luxury cars parked at Barbara's home, they began taking down license plate numbers. Having found that many of these cars were registered to known criminals, state police reinforcements came to the scene and began to set up a roadblock. Since no crime was being committed, this was overdoing it, but gangsters made it worse, by fleeing.

Having barely started their meeting, Bartolo Guccia a Castellammare del Golfo native and Joe Barbara employee (with a criminal record) spotted the roadblock while leaving Barbara's estate. Guccia would later state he was returning to the Barbara home to check on a fish order. Some attendees attempted to drive away but were stopped by the roadblock. Others trudged through the fields and woods, ruining their expensive suits and tossing guns and cash away in case they were caught. Locals reported finding $100 bills scattered about the countryside for months afterwards.

Up to fifty men escaped, but fifty-eight were apprehended, including Commission members Vito Genovese, Carlo Gambino, Joseph Profaci and Joseph Bonanno. Virtually all of them claimed they had heard Joseph Barbara was feeling ill and that they just had popped in to see him and wish him well. Everyone thought it very curious that so many men of Italian descent from various cities, the majority with criminal records, should happen to be all gathering at one place at the same time, but as no crime had been committed the men who were caught were all eventually released.

It was a great embarrassment to La Cosa Nostra and also to the FBI. Long-time FBI director J. Edgar Hoover had denied the existence of a "National Crime Syndicate" and the need to address organized crime in America . After the Apalachin Summit, Hoover could no longer deny the National Crime Syndicate's existence and its influence on the North American underworld, as well as La Cosa Nostra's overall control and influence of the Syndicate's many branches throughout North America and abroad.

After the Apalachin Meeting, J. Edgar Hoover created the "Top Hoodlum Program" and went after the National Crime Syndicate's and La Cosa Nostra's top Bosses throughout the country. Many of the National Crime Syndicate's most powerful Bosses such as Vito Genovese, Joseph Bonanno, Sam "Momo" Giancana, Stefano Magaddino, Frank Costello, Carlos Marcello, Meyer Lansky, Abner "Longy" Zwillman and Philip "Dandy Phil" Kastel just to name a few, found themselves with greater law enforcement scrutiny, indictments and grand jury subpoenas being handed down.

Conspiracy theory

Some law enforcement members and mob historians throughout the years since the historic Apalachin Summit debacle, believe that the 3 senior mob members that were absent for the meeting, namely Charles Luciano, Frank Costello and Meyer Lansky conspired with each other to tip off the Apalachin and state law enforcement officials who raided Joseph Barbara's estate and discovered the existence of a National Crime Syndicate. No matter what the state of the affairs of the National Crime Syndicate or Cosa Nostra at the time of the Apalachin Summit, good or bad, may it be peace, war or otherwise, most mob watchers would never believe that two men such as Charlie "Lucky" Luciano and Frank Costello would ever break their vows of "Omerta" or betray their fellow Bosses and allies who were present at Apalachin on November 14, 1957.

The facts were that Vito Genovese had stripped Frank Costello of leadership in the Luciano Family and further placed the exiled Charlie Luciano near the last vestiges of power and prestige that he maintained throughout the National Crime Syndicate and Cosa Nostra. Never again would Luciano regain the total domination of the so-called National Crime Syndicate and Cosa Nostra without a powerful Family and soldiers behind him, but no matter in what position of underworld power these two men found themselves in, they would never purposely try to destroy what they built from the beginning, together with their childhood friends, the most powerful criminal organisation in North America. Also Luciano and Costello were in awkward positions, Charlie "Lucky" Luciano having been deported to Italy in 1946 and not allowed back into the U.S. and Frank Costello recently being shot and stripped of power on Vito Genovese's orders, could not attend the Apalachin Summit, but they had contacted an old friend and ally Frank "The Cheeseman" Cucchiara, the New England Patriarca Family Consigliere who was representing his Boss Raymond "El Padrone" Patriarca, Sr., but also agreed to represent Luciano's and Costello's interests at the summit as well.

As far as Meyer Lansky not being present at Apalachin, it is known that he and Joseph "Doc" Stacher declined to go, but were invited to discuss the state of casino operations in Las Vegas and Cuba, since they were two of the operation's investors and overseers. The idea of a setup is somewhat plausible, but since the most important and powerful Jewish National Syndicate Bosses such as Abner "Longy" Zwillman, Philip "Dandy Phil" Kastel and Morris "Moe" Dalitz along with Lansky and Stacher (who were all present at the 1946 "Havana Conference" in Cuba) were not present for this summit, it seems reasonable to assume that the Apalachin Summit was strictly a Cosa Nostra gathering that had no importance for the other National Crime Syndicate Bosses concerning national rules, policies or joint operations.

The fall of Joseph Barbara

The Apalachin Summit meeting brought Northeastern Family Boss Joseph Barbara nothing but total aggravation and humiliation. The aggravation was brought on by the subsequent raid on his home by law enforcement authorities and the humiliation was reaped upon him by the arrest and indictment of 58 Cosa Nostra Bosses that were guaranteed the meeting would be safe and secure at the Barbara estate.

This should have been another honor on Joseph Barbara's Cosa Nostra career since Barbara had hosted a previous national meeting the year before with no problems whatsoever, but Barbara had warned Buffalo Boss Stefano Magaddino that he was not comfortable with holding the meeting at his estate once more. Stefano Magaddino and Vito Genovese were the Commission members who called for the meeting once the Albert Anastasia assassination took place, Magaddino wanted to play the big shot and hold the meeting on one of his close allies territories so he could quietly show that his power and influence had made the meeting and its important agenda a success, but his vanity and pride backfired.

Fellow Castellamarese Clan members Joseph Barbara and Joseph Bonanno had warned Stefano Magaddino that it was not a good idea to hold the meeting in the same venue as the last year. Joseph Barbara warned Magaddino that he and a local cop by the name of Croswell disliked each other very much and that the cop might cause problems if he discovered the meeting, but Magaddino said it was too late to call it off because all the arrangements had been made and the invitees were already en route.

After the raid, arrests and indictments, many of the Bosses held Buffalo crime boss Stefano Magaddino and Vito Genovese responsible for all the trouble that surrounded Cosa Nostra after Apalachin. Some time after the publicity and heat from law enforcement subsided there was an attempt made on the life of Stefano Magaddino for his unforgivable mistake. Magaddino lived in one of several "Mafia Row" houses on Dana Drive in the Buffalo suburb of Lewiston, New York. The houses were owned by Magaddino and his sons-in-law James V. LaDuca, Charles A. Montana and Vincent Scro who were all "made" members of his crime Family. In the attempt on his life a grenade was tossed through the window of his home, it failed to detonate, but the message was sent.

Joseph Barbara, who stood to gain prestige and glory had the meeting concluded successfully, instead found himself harassed by law enforcement and indicted for not revealing to a grand jury what exactly occurred at his home on November 14, 1957. Barbara's business interests even took a beating, he lost his lucrative bottling contract with Canada Dry. Joseph Barbara's health continued to deteriorate and he finally died of a heart-attack on June 17, 1959. His old estate was sold, and for a time, used for sightseeing tours. It has since been resold again, and the ranch style home is believed to have owners with no mafia ties.

Participants

Over 100 powerful mafiosi and Cosa Nostra members were allegedly present at the historic Apalachin meeting and debacle. 58 were detained and indicted by law enforcement, including some of the biggest names in the underworld.

Mafiosi detained and indicted at Apalachin summit 14 November 1957

*Joseph "The Barber" Barbara - Northeastern Barbara Family Boss and Summit host, Apalachin, N.Y.
*Rosario "Russell" Bufalino - Northeastern Family Underboss and Summit organizer (Kingston, Pennsylvania, future Northeastern Boss)
*Dominick Alaimo - Northeastern Barbara Family Caporegime (Pittston, Pennsylvania)
*Angelo J. Sciandra - Northeastern Barbara Family Caporegime (Pittston, Pennsylvania)
*Ignatius Cannone - Northeastern Barbara Family Caporegime (Endwell, New York)
*Anthony "The Gov" Guarnieri - Northeastern Barbara Family Soldier (Johnson City, New York, future Caporegime)
*James "Dave" Ostico - Northeastern Barbara Family Caporegime (Pittston, Pennsylvania, future Underboss)
*Pasquale "Patsy" Turrigiano - Northeastern Barbara Family Caporegime (Endicott, New York)
*Emanuel "Manny" Zicari - Northeastern Barbara Family Caporegime (Endicott, New York] , Barbara's bottling plant manager)
* Salvatore "Vicious" Trivalino - Northeastern Barbara Family Soldier (Auburn, New York)
* Pasquale "Patsy" Monachino - Northeastern Barbara Family Soldier (Auburn, New York)
*Pasquale "Patsy" Sciortino - Northeastern Barbara Family Soldier (Auburn, New York)
*Bartolo "Bart" Guccia - Northeastern Barbara Family Associate (Endicott, New York, Barbara estate overseer and handyman)
*Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno - N.Y. Bonanno Family Boss (Long Island, New York) present Commission chairman, 1951-64)
*Giovanni "John" Bonventre - N.Y. Bonanno Family Caporegime (Brooklyn, New York) former Underboss, semi-retired in Sicily)
*Anthony "Tony" Riela - N.Y. Bonanno Family Caporegime (West Orange, New Jersey, faction leader)
*Natale "Joe Diamonds" Evola - N.Y. Bonanno Family Caporegime (Brooklyn, New York, future Boss)
*Vito "Don Vito" Genovese - N.Y. Genovese Family Boss (Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey)
*Gerardo "Jerry" Catena - N.Y. Genovese Family Underboss (Orange, New Jersey, faction leader)
*Michele "Big Mike" Miranda - N.Y. Genovese Family Consigliere (Forest Hills, New York] )
*Salvatore "Charles" Chiri - N.Y. Genovese Family Caporegime (Bergen, New Jersey, faction leader)
*Carlo "Don Carlo" Gambino - N.Y. Gambino Family Boss (Brooklyn, New York)
*Joseph "Staten Island Joe" Riccobono - N.Y. Gambino Family Consigliere (Staten Island, New York)
*Paul "Big Paul" Castellano - N.Y. Gambino Family Caporegime (Brooklyn, N.Y., future Boss)
*Carmine "The Doctor" Lombardozzi - N.Y. Gambino Family Caporegime (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
*Armand "Tommy" Rava - N.Y. Gambino Family Caporegime (Brooklyn, N.Y., an Albert Anastasia loyalist who was killed soon after the Apalachin meeting)
*Vincent "Nunzio" Rao - N.Y. Lucchese Family Consigliere (Yonkers, N.Y.)
*Giovanni "Big John" Ormento - N.Y. Lucchese Family Caporegime (Lido Beach, New York)
*Emilio "Button Man" Buttoni - N.Y. Lucchese Family Caporegime (Jackson Heights, New York)
*Joseph "Don Peppino" Profaci - N.Y. Profaci Family Boss (Long Island, New York)
*Joseph "Fat Joe/Joe Malyak" Magliocco - N.Y. Profaci Family Underboss (East Islip, New York, successor to Profaci)
*Salvatore "Sam" Tornabe - N.Y. Profaci Family Caporegime (New York, N.Y., died December 30 1957)
*Frank Majuri - N.J. DeCavalcante Family Underboss (Elizabeth, N.J., Amari regime Underboss, stepped down May 1957, then Underboss in DeCavalcante regime)
*Louis "Fat Lou" LaRasso - N.J. DeCavalcante Family Underboss (Linden, New Jersey] , Delmore regime Underboss as of May, 1957)
*John C. Montana - Buffalo Magaddino Family Underboss (Olean, New York, He was the #2 man in the crime family during Magaddino's regime. Montana was put on the shelf by Magaddino around 1958, Magaddino felt betrayed by Montana who wanted to step down after all the publicity from Apalachin)
*Antonino "Nino" Magaddino - Buffalo Magaddino Family Caporegime (Niagara Falls, New York, future Consigliere)
*Rosario "Roy" Carlisi - Buffalo Magaddino Family Caporegime (Buffalo, N.Y., brother of future Chicago Outfit Boss Sam "Wings" Carlisi)
*James "Jimmy" LaDuca - Buffalo Magaddino Family Caporegime (Lewiston, N.Y., Magaddino son in law)
*Samuel "Sam" Lagattuta - Buffalo Magaddino Family Caporegime (Buffalo, N.Y.)
*Dominick D'Agostino - Buffalo Magaddino Family Caporegime (Niagara Falls, N.Y.)
*Frank Valenti - Rochester Valenti Family Underboss (Rochester, N.Y., Pittsburgh Family Soldier)
*Constenze "Stanley" Valenti - Rochester Valenti Family Boss (Rochester, N.Y., Pittsburgh Family Soldier)
*Joseph Falcone - Buffalo or Rochester Family member (Utica, N.Y. faction leader, possibly a Buffalo family caporegime)
*Salvatore Falcone - Buffalo or Rochester Family member (Utica, N.Y. faction leader, Joseph's brother and second in command, Buffalo family soldier)
*Rosario "Roy" Mancuso - Buffalo or Rochester Family member (Utica, N.Y. faction member, Buffalo family soldier)
*Michael "Mike" Genovese - Pittsburgh LaRocca Family Caporegime (Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, future Boss)
*Gabriel "Kelly" Mannarino - Pittsburgh LaRocca Family Caporegime (New Kensington, Pennsylvania, future Underboss)
*Joseph "Joe" Ida - Philadelphia Bruno Family Boss (Highland Park, N.J., fled to Sicily in 1957 after Apalachin, leaving Antonio "Mr. Miggs" Polina as Acting Boss. Stepped down as Boss in 1959 due to publicity, retired to Sicily leaving Angelo Bruno as his successor)
*Dominick Olivetto - Philadelphia Bruno Family Underboss (Camden, N.J., faction leader, stepped down 1959 for new regime)
*John Scalish - Cleveland Scalish Family Boss (Cleveland, Ohio)
*John DeMarco - Cleveland Scalish Family Consigliere (Shaker Heights, Ohio)
*Frank "The Cheeseman" Cucchiara - New England Patriarca Family Consigliere (Boston, Massachusetts, representative of Raymond Patriarca Sr., Charlie "Lucky" Luciano and Frank "The Prime Minister" Costello at Summit)
*Frank Zito - Springfield, Illinois Zito Family Boss (Chicago Outfit Caporegime)
*Santo Trafficante Jr. - Tampa Trafficante Family Boss (moved to Havana in 1946, Cuban operations overseer for the families, including casino and narcotics operations. Most powerful boss in Cuba)
*Joseph "Joe" Civello - Dallas Civello Family Boss (New Orleans Family caporegime, representative of New Orleans Boss Carlos "Little Man" Marcello. Dallas, Texas)
*John Francis Colletti - Dallas Civello Family member (Dallas, Texas)
*James "Black Jim" Colletti - Colorado Colletti Family Boss (Pueblo, Colorado)
*Frank DeSimone - Los Angeles Dragna Family Boss (Los Angeles, California, also lawyer and "house council" for Family members)
*Simone Scozzari Los Angeles Dragna Family Underboss (San Gabriel, California, came under law enforcement scrutiny after Apalachin. Deported to Italy in 1963)

Mafiosi suspected of attending Apalachin Summit 14 November 1957

*Carmine "Lilo" Galante - Bonanno Family Underboss :Carmine Galante was one of the most important attendees at the Palermo, Sicily, Hotel des Palmes Summit the past October 14-October 17 and would be important to the Apalachin Summit being that he was the U.S. La Cosa Nostra's Montreal "representation" for all narcotics operations being directed through the port city. Identified as a guest staying at the estate by Joe Barbara's housekeeper. Galante had also been stopped and arrested by Pennsylvania police on October 17, 1956, allegedly coming from a meeting at Barbara's estate.
*Frank "Frank Carrol" Garofalo - Former Bonanno Family Underboss :Frank Garofalo was semi-retired in Sicily as of 1956 and came back specifically for the Apalachin Summit, having been one of the attendees at the Palermo, Sicily-Hotel des Palmes Summit the past October 14-October 17 and would most certainly brief the Bosses on the outcome of the Palermo Summit. Garofalo was registered at a local motel.
*Gaspar "Gasparino" DiGregorio - Bonanno Family Caporegime :Brother-in-law of Buffalo Family Boss Stefano Magaddino, registered at local motel.
*Joseph "Joe Bandy" Biondo - Gambino Family Underboss :Former Albert Anastasia Consigliere, conspired to kill Anastasia with Carlo Gambino and Joseph Riccobono. Expected to explain the reasons for the Anastasia hit and the current situation between the new Anastasia/Gambino Family hierarchy and the faction still loyal to Anastasia.
*Gaetano "Tommy Brown" Lucchese and Stefano "Steve" LaSalle- Lucchese Family Boss and Underboss :1st and 2nd in command, Lucchese and his allies supported Carlo Gambino and his assassination of Albert Anastasia and ascension to Boss of the Family.
*Aniello "Niel" Migliore - Lucchese's top aide and was in a car accident driving through Binghamton the next day, November 15. He was most likely on his way to pick up Lucchese and LaSalle.
*Stefano "The Undertaker" Magaddino - Buffalo Magaddino Family Boss :Commission member who helped Vito Genovese arrange the Summit at Barbara's house, his clothes contained his name in them when they were found in a car in Joseph Barbara's barn.
*Salvatore "Momo" Giancana and Frank "Strongy" Ferraro - Chicago Outfit Boss and Underboss:1st and 2nd in command, Sam Giancana was a Commission member and had just recently been promoted to Boss of the Outfit by former Boss and new Consigliere, Anthony "Joe Batters" Accardo. Giancana would take this opportunity to meet with all the other Family Bosses and introduce his new Underboss, Ferraro. Giancana was overheard just days after the Summit on an FBI wire talking to Stefano "The Undertaker" Magaddino about "our guys being caught" and "that it wouldn't have happened in Chicago, we have a whole county locked up tight". Magaddino cowardly replied "you bet it wouldn't have Sam".
*Joseph "Joe Z." Zerilli and Anthony "Tony Jack" Giacalone - Detroit Partnership Boss and Lt./Capo. :Joe Zerilli was not yet at the Barbara estate, he was late. he most likely noticed the roadblock on the way to the meeting or was still at the motel and heard what happened on the radio. He used his driver’s license to rent a car in the Binghamton area and used it to get home on November 14 1957.
*Nicholas "Nick" Civella and Joseph Filardo - Kansas City Civella Family Boss and Capo :They were identified by a local business owner as the two men who used his phone to call a taxi.
*James "Jimmy the Hat" Lanza- San Francisco Abati/Lanza Underboss :2nd in command to Boss Michael Abati who at the time was fighting a deportation order, Lanza was registered at a local motel with San Jose Family Underboss, Joseph Cerrito. Mike Abati was deported on July 8 1961. Lanza becomes his successor and the Family's most famous Boss.
*John Sebastian "John LaRock" LaRocca - Pittsburgh LaRocca Family Boss :Registered at the local Arlington Motel with his 2 Capos, Michael Genovese and Gabriel "Kelly" Mannarino, their bills charged to Barbara's Canada Dry Bottling Company.
*Joseph "Joe" Cerrito- San Jose Cerrito Family Underboss:2nd in command to Boss Onofrio Sciortino who was ill, Cerrito was registered at a local motel with San Francisco Boss, James Lanza. Joe Cerrito becomes Boss of the Family after Sciortino's death in 1959.
*Frank "Frankie Bal" Balistrieri - Milwaukee Balistrieri Underboss :2nd in command, registered at a local motel. Family Boss, John Alioto was grooming his son-in-law, Frank Balistrieri, as his successor, Balistrieri uses the Apalachin Summit to introduce himself to all the Bosses from across the United States. In 1961 Alioto retired so Balistrieri could assume the top position. Frank "Frankie Bal" Balistrieri became Milwaukee's most famous underworld Boss.
*Joseph Zammuto - Rockford, Illinois Musso/Zammuto Family Underboss:2nd in command to Boss Antonio Musso who was ill, Zammuto was registered at a local motel. Tony Musso dies 1958 and Joe Zammuto becomes Boss of the Family. It is now called the Zammuto Family. The Rockford Family has always been a Chicago Outfit faction.
*Charles "Curly" Montana - Cleveland Scalish Family Caporegime :Curly Montana is registered at a local motel with Boss John Scalish.
*Joseph "Joe" Campisi - Dallas Civello Family Underboss :2nd in command, Joe Campisi is registered at a local motel with Boss Joe Civello, who was detained at Barbara's estate. Joe Campisi became the Family Boss after Joe Civello retires to Florida in 1968. Civello dies in 1970.
*Vincenzo "Vince" Colletti - Denver Colletti Family Underboss :2nd in command, Vincenzo is James "Black Jim" Colletti's brother. Vincenzo is registered with James at a local motel, he escapes the police at Barbara's estate, but his brother James is picked up walking down a road near the estate.
*Alfred "Al" Angelicola - New Jersey area La Cosa Nostra member:Al Angelicola is registered at a local motel with other known mafiosi, his Family affiliation is unknown.
*Luigi "Louis" Greco and Giuseppe "Pep" Cotroni - Montreal Cotroni Family Underboss and Caporegime :Louis Greco was a Montreal Sicilian who was 2nd in command to Calabrian Boss Vic "The Egg" Cotroni. In 1953 Greco and his top aide Frank Petrula go to Sicily to arrange heroin shipments with Charlie "Lucky" Luciano. Giuseppe "Pep" Cotroni was the brother of Boss Vic Cotroni and the Lt. in charge of narcotics operations for the Family. The Montreal Family was considered the Bonanno Family Canadian Faction. Joe Bonanno had just returned from the U.S.-Sicilian La Cosa Nostra Summit in Palermo, Sicily at the Hotel des Palmes on October 14-October 17 1957. One of the topics to be discussed at Apalachin was about the Sicilians taking control of the importation of narcotics while the U.S. La Cosa Nostra would handle wholesale distribution . Montreal is the North American transit way for narcotics shipments into the U.S., that's why Montreal had representatives at the Apalachin Summit.
*Giuseppe "Don Giuseppe" Settacase - Agrigento, Sicily Capo-familglia and future Capo-provincia (provincial Boss) in Sicilian Cupola (Commission).:Don Giuseppe Settacase was sent over as a representative of the Sicilian La Cosa Nostra Clans wishing to export narcotics to the United States. He was present at the Palermo, Sicily Summit on 14 October-17, 1957 and was highly respected as a mediator. Don Giuseppe Settacase mentor to the most powerful and wealthy Sicilian Clans in the Agrigento province and Sicilian La Cosa Nostra, the Siculiana-Caruana-Cuntrera Family and the Cattolica Eraclea-Rizzuto Family, who would become superpowers in the global narcotics and money laundering trade and rule mafia empires. After the Apalachin Summit, both the Canadian and Sicilian La Cosa Nostra were heard talking on R.C.M.P. and FBI wiretaps about how embarrassed the American La Cosa Nostra looked to their peers for the screw up at Apalachin.

Other suspected attendants

*Joseph Barbara, Jr. :Northeastern Barbara family Soldier (son of Joseph Sr., Jr. had handled most of the guest's hotel registrations, he was on his way to his home and the meeting site, but noticed the road block, he was questioned soon after at his family's bottling plant, he transferred to the Detroit Family when his father died in 1959)
*Anthony "Tony" Lopiparo, Ralph "Shorty" Caleca, Anthony "Tony G." Giordano and John "Johnny V." Vitale - St. Louis Family leaders at the time of the meeting. :Lopiparo was originally a member of the Kansas City Family and came to St. Louis with their backing in the 1940s and became a crime boss soon afterward, he reigned until he died in 1960 and was succeeded by Tony Giordano. Lopiparo, Caleca, Giordano and Vitale were all top members of the St. Louis Family in the 1950s, Lopiparo and Caleca were the older, senior Family members and would most likely have sent a substitute to represent St. Louis at Apalachin in 1957. Giordano was sent to prison for 4 years in 1956 and was not available in 1957, Vitale was most likely the representative sent to Apalachin if St. Louis was represented.
*Louis "Lew Farrell" Fratto - Des Moines, Iowa crime boss (Chicago Outfit member and possible caporegime. A powerful and influential mobster, well known and respected, most likely an attendee due to his vast mid west interests).
*Philip Buccola - Former New England Family Boss based in Boston, Mass. from the mid 1920s until he retired and returned to Sicily in 1954. Buccola was regarded as a senior mafiosi and counselor who continued to make frequent trips to the United States to confer with various bosses. According to the Federal Bureau of Narcotics (F.B.N.) Buccola was directly involved with American and Sicilian mafiosi regarding joint narcotics operations between Italy and North America and was observed arriving in Boston approximately 2 weeks prior to the Apalachin meeting. He was not one of the bosses detained in Apalachin, but the F.B.N. speculate that Buccola's reason for traveling to the United States at this time was to confer with the various American mafia bosses attending the Apalachin meeting.

In popular culture

*Edward L. Cahn directed a low budget 1959 exploitation film called "Inside the Mafia" that referenced the incident.
*The Apalachin Meeting is referenced by Ray Liotta's character Henry Hill in the 1990 film "Goodfellas".
*The meeting was also comically depicted in the 1999 film "Analyze This".
*Similar to many events in the "Godfather" novels, this is used as the primary influence of a Commission meeting that is raided by the police in the novel "The Godfather Returns".

References

*Sifakis, Carl. "The Mafia Encyclopedia: Second Edition". New York: Checkmark Books, 1999. ISBN 0-8160-3857-0 (pbk.)

Further reading

*Bernstein, Lee. "The Greatest Menace: Organized Crime in Cold War America". Boston: Univ of Massachusetts Press, 2001. ISBN 1-55849-345-X
*Lamothe, Lee and Antonio Nicaso. "Bloodlines: The Rise and Fall of the Mafia's Royal Family". Toronto: HarperCollins Publishers, 2001. ISBN 0-00-638524-9
*Peterson, Robert W. "Crime & the American Response". New York: Facts on File, 1973. ISBN 0-87196-227-6
*Raab, Selwyn. "Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires". New York: St. Martin's Press, 2005. ISBN 0-312-30094-8
*Reppetto, Thomas. "American Mafia: A History of Its Rise to Power". New York: Henry Holt & Co., 2004. ISBN 0-8050-7798-7
*Sterling, Claire. Octopus: The Long Reach of the International Sicilian Mafia. New York: Simon & Schuster (Touchstone Edition), 1991.
*United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. "Profile On Organized Crime Mid-Atlantic Region". Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O., 1983. [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC09806415&id=jiuq5-RUM1oC&q=Organized+Crime+Mid-Atlantic+%22Apalachin+Meeting%22&dq=Organized+Crime+Mid-Atlantic+%22Apalachin+Meeting%22&ie=ISO-8859-1&pgis=1]
*"Pennsylvania Crime Commission: 1984 Report". St. Davids, Pennsylvania: DIANE Publishing, 1984. ISBN 0-8182-0000-6 [http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0788145622&id=soOaYKep3EYC&dq=]

External links

* [http://www.ganglandnews.com/column202.htm Apalachin] by Jerry Capeci
* [http://www.americanmafia.com/Feature_Articles_259.html The Mob on the Nob: The Mafia I knew] by Mike La Sorte, Professor Emeritus
* [http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cid/orgcrime/lcn/lcn.htm Federal Bureau of Investigation - Investigative Programs: Organized Crime]
* [http://hafergary.com/23apalachinmafia01.htm Mafia In Apalachin ?] by Gary Hafer
* [http://www.greaterowego.com/communitypress/1997/12-97/KENNEDY.htm Were the Kennedy’s at Apalachin?] by Terry J. Ward