Only “practical” Catholics who had regularly received sacraments of the church were entitled to Catholic rites at St. Aloysius, explained Father M.A. But looking closely, we can see the shop’s scuffed wood floors, its small, round tables and stiff, wood chairs. Volpe, however, seemed to be doing fine. (Archives Service Center/University of Pittsburgh). The ratio of all residents to sex offenders in Pittsburgh is 377 to 1. He became a U.S. citizen in 1916, enlisted in the military, served during World War I, and afterward married and moved to New Kensington. United States Federal Census, 1910, 1920, 1930, accessed through Ancestry.com. Rose Bazzano took the news hard. Bootlegging was a profitable business. The Sun-Telegraph described the Volpe organization’s method of distribution: A customer would park his vehicle on the street near the Volpe store in Wilmerding. Then his body was stuffed into a burlap bag, doused with gasoline and set on fire. At least five times, gunfire crackled on Wylie Avenue. (Pittsburgh Press photo), Charles Kline becomes 46th mayor of Pittsburgh, Charles Lindberg flies solo across the Atlantic Ocean, Gangster Al Capone given 11-year prison sentence for tax evasion. The two chatted for about 15 minutes when suddenly a gunman wearing a blue suit and brown hat approached the two, pointed a pistol at Palmer’s head and fired from a distance of 15 feet. “I heard the shots,” a nearby barber told The Press. All a proprietor needed to do was pay off the authorities who arranged police protection. Gunmen had interrupted his morning routine. Corruption was rampant. (Pittsburgh Press photo), John Bazzano's casket is removed from his Mt. The farmer investigated and discovered the body of Palmer’s partner, Saverio “Toto” Amarosa (newspapers sometimes used the name Argenti). He said he had known a number of those so-called “phantom voters” for years. It’s unclear exactly what occurred at the meeting. According to the Pittsburgh Post, this was the site of "Catherine McCormick's bookmaking joint.". The Volpe-Bazzano alliance was strange and unlikely. Their “shrieks” made their way through closed doors and windows to those gathered on the street below, newspapers reported. Toastmaster of the event was the superintendent of county roads, and among those called to the microphone were the assistant district attorney and the assistant superintendent of Pittsburgh Police. To make a buy, federal authorities rigged a truck with a secret compartment in which two agents could hide. Other sons soon joined the family, as did Ignazio’s wife, Rose. A “gambling joint,” according to the Pittsburgh Post. Around 7:30 p.m., Jack Palmer (or Palmere) strolled to the front of a small grocery store at 717 Wylie Ave. and sat down next to his buddy Joe Colelli. This edition of the Sun-Telegraph, with a picture of a dying John Volpe, was sold on Pittsburgh's streets shortly after the murders. Accessed at Detre Library and Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center. Shortly after 9 a.m., a maroon sedan pulled to the curb and stopped on the 400 block of Sixth Street in Braddock. They were our Al Capones, our Lucky Lucianos. (Archives Service Center/University of Pittsburgh. Folks started to make money. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Others sensed trouble, and they were right in doing so. (Archives Service Center/University of Pittsburgh), The Rome Coffee Shop, right, on Wylie Avenue. On the street outside the shop, someone yelled, “They killed one of the Volpes.”. The funeral at the Bazzano home on Saturday, Aug. 13, was in stark contrast to the chaotic events at the Volpe funeral a few weeks earlier. John owed the company $7,500. Newspaper reports state Louis was charged with “malicious mischief” for throwing bricks through the windows of homes and businesses of the independents who had pried loose the family’s grip on Wilmerding. Another witness, Paul Pischke, had just finished lunch at a Wylie Avenue restaurant and was headed back to his job in the City-County building when the shooting started. The Press blared simply, “Three Volpes slain.”. And as the profits rose, so did the risks. The vehicle bore a “trick” license plate, which read “JV8” — a combination of John’s initials and the number of sons Ignazio and Rose Volpe had borne. Being a booze baron in Pittsburgh was a dangerous profession. The hunt for three assassins was on. He had fallen on hard times and needed money. Pangallo was nearly impossible to kill. Ward leaders, public officials and police officers accepted “protection money” and in many cases themselves operated speakeasies, brothels or gambling houses. On Saturdays, he would plop down $2.25 and get a haircut and manicure, too. A 'high power beer' was served, which Jones slowly quaffed. Modarelli was a former numbers racketeer from Squirrel Hill. Men in stiff straw hats stood on the bumpers of parked cars in order to get a better view. Two of the three assassins left the Rome Coffee Shop by the front door. “Some of the people become frightened when they see the mail,” John Volpe explained at a hearing. Use at your own risk. A few days later, police in New York city arrested 14 mobsters they suspected of taking part in Bazzano’s death, but couldn’t find enough evidence to charge them. For John, James and Arthur, there would be no official funeral, no eulogies within the walls of a church. The brothers had taken over rackets in the city’s East End and were moving into Downtown, Oakland, Bloomfield, East Liberty, the Strip District and the Hill District. Not much came of the matter. Newspapers reported that John Volpe demanded that the gathered bootleggers adopt a price schedule he had proposed. In 1923, white-hooded Klansmen caused a riot in Carnegie, which had a strong Catholic presence. Amarosa, described as short and stocky, was strangled with a clothesline and stabbed with a knife. The vehicle was traced to a bogus name and address in Wilkinsburg. Shortly after this picture was taken in 1937, the old city hall at the intersection of Federal and Ohio streets was demolished to make way for The Buhl Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science. Hundreds, if not thousands, lined up to view the brothers. At left is his attorney and brother-in-law, Frank Zappala. Through it all, one low-key racketeer was able to steer clear of trouble, bullets and knives, even as his wealth and influence grew. But where was Bazzano? But Volpe was too late or too slow. Tables and chairs were knocked over as the half-dozen men who had been lounging in the shop dove for the exits. Blood pooling on his silk shirt. John Volpe called a meeting of city racketeers at a Downtown hotel — newspapers fail to specify which one or the date of the meeting. Shortly before primary elections in September 1931, John Volpe put on an ambitious and audacious display of political power. On Wylie Avenue, the Rome Coffee Shop and all its furnishings, including a huge coffee urn imported from Italy, were seized in lieu of $585 in unpaid rent. She suggested to her son they could use the barrel for kindling. The Sun-Telegraph estimated that up to 7,000 people showed up for the viewing. Two men exited the vehicle and casually walked past 10-year-old Frank Coffee and into the Lobianco Brothers grocery store. "A flourishing bookmaking joint," according to the Pittsburgh Post. A towel had been stuffed in his mouth. John Volpe's luxurious Cadillac continued to roam the streets, at least for a while, after its owner’s death. Police checked a “wildcat brewery” on Lorigan Street in Bloomfield, where Gregory was known to have met bootlegger Philip DeFazia. Detectives manned the street corners, keeping an eye out, nervous about another “hit.”. Turtle Creek divided the town. “Dark-eyed men” were wordless when confronted by a reporter. They do not like to receive mail.”. He and his brother Joseph remained in jail on the latter charges because they couldn’t come up with bail money, a situation unimaginable a few years earlier. A few days later, authorities wanted to speak with John Bazzano again. Lebanon home. Officials impounded the 4th Ward ballot box. Mary had just returned home from Sunday mass at St. Philomena’s Church on Forward Avenue to find her husband sprawled at the bottom of the basement steps. Once loaded, three hearses rumbled through town, leading a procession of approximately 250 vehicles. He investigated and made a grisly discovery: Inside the bag was the body of a middle-aged white male, about 5 feet, 9 inches tall and weighing 190 pounds. By the mid 1920s, the brothers were well known for their ability to deliver overwhelming Republican majorities in Wilmerding’s 4th Ward on Election Day — a valuable skill during a time when Republicans controlled Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. Immigrants credited the Volpes, Maurizi said, and viewed it as a sign that the family, and the neighborhood, could not be intimidated. Much of the information for this report was gleaned from the Post-Gazette newspaper and photographic archive and from the pages of the Pittsburgh Post, the Post-Gazette, The Sun-Telegraph and The Pittsburgh Press. Several days later, police made an interesting discovery. Newspaper reporters were doing a bit of detective work of their own, scouring the lower Hill for witnesses. And the Volpes were quite familiar with the strong-arm tactics needed to compete in the violent booze and gambling business. Police said Lamendola had been sending $1,000 each month to relatives in Italy. (Liggett’s reporting angered a number of people, some of whom had a history of using violence to make a point. Back issues of these newspapers were accessed on microfilm at the Post-Gazette and the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, Oakland. “Pittsburgh: Metropolis of Corruption,” by Walter W. Liggett, published in “Plain Truth,” 1930. During Prohibition, Pittsburgh was home to a handful of colorful and often shamelessly bold crooks and characters who supplied illegal booze to a city that loved its beer and whiskey. John Volpe fell near the curb. Newspapers described the shop as “dingy.” Its condition is difficult to discern from the few surviving pictures of the interior, since they focus mainly on bullet holes, broken plates and blood. “The triple murder of the Volpe brothers is one of the most outrageous and brutal murder in the history of Pittsburgh,” he huffed. Most likely this was one of the Monastero brothers -- Steve (also known as Stefano) or Sam, both bootleggers. Kline, a Republican, was a dapper dresser who liked to greet visiting celebrities. Four people lay bleeding on the floor. Police received several anonymous tips, but no two implicated the same men as the killers. The independents charged Volpe forces with stuffing 300 ballots into the 4th Ward ballot box before the polls opened on Election Day. Lebanon, remembered him as a good citizen and shrewd businessman who imported olive oil and Italian foods. He died of a “paralytic stroke” on April 8, 1934. The history of Pittsburgh began with centuries of Native American civilization in the modern Pittsburgh region, known as "Dionde:gâ'" in the Seneca language. “Dry agents” were often corrupt or incompetent or both. He must have recognized Spinelli and his intent, for John turned to flee, perhaps to his automobile, parked nearby. Then he cleared his throat, bid everyone a good night and exited. At the funeral home, mourners filed past the bodies until late at night. Two more were found nearby in a wooden trash barrel. She then fainted. Sam was released and carried on the family business until March 18, 1930, when his armored automobile was found in the mud of Jack’s Run near West View. The men signaled for Lamendola to come outside. Lebanon. Reporter Ruth Ayers wrote that Angela Volpe, wife of James, sat in the “sun parlor of her pleasant apartment house,” twisting a handkerchief in her hands and defending her husband from charges he was a criminal. “Black Italian heads would turn away.”. Nettie Gordon's house of prostitution. The Volpe brothers were well-connected, politically influential and often-feared underworld bosses, and their midday assassinations on a busy city street, just a few blocks from the courthouse, shocked Pittsburgh and marked the beginning of the end of what was perhaps the most violent and corrupt era in the city’s history. Pittsburgh was getting hammered. Either way, the evening proved unhealthy for Bazzano. There, in the town of Agropoli, he was reunited with his mother, wife and two children. At times, police behavior was almost laughable. Like the authorities, we’re forced to rely on the words of men who earned money by breaking the law. He lived in a tony suburb far from the dirty racket worlds in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh’s illicit liquor trade had attracted “Capone-like big shots,” in the words of The Press. Greenery didn’t stand a chance. Volpe money and influence filled cupboards with food, piled coal into the cellars of cold homes and, for the unemployed, found jobs in the air brake factory. All three men carried pistols, either .32 or .38 caliber. James Volpe rushed for the safety of a steel counter but was downed by three bullets that struck the back of his head, one tearing off part of his face. On Nov. 23, 1932, he was arrested by Italian authorities. Eventually, they would be drawn to the illegal booze trade in Pittsburgh. Gangland murders would subside in the coming months and years. John Volpe was arrested and charged a number of times, but he seemed to live a charmed life. Following them were hundreds of curious residents. Witnesses would later claim one of the three was a large man with bushy eyebrows. He jumped off and squeezed through the clot of people to administer last rites to the well-dressed man dying in a gutter. Newspapers claim that Chicago gangster Al Capone sent the family condolences and a massive $300 floral bouquet. (Post-Gazette archives), Eddie Kane’s and Paul Davis’ "big gambling joint". Much of the illegal activity was conducted in the open. Sam fled into the hospital. The results seemed a bit fishy, partly because they weren’t available until 48 hours after the polls closed. His attorney during those years, Joseph Maurizi, remembers Louis in his later years as a man who enjoyed sitting on a park bench in Wilmerding, chatting and waving at passing friends and acquaintances. By 1931, a new racket boss had emerged. Siragusa died with five bullet wounds to his head and body. Gordon was also a city and county councilwoman. The papers inside were of no use to investigators. Battling their way through the crowd were “small but somewhat sinister groups of henchmen” who roughed up news photographers and surrounded those who appeared to be outside the feudal kingdom of Volpe. The interview lasted 30 minutes. She arrived in 1915. Tables were on their sides. City-data.com does not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of any information on this site. John Volpe remained in the shop briefly, perhaps checking in with his brothers, then stepped back outside and onto the sidewalk along Wylie Avenue. “It was mighty sad. The other was most likely Joe Tito, the racketeer who was with John Volpe in Manna’s barber shop less than an hour before the hit. Less than a day later, a Palmer partner named Saverio “Toto” Amarosa was found dead near Turtle Creek. I didn’t pay any attention.”, A druggist in the block said, “I heard the shots but I knew better than to go out.”. According to newspaper accounts, Volpe collapsed against a woman named Antoinette Ferarro (or Ferraro, depending on the account). Police were known at the time to take a sip of booze themselves, even while on the beat — until the city’s police chief ordered the patrolmen to knock it off. It was a defiant move, and the brothers had to know it would anger and alarm some very dangerous men. A shave and a shoeshine. A report in The Press in 1935 states that Bazzano was the guest of honor at a banquet, where fellow gangsters toasted him for the Volpe slayings. The city was home 669,000 people, making it the 10th largest metropolis in the United States in 1930 (today, the city ranks 61st with a populations of slightly more than 300,000). It wasn’t John’s habit to talk about business with his wife. That’s what he told police, anyway. Next to die was Jack Palmer, the racketeer shot in the head in front of a Wylie Avenue grocery store, across the street from the Rome Coffee Shop.

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