THE LOS ANGELES FAMILY                                                                                        by                                                                            A Friend of the site.      Although often called “The Mickey Mouse Mafia”  due to lack of power and respect, the Los Angeles Family has a long and well documented mob history, starting in the late 1850s, when Bartolo Ballerino  arrived in the city and organized the vice in an area known as the crib district, where he transformed several blocks of old housing into a huge bordello. Ballerino’s downfall came some four decades later, when in December of 1903, the city absorbed a huge part of his territory into Los Angeles’ financial district. In an attempt to regain his power, Ballerino threatened to sue the city, but nothing came of it. In May 1904, Ballerino was sentenced to a 30 day jail term, and after his release faded away from the scene. He died in 1909. After Ballerino’s loss of power, Giuseppe Cuccia, known as “Uncle Joe”, became the most prominent force in the Italian underworld. During Cuccia’s reign two factions were having a dispute with each other, and turned to Cuccia to dissolve it. However, one of the feudists was a Cuccia relative, and Uncle Joe ruled in his favor. The other faction felt neglected and openly accused Cuccia of having his judgment clouded by his relatives. The two feudist, George Maisano and Joe Ardizzone (the Cuccia relative), were almost certainly business partners prior to their falling out,  which started after Maisano swindled a sister of Ardizzone. Maisano was a member of the notorious Matranga gang, a powerful group, active in the neighborhood known as the Plaza. After the failed attempt of Cuccia to settle the dispute, Ardizzone took the right in his own hands, and shot Maisano to death on June 2, 1906. The Matranga’s vowed revenge, and killed Cuccia. With Cuccia dead, the Matrangas became LA’s dominant Italian crime Family. During the Matranga reign, the Italian district around the Plaza was plagued by bombings, assaults, intimidation and occasional murders. As descendants of Charles Matranga, famous New Orleans Mafia leader accused of the murder of David Hennessey, New Orleans police chief, they were no strangers to Black Hand extortion. The first leader of the gang was Osario Matranga, a suspect in several murders. One of the more interesting was the murder of Giovanni Bentivegna, killed on December 31, 1907. Bentivegna had fled New York, were he was associated with a Black Hand gang himself, and they wanted him dead. Eventually he settled in Los Angeles, and made the mistake of associating with the Black Hand again. However, the fact he was marked for death by the Matranga clan had nothing to do with his New York problems. He sided with the family of a Black Hander who had shot two Matranga gang members, killing one of them.  The fact the family of the Black Hander was also associated with the Ardizzone family, didn’t impress the Matranga’s. Bentivegna paid with his life for his mistake. Rosario Matranga himself was murdered in 1917, after informing on several of his underlings, and Pietro Matranga took over the Family business. A fruit peddler and nephew of the former boss, his reign must be the shortest ever, three days after the murder of Rosario, he himself was killed. Tony Buccola, a Matranga nephew, took over the top spot. Buccola’s rise to the top was challenged by two powerful underlings, Mike Marino alias Mike Rizzo and Joe Lunetta. Mike Marino was suspected in the murders of both Rosario and Pietro Matranga and of another Matranga underling, Tony Pariesi. Buccola managed to revenge the murders of his nephews, ands gunmen caught up with Marino within three months. Lunetta, a much lesser threat, was killed in 1922. After Lunetta’s murder, Buccola had no more challenges from within his own group, but the battles with his rivals had destroyed a large part of his ranks, and another power came into the picture. Although Buccola managed to control the Matranga clan until he disappeared in 1930 by the hands of among others Joe Ardizzone, another Italian gang leader became the real power in the Los Angeles underworld. His name was Albert Marco. Rising to power in the early 1920s, Marco had important political connections, which made it possible for him to operate in the shadows, with his political backers keeping his name out of the papers. However, in 1927, he was arrested during a sweep in the city’s vice racket, and Marco was sentenced to prison. His empire was taken over by August Palumbo, a former New York resident. Palumbo’s gang came into conflict with another one, led by Domenico DiCiolla, a high ranking member of the mob led by Rosario DeSimone, a Los Angeles County Mafia power. Palumbo was murdered in 1928, which left DiCiolla in control, although the real power was DeSimone. When DiCiolla tried to challenge DeSimone’s power, he paid the ultimate price. In 1931, he was found on a road not far from DeSimone’s Downey home, with half of his head blown off with a shotgun. With the demise of DiCiolla, longtime Mafia member Joseph Ardizzone took over as boss, but still it was DeSimone who had the last word. Ardizzone had fled Los Angeles after the 1906 murder of George Maisano, only to be tried a decade later. However, he managed to escape conviction, and continued his usual ways, rising through the ranks, and eventually becoming the top man. Ardizzone was killed in September 1931, and although his murder was probably related to the violence that raged Los Angeles, it is often claimed Ardizzone was one of the victims in the so called “Night of the Sicilian Vespers”. Now DeSimone would step up as boss, staying in control until 1946. Father of future Cosa Nostra boss Frank DeSimone, Rosario managed to keep a low profile, setting up an import and export company in alliance with the powerful DiGiorgio family. He died in 1946, of natural causes, and was succeeded by Anthony Rizzotti, better known as Jack Dragna. It is Dragna who is often credited with starting the Los Angeles Cosa Nostra, but as told above, this is not the case. Dragna’s Family was often labeled as a weak group, with no real muscle. Although the family was definitely not one of the strongest, they were far from weak. Dragna’s underlings, most of them growing out to be millionaires, were very low key, but ran a huge variety of rackets. The low key operations are probably the reason the Family was labeled as a minor player, they were simply not noted. (With the exception of a few members and associates who made the news.) During the first years of Dragna’s reign, it was Chicago mobster Johnny Rosseli who was the most visible Mafioso in the area. Some sources claim Roselli was at one time the underboss of the Dragna Family, which is not true. Roselli was send to California by the Capone mob to oversee the interests of the Outfit, and never transferred to another Family. He reportedly arrived in the Los Angeles area in the late 1920s. Dragna had a close association with Roselli, and through him with the Chicago Outfit. In addition, Dragna was acquainted with many other Mafia powers around the country. When in the 1930s and 1940s many out-of-town organized crime figures settled in Southern California, many of them paid (regularly) visits to Dragna.  But with the media and many organized crime experts claiming his incompetence as a boss, Dragna’s real underworld status is often underestimated. Known to have the respect of both his members and many of the nation’s top mobsters, Dragna was almost the exact opposite of what is mostly written about him. Mickey Cohen, a pudgy Jewish gangster, arrived in Los Angeles in 1940. He quickly began to make a name for himself, and became a force in the California underworld. With the backing of several high ranking mob powers, Cohen organized a gang, made up of mainly out-of-town organized crime figures, who had settled in the Los Angeles area in the 1930s and 1940s. The Cohen gang included such notorious underworld figures as Jimmy Frattiano, and his brother Warren, both from Cleveland. The Sica brothers, who originated from New Jersey, and would become powerful mobsters for years to come, and the Milano brothers, Peter and Carmen. Peter and Carmen were the sons of Cleveland Mafia power Tony Milano. Tony Milano, who reportedly came to California in 1947, was alleged to be one of the powerful mobsters behind Cohen. Frank Costello, at the time acting boss of New York’s Genovese Family, was another. But the most notorious was probably Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel. Bugsy Siegel was send to California in late 1930s by his friend Meyer Lansky, and the Luciano/Costello forces, probably because he was wanted in New York for questioning about several murders. In California, Siegel began to look out for any possibilities of establishing some business interests for his bosses on the East Coast. He established a wire service, hooked to almost all of Dragna’s gambling businesses. A portion of the profits went to Dragna’s, and to Siegel’s bosses. In the early and mid 1940s, Cohen and Siegel were closely associated with each other. At the time, Cohen was described as Siegel’s lieutenant, but this was not the case. Cohen was in partnership with Siegel, and when Siegel made his move to Nevada, was left in control of many of Siegel’s former businesses. When Siegel was murdered in 1947, because he failed to secure the mob’s investments in Las Vegas, Cohen took control of his former Los Angeles operations. Although often claimed otherwise, Dragna and his Family were having no real problems with the Cohen mobsters, and various Family members and Cohen gang members were associating with each other. The troubles between them started after Siegel’s death, when Cohen, because of his flashy stile and constant loud mouthing, brought to much unwanted attention from both law enforcement and the media on organized crime operations in Los Angeles, including those of the Dragna’s. Refusing to change his flamboyant lifestyle, Cohen was marked for death. In the struggle that followed, several of Cohen’s associates were murdered, and several others went with the Dragna’ s. Some, like the Fratianno joined the Los Angeles Family during or even before the dispute with Cohen, others, like Peter and Carmen Milano, thereafter. Cohen himself managed to survive several attempts on his life, but lost most of his power. By the mid 1950s, he controlled only a few minor gambling rackets, and was not considered a threat to the Dragna Family anymore. Eventually, Cohen was sent to prison for four years for income tax evasion. After he was released, he was again indicted, and was send to prison again. All the time, Cohen tried to hold a high profile, but could only do this through the media. When he was released from prison in 1972, after serving ten years, he was stir crazy. In prison, his head had been smashed by another prisoner with a lead pipe, causing permanent damage to his brain. However, Cohen managed to survive Dragna. In February 1956, Dragna was found dead in a motel room, an appearant suicide. Frank DeSimone, the son of former boss Rosario DeSimone and underboss to Jack Dragna, would take command of the Family. DeSimone was not the most popular boss. At one time, he raped the wife of his underboss in front of him, to show how much power he wielded. His underboss, Girolamo Adamo, committed suicide shortly afterwards, after fatally wounding his wife first. Many members of the Los Angeles Family and of the other California Families also, despised DeSimone for his behavior, but DeSimone continued to run the Family. During the notorious underworld meeting in Apalachin in 1957, DeSimone and his underboss Simone Scozzari were present. DeSimone, at the time a lawyer to the public, became exposed as a Mafia boss, and became the subject of several criminal investigations. Scozzari, often alleged to be the real power in the Family, and not DeSimone, also got much unwanted publicity. In 1962, he was deported as an undesirable alien. Around the same time, New York’s Joe Bonanno, who already had several Family members stationed in California, made his grab for power. In a plot to take over the entire commission, Bonanno planned to murder three of his rival New York dons. DeSimone, who stood in Bonanno’s way to take control of California, was also on the execution list. The only thing that saved the four bosses’ life, was the contracted hitmen told Carlo Gambino, one of the New York targets, about it. DeSimone, who didn’t know of Bonanno’s intentions until told about it, died of natural causes not long afterwards, in 1967. Nicholas Licata stepped up as the new boss. Licata was formerly an associate of the Detroit Cosa Nostra Family, but somehow angered several Family members and fled to Los Angeles. When the Detroit mob found out his where abouts, they contacted Dragna to kill him. Instead, Dragna asked permission to take Licata under his wing, and made him into the Los Angeles Family. Licata, like Frank DeSimone, was viewed by many members of the Family, especially the lower ranking members, as a no good boss and a coward. Licata stayed in control until October 1974, when he died of natural causes. The next Family boss, Dominic Brooklier, would have an unpleasant reign. Born Bruccoleri and like Licata formerly from Detroit, Brooklier was inducted into the Los Angeles Family around the same time as Fratianno. When he assumed control of the Family, the federal government had marked many Mafia Families in the country as a target, and the Los Angeles Family was not an exception. The fact the FBI had two high ranking informants in the Los Angeles Family, didn’t make things easier for Brooklier. When Brooklier and several other ranking members received a short prison sentence in 1975, he had to appoint an acting administration. The job went to Louis Tom Dragna, the nephew of former boss Jack Dragna. Louis asked a trusted Family member to assist him in his new responsibilities. Unknown to Louis Dragna, he asked one of the informant, Aledena Fratianno, better known as Jimmy, because he was suspicious of the other, San Diego representative Frank Bompensiero. Bompensiero would be killed in 1977 in a telephone booth in San Diego.   Jimmy Fratianno, who became a FBI informant in 1973, was a Chicago mob associate before becoming a member of the Los Angeles Family in 1947. He transferred back to the Chicago mob in 1960, but was still primarily active in the Los Angeles area. When Louis Dragna asked for his help, Fratianno grabbed the opportunity and transferred back to Los Angeles. He didn’t bother to inform his Chicago mob superiors. Fratianno traveled through the country, presenting himself as the new Los Angeles boss. When Brooklier found out about his activities, a contract was placed on Fratianno’s life. After staying low for a while, prepared for an eventual assassin, he eventually became a government witness in several Mafia trials, after he was also implicated in a gang war that raged in Cleveland at the time. Fratianno, who felt betrayed by Brooklier and most other mobsters he testified against, never brought up any incriminating details about several other mobsters whom he still considered as friends. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Brooklier was arrested and convicted on several charges, including trying to take control of Los Angeles’ pornography market. Not able to run the Family, control passed over to Peter John Milano, the son of Cleveland mob power Anthony Milano. Milano had convinced Brooklier he was the right man to lead the Family, although others disagreed. Many mobsters, especially the lower elechons, thought of Milano as a weak person, who would not be able to handle Family affairs properly. They were partly right. Milano, who did manage to give the Family back some of its former shape, also made some big mistakes over the years. One of his first mistakes was made when Milano inducted several new members into the Family. Trying to gain back a little strength, he held a few initiation ceremonies, in which among others Rocco Zangari and Bobby Milano, the brother of former Buffalo mobster and current Los Angeles power Jimmy Caci, were made. However, many of the new inductees, including the two mentioned above, were regarded as weak, incompetent figures; none of them who had did any real “work” for the Family. Another mistake was his attitude toward Michael Rizzitello, a powerful capo, who was well liked by most of Los Angeles’ mobsters, but not by Milano. But Milano’s biggest shortcoming in the eyes of other Mafiosi was his lack of tracking down informers. Over the years, several informers and government witnesses popped up, causing the Family some major damage. But Peter Milano didn’t seem to bother, and made little to no effort to have them either threatened or killed. There are several examples known about this, including Milano’s own brother Carmen, which will be discussed later. Another example is Louis Tom Dragna, although this case is a little more complicated. It is alleged, that when Louis Tom Dragna, the former acting boss on behalf of Dominic Brooklier, faced a long prison sentence in the late 1970s, he threw in the towel and provided the FBI with valuable information regarding the Family’ s structure and operations. After his alleged cooperation, Dragna made no effort to move out of the Los Angeles area, and as of this writing reportedly still does. Dragna has heard no threats, or anything else for that matter, from either Milano or his underlings. What makes the Dragna case complicated is the question whether Dragna indeed had cooperated. There is no evidence of Dragna’s conversations with the FBI, neither has anyone ever affirmed his cooperation. It is more than possible that Peter Milano, who was the one who claimed Dragna was working with the FBI, only spread this rumor to bring Dragna in discredit. When Dragna was on the side of the government, he was definitely excluded from becoming the boss after Brooklier’s imprisonment. Dragna was a more logical successor to Brooklier then Milano, but with him out of the picture, Milano could take over without any opposition from within the Family. During the 1980s and early 1990s, the Los Angeles Family was no exception to other Families across the country. Various cases involving members and associates of the Los Angeles Family took place, and with the help of several informers, most of them were convicted. In the period, some of the more powerful Los Angeles mobsters were sent to prison, including Peter and Carmen Milano, who were sentenced to six and two years, respectively. The FBI claimed the Los Angeles Mafia was history, but within a few years, they made headlines again.   In the late 1990s, the Los Angeles Family had formed several alliances with East Coast families, some of them active in the area since the late 1950s. In Partnership with the Gambino and Bonanno Families, Milano underlings controlled much of the city’s illegal pornography. With associates of the Buffalo mob, of which some members had transferred to the Los Angeles Family, they tried to gain a foothold in Las Vegas. Allegedly, Las Vegas had long been a dream of the Family. It is sometimes claimed Jack Dragna had the opportunity to buy himself into one casino, but couldn’t afford it, although there is absolutely no evidence to support this. Later, the Chicago Outfit had more or less taken Vegas for itself, and the Los Angeles mobsters, even if they wanted to, were in no way in any position to challenge the Outfit. When Chicago mobsters were slowly loosing total control of the Vegas rackets, Milano didn’t want to let this change pass. The plot partly worked, for they managed to kill Herbie Blitzstein, a low level Chicago mob associate controlling a large loan sharking operation in Las Vegas. The loan shark book and some prostitution rackets Blitzstein also controlled were their main target. However, Carmen Milano and 15 associates were charged with the Blitzstein murder and convicted. Several became government witnesses, and Carmine himself even thought about becoming one too. However, he changed his mind, before reviling any valuable information. In an effort to gain Milano back as a cooperating witness, the FBI released several transcripts of conversations they had with Milano. No doubt Carmen was embarrassed by this effort, and in any other mob Family he would be marked for death. But Peter Milano, much the same as with Louis Tom Dragna, made no move against his brother, who has lived in Las Vegas until his death in January 2006. As of this writing, Peter Milano, who managed to escape much the Blitzstein fiasco, continues to run the Los Angeles Mafia, controlling a variety of (street) rackets, and a small network of legal businesses. Many members and associates are in partnership with members and associates of other crime Families across the country. With members and associates of the Gambino and Bonanno Families, they still control a huge part of the pornographic industry, and are reportedly also close with certain Buffalo mobsters. In addition, the Family has sought to make alliances with other, non Cosa Nostra groups operating in Los Angeles, like motorcycle gangs and Asian crime groups. In the latter part of 2005, a former close friend of Jimmy Fratianno passed away. Formerly a gun for the Gallo mob in New York during their struggle with then boss Joseph Profaci, Michael Rizzitello eventually became associated with Jimmy Fratianno, who brought him into the Los Angeles mob. He became a power in the Los Angeles Family in the 1970s, eventually rising to the position of caporegime. Rizzitello, better known as Mike Rizzi, is worth a special mentioning. Several rumors surround him, most notable that he was the boss of his own Family since the early 1980s, next to the already existing Milano Family. Allegedly, Rizzitello had asked New York’s Gambino Family underboss Neil DellaCroce for permission, and DellaCroce had granted it. DellaCroce probably saw Rizzitello only as an opportunity to make some extra money. Back in Los Angeles, Rizzitello still had to answer to the Milanos, who didn’t seem to like Rizzitello. It is reported the Milanos left Rizzitello out in several important decisions regarding the Family, including the initiation of new members. Eventually, Rizzitello was “put on the shelf” by the Milanos, meaning he still belonged to the Mafia, but wasn’t allowed to do any business with other mobsters. At the time of Rizzitello’s death in 2005, he was still held in high regard by many Family members and associates, to the dissatisfaction of Pete Milano.