Cleveland crime family
Italian-American organized crime group / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Cleveland crime family, also known as the Scalish crime family or the Cleveland Mafia, are an Italian American Mafia crime family based in Cleveland, Ohio and throughout the Greater Cleveland area. The organization formed during the 1900s, as leadership turned over frequently due to a series of power grabs and assassinations. In 1930, Frank Milano became boss and was able to bring some stability to the family. Under the control of the family's longest-serving boss, John T. Scalish, who led the organization from 1945 until 1976, the Cleveland Mafia exerted influence over the Teamsters union, profiting from labor racketeering and the skimming of revenue from Las Vegas casinos.
| Founded | c. 1920; 104 years ago (1920) |
|---|---|
| Founder | Joseph "Big Joe" Lonardo |
| Founding location | Cleveland, Ohio, United States |
| Years active | c. 1920–present |
| Territory | Primarily Greater Cleveland, with additional territory throughout Ohio, Northern Kentucky, Western Pennsylvania and Western New York, as well as South Florida and Las Vegas[1] |
| Ethnicity | Italians as "made men" and other ethnicities as associates |
| Membership (est.) | 60 made members (1950s)[2] |
| Activities | Racketeering, murder, bombing, drug trafficking, skimming, labor racketeering, extortion, prostitution, illegal gambling, construction, garbage collection, loansharking, bookmaking, bribery, assault[3] |
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On May 26, 1976, Scalish went under anesthesia for heart surgery, but died while on the table. Because of his untimely death, Scalish failed to choose a successor, creating chaos within the Italian mafia. This chaos allowed for the Irish-Italian rivalry to expand. Following his death, a violent gang war erupted in the streets of Cleveland during the late 1970s when Irish mobster Danny Greene attempted to take over criminal racketeering in the city. In the spring of 1976, Italian mob leader James T. Licavoli hired a hitman named Ray Ferritto to kill Danny Greene[5]. On October 6, 1977, Licavoli succeeded. The explosion of a car bomb planted by Ray Ferritto killed Danny Greene, halting the Irish coup. The war drew significant law enforcement attention reducing membership and influence of the Cleveland family. The crime family nearly ceased to exist in the 1990s after many high-ranking members were imprisoned. Much of the family's crippling can be attributed to Jimmy Fratianno, who turned and provided the FBI with incriminating information[6]. During the early 2000s, law enforcement agencies believed the Cleveland family was a smaller group but was attempting to rebuild itself. Currently,[when?] the Cleveland Mob still exists with very few made men, led by Russel "RJ" Papalardo who is supported by the remaining Cosa Nostra families in Chicago, Detroit, and North Jersey.