The Buffalo crime family, also known as the Magaddino crime family and The Arm, is an Italian American Mafia crime family based in Buffalo, New York, United States. The family operated throughout Western New York, Ontario, Canada and Erie, Pennsylvania.
Video Buffalo crime family
History
The Buffalo crime family gained power during the Prohibition era through bootlegging. In 1931, the family boss, Stefano Magaddino, became an original member of The Commission. The family remained strong and relatively united until his leadership was challenged in the 1960s. It then split into factions as they tried to assassinate him; the internal war continued after his death from natural causes on July 19, 1974. The internecine warfare ended in the early 1980s when Joseph Todaro Sr. became the boss. Todaro united the family and retired in 2006, leaving many in law enforcement to believe Leonard Falzone had taken his place. However, others thought he was only acting as the "front boss" for the Todaros and that Joseph Todaro Jr. was the acting boss while his father became the senior statesman for the family.
The Buffalo crime family's main front operation was Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA) Local 210. Over the course of the later part of the 20th century and the first part of the 21st, the Buffalo crime family declined in influence. Factors included older members slowly turning away from the organization, younger Italian-Americans showing no interest in its operations, an 11-year federal operation that forced the family out of Local 210 between 1995 and 2006, introduction of the New York Lottery depriving the family of a major revenue source (illegal gambling revenue), and the rise of Joe Todaro Jr.'s legitimate pizzeria business. In a March 2017 feature article The Buffalo News reported "The Mafia is all but dead in Western New York," noting that a few widely scattered remnants that are no longer believed to be active or organized remain.
However Matt Gryta, crime reporter for The Buffalo News, points out many believe the Magaddino Crime Family has "expanded into the new millennium through telemarketing, pump and dump stock scams and internet pornography with the "family" expanding its operations nationwide."
In November 2017 the US Justice Department and Canadian newspapers indicate the family is still active. The Toronto Star states that Giuseppe (Joe) and Domenico Violi, who have longstanding ties to the Buffalo Mob, were arrested on narcotics trafficking charges. These charges indicate a continuation of the long established mafia drug trafficking rectangle from Toronto/Hamilton to Buffalo and Montreal to NYC established by Stefano Magaddino and his cousin Joseph Bonanno. Additionally, Metro News Toronto Edition writes: "The arrests also hit members of the Buffalo crime family headed by the late Joe Todaro." The Justice Department's Eastern New York District said in November 2017 that Canadian law enforcement authorities had arrested various members and associates of the Bonanno, Gambino, and Todaro crime families on charges that include narcotics trafficking. In response to these arrests Canadian journalist Adrian Humphries wrote:
Among those arrested in Canada are members of the Todaro organized crime family, based in Buffalo, according to U.S. authorities. The Todaro crime group was built by the now-deceased Joseph Todaro Sr., who took over the Buffalo Mafia once led by the influential boss Stefano (The Undertaker) Magaddino.
Maps Buffalo crime family
Historical leadership
Boss (official and acting)
The early history of what became the Buffalo family was controlled by two different men: Angelo Palmeri and Joseph DiCarlo. The two groups merged, becoming a crime family.
- 1908-1912 - Angelo "Buffalo Bill" Palmeri - stepped down, becoming underboss.
- 1912-1922 - Giuseppe "Don Pietro" DiCarlo Sr.
- 1922-1974 - Stefano "The Undertaker" Magaddino - died of natural causes on July 19, 1974, at the age of 82.
- Acting 1969-1970 - Salvatore "Sam" Pieri - leader of the Pieri-Frangiamore faction, imprisoned.
- Acting 1970-1972 - Joseph Fino - leader of the Fino-Sansanese faction, imprisoned.
- Acting 1972-1974 - Samuel Frangiamore - leader of the Pieri-Frangiamore faction.
- 1974-1985 - Samuel "Sam the Farmer" Frangiamore - appointed by the Commission, retired in 1985 and died in 1999.
- 1985-2006 - Joseph "Lead Pipe Joe" Todaro Sr. - became semi-retired in 1995, officially retired in 2006. Died in 2012. Todaro was the last officially recognized boss of the family.
- After 2006 - Joseph Todaro, Jr. Became the boss when his father retired-according to FBI operative and former Buffalo LCN Associate/informant Ron Fino. It has been alleged by the FBI that Leonard Falzone took over as the acting boss when Joe Todaro, Senior retired in 2006.
Notes
Further reading
- Dubro, James. Mob Rule: Inside the Canadian Mafia. MacMillen, 1985
- Sifakis, Carl. The Mafia Encyclopedia, Second Edition. Checkmark Books, 1999
- DiVita, Louis P. "A Wiser Guy" 2016
- Capeci, Jerry. The Complete Idiots Guide to the Mafia:The Buffalo Family. Alpha Books, 2002
- Humphreys, Adrian. The Enforcer: Johnny Pops Papalia, A Life and Death in the Mafia. Harper Collins, 2002
- Griffen, Joseph. Mob Nemesis: How the F.B.I. Crippled Organized Crime. Prometheus Books, 2002
- Edwards, Peter. The Northern Connection: Inside Canada's Deadliest Mafia Family. Optimum International, 2006
- Dubro, James and Robin Rowland, "King of the Mob: Rocco Perri and the women who Ran His Rackets" Penguin 1987
- Dan Herbeck Justice Dept. Claims Union has been dominated by the mob Buffalo News (New York). January 31, 1996
- U.S. vs Laborers International Union of North America, AFL-CIO, 212 Page RICO Complaint
- Statement of Ronald M. Fino to Sub-Committee on Organized Crime - July 24 & 25, 1996.
- The Cosa Nostra and Labor Rackeering by Ron Fino (1998)
External links
- Pennsylvania Crime Concession. "Organized Crime in Pennsylvania: Traditional and Non-Traditional". (April 15, 1988). The Nevada Observer.
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