User:Little Joe Shots

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  • Buffalo-Magaddino/Todaro crime family
  • Bosses
  • Angelo "Buffalo Bill" Palmeri - 1910-12 (stepped down)
  • Joseph Peter DiCarlo - 1912-22 (died July 9, 1922)
  • Stefano "The Undertaker" Magaddino - 1922-74 (died July 19, 1974)
  • Frederico "Freddie the Wolf Randaccio" Fassi -1962-67 (acting boss, jailed 1959-60, 1967-late 1970's)
  • The Family Splits December 1968 and Forms 4 Major Factions 1969-74
  • Factions Leaders
  • Magaddino Faction - Stefano "The Undertaker" Magaddino
  • Pieri Faction - Salvatore "Samuel Johns" Pieri
  • Fino Faction - Joseph Fino
  • Rochester Faction - Frank Valenti (by 1970, Rochester declares itself an autonomous Family)
  • Magaddino is recognized as Official Sitting Boss" by the Commission until his death in 1974. *By January 1969 the dissident factions elect a new unsanctioned regime & inform the Commission.
  • Salvatore "Samuel Johns" Pieri - 1969-70 (jailed Sept. 25, 1970, paroled 1974)
  • Joseph Fino - 1971-73 (deposed, put on shelf & flees Buffalo after Cammilleri hit 1974)
  • Samuel "Sam the Farmer" Frangiamore - 1973-74 (promoted)
  • Stefano Magaddino dies July 19, 1974 and the Commission appoints an Acting Boss on a 1 year

term, until the Family elects an new Official Sitting Boss.

  • Samuel "Sam the Farmer" Frangiamore - 1974-75 (acting boss, stepped down)
  • Salvatore "Samuel Johns" Pieri - 1975-81 (jailed 1978-81, released, then died August 24, 1981)
  • Joseph Angelo Pieri Sr. - 1978-84 (acting boss, deposed, demoted)
  • Joseph "Leadpipe Joe" Todaro Sr. - 1985-Present (semi-retired)
  • Joseph Todaro Jr. - 1995-Present (acting boss)
  • Underbosses
  • Joseph Peter DiCarlo - 1910-12 (promoted)
  • Angelo "Buffalo Bill" Palmeri - 1912-22 (stepped down, becomes advisor)
  • unknown - 1923-47 (possibly Joseph "The Wolf" DiCarlo by the late 1930's, not certain)
  • Salvatore "Samuel Johns" Pieri - 1947-54 (jailed 1954, paroled 1963)
  • Frederico "Freddie the Wolf Randaccio" Fassi - 1954-67 (jailed)
  • Peter A. Magaddino - 1967-68 (deposed, Magaddino faction underboss until 1974)
  • Joseph Fino - 1969-70 (promoted)
  • Daniel "Boots" Sansanese - 1970-73 (jailed April 1972, deposed 1973)
  • John Cammilleri - 1972-73 (acting underboss, wacked May 8, 1974)
  • Joseph Angelo Pieri Sr. - 1974-78 (underboss, promoted)
  • Samuel "Sam the Farmer" Frangiamore - 1978-84 (deposed)
  • Joseph Todaro Jr. - 1985-Present
  • Consigliere
  • Peter & Carmello Manzella - 1912-22 (advisors)
  • Angelo "Buffalo Bill" Palmeri - 1922-32 (dies)
  • John C. Montana - 1932-59 (put on shelf, died 1967)
  • Antonio "Nino" Magaddino - 1960-68 (deposed, Magaddino faction consigliere until 1974)
  • Vincent Scro - 1969-84 (stepped down, semi-retired)
  • Joseph Angelo Pieri Sr. - 1985-87 (demoted, retires)
  • Leonard Falzone - 1987-Present
  • Present Regime
  • Joseph "Leadpipe Joe" Todaro Sr. - Boss
  • Joseph Todaro Jr. - Underboss/Acting Boss
  • Leonard Falzone - Consigliere
  • Capos
  • Gaetano "Tommy the Chooch" Miceli (North Buffalo/Heratal Ave. area)
  • Frank "Butchie Bifocals" BiFulco (labor & union rackets)
  • Benjamin "Sonny" Nicoletti Sr. (Niagara County area & gambling operations)
  • Albert "Babe" Billiteri (loansharking operations)
  • Joseph Todaro III (telemarketing, internet, pump & dump stock operations, also runs the $25

million a year La Nova Pizza & Wing Co.)

  • Joseph "Joey Paps" Pugliese aka Papalia (nephew of "Johnny Pops", Hamilton, Ontario Faction)
  • Thomas Marotta (possibly runs what's left of Rochester and now re-alligned with Buffalo)


  • soldiers
  • John "Johnny Catz" Catanzaro
  • Donald "Turtle" Panepinto
  • Robert "Bobby" Panaro (Todaro cousin)
  • Peter Gerace (Todaro Sr. son in law)
  • Bart T. Mazzara
  • Joseph P. Rosato
  • John A. Pieri
  • Joseph R. Pieri Jr.
  • Daniel Sansanese Jr.
  • Victor Sansanese
  • Benjamin "Sonny" Nicoletti Jr.
  • Michael Muscarella
  • Frank Falzone
  • Daniel "Danny" Domino
  • Frank Billiteri
  • Salvatore "Sam" Cardinale
  • Samuel "Sam" Lagattuta Jr.
  • Joseph Randazzo
  • Frank Grisanti
  • Louis Tavano
  • Joseph Sacco


Joseph Todaro Sr.


Joseph Todaro Sr. (b. 1923) is a well known and prominant Buffalo businessman. He is called "Papa Joe" by his family and friends and started the famous La Nova Pizzeria in Norht Tonanwanda, New York in 1957, moving the business to it's present location at 371 West Ferry St. on Buffalo's West Side in 1969. By the 1990's the Todaro family had turned the new La Nova Pizzeria and Wing Co. into the #1 independant pizzeria in North America, with sales reaching over $25,000,000 annually. The Todaro family which includes Joseph Sr, his son Joseph Jr. and Jr.'s wife Cookie, along with their children Joseph III and Carla often show their humanitarian and charitable side by donating large numbers of pizza's and chicken wings to chariteis and other groups, including our armed forces. The Todaro's have also established the "Feast of St. Joseph " table where the Todaro family invite people from all over Buffalo to come and celebrate the Italian feast day with a table of free La Nova specialties. La Nova Pizzeria was severly damaged by a fire in the early morning of August 28, 2004, but was soon remodeled and reopened serving the best pizza and chicken wings to the Buffalo's hungry communities.[1]

Contents

[edit] Who's the Boss

It is alleged by local and national law enforcement agencies that Joseph Todaro Sr. has been the Boss of the Buffalo crime family of La Cosa Nostra, known as "The Arm". Todaro Sr., known as "Leadpipe Joe" on the streets, has allegedly been the top underworld power, in control of the Buffalo crime family and all La Cosa Nostra operations in Western New York since the early 1980's, some belive 1985. With the help of his son, alleged crime family Underboss, Joseph Jr. and alleged crime family Consigliere, Leonard Falzone,[2] Todaro Sr. controls a powerful and influential criminal organization that is involved in the traditional organized crime operations, including gambling, loansharking, extortion, narcotics, union and labor rackets. The Buffalo crime family has maintianed it's base of operations in Buffalo and Western New York, with crews in North Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Albany, Syracuse, Utica, New York, Las Vegas, South Florida and in the Southern Ontario cities of Hamilton and Toronto. The Buffalo Family has maintianed it's long standing, close ties to the Rochester, New York, Central Pennsylvannia, New York City and Montreal La Cosa Nostra Families and other criminal organizations across North America.

Joseph Todaro Sr. and his son Joseph Todaro Jr. have never been convicted of any criminal violation and are considered respected and adored Buffalo community members.

[edit] The Early Years

By the early 1960's the overlord of the Western New York underworld, Stefano "The Undertaker" Magaddino had slown down and prepared himself for semi-retirement from a successful criminal career. Magaddino left the Buffalo crime family in the hands of his Underboss, Frederico "Freddie the Wolf" Randaccio, who's real name was Fassi. One of the principle hangouts and meeting places for the Buffalo crime family and it's members was in the 1960's and 70's was a gambling club called the "Blue Banner Social Club", located on Prospect Ave. in Buffalo's West Side. The social club was located behind the residence of crime family soldier, Benny Spano and was oroiginally a two story building, the inside had a bar and now resembled a small, but fully equiped Las Vegas casino. Freddie Randaccio, who had become the Acting Boss of the crime family by the early 1960's, met with his Capos and underlings there everyday in the late afternoon. One of the men who allegedly came to meet with Randaccio and other members of Buffalo's underworld was CapoJoseph Todaro Sr.

Joseph Todaro Sr. was a top Capo in the Buffalo crime family throughout the 1960's and 70's. Along with his son Joseph Jr. and brother Richard Todaro, Joseph Sr. ran lucrative criminal rackets such as horse racing and professional sports betting books, floating poker and craps games and Las vegas casino junkets.[3] According to law enforcement, Joseph Todaro Sr. was a high level Buffalo crime family member, who was feared and respected on the streets and reported directly to the crime family's powerful and influential Acting Boss, Freddie "The Wolf" Randaccio. Randaccio was considered the most likely successor to magaddino as boss of the crime family, but in 1967 he was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison. This was one of the events that eventually divided and weakened the Buffalo crime family and enabled some of it's most powerful members to split from the crime family in the late 1960's.

By the early 1960's Stefano Magaddino had lost the respect and power he had once attained in La Cosa Nostra. Many crime family Bosses had blamed Magaddino for the debacle at Apalachin, New York in 1957 since he had chosen the Apalachin Meeting site. Buffalo crime family members believed Magaddino had become a paraniod and notoriously greedy leader with old age who could not be trusted to lead the crime family any longer. Another event which proved this to be true and was the final insult that eventuallly led to the Buffalo crime family splitting was the $473,134 found in the home of Peter magaddino after he and his father Stefano were arrested for bookmaking in November of 1968.[3] In December of 1968, Joseph Todaro Sr. and other high level mebers of the crime family met at the Rochester farmhouse of Capo Frank Valenti and voted to remove Stefano Magaddino as Boss of the crime family.

[edit] The Buffalo Crime Family Splits

After the meeting in Rochester the Buffalo crime family split into dissident factions. Stefano Magaddino led a faction still loyal to him, while Capos, Salvatore "Samuel Johns" Pieri and Joseph fino led the most powerful dissident factions in Buffalo. The Peri Faction includes Capos Samuel "Sam the Farmer" Frangiamore, Anthony Romano and Joseph Pieri Sr.. Joseph Todaro Sr. lines up behind the Fino Faction which includes Capos, Daniel "Boots" Sansanese and John Cammilleri. Capo Frank Valenti uses the conflict and division in the crime family to his advantage and declares his independance from the Buffalo crime family, leaving him the leader of his own crime family in 1970. The dissident factions decide to allign themselves under the leadership of Sal Pieri and Joe Fino, who become defacto Boss and Underboss. By 1970 Sal Pieri is in prison and Joe Fino is now leader of the dissident factions. From 1970 to 1974 the Buffalo family is divided and weakened by internal strife and on July 19, 1974, legendary Buffalo crime family Boss and charter Commission member, Stefano "The Undertaker" Magaddino dies of a heart attack at age of 80. In 1974, Capo John Cammilleri is assassinated and Joe Fino is forced to retire, leaving the Pieri Faction in control of the Buffalo crime family.

[edit] The Peri Era

By 1975, Commission sanctioned, Acting Boss, Sam Frangiamore steps down and Salvatore Pieri is elected the official Boss of the Buffalo crime family]]. By 1978 Sal Pieri is once again in prison and he leaves his brother Joseph Pieri Sr. as Acting Boss and Sam Frangiamore as Underboss of the crime family. Under the Pieri regime the Buffalo crime family continued with it's traditional rackets and activities, looking to expand the crime family's criminal activities by moving into other territiories and modern rackets, but the crime family lacked an effective leadership, unable to motivate it's members into achieving a level of power and influence in the North American underworld it once possessed, leaving the Buffalo crime family divided and weakended. Throughout the 1970's, Joseph "Leadpipe Joe" Todaro Sr. had become one of the Buffalo crime family's most popular members and with his respect and leadership abilities growing, his influence and power over various crime family affairs such as gambling, union and labor activities grew as well. Imprisoned Boss, Salvatore Pieri and his associates controlled the construction and labor rackets in Buffalo area through crime family members who held positions of power in LUINA Local 210 including the son of Capo Joseph Todaro Sr., Joseph Jr., who had become a LIUNA local 210 business agent in 1978, allowing his father to become a player in the Buffalo areas construction and labor rackets .[2] In early 1981, Boss Sal Pieri was paroled from prison, dying several months later in July of 1981 and leaving his brother Joseph Pieri Sr. as Acting Boss and his hand picked successor. Joe Pieri Sr. was not highly respected and not a popular choice for new Boss of the Buffalo crime family. By the early 1980's Joseph Todaro Sr.'s power and influence in the Buffalo crime family was at a level that rivalled that of Acting Boss, Joseph Pieri Sr. Joe Todaro Sr. and Joe Pieri Sr. eventually came into conflict with eachother concerning their influence over LUINA Local 210 and the fact that Joseph Todaro Jr. was competing for power and influence in Local 210 with Joseph Pieri Jr. and John Pieri, the sons of Joe Pieri Sr. In October of 1984, Acting Boss, Joseph Pieri Sr. and Cleveland crime family Acting Boss, John "Peanuts" Tronolone went to New York and met with Genovese crime family Front Boss and Commmission representative, Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno to discuss the ongoing feud in Buffalo between Joseph Todaro Sr. and Pieri Sr. concerning their sons and Pieri's belief that Todaro Sr. was about to make a move for power in the Buffalo crime family. Tony Salerno listened as Pieri Sr. and Tronolone laid out their grievance over Todaro Sr.'s percieved insult in trying to take control of the crime family, Salerno then told the visiting mafiosi to "Let the Commmission decide", "Tell him it's the Commission from New York. Tell him he's dealing with the big boys now"![4] Pieri Sr. went back to Buffalo with the intent of allowing the Commission to decide who would be installed as the official Boss of the Buffalo crime family.

[edit] The Todaro Era

By 1985, Joseph "Leadpipe joe" Todaro Sr. had been officially sanctioned as the new Boss of the Buffalo crime family by the Commission. Todaro'Sr. chose his son, Joseph Jr. as his Underboss and made former Acting Boss, Joseph Pieri Sr. his Consigliere to avoid anymore internal strife and feuding within the crime family. Joseph Todaro Sr. began to rebuild the Buffalo crime family by inducting new crime family members and expanding the crime family's operations into Las Vegas and South Florida, where Todaro Sr. had a base of operations at the Diplomat Hotel in Fort Lauderdale. He expanded the crime family's earning ability by moving into modern rackets such as telemarketing, boiler room stock scams, insurance fraud and internet pornography. Joseph todaro Sr. and the Buffalo crime family maintained their control over the traditional rackets such as gambling, loansharking and labor racketeering, the western New York area being the hub of bookmaking operations for the crime family due to it's influence in upstate New York, Northern Pennsylvania, Eastern ohio and Southern Ontario. Boss, Joseph Todaro Sr. maintained his longstanding ties to crime families in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New England, as well as Hamilton and Toronto, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec.

The Buffalo crime family has held influence in union and labor rackets for years, but the Justice Department filed a 200 page RICO suit in November of 1994 and eventually expelled eight alleged Buffalo crime family members fronm Buffalo's LIUNA Local 210, including Joseph Todaro Jr. The Buffalo crime family is alleged to have long standing ties to the Bonanno crime family and it's Montreal faction, which have controlled a major portion of narcotics importation and distribution in North America,[5] but the Buffalo crime family no longer dictates time to local narcotics trafficking as Hispanic and Black criminal organizations have moved into the predominately Hispanic West Side and predominately Black East Side and taken over narcotics distribution in those areas.

[edit] Semi-Retirement and the Future

By the mid 1990's Joseph Todaro Sr. had left the day to day running of the Buffalo crime family's activities to his son and Acting Boss, Joseph Todaro Jr. and Consigliere since 1987, Leonard Falzone, while he relaxes in Florida, returning to check on the world famous La Nova Pizzeria and the affairs of the Buffalo crime family. Joseph Todaro Sr. not only holds business interests in the food service industry, but in real estate and construction as well. Joe Todaro Sr.'s grandchildren, Joseph III and Carla have not only been a big part of La Nova's success, but now oversee over most of the business and the charitable events that the Todaro family are involved in annually. The Todaro grandchildren show a modern side to their charity by handing out over 4,000 bottles of champagne to La Nova Pizzeria customers every year during the Christmas and New Year holidays. Joseph Todaro Sr. is the patriarch of a traditional Italian family and a successful businessman who has created an empire few could build or keep, but most likely will be passed on to his successors and namesakes. "Cent Anni"

[edit] References

  • Dubro, James. Mob Rule:Inside the Canadian Mafia. Ontario, Totem Books, 1986.
  • Sifakis, Carl. The Mafia Encyclopedia:Second Edition. New York, Checkmark Books, 1999.
  • Griffin, Joe. Mob Nemesis:How the FBI Crippled Organized Crime. New York, Prometheus Books, 2002.
  • Humphreys, Adrian. The Enforcer:Johnny Pops Papalia, A Life and Death in the Mafia. Ontario, Harper Collins, 2002.
  • Capeci, Jerry. The Complete Idiots Guide to the Mafia. Indianopolis, Alpha Books, 2002.
  • Raab, Selwyn. The Five Families:The Rise, Decline and Resurgance of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empire. New York, Thomas Dunne Books, 2005.
  • Lamothe, Lee & Humphreys, Adrian. The Sixth Family:The Collapse of the New York Mafia and the Rise of Vito Rizzuto. Ontario, Wiley, 2006.

[edit] External Links

  • La Nova Pizzeria and Wing Company. [[1]]
  • Laborers.Org. 212 Page Complaint:United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern District United States of America vs. Laborers' Intrnational Union of North america, AFL-CIO. [[2]]
  • Americanmafia.com:The Buffalo Crime family by Mario Machi, Allen May and Charlie Molino.

[[3]]

  • Laborers.Net. Statement of Ron Fino to the Sub-Committee on Crime, Committee on the Judiciary House of Representatives. [[4]]


La Cosa Nostra in Western New York:The Buffalo Crime Family

[edit] La Cosa Nostra

The Western, New York area has had a large and diverse immigrant population since the late 1800's, the Queen City of Buffalo having been one of the first major cities in America to have electricty and a thriving waterfront economy which attracted many people looking for employment. Immigration and poverty also braught ethnic criminals from the Irish, Jewish, Polish and Italian underworlds. Italian criminal organizations like the Sicilian Black Hand Gangs and Neapolitan Camorra had an early presence the States of New York and Pennsylvania from the late 1880's to the 1920's. In the mid to late 1920's these criminal organizations grew in size and power thanks to Prohibition and began to resemble the powerful crime families that would eventual control the North American underworld from the 1930's to present day. In 1931, mafioso, Charles "Lucky" Luciano became America's most powerful gangster and helped create the criminal organization known as La Cosa Nostra and it's governing body, the "Commission". La Cosa Nostra was made up of 26 major crime families and affiliates from across North America and by the late 1930's came to dominate the "National Crime Syndicate" and criminal activities in North America. Italian crime groups have had a presence on the East Coast since the early 1880's and La Cosa Nostra crime families in the New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New England areas have dominated the criminal rackets since the 1930's.

Organized Crime in the Buffalo and Western New York area from the early 1920's, into the 1970's revolves around the reign of legendary Buffalo crime family Boss Stefano "The Undertaker" Magaddino. Magaddino was originally from Castellamare del Golfo, Sicily and came to the Western New York area in 1920, settling in among it's large immigrant population and quickly becoming a power in the Italian underworld, eventually settling in Lewiston, Niagara Falls. In 1922 Stefano Magaddino became Boss of the Buffalo crime family and by the 1930's he was the undisputed ruler of the Western New York underworld, ruling his territory and protecting his interests with an iron fist. Stefano Magaddino and his crime family became charter members on the La Cosa Nostra Commission in 1931 and Magaddino became known as the "Grand Old Man of La Cosa Nostra", creating and controlling a criminal empire throughout a career that would span nearly 6 decades. I need a break!!!

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