crippled.” He was in good health and carried with him $40 in cash to fund his new life. His final destination, he claimed, was New Orleans, where he was joining his cousin, Pietro Marino.
Next to present himself to Inspector McVey was Calogero Renda. Like Rizzuto, he declared himself a laborer suitable for immigration and intent on becoming a citizen. He gave his next-of-kin as his mother, had $35 with him and, like Rizzuto, had plans to stay with Pietro Marino, whom he described as his uncle.
Also traveling with Rizzuto were four other men, one more from his hometown of Cattolica Eraclea and three from Siculiana, a Mafia stronghold just 12 miles to the south. The two towns were closely linked, socially and criminally, and citizens from each would later work together to build the Sixth Family into one of the world’s most successful criminal enterprises.
Mercurio Campisi was the next to be inspected. He was a friend of the Rizzutos who lived on the same street, Via Ospedale, in Cattolica Eraclea. His father, Salvadore, remained there. At the age of 37, Campisi was an experienced traveler. He had lived in the U.S. from 1911 until 1915 and again in the early 1920s and appears several times in passenger manifests and immigration records, shuttling back and forth between Sicily and the United States. Unbeknownst to officials in New Orleans at the time, just a year earlier he had been detained and deported after arriving illegally in New York. This time, Campisi had $50 with him and said he was heading to Seattle to join his uncle, Alfonso Vaccarino.
Next off was Francesco Giula, 32, from Siculiana. The men from Siculiana all carried more cash than their Cattolica brethren, in Giula’s case, $75. Like Campisi, Giula had also lived in Detroit in the early 1920s. He said his final destination was the home of his cousin, Sam Pira, in Los Angeles.
Giuseppe Sciortino, also from Siculiana, was the youngest traveler among them, just 19. His father, Salvadore, was listed as his closest relative. With $70 in his pocket, Sciortino, too, was heading to Los Angeles, he said, to the home of his uncle, Giovanni Marino.
At 43, Vincenzo Marino was the oldest of the S.S. Edam group. He also carried the most money: $90. Also from Siculiana, he had married into one of Sicily’s preeminent Mafia clans when he took Giuseppina Caruana as his wife. Marino, too, said he was heading to Los Angeles and the home of Giovanni Marino, whom he described as his cousin.
Of these men, only Francesco Giula would be lost in the mists of time. The other five would each show where their true interests lay in America. Between them, they would find their way into bootlegging, counterfeiting, arson, fraud, perjury and murder.
The Sixth Family had arrived in America.
CHAPTER 2
HARLEM, 1928
The Cotton Club, the most famous of New York’s nightclubs, was offering fabulous floor shows and musical revues exclusively for white patrons in the heart of Black Harlem. On stage were some of America’s greatest black performers: Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Ethel Waters among them. The bustling nightlife at this and similar swanky clubs catered to rich and famous patrons who motored uptown from Manhattan, while most of the people actually living in Harlem’s tenement apartments could not hope to enjoy the shows. Strictly enforced policies ensured that the only blacks inside were on the stage and the white locals were kept at bay by steep prices and a dress code. The action of Harlem’s main strip, packed with speakeasies, taverns, cafés, supper clubs, dancehalls and theaters—often controlled by America’s emerging mobsters—was just a few blocks from where Vito Rizzuto, a young man in his late 20s, settled soon after arriving in America from Sicily.
Contrary to what this Vito Rizzuto—the grandfather of the Vito of today—told immigration officials when he arrived aboard the S.S. Edam , he had no intention of staying in New Orleans. His
Next to present himself to Inspector McVey was Calogero Renda. Like Rizzuto, he declared himself a laborer suitable for immigration and intent on becoming a citizen. He gave his next-of-kin as his mother, had $35 with him and, like Rizzuto, had plans to stay with Pietro Marino, whom he described as his uncle.
Also traveling with Rizzuto were four other men, one more from his hometown of Cattolica Eraclea and three from Siculiana, a Mafia stronghold just 12 miles to the south. The two towns were closely linked, socially and criminally, and citizens from each would later work together to build the Sixth Family into one of the world’s most successful criminal enterprises.
Mercurio Campisi was the next to be inspected. He was a friend of the Rizzutos who lived on the same street, Via Ospedale, in Cattolica Eraclea. His father, Salvadore, remained there. At the age of 37, Campisi was an experienced traveler. He had lived in the U.S. from 1911 until 1915 and again in the early 1920s and appears several times in passenger manifests and immigration records, shuttling back and forth between Sicily and the United States. Unbeknownst to officials in New Orleans at the time, just a year earlier he had been detained and deported after arriving illegally in New York. This time, Campisi had $50 with him and said he was heading to Seattle to join his uncle, Alfonso Vaccarino.
Next off was Francesco Giula, 32, from Siculiana. The men from Siculiana all carried more cash than their Cattolica brethren, in Giula’s case, $75. Like Campisi, Giula had also lived in Detroit in the early 1920s. He said his final destination was the home of his cousin, Sam Pira, in Los Angeles.
Giuseppe Sciortino, also from Siculiana, was the youngest traveler among them, just 19. His father, Salvadore, was listed as his closest relative. With $70 in his pocket, Sciortino, too, was heading to Los Angeles, he said, to the home of his uncle, Giovanni Marino.
At 43, Vincenzo Marino was the oldest of the S.S. Edam group. He also carried the most money: $90. Also from Siculiana, he had married into one of Sicily’s preeminent Mafia clans when he took Giuseppina Caruana as his wife. Marino, too, said he was heading to Los Angeles and the home of Giovanni Marino, whom he described as his cousin.
Of these men, only Francesco Giula would be lost in the mists of time. The other five would each show where their true interests lay in America. Between them, they would find their way into bootlegging, counterfeiting, arson, fraud, perjury and murder.
The Sixth Family had arrived in America.
CHAPTER 2
HARLEM, 1928
The Cotton Club, the most famous of New York’s nightclubs, was offering fabulous floor shows and musical revues exclusively for white patrons in the heart of Black Harlem. On stage were some of America’s greatest black performers: Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Ethel Waters among them. The bustling nightlife at this and similar swanky clubs catered to rich and famous patrons who motored uptown from Manhattan, while most of the people actually living in Harlem’s tenement apartments could not hope to enjoy the shows. Strictly enforced policies ensured that the only blacks inside were on the stage and the white locals were kept at bay by steep prices and a dress code. The action of Harlem’s main strip, packed with speakeasies, taverns, cafés, supper clubs, dancehalls and theaters—often controlled by America’s emerging mobsters—was just a few blocks from where Vito Rizzuto, a young man in his late 20s, settled soon after arriving in America from Sicily.
Contrary to what this Vito Rizzuto—the grandfather of the Vito of today—told immigration officials when he arrived aboard the S.S. Edam , he had no intention of staying in New Orleans. His
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