Mafia Chronology - Section I

Year	Month	Day	Location	Persons	Description of Event
				History of the Mafia Section I - Before 1900: Born in Sicily, the Mafia transplants itself into the fertile soil of the New World. Click highlighted names to open bios. 1860 1880 1890 Advance to Section II (1900-1919)
1282			Palermo, Sicily		"Sicilian Vespers" revolution against the occupying Angevins is traditionally viewed as the birth of the Sicilian Mafia. There are no contemporary mentions of the name "Mafia," a term which comes into being hundreds of years later, but the underground movement against Anjou may be seen as the ancestor of a later Mafia.
1792			New York, US		Coulter's Brewery is erected at the Five Points intersection of New York's Lower East Side, facing Paradise Square. The Brewery in later years and in a later incarnation as a broken-down tenement would become the centerpiece of New York's most impoverished and criminally active neighborhood.
1805			Genoa, Italy	Giuseppe Mazzini	Birth
1834			New Orleans, US	Joseph P. Macheca	Birth. (according to one source, his name was originally Peter Carvanna).
1837			New York, US		Coulter's Brewery on the Lower East Side becomes a tenement house. In the decades to come, it would become known as the "Old Brewery" and be inhabited by the poorest of the New York City's immigrant poor. It would be the site of numerous gang battles, murders and assorted crimes.
c.1845			New Orleans, US	Joseph P. Macheca	Macheca's father was sent off for a long prison stay and urged his wife Marietta to remarry. She married Giuseppe Mercieca (Joseph Macheca), who was originally from Malta and had established a fruit selling business in New Orleans. Young Peter Carvanna's name became Joseph Peter Macheca. Joseph Macheca Sr. later had two other sons with his wife Marietta.
1854			Corleone, Sicily	Antonio Morello	Approximate date of birth in some older sources for the most senior of the Morello-Terranova brothers. While a New York immigrant named Antonio Morello did earn a criminal reputation around the turn of the 20th Century, it now appears that he was not related to the Morello-Terranova family.
1857			Monreale, Sicily	Charles Matranga	Birth
1858			New Orleans, US	Charles Matranga	Family moves from Sicily.
1859			Palermo, Sicily	Giuseppe Mazzini	Revolutionary and former member of Neapolitan Camorra, Mazzini seems to have united Palermo opponents of Bourbon rule within a "Mafia" underground organization built along the lines of the Camorra.

1860	Apr	3	Palermo, Sicily	Giuseppe Mazzini	Supporting Mazzini's Republican movement, Mafia overthrows Bourbon authority in Palermo.
1861			Palermo, Sicily		Mafia appears to begin incorporating the groups of bandits in the Sicilian hills.
U.S. Civil War begins with Confederate attack on Fort Sumter - April 12, 1861.
1861			Texas, US	Joseph Macheca	Macheca becomes rich running Union blockades during the Civil War.
1862			Bisacquino, Sicily	Vito Cascio Ferro	Birth
1863			Sicily		The term "Mafia" becomes more widely known after a play about heroic Palermo jail inmates is produced.
Confederacy surrenders, ending Civil War - April 9, 1865. President Lincoln assassinated in Washington, DC - April 14, 1865
1865			New Orleans, US	Joseph Macheca	Wealthy Macheca returns to Louisiana, sets up steamship trading company, involves himself in local Democratic politics. Begins to organize the "Innocents" gang of Sicilian immigrants.
1867	May	2	Corleone, Sicily	Giuseppe Morello	Birth. (a.k.a. Peter, "The Clutch Hand.") Giuseppe Morello appears to have been the oldest of the Morello-Terranova brothers. He was half-brother to Nicholas Morello(Terranova) and Ciro and Vincent Terranova. A number of sources incorrectly place Giuseppe Morello's birth in either 1863 or 1870.
1867			Sicily	Rosario Meli	Meli, 22, possibly a key player in the youth-oriented early Mafia, is convicted of murders. He escapes from police.
1868			New Orleans, US	Joseph Macheca	Macheca's "Innocents" gang gets its first notice from authorities and media during election time.
1868			New Orleans, US	Rosario Meli, Raffaelo Agnello, Joseph Macheca	Meli turns up in New Orleans as a subordinate to Raffaelo Agnello, who is challenging the rule of the indigenous mob of Joseph Macheca.
1869	April	1	New Orleans, US	Raffaelo Agnello, Joseph Macheca	Assassin ambushes, kills Agnello in front of Macheca produce store. Agnello bodyguard pursues, shoots, loses the assassin.
1869			New Orleans, US	Joseph Macheca, Raffaelo Agnello	Macheca's gang puts down the remnants of the Agnello challenge. Macheca, recognizing that the symbols, gestures and language of the Agnello Mafia group carried much weight in the immigrant Sicilian community, subsequently patterns his organization and tactics after Agnello's group. Macheca's inclusion of some of Agnello's gang opens a line of communication to the criminal society back in Sicily.
American East and West are joined by railroad - 1869
1870			Monreale, Sicily		Stoppagghieri criminal group comes to light in Monreale. Competes with old=line Mafia there.
1871			Italy	Jim Colosimo	Birth. (a.k.a. "Big Jim".)
1871				Giuseppe Mazzini	Death - about 66 years old.
1872			Chicago, US	Jim Colosimo	Arrives in Chicago.
1874			Sicily	Antonino Leone, Giuseppe Esposito	Mafia gains international attention as leader Leone and his lieutenant, Giuseppe Esposito, kidnap English banker and demand ransom. Payments are slow. Leone reportedly mails first one ear, then the other, and then a portion of the victim's nose to his family. Reports of the mutilation appear to have been greatly exaggerated.
1875			Sicily	Antonino Leone, Giuseppe Esposito	Under pressure from the English government, the Italian army moves against Leone. Enduring significant losses, the army encircles Leone's band in the hills and captures the leader as well as Esposito. Leone is sentenced to life in prison (serves only a few years before escaping to North Africa), but Esposito escapes from police and returns to lead the Sicilian Mafia.
1875			San Francisco, US	Rosario Meli	Meli and some followers move from New Orleans to San Francisco in the hopes of establishing themselves as leaders of a Mafia group there.
Telephones first exhibited - 1876.
1877	Mar	19	Corleone, Sicily	Ignazio Lupo	Birth. (a.k.a. Ignazio Saietta, "Lupo the Wolf.")
1877			Sicily	Calogero Vizzini	Birth. (Known to Mafiosi as "Zu Calo" or Uncle Calo.)
1878	Sep	29	New Orleans, US	Salvatore Marino	Leader of the rebel Mafia movement known as Stuppagghieri (Stoppaglieri) dies after a bout with Yellow Fever.
1878	Nov		New York, US	Giuseppe Esposito	With authorities on his trail, Espositio decides to flee to U.S. Sails to New York via Marseilles, France. Notes that New York underworld is dominated by Irish gangs with some smaller, inconspicuous Italian/Sicilian gangs. Possibly gets to work organizing the Mafia in New York.
1878			San Francisco, US	Rosario Meli	Meli and several associates are accused of murder. An underling confesses to the killing and insists it was a matter of honor. No prosecution in the case. Group then charged, convicted and jailed for robbery.
1879			Italy	Antonino Leone	The legendary brigand leader Leone reportedly escapes from prison, disappears in North Africa.
1879			New York, US	Joe Petrosino	Future super-cop arrives in New York City.
1879	Spring		New Orleans, US	Giuseppe Esposito, Joseph Macheca	Looking for greener pastures, Esposito and some associates relocate from New York to New Orleans. Finds Macheca agreeable to sharing underworld leadership. Esposito renames himself Vincenzo Rebello.
1879	Oct		New Orleans, US	Giuseppe Esposito (a.k.a. Vincenzo Rebello)	Esposito marries Sarah Castagno. News travels back to Sicily, where Esposito left a wife and children.

1880			New Orleans, US	Giuseppe Provenzano	Esposito lieutenant Provenzano controls work on New Orleans docks.
1880			New Orleans, US	David Hennessey	Hennessey, who works in the New Orleans police force along with his cousin Mike, first becomes aware of a Mafia presence in his town.
1880	Sept.	8	San Francisco, US	Rosario Meli	American officials seek to deport Meli. He is moved to New York and reportedly boarded ship for Sicily. However, he seems never to have arrived at his destination.
1881	Jul	5	New Orleans, US	Giuseppe Esposito Tony Labruzzo David Hennessey	Learning of his Sicilian Mafia connections through his Sicilian wife and an informer, Tony Labruzzo, Hennessey nabs Esposito and turns him over to be deported. Esposito returns to New York City on July 13 for an extradition hearing.
1881	Jul	13	New York, US	Giuseppe Esposito	Esposito insists he is Vincenzo Rebello and has been wrongly identified. He cannot be deported until authorities can prove his identity through photos and witnesses. New York Sicilian community mobilizes to assist him.
1881	Sep	21	New York, US	Giuseppe Esposito	His identity proved, Esposito is deported, faces murder charges in Italy. Internal struggles erupt within Mafia organizations in New Orleans and New York as Mafiosi seek to determine who has betrayed Esposito.
1881			Rome, Italy	Giuseppe Esposito	Convicted of murders, Esposito is jailed for life.
Electric lights make their debut in lower Manhattan - 1882
1882			New Orleans, US	Giuseppe Provenzano, Joseph Macheca, Charles Matranga, David Hennessey	Two factions emerge in New Orleans after Esposito's arrest. Provenzano's group, comprised of more traditional mafiosi with ties to Palermo leadership, are angered that Macheca did not use his political influence to save Esposito. The Macheca-Matranga faction includes home-grown criminals. Macheca is able to use political muscle to have Hennessey brothers dismissed from police force.
1882			New York. US	Arnold Rothstein	Birth.
1882			Naples, Italy	Johnny Torrio	Birth. (a.k.a. "Terrible John.")
1883			Sicily	Vito Cascio Ferro	Assault is reportedly first official charge to go on Cascio Ferro's police record.
1883			New York, US	Joe Petrosino	Joins New York police force.
1884			New York, US	Johnny Torrio	Taken to live in New York by his recently widowed mother.
1884	Apr.	5	Staten Island, New York, US	Antonio Flaccomio, Camillo Farach	Farach's dead body is found in a field on Staten Island. His business partner (cigar store at 103 Degraw Street in Brooklyn), Antonio Flaccomio, is primary suspect. Police believe the two dueled with sword canes over a financial disagreement. Coroner's jury eventually decides that Farach's death is the result of a suicide, though he was stabbed both in his chest and his back.
1886	May	15	Corleone, Sicily	Vincent Terranova	Birth.
1886			Sicily	Giuseppe Masseria	Birth. (a.k.a. "Joe the Boss.")
1886			Castellamare del Golfo, Sicily	Salvatore Maranzano	Birth. (a.k.a. "Don Turridru.")
1886	July		New York, US	Antonio Flaccomio, John Farach	Flaccomio, in hiding in Buffalo, Chicago, Louisville and New Orleans since 1884, resurfaces in New York City. He appears before John Farach, brother of Camillo Farach, admits responsibility for Camillo's death and asks to be allowed to return to live in the city. Farach tells him to stay out of Brooklyn or he will be killed.
1887	Apr.	14	New York, US	Antonio Flaccomio	A friend leads Flaccomio to a dark spot at Manhattan's Jersey Street, near Crosby Street, and attacks him. Flaccomio is prepared for the betrayal and shoots his assailant in the wrist. The two men flee. Flaccomio runs a grocery nearby at 607 Third Avenue. He has apparently been condemned to death by regional Mafia leaders who believe he violated underworld codes by taking Camillo Farach's life in 1884 and by aiding a government investigation into Sicilian counterfeiting rings.
1887	Jun	6		Cesare LaMare	Birth.
1888			New Orleans, US	David Hennessey	A wave of reform sweeps through New Orleans and leads to Hennessey rejoining the police force as its chief.
1888			New Orleans, US	Rocco Geraci	Geraci is identified as top enforcer for the Macheca-Matranga group.
1888			New Orleans, US	Joseph Macheca, Charles Matranga, Giuseppe Provenzano	Authorities believe Macheca-Matranga organization has imported 320 members of the Stoppaglieri group from Sicily. Macheca-Matranga is preparing for all-out war against Provenzano's Mafia and begins challenging Provenzano's monopoly on the docks.
1888	July	20	Corleone, Sicily	Ciro Terranova	Birth. (a.k.a. Ciro Morello, "The Artichoke King," "The Boss," and in at least one reference "Whitey.")
1888	Oct.	14	New York, US	Carlo & Vincenzo Quarteraro, Antonio Flaccomio	Flaccomio stabbed to death in the first recognized Mafia murder in New York. Brothers Carlo and Vincent Quarteraro are accused of the crime, which occurred in front of the Cooper Union building at Eighth Street and Third Avenue, not far from Flaccomio's grocery. Flaccomio was drinking and gambling with acquaintances at La Trinicria restaurant at Manhattan's St. Mark's Place, owned by Giuseppe Canizzaro and Natale Sabatino. An argument erupted. Sabatino and Francesco Aita escorted Flaccomio out of the restaurant and down the street. Carlo and Vincenzo Quarteraro charged after Flaccomio with knives. Carlo stabbed Flaccomio to death. Police decided that the killing was the result of a vendetta linked to the betrayal of Sicilian counterfeiting rings and to the murder of Camillo Farach.
1888	Oct.	22	New York, US	Carlo & Vincenzo Quarteraro, Antonio Flaccomio	Carlo Quarteraro, believed to be the actual murderer of Flaccomio, has fled the country. His brother Vincenzo turns himself in to police, believing he is wanted merely as a material witness. Vincenzo is charged with murder. NYPD Inspector Byrnes announces to the press that the Palermo, Sicily, Mafia has branches in the United States, headquartered in New York City and New Orleans.
1889	Jan.	24	New Orleans, US	Giuseppe Provenzano, Vincenzo Ottumvo, Joseph Macheca, Charles Matranga, David Hennessey	According to Chandler, Provenzano attempts to negotiate a peace treaty with Macheca-Matranga, but his emissary, Vincenzo Ottumvo, is axed to death. (Note: This story is at odds with police records.) Hennessey attempts to intervene in the erupting conflict. Calls a conference and arranges truce but appears to be siding with Provenzano.
1889	Feb	11		Joseph Bruno Dovi	Birth
1889	Apr.		New York, US	Carlo & Vincenzo Quarteraro, Antonio Flaccomio	Vincenzo Quarteraro is acquitted of the Flaccomio murder. Disgusted police detective remarks that Italians in New York can go ahead and "kill each other."
1889			Palermo, Sicily	Ignazio Lupo	Lupo, just 12 years old, is believed to have murdered a man named Salvatore Morello (apparently unrelated to the Giuseppe Morello family). Flees to New York to escape prosecution.

1890	Jan	6	Corleone, Sicily	Nicholas Morello	Birth
1890	Apr	6	New Orleans, US	Giuseppe Provenzano, Joseph Macheca, Charles Matranga,	Provenzano forces ambush some Macheca-Matranga men at Claiborne and Esplanade Streets, killing two. Key Provenzano figures are arrested. Despite "underworld code," Macheca-Matranga gang provides information on the crime to police.
1890	May	1	New Orleans, US	Giuseppe Provenzano, Joseph Macheca, Charles Matranga	Open warfare begins between rival underworld factions.
1890	July		New Orleans, US	Giuseppe Provenzano	Provenzano defendants are convicted of the killings, but judge throws out the verdict and orders a new trial.
1890	Summer		New Orleans, US	David Hennessey	Police chief prepares to testify on behalf of the Provenzano group in second ambush trial Oct. 17 and to expose the Macheca-Matranga mob.
1890	Oct	15	New Orleans, US	David Hennessey, Joseph Macheca, Charles Matranga	Hennessey is ambushed near corner of Girod and Basin Streets at about 11:30 p.m. He was on his way home to 275 Girod Street. Boy walks ahead of him along the street and whistles a signal. Gunmen emerge and kill the police chief.Macheca-Matranga leadership is hauled in and charged with the assassination.
1890	Jan	1	Dedham, MA, US	Giuseppe DeLucca Giacchino Cocchiara	DeLucca convicted of Nov. 21 killing of Edward Cunningham. State witness Cocchiara is marked for death.
1891	Mar	11	New Orleans, US	Joseph Macheca, Charles Matranga	Jury finds Macheca-Matranga defendants not guilty. Jury tampering is evident. The group remains in custody.
1891	Mar	14	New Orleans, US	Joseph Macheca, Charles Matranga	Angry mob asembles, enters the jail and murders most of the defendants. Macheca is among those killed. Charles Matranga manages to survive the incident and becomes recognized head of New Orleans underworld.
1891			Cosenza Province, Italy	Francesco Castiglia	Birth of Frank Costello. His birthplace is usually said to be the village of Lauropoli. But Selvaggi names the town of Cassano Jonio.
1891			Castellamare del Golfo, Sicily	Salvatore Sabella	Birth.
1891			Corleone, Sicily	Jack Dragna	Birth.
1891	Aug	26	Brooklyn, US	Robert Castellano	Brooklyn police investigate threats against cigar store owner Castellano, speculate that a branch of Mafia is responsible.
1891	Oct	10	Castellamare del Golfo, Sicily	Stefano Magaddino	Birth.
1892			New Orleans, US	Giuseppe Provenzano, Charles Matranga	Provenzano family flees New Orleans as Matranga organization absorbs the remainder of the Provenzano mob. Matranga is supreme Mafia boss in the city.
1892	Dec	4	Brooklyn, US	Antonio Morello, Francesco Meli	Antonio Morello allegedly kills Neapolitan Francesco Meli of Brooklyn. Incident may represent a struggle over control of the Brooklyn docks. Morellos establish control bases in Brooklyn and upper Manhattan/Bronx. Lower Manhattan appears to be left alone (still dominated by Irish. Jewish gangs).
1893	Mar	8	New York, US	Nicholas Morello, Giuseppe Morello, Ciro Terranova, Vincent Terranova	Morello-Terranova family moves from Sicily to New York, affiliates itself with Sicilian mobster Ignazio Lupo.
1893			Sicily	Raffaele Palizzolo	Palizzolo is believed to have murdered Baron Emanuele Notarbartolo, who died after 16 knife wounds.
1894	Jan	9	Boston, US	Pasquale Sacco	Police speculate that a branch of the Mafia or the Camorra is behind the brutal razor slaying of Sacco.
1894	Mar	8	Providence, RI, US	Dante Regali, Augusto Ferrari, John Caproni	Regali and Ferrari stand trial for robbing and beating local banker Caproni.
1895	Jan	1	Washington, DC, US	John Edgar Hoover	Birth.
1895	Jan	27	New Orleans, US	Police Chief Dexter Gaster	Gaster reports that the local Mafia - thought extinct after 1891 lynchings - is once again active.
1895	May	25	Danville, IL, US		Mob lynches two alleged leaders of a criminal gang. Danville authorities warn local gangsters to leave town.
1895	Jun	21	Boston, US	Gioacchino Cocchiara, Giuseppe DeLucca, Antonio Caro Armblissa	Fearful that his friend Armblissa is conspiring with imprisoned DeLucca on a vendetta, barber Cocchiara shoots Armblissa twice.
1895			Chicago, US		1895 is generally regarded as the official start date for the Unione Siciliana in Chicago. The Unione became a national brotherhood providing support for Sicilian immigrants but was later contaminated by Mafiosi and turned into a criminal network. An earlier start date for the organization (or, perhaps, an earlier parent group) appears likely.
1895			Brooklyn, US	Giuseppe Balsamo	(a.k.a. "Battista Balsamo") Arrives in New York. Was an established Sicilian Mafioso. One source claims erroneously that he was the first American "Godfather." His authority was likely confined to a region of Brooklyn.
1895			New York, US	Francesco Castiglia	Frank Costello arrives in New York. Family settles into apartment on East 108th Street and begins operating a small grocery.
1895	July	4	Waterbury, CT, US	Antonio Spadola	Local Mafioso Spadola is implicated in the shooting of Nicolo Errico.
1895	Sep	11	Waterbury, CT, US	Antonio Spadola	Newspapers report that Patrolman Charles Fiore, expected to testify in the Spadola trial, has been threatened by members of the local Italian community.
1896			Sicily	Sam Carolla	Birth (orig. Sylvestro Carolla)
1897	Feb	6	New York, US	Louis Buchalter	Birth. (a.k.a. "Lepke.")
1897	Feb	20		Nicolo Licata	Birth.
1897			New York. US		Legend: Patriarch of Morello-Terranova clan is gunned down after a night of gambling.
1897	Oct.	2	Palermo, Sicily	Joe Profaci	Birth.
1897	Nov	14	Naples, Italy	Paul Ricca	Birth. (a.k.a. Paul DeLucia.)
1897	Nov	21	Risigliano, Italy	Vito Genovese	Birth. (a.k.a. Don Vitone.)
1897	Nov	24	Lecara Friddi, Sicily	Salvatore Lucania	Birth. (a.k.a. Charlie Luciano, "Charlie Lucky," Charles Ross.)
Spanish-American War - April 20, 1898, to Dec. 10, 1898.
1898	Jun	13	Springfield, MA, US	Natale Giuliano	Giuliano is charged with the shooting death of his in-law Pietro Fazzio on a busy street in broad daylight. Witnesses against Giuliano become suddenly forgetful.
1898			New York, US	Antonio Morello	Shot down. Possibly 44 years old. Despite published claims, this Morello was apparently not related to the Morello-Terranova underworld clan.
1899			New York. US	Charles Ubriaco	Arrives in New York and sets to work for Lupo-Morello group.
1899			Brooklyn, US	Alphonse Capone	Birth. (a.k.a. "Snorky," "Scarface")
1899	Dec	1	Palermo, Sicily	Gaetano Lucchese	Birth. (a.k.a. Tommy Lucchese, Luckese, "Three-Finger Brown.")

See this website's bibliography page for a list of sources used in compiling this timeline.

History of the Mafia