OT: New Orleans Mafia Sleeps with the Fishes

[FreeDawg]

There’s a pretty good argument that the New Orleans Mafia has been dead, for all intents and purposes, since its last gasp in the mid-1990s, when Operation Hard Crust helped decimate what remained of the organization.

But a Mafia family isn’t officially dead until its last made man is dead.

There’s some debate over Joseph Gagliano, but many believe he to be the last made member of the New Orleans family. If so, he recently cashed in his chips in the sky.

Gagliano’s father was an underboss of the family, and Joseph made the news in 2014 in what was probably the last truly bizarre LCN-related story to come out of New Orleans. He and an associate were arrested in a “sniper van” and eventually put away on weapons charges.

Gagliano’s explanation? The van was going to be remodeled into a snowball truck.

A few fun New Orleans Mafia facts:

• New Orleans has the oldest Mafia history in the United States, dating back to the wave of Sicilian immigration through the port of New Orleans in the 1800s—well before the Mafia became synonymous with New York.

• The infamous 1891 lynching in New Orleans, in which 11 Sicilian immigrants were murdered by a mob, remains the largest mass lynching in American history.

• Carlos Marcello became one of the most powerful Mafia bosses in the country, and his name has been linked for decades to the JFK assassination and Jimmy Hoffa.

• A few old-school vestiges of that New Orleans Mafia culture still survive, including Mosca’s on the West Bank, Frank’s in the French Quarter, and Venezia in Mid-City.

New Orleans may not have a Mafia anymore, but it sure left one hell of a historical footprint. Now the only remaining mafia in LA is the state government.

Great Mosca’s piece

 

[bsquared24]

I'm not sure who is a made man and who is not, but there are still some old guys floating around Metairie and the West Bank that tell me remnants of the mafia still exist. I base this purely on my personal experiences of seeing how certain elders are treated at Gambino's Bakery, Venezia's. etc, and the fact that we sold our old house to a 20-something grandson of the family, and he paid all cash. Do they act like "classic" mafia no, but who is to say when something ends.

 

[jethreauxdawg]

Thanks. I love reading/watching mafia stuff.

 

[Darryl Steight]

I love reading and listening to mob stuff. Cool story. Thanks for posting.

 

[jethreauxdawg]

I’ll also add that James Earl Ray went to New Orleans for some reason not too long before assassinating MLK.

 

[GloryDawg]

It was New Orleans Mafia that had both Kennedy's killed.

 

[dawgman42]

Now, the Vicksburg Mafia . . . .

 

[dorndawg]

Anybody ever ate out at Mosca's? Looks like a real experience.

 

[FreeDawg]

I'm not sure who is a made man and who is not, but there are still some old guys floating around Metairie and the West Bank that tell me remnants of the mafia still exist. I base this purely on my personal experiences of seeing how certain elders are treated at Gambino's Bakery, Venezia's. etc, and the fact that we sold our old house to a 20-something grandson of the family, and he paid all cash. Do they act like "classic" mafia no, but who is to say when something ends.

All those families who were involved 40-50 years ago still exist and most of them are incredibly wealthy from real estate. I’m sure there are still guys bookmaking & hustling around town but as far as an officially recognized organization by LE, it’s over. The sniper van story is fascinating and worth reading via the hyperlink.

I was told a story recently by a retired FBI agent who was relaying a story from when our AG and the LA AG were having a big meeting with the federal gov’t post Katrina. Their AG, behind closed doors, told the federal folks something to the effect of, you can’t give the money to us like you do MS. If you give it to us like that, it will all be missing with no trace and nothing to show for it. Apparently the MS delegation was stunned by the honesty.

 

[FreeDawg]

Anybody ever ate out at Mosca's? Looks like a real experience.

It’s on my must go list but every time I’m down I’ll have a hard time getting away from GW Fins or Rizzuto’s for Italian.

 

[DoggieDaddy13]

I was told a story recently by a retired FBI agent who was relaying a story from when our AG and the LA AG were having a big meeting with the federal gov’t post Katrina. Their AG, behind closed doors, told the federal folks something to the effect of, you can’t give the money to us like you do MS. If you give it to us like that, it will all be missing with no trace and nothing to show for it. Apparently the MS delegation was stunned by the honesty.

Familiar with that meeting and that is how it went down. But the LA AG wasn't sharing anything the feds didn't already know.

 

[bsquared24]

It’s on my must go list but every time I’m down I’ll have a hard time getting away from GW Fins or Rizzuto’s for Italian.

I'll throw a plug in for my favorite Italian place in the NOLA metro - Impastato's. We go at least once a month and the Spidini is AMAZING.

 

[stateu1]

I love reading and listening to mob stuff. Cool story. Thanks for posting.

If you listen to podcasts, check out Crimetown if you haven't. It's a good one.

 

[Lowdog]

This was in late 1960’s. My dad grew up in Pass Christian. He moved to Jackson right before I was born. He graduated from State. I was a kid probably Aprox 10yrs old. My dad had taken me with him to the Pass. We were staying my deceased grandmother’s house in the Pass. He loved going to a certain restaurant in the Pass. Anne’s I had been several times before.

It was a Saturday night and I figured the place would be packed. We pull into parking lot and it was only two cars in the parking lot. These two cars were two black Cadillacs with Louisiana license tags. Parked right at the front door. Two ruff looking men dressed in all black suites, white shirts and black ties were standing in front of the cars with one foot propped on the front bumper smoking cigarettes.

My dad said well damn looks like we are not eating here tonight. I said there are only two cars in the parking lot. My dad said yes son those two cars belong to the mafia bosses and they don’t like being disturbed when dining out.

Till the day my dad died he would not buy Gambino’s bread. He would not tell me why he hated the Gambinos so much but I always believed it had to do with the years he lived in New Orleans before I was born. And growing up on the coast. Dont forget about the Dixie mafia.

 

[dawgstudent]

I'll throw a plug in for my favorite Italian place in the NOLA metro - Impastato's. We go at least once a month and the Spidini is AMAZING.

One of my friend's is from Long Beach and they were huge Saints fans. Season tickets and on the way back from every game I went with them - they would stop at Impasato's. Half the Saints coaching staff would show up after the game.

 

[Herbert Nenninger]

If you’re really into mob stuff, you should do a deep dive into the old Noxapater mafia.

 

[Darryl Steight]

If you listen to podcasts, check out Crimetown if you haven't. It's a good one.

Is this the one about Providence? If so, I think I have listened to some but not all of it. I need to go back and finish that. Good call.

 

[Darryl Steight]

Thanks. I love reading/watching mafia stuff.

damn you quickdraw

 

[stateu1]

Is this the one about Providence? If so, I think I have listened to some but not all of it. I need to go back and finish that. Good call.

Yep.

 

[QuadrupleOption]

My buddy's wife is from New Orleans. She has relatives whose professions were always described as "we don't really ask about that."

 

[DoggieDaddy13]

If you’re really into mob stuff, you should do a deep dive into the old Noxapater mafia.

stay outta my family's business.

You don't know and you don't wanna know.

 

[Darryl Steight]

One of my friend's is from Long Beach and they were huge Saints fans. Season tickets and on the way back from every game I went with them - they would stop at Impasato's. Half the Saints coaching staff would show up after the game.

Along the same lines, anytime I'm in Vegas I go to Piero's. It was also a huge mafia hangout in the past, and Jerry Tarkanian's favorite restaurant (not that he had any mob ties or anything**). There were actually huge busts of some of the local bosses in that restaurant once upon a time. But pretty good food and live music still today.

 

[thatsbaseball]

There are still some New Orleans Marcello's around . I met a couple of them a few years back ,

 

[MaroonState]

I'll throw a plug in for my favorite Italian place in the NOLA metro - Impastato's. We go at least once a month and the Spidini is AMAZING.

Haven’t been there but Vincent’s on St. Charles has the best Alfredo sauce I have ever had.

 

[Barkman Turner Overdrive]

It was New Orleans Mafia that had both Kennedy's killed.

I’ve never noticed that connection. I have noticed other connections to those assassinations.

 

[GloryDawg]

I’ve never noticed that connection. I have noticed other connections to those assassinations.

Carlos Marcello was being pounded on by RFK. RFK was the Attorney General going hard after him. Theory is Marcello could cut the head of the snake off his troubles would go away. JFK was the head of the snake. Cut the head off the pounding stops. Marcello was head of the NO Mafia at the time. Lee Harvey Olswall was a resident of New Orleans at the time it all went down. Jack Ruby was a bar owner in Dallas with crime connections to the Dallas underworld. He was not friends with Marcello but knew each other through their underworld dealings. The connection is real. . If Marcello was really the one who had JFK taken out for his brother actions, it stands to reason he could have had RFK taken out when he ran for President. What really happened who knows

 

[FreeDawg]

I’ve never noticed that connection. I have noticed other connections to those assassinations.

The best source I’ve read regarding Marcelo’s proximity to the decision making in the Kennedy assassination is Mob Lawyer, the autobiography of Frank Ragano who was the attorney for Santo Trafficante & Carlos Marcello. Great read if you’re in to that stuff. Written by legendary journalist Selwyn Raab. Ragano was so close to so much legendary stuff like the before mentioned as well as Cuba/Castro.

 

[FreeDawg]

Carlos Marcello was being pounded on by RFK. RFK was the Attorney General going hard after him. Theory is Marcello could cut the head of the snake off his troubles would go away. JFK was the head of the snake. Cut the head off the pounding stops. Marcello was head of the NO Mafia at the time. Lee Harvey Olswall was a resident of New Orleans at the time it all went down. Jack Ruby was a bar owner in Dallas with crime connections to the Dallas underworld. He was not friends with Marcello but knew each other through their underworld dealings. The connection is real. . If Marcello was really the one who had JFK taken out for his brother actions, it stands to reason he could have had RFK taken out when he ran for President. What really happened who knows

Dallas had an active mafia family back in the day which was small but their leaders came from Louisiana and were closely tied to Marcello. Although they were caught up in the infamous Appalachian meeting, going forward they were represented by Marcello on the national commission.

 

[FreeDawg]

I’ve never noticed that connection. I have noticed other connections to those assassinations.

Another funny story is Bobby deported, or kidnapped, Carlos and dropped him off in the jungle in South America. When Carlos got back he assaulted an FBI agent and went to prison for it making one of the only instances of direct violence on the FBI from American LCN.

 

[FormerBully]

So I when I lived in Baton Rouge I went to church with a guy that was in the FBI during the 60s and more importantly during JFK assassination. One of the reasons he lived in Baton Rouge is he refused to have a home in New Orleans. His house still to this day had crazy security. He told me when JFK was shot it was all hands on deck in NOLA. He said, it could never be proven but he always said when your brother investigates a crime family bad things happen.

 

[AleutianIslandawg]

Allow me to bring this full circle and tie this back into MSU sports. Frank Caracci was an associate of Marcello's, check his Wikipedia page. Frank's brother Vic 'Papa Vic' (you may have seen his doughnut shop next to the gas station in Louisville) owned Sta Home Healthcare (and also bought Frank Melton's old house in Jackson.) his grandson graduated from Jackson prep with Jake Mangum. Was a state fan but wasn't offered and ended up being a stud pitcher for Ole Miss

 

[TheBannerM]

I'll throw a plug in for my favorite Italian place in the NOLA metro - Impastato's. We go at least once a month and the Spidini is AMAZING.

I ate at Sal (Impastato) & Judy’s last weekend. It was great.

 

[TheBannerM]

My buddy's wife is from New Orleans. She has relatives whose professions were always described as "we don't really ask about that."

Waste management!

 

[o_Hot Rock]

Long, doubt many if any read it but I am bored at work so:

My dad was a constable in the late 1960's, 70's, 80's and worked in various places in law enforcement into the 2000's. I think he was 86 and still was working as a bailiff calling court and transporting prisoners. He died at 96 during Covid. Covid didn't get him as he was already dying from a fall. His feet had frostbite from WWII and could not feel the ground and he fell a lot late in life.

Mafia was not here but the Dixie Mafia was alive an well. Constables didn't really do much other than serve some papers as they were part time guys with no salary in those days (2nd job). Their only source of income was the papers they served and mileage reimbursement but somehow my Dad became one of the Sheriff's most trusted so when a contract got put out on the Sheriff, one was put out on my dad as well. I do remember a moonshine still in a building behind the house. Evidence rooms weren't an option as we had lots of things used in crimes stored from guns to cases of whiskey to moonshine still to... you get the picture.

The sheriff died of natural causes shortly after that contract was issued but they didn't pull that contract on my dad. My dad had an informant in that organization as all these guys knew each other. I was with my Dad when he went to confront the guy at his home that hired the hit. It was his damn cousin. I was about 12 and was left with a sawed off shotgun and a radio in the car. My dad put his gun and badge on the seat and told me to shoot anyone that came out if it wasn't him. The contract got pulled but my Dad had a hard time of it for a few years. He told that guy that if he comes after me, you better hope he kills me because if he doesn't I am coming to kill you. As a decorated WWII & Korean War vet that had fought hand to hand combat vs Germans for 2 1/2 years from Africa, Italy, France, Alps into Germany crossing Rhine river with Patton as an armored infantry foot soldier, sniper and scout, I think the guy believed him.

Oh, that house had a runway and airplane sitting out there. Lots of stories of what they brought in on that plane. He never caught them and neither did anyone else but that was the source of pot for this county for years. Now it's legal.

FYI< I was 12 so there is some of the IIRC stuff happening but that **** went down. One does not forget being left in the car with a shotgun while your Dad goes into an isolated house to confront someone, that was not the only time either. It was usually to serve papers but that's the only time he left his gun and badge behind.

 

[RBcoach]

Ya'll really need to do a deep dive on Bogue Chitto Mafia. Last time I heard about the crime boss, Bob. A guy named Joe told him to go pound sand or something like that, and now Joe is to be heard no more in Mississippi.

 

[Darryl Steight]

Allow me to bring this full circle and tie this back into MSU sports. Frank Caracci was an associate of Marcello's, check his Wikipedia page. Frank's brother Vic 'Papa Vic' (you may have seen his doughnut shop next to the gas station in Louisville) owned Sta Home Healthcare (and also bought Frank Melton's old house in Jackson.) his grandson graduated from Jackson prep with Jake Mangum. Was a state fan but wasn't offered and ended up being a stud pitcher for Ole Miss

What the 17. Vic is Frank's brother?? Damn how about that.

 

[Badon]

Downtown Ocean Springs has a restaurant now named Marcello’s. No relation to the family, just a nod.

 

[JY1947]

Allow me to bring this full circle and tie this back into MSU sports. Frank Caracci was an associate of Marcello's, check his Wikipedia page. Frank's brother Vic 'Papa Vic' (you may have seen his doughnut shop next to the gas station in Louisville) owned Sta Home Healthcare (and also bought Frank Melton's old house in Jackson.) his grandson graduated from Jackson prep with Jake Mangum. Was a state fan but wasn't offered and ended up being a stud pitcher for Ole Miss

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

It was New Orleans Mafia, In association with a certain country that we are currently doing its bidding, that had JF Kennedy killed.

FIFY

 

[vhdawg]

We should have collectively been nicer to Brandon Marcello, is what I'm taking from this.