Joe Masseria
Mafia boss who led the Genovese family and died in a hit ordered by his own lieutenant.
Last updated
via Wikipedia: Joe Masseria · see source
He became a leader in the New York Mafia, known as "Joe the Boss," and was killed in a Coney Island restaurant on April 15, 1931.[1][2] Giuseppe Masseria, born in Menfi, Province of Agrigento, Sicily on January 17, 1886, emigrated to Manhattan around 1900.[3][4]
Key facts and history
The New York Mafia 1900-1920 account notes that police believed Masseria was part of a professional burglary gang active throughout the region.[4] By the early 1920s, Masseria was at war with boss Salvatore D'Aquila, who ordered gunman Umberto Valenti to kill him.[5] On May 8, 1922, Vincenzo Terranova was killed, and Valenti was believed responsible.[6] Masseria survived an August 9, 1922 assassination attempt where gunmen shot up a store and wounded six men.[7]
After D'Aquila's death in 1928, Masseria became capo dei capi and demanded monetary tributes from other mafia gangs.[8] The Castellammarese War erupted between Masseria's faction and Salvatore Maranzano's group from 1930 to 1931.[9] A 1909 burglary conviction resulted in a suspended sentence for Masseria; later, on May 23, 1913, he received a prison term of four to six years for third-degree burglary.[10] Luciano arranged for Masseria to be killed at a Coney Island restaurant on April 15, 1931; the shooters reportedly included Albert Anastasia, Vito Genovese, Joe Adonis, and Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel.[2]
What the cited sources add
The New York Mafia 1900-1920 account states that Masseria arrived in Manhattan around 1900 as a Sicilian immigrant from western Sicily.[4] This source reports that in 1907, twenty-one-year-old Masseria received a suspended sentence after breaking into an Elizabeth Street apartment.[4] The same account describes how Masseria and three associates were captured in 1913 while trying to rob a Bowery pawnshop containing property valued at $300,000.[4] According to this source, Masseria's accomplice Giuseppe Ruffino was the son-in-law of interim Mafia boss Sebastiano Di Gaetano.[4]
The New York Mafia 1900-1920 account notes that Masseria was involved with a large counterfeiting operation importing notes from Italy in October 1922.[4] In July 1923, Masseria was observed at a cafe checking whether a counterfeiter who claimed membership in the D'Aquila Family was genuinely part of the "Fratellanza" before proceeding with any transaction.[4]
References
- Wikipedia, "Joe Masseria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Critchley, pg. 156 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Joe Masseria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Reppetto, "American Mafia: a history of its rise to power", Henry Holt and Company, 2004, p. 137; Raab, "Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires", St. Martin's Press, 2005, p. 28; "Racket Chief Slain By Gangster Gunfire. Giuseppe Masseria, Known as Joe the Boss, Shot Mysteriously in Coney Island Cafe. Police Say He Was Leader in Every Kind of Racket. He Escaped Death Many Times. Shooting Still a M; Pollak, "Coney Island's Big Hit", The New York Times, June 29, 2012; Sifakis, (2005). pp. 87– en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Joe Masseria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Warner, "On the Trail of Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria", Informer: The History of American Crime and Law Enforcement, February 2011, p. 56–58 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Giuseppe Masseria", New York Mafia 1900-1920. facts only, no text reused. gangrule.com
- Wikipedia, "Joe Masseria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Newark, p. 22 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Joe Masseria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Critchley, "The Origin of Organized Crime in America: The New York City Mafia, 1891-1931", Routledge, 2008, p. 156, 155–57 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Joe Masseria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Gunmen Shoot Six In East Side Swarm. Foiled in Attempted Murder, They Pour Volley Into Crowd of Cloakmakers. Flee In Blue Touring Car. Intended Victim's Hat Pierced by Two Bullets. Police Net Gets Blackjack Crew.", New ; Sifakis, "The Mafia Encyclopedia", Facts on File, 2005, p. 458 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Joe Masseria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Critchley 2008, p. 157; Hortis 2014, p. 74; Hortis 2014, p. 74 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Joe Masseria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sifakis, "The Mafia Encyclopedia", Facts on File, 2005, p. 458 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Joe Masseria" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hortis, "The Mob and the City: The Hidden History of How the Mafia Captured New York", Prometheus, 2014, p. 41–44, 53–56, 71–87; Critchley, "The Origin of Organized Crime in America: The New York City Mafia, 1891-1931", Routledge, 2008, p. 156, 155–57 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Joe Masseria (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Joe Masseria (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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