Scranton, PA

and Pittston

This Mafia family sprang up in the Pennsylvania coal mining communities. From Pittston, Scranton and Wilkes Barre, the group spread into adjoining New York State, establishing a presence at Binghamton, Elmira and Apalachin. At times, the family encroached on the territory of the Buffalo family and might have been used by New York's Genovese clan to check the expansion of Buffalo Mafiosi on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border.

Map approximates the territory of the Scranton family.

1902 - Tomasso Petto (? to 1905). Fleeing prosecution for New York City's "barrel murder," Petto moved to the Scranton area and engaged in black hand extortion.

1905 - Santo Caressi (? to ?). Petto was murdered, apparently in retaliation for the barrel murder. Extortion victims and underworld rivals might also have had a hand in his death. At the time, Santo Caressi led a band of robbers and extortionists in the Scranton area.

1900s - Stefano LaTorre (March 11, 1886, to July 1984). LaTorre (right) looks to have been an early leader of a secret organization of underworld figures from Montedoro, Sicily.

1908 - Santo Volpe (1880 to 1958). In addition to his work as president of a coal company, Volpe (left) appears to have led a criminal organization in northern Pennsylvania mining communities. Volpe was Stefano LaTorre's brother-in-law, and joined LaTorre in Pennsylvania in 1906. Volpe was suspected of avenging the 1932 deaths of James, Arthur and John Volpe, not related to him, by participating in the murder of Pittsburgh boss John Bazzano. Volpe is regarded as one of the organizers of the secret alliance known as the Men of Montedoro.

1933 - Giovanni Sciandra (April 10, 1899, to 1940). Coal miner Sciandra appears to have taken control of day-to-day operations in the Scranton crime family after about 1933. Many assume that Sciandra rose to power upon the death of Santo Volpe. However, there is evidence that Volpe was alive and involved in Mafia affairs until 1958. The Scranton family of the 1930s seems to have been operating under the auspices of New York's Luciano-Genovese family.

1940 - Giuseppe Barbara (Aug. 9, 1905, to June 17,1959). Barbara took over the Scranton-centered Mafia about 1940. It is said that John Sciandra was killed in that year, possibly on orders from Barbara. Barbara, a former bootlegger, became "legitimately" wealthy as he gained control of drink distribution operations in western New York State (Binghamton region).

1956 - Rosario Bufalino (1903 to Feb. 25, 1994). Joe Barbara experienced a heart attack, and "Russell" Bufalino became acting boss for the Scranton area about 1956.

1957 - New York's Vito Genovese called a national Mafia convention at Joe Barbara's Apalachin, NY, estate. Police crashed the party, took down names and license plate numbers and established links between Mafia groups in different U.S. regions.

1959 - Rosario Bufalino (1903 to Feb. 25, 1994). Upon Barbara's death, "Russell" Bufalino became boss of the Scranton family.

1960s - Russell Bufalino's family began to emerge from under the Genovese family shadow (creating serious concerns within the New York area underworld). The Scranton organization started to move into the Buffalo, NY, region and into Canada.

1970s - Bufalino was one of the U.S. Mafia's most influential characters until his death in 1994. He is widely believed to have had a part in the disappearance of former Teamster President Jimmy Hoffa.

1975 - Edward Sciandra (? to ?). In the mid-1970s, Edward Sciandra, cousin to former boss Giovanni Sciandra, was believed to be calling the shots for the Scranton-Pittston family while Bufalino dealt with legal troubles.

1990 - In 1990, the Pennsylvania Crime Commission listed William D'Elia as a "significant member" of the Bufalino organization. It appears that he was being groomed as the full successor to Bufalino.

1994 - William D'Elia (c.1947 to ?). After Bufalino's death, D'Elia appears to have stepped up to the top spot in the crime family. In 2001, he was identified as the Scranton boss by Ralph Natale, the turncoat Philadelphia mob leader. Natale indicated that D'Elia had helped resolve disputes within the Philadelphia family.

2006 - D'Elia, 59, was indicted for money laundering in May. He was released only to be rearrested and charged with additional counts of money laundering as well as witness intimidation.