Alfred Mineo

Alfredo "Al Mineo" Manfredi (? - November 5, 1930) was a New York mobster who briefly controlled a strong mafia clan during the Castellammarese War. Mineo's organization would eventually become the present-day Gambino crime family.

In the early part of the 20th century, New York had five Sicilian crime organizations. The area around the Brooklyn waterfront was controlled by an organization under mobster Salvatore D'Aquila. As young man, Mineo became part of this gang. Around 1927, a major gang war, to be known as the Castellammarese War, broke out among the Sicilian clans. On one side was a clan consisting of immigrants from the Sicilian town of Castellammare del Golfo, lead by Salvatore Maranzano. On the other side was a Neapolitan gang led by Joseph "Joe the Boss" Masseria. The D'Aquila clan was allied with Masseria. As with most gang conflicts, the dispute was over territory, money, and power.

In 1928 Mineo took over the crime organization when D'Aquila was killed by gunmen belonging to Masseria. Mineo soon proved himself a powerful ally to Masseria, but soon became a target himself. On November 5, 1930, Mineo and his lieutenant Steve Ferrigno, were shot down in the courtyard of an apartment building on Pelham Parkway in the Bronx. The gunmen, belonging to Maranzano, had been waiting to kill Masseria; Mineo was a target of opportunity.

After Mineo's death, Francesco "Frank" Scalice became family boss. He immediately switched allegiance to Maranzano, who was emerging as the winner in the gang war. It has been theorized that Scalise had arranged a secret deal with Maranzano to murder Mineo and become the organization boss. On April 14 1931, Masseria was murdered in a Brooklyn restaurant and the Castellammarese War was over.

ee also

Castellammarese War

References

* [http://www.onewal.com/w-mineo.html The American "Mafia": Who Was Who ? - Al Mineo] (Accessed 19 Feb 2006)
* [http://www.geocities.com/americanmafioso/-castellammaresewar.html American Mafioso: The Castellammarese War] (Accessed 11 May 2005)
* [http://crimemagazine.com/gagliano.htm Gaetano Gagliano: The Quiet Don] by Allan May (Accessed 11 May 2005)