We talk with Nicholas "Nick" Parisi, award-winning author and Springfield, Massachusetts mob expert.

Nick has written two books on the Springfield mob including:

1. City of Betrayal: The Genovese Family's Springfield Crew
2. Mafia Confession: King of Bootleggers Murder

Why should you trust Nick?

First, Nick is the grandson of a man named Giuseppe "Joseph" Parisi, who was deeply involved in one of the most infamous events that became a cornerstone of how the Springfield Mafia came to be

Second, Nick grew up around the mob in West Springfield, Massachusetts. He was childhood friends with notable figures such as Ty and Freddy Geas, Anthony "Bingy" Arillotta, and others.

He is widely considered to be a local subject matter expert when it comes to the Springfield mob.

100 Years of Springfield mob history

This episode covers over a century of mob history in Springfield including the early formation of the mob and the eventual alignment with the Genovese Crime Family in New York.

• How immigration in the early 1900's led to a rise in Springfield's Italian population
• The rise of Italian street gangs and the Black Hand
• The rise of the city's first boss, Carlo Siniscalchi
• The rise of Nick's grandfather, Joseph Parisi
• The eventual dispute between Siniscalchi and Parisi that ultimately led to Carlo Siniscalchi's assassination at the hands of Nick's grandfather
• The murder trial of Joseph Parisi
• The rise and untimely demise of Antonio Miranda, successor to Siniscalchi and brother of Genovese legend Mike Miranda, and the alignment with the Genovese Crime Family (which still exists today)
• The subsequent rise and assassinations of Pasqualina (Albano Siniscalchi) Miranda as well as Michael Fiore

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We then cover the golden era of the Springfield mob between the 1930's into the 1990's:

• The four decade long career of Salvatore "Big Nose Sam" Cufari, long-time boss of Springfield and Capo within the Genovese Crime Family
• Cufari's successor, Francesco "Frankie Skyball" Scibelli in the 1980's and early 1990's as Springfield's boss and Capo
• Scibelli's successor, Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno in the 1990's as the new boss of Springfield

We then shift gears to cover the rise of a new generation of Springfield mobsters, who would ultimately be responsible for the downfall of the Springfield Mafia:

• The rise of the "Young Turks" including Anthony "Bingy" Arillotta, Ty and Freddy Geas, as well as Emilio Fusco
• The coup against Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno that ultimately led to his assassination in 2003
• The rise of Anthony Arillotta as Springfield's boss and Genovese Crime Family Capo after the death of Al Bruno
• The downfall of the Springfield mob after several key players decide to testify including Frankie Roche (Bruno's assassin), Felix Tranghese (long-time Springfield made member), and John Bologna (New York mobster and right-hand man to Artie Nigro, Acting Boss of the Genovese Crime Family)
• The ultimate decision by Anthony Arillotta to flip and the men cooperated against including Ty and Freddy Geas, Arthur "Artie" Nigro, and others.

We close the episode by discussing:

• The book writing and publishing process
• The 2018 murder of James "Whitey" Bulger by Nick's childhood friend, Freddy Geas
• Nick's perspective on making judgements about government cooperators

This was an epic discussion that I hope you enjoy and share! If you want more exclusive content like this, please sign up for my Patreon channel at https://www.patreon.com/GanglandHistoryPodcast

In this episode, we talk with Ray Franze author of ‘The Heights.’

The Heights is a historical mob fiction novel based upon the early days a very real and powerful crew of Italians in Chicago Heights, Illinois that became one of the most powerful, but least well-known, crews in the Chicago Outfit (as well as nationally).

Fox News Chicago has called The Heights “A masterful dive into mob history.”

• Buy the book: https://www.amazon.com/Heights-Ray-Franze/dp/1955058083
• Blue Handle Publishing: https://www.bluehandlepublishing.com/ray-franze
• Connect on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theheightsnovel/
• Connect on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@writerrayfranze

Here is a brief synopsis of the book:

“FALL IN LINE, OR FALL IN A GRAVE

After 30 years of research and scouring 5,000 pages of FBI files, The Heights was born. Inspired by true events and racketeers who ruthlessly fought their way into Al Capone's inner circle and expanded organized crime across the American West.

It's hard to believe Sal Liparello has survived long enough to enjoy a midday scotch on his California tomato farm.

The sixty-something crime boss from Chicago Heights helped take out Sicilian gangs, advised Al Capone on some of his biggest moves, and rubbed elbows with the Kennedys, Sinatra, and Marilyn Monroe - all while avoiding the likes of Eliot Ness and J. Edgar Hoover.

But as he surveys the fruits of his labor, Sal also remembers the cost of staying above ground and out of prison.

And all those decisions are about to catch up with him.”

In the episode, we dive deep into the book and talk about:

• The characters and their backgrounds
• The process of mixing real history within a fictional novel following a single character
• The question of historical fiction versus non-fiction writing
• The writing process and getting published
• Weaving in real characters such as Al Capone, Tony Accardo, and even Eliot Ness

Additionally, we dig deep into the real history behind ‘The Heights’ to discuss the real-life counterparts of some of the characters within the books. We discuss the origins of the Chicago Heights crew and how they eventually joined forces with Al Capone to become a part of the larger Chicago Outfit in the 1920's and beyond.

We also discuss their exploits and their potential part in planning the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Mentioned in this episode are:

• Francesco Lipperatti (also known by the name “Frank LaPorte”)
• Vincenzo Ameratti (also known by the name “Jimmy Emery”)
• Dominico Roberto (also known by the name “Dominic Roberto”)

These three men were the core leaders of the Chicago Heights crew in the 1920's that murdered their way to the top of Chicago Heights, formed partnerships with Al Capone and eventually were brought into the Chicago Outfit under Capone. They ran bootlegging in what Eliot Ness dubbed “the second wettest city in America” behind Cicero, Illinois, and provided shooters and brains whenever Capone needed them.

These three men ran Chicago Heights for the Outfit from the 1920's into the early 1970's before the crew was taken over by younger (and more violent) elements of the family. Yet, their history and relative importance in the national crime syndicate is relatively unknown.

Additional source: https://www.myalcaponemuseum.com/id193.htm

In this episode, we continue the “State of the Mafia (1967)” series. If you haven’t already, I highly encourage you to go back and watch ‘The State of the Mafia: Part One’ “The rules that hold us together” as it will be a very good primer for this episode’s content.

I’m calling this show ‘The State of the Mafia (1967): Part Two’ “Life or Death Obligations.” Like the first part of this series, this report will jump around a lot, but in the end I think you’ll still enjoy it, and hopefully it teaches you “a couple of three things.”

Okay, so let’s reset the stage here.

This 1967 FBI report, which we began to cover in Part One (again, go watch or listen to it first if you haven’t), is a veritable gold-mine of information. The aim at the time of creation was focused on providing an overall picture of LCN membership and activities throughout the United States as things stood in 1967. The report was declassified in 1996.

The originator of the report was a man named Robert G. O’Neil, and the report itself was submitted to the FBI Director at the time, one J. Edgar Hoover.

Sometimes in the course of historical research, you just find things that are simply too good not to share. In this case, I found this report by accident, got to reading it, and was very much enthralled by it. And based on the responses in the first episode (a 96% approval rating on YouTube), I think it’s worth continuing.

In Part One, I covered the following topics:

• The historical background of the Mafia and where it came from

• The ‘Commission,’ its members and purpose

• Organizational structure, terminology, qualifications and admission to membership

• Initiation rites and the differences between regions and families in ‘making’ ceremonies

In this episode, we’re going to continue along that track and get into:

• Membership obligations

• Advantages of La Cosa Nostra membership

• Security measures

• Transfers of Members

For the sake of time, we’ll stop this episode after transfers of members.

The report in its entirety will likely require four parts in total to fully cover, and will be linked in the description of the episode. Again, it contains references to 50+ cities and 196 informants in total. So, it’s a massive dossier and treasure trove of information on the Mafia.

Link to full report: https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=113324#relPageId=21

There are many different families, individual mobsters, and stories referenced in this episode. The episode bounces from the "who's who" of the American Mafia, to several lesser known characters, citing informant reports that were geared on teaching the FBI about the Mafia back in the 1960's.

And now, I'm bringing this information to your doorstep.