Unione Siciliane

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The Unione Siciliane (or Unione Siciliana) was a Sicilian-American political organization which eventually controlled much of the Italian American vote within the United States during the early twentieth century. The organization would be a major source of conflict as underworld figures who, through a series of puppet presidents largely controlled by the Chicago Outfit, fought to control the highly influential organization during Prohibition.

Contents 1 History 2 Presidents 2.1 New York 2.2 Chicago 2.3 Detroit 2.4 Notes 3 Further reading 4 References 5 External links

[edit] History

The Unione was originally formed in New York's Italian Harlem in the 1880s as a legitimate fraternal organization for Sicilian immigrants. It provided insurance for Sicilians and sponsored social gatherings in New York. Growing in power over the decades, the organization began to become highly influential as many of the city's Italian-American wards provided a considerable amount of support in city elections. By the early 1900s, the organization's influence would expand to other major cities across the country.

In the early 1910s, mobster Ignazio "Lupo the Wolf" Saietta infiltrated the Unione. He eventually brought it under the control of the Morello crime family though a ruthless campaign of murder and extortion. In 1914, Saietta became Unione president. Saietta would use the organization to expand racketeering, prostitution, extortion, kidnapping, and murder for hire into Italian-American neighborhoods. Installing meat hooks in his office, Saietta was said to have hung his victims on them. He is also alleged to have burned six political opponents alive in his basement furnace. In 1918, After Saietta's imprisonment, Frankie Yale, a New York mobster, would become president of the Unione. Yale would feud with former protegee and Chicago rival Al Capone for the presidency throughout the next ten years. This feud ended with Yale’s murder in 1927.

Capone's efforts to gain control of the Unione Siciliana initially failed; he was excluded because he was Neapolitan, not Sicilian, and was a resident of Chicago. However, Capone would soon gain control of the Chicago chapter through Capone ally Mike Merlo. Following Merlo's death from cancer in 1924, the chapter organization (later renamed the "Italo-American National Union") split into several factions as various underworld groups struggled for control of the organization.

Of these factions, "Bloody" Angelo Genna claimed the presidency following Merlo's death; however, he was murdered the following year by members of the North Side Gang. Genna's successor, Samuzzo "Samoots" Amatuna, would be killed by Northsider Vincent "The Schemer" Drucci in a barbershop that same year. During this time, Capone had amassed enough power in Chicago to place Antonio "The Scourge" Lombardo as head of the Unione Siciliane, passing several reforms specifically opening the organization to non-Sicilians. The longest reigning president in office, Lombardo held considerable influence in Italian-American communities including acting as a negotiator between [Black Hand] kidnappers and victim's families. Although supported by Capone, many members of the organization opposed the reforms as a faction under Capone rival Joe [Aiello] challenged Lombardo, calling for his withdrawal from office. Lombardo's refusal would result in his death on September 7, 1928.

Lombardo's brother Pasqualino "Patsy" Lolordo would assume the presidency in his brother's place for around four months until his own murder by Joe Aiello and his two brothers after inviting them for dinner at his home on January 8, 1929. Claiming the presidency the next day, Aiello would hold the office for a year and a half until his death by Chicago Outfit gunman on October 23, 1930.

After Aiello's death, there were few within the organization who would accept the office and, as the United States entered the Great Depression, the organization gradually disappeared by the end of the decade.

[edit] Presidents

[edit] New York

• 1914–1918 — Ignazio Saietta
• 1918–1927 — Frankie Yale ¹

[edit] Chicago

• 1918?–1921 — Anthony D'Angelo
• 1921–1924 — Mike Merlo
• 1925 — "Bloody" Angelo Genna
• 1925 — Samuzzo "Samoots" Amatuna
• 1925–1928 — Antonio Lombardo ²
• 1928–1929 — Pasqualino "Patsy" Lolordo
• 1929 — Joseph Giunta
• 1929–1930 — Joseph Aiello
• 1929–1934? — Agostino Loverdo
• 1934–1939? — Phil D'Andrea

[edit] Detroit

• 1913–1930 – Salvatore "Sam" Catonotte

[edit] Notes

¹ Shortly following Yale's election as president of the Unione Siciliane, Al Capone would compete for official recognition of the Chicago chapter of the Unione Siciliane. During this time the presidency of the "officical" Unione Siciliane is in dispute.

² After Yale's death in 1928, the Chicago chapter under Antonio Lombardo is recognized as the National representative.

[edit] Further reading

• Capeci, Jerry. The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002. ISBN 0-02-864225-2
• United States. Congress. Senate. Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce. Investigation of Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce: Hearings Before a Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce. 1951. [1]

[edit] References

• Fox, Stephen. Blood and Power: Organized Crime in Twentieth-Century America. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1989. ISBN 0-688-04350-X
• Kelly, Robert J. Encyclopedia of Organized Crime in the United States. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2000. ISBN 0-313-30653-2
• Sifakis, Carl. The Mafia Encyclopedia. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. ISBN 0-8160-5694-3

[edit] External links

• Chicago's Unione Siciliana, 1920 – A Decade of Slaughter (Part One) by Allan May
• The Detroit Outfit: Unione Siciliana