Detroit Partnership
The Detroit Partnership, also known as the Zerilli crime family, the Tocco–Zerilli crime family, the Detroit crime family, the Detroit Mafia, or the Detroit Combination, is an Italian American Mafia crime family based in Detroit, Michigan. The family mainly operates throughout the Greater Detroit area, as well as in other locations, including Windsor, Ontario; Toledo, Ohio; and Las Vegas.
Italian organized crime in Detroit originated in Black Hand extortion rings, which preyed upon the southern Italian and Sicilian immigrant communities in the city. After a series of gang wars between various Mafia factions for control of Italian lottery and extortion rackets during the early 20th century, a period of stability followed under the control of Salvatore Catalanotte. During the Prohibition era, a gang of Detroit mafiosi known as the River Gang smuggled Canadian beer and liquor into the United States from Ontario and controlled most of the bootlegging market in Southeast Michigan. The Detroit Mafia also formed close links with Toledo, a major hub for bootlegged whiskey. Following another period of internecine warfare in the Detroit Mafia known as the Crosstown Mob Wars in 1930 and 1931, the modern Detroit Partnership was formed, led by Angelo Meli, Joseph Zerilli, William "Black Bill" Tocco, John Priziola and Peter Licavoli.
The Partnership consolidated power in the Detroit–Windsor region throughout the 1940s and 1950s. During Zerilli's reign as boss of the crime family, which lasted until his death in 1977, the Partnership maintained substantial influence over Detroit's labor unions, cartage and waste removal industries, and other legitimate businesses. The organization's membership peaked at approximately 100 "made men" in the 1960s. Utilizing its close links with the Sicilian Mafia, the Partnership became a major distributor of heroin in North America after World War II. During the 1960s and 1970s, the Detroit family infiltrated the casino industry in Nevada, "skimming" profits from The Frontier and the Aladdin in Las Vegas, and the Edgewater in Laughlin. Other pivotal operations of the organization included loansharking and illegal gambling, including horse race betting and sports betting, over which it held tight control throughout the Detroit–Pontiac corridor. After decades of avoiding major prosecutions by law enforcement, in part due to its secretive nature, the Partnership was weakened when the organization's leaders were indicted under the RICO Act as part of the Federal Bureau of Investigation 's Operation Gametax in 1996. Despite numerous convictions which resulted from the Gametax investigation, the Detroit family continues to operate in the 21st century. As of 2011, the Partnership consists of an estimated 40 or 50 "made" members.
As a result of an edict issued in 1931 by William Tocco and Joseph Zerilli, that members of the organization must marry the daughters, sisters, nieces or cousins of other members, in a measure to ensure loyalty, the Detroit Partnership has been affected significantly less by defections, law enforcement infiltration and infighting than other Mafia families in the United States. Only one "made" member of the Partnership has ever testified against the organization. The crime reporter Scott Burnstein has called the Detroit family "the picture of success, stability, functionality and diversification".
History
Early years
Three brothers originally from Terrasini, Gaetano Gianola, Antonio "Tony" and Salvatore "Sam", were grocers and fruit peddlers. They first came to the attention of authorities in late 1911 when their grocery store was raided and police confiscated $2,000 worth of stolen olive oil. Weeks later the mutilated corpse of a former Gianola associate, Sam Beundo, was found charred and left in a field. Beundo had allegedly tipped off law enforcement to stolen merchandise found in the basement of the Gianola store. The murder of Beundo established the Gianola brothers as a feared force within the Italian underworld.The Gianola–Adamo war (1912–1913)
Between 1912 and 1913, the Gianola brothers took over the Wyandotte area rackets gang starting a feud with Wyandotte Mafia boss Vito Adamo. The brothers felt they had secured victory after a series of attacks on the Adamo gang, which left several members dead. Adamo moved to Detroit and aligned himself with Mafia leader Pietro Mirabile, while the Gianolas sought to take over the illicit beer trade. The Adamos were able to fend off the Gianolas' first attempts by giving away free ice with their deliveries. The Adamo gang killed two Gianola gang members, William Catalano and John Jervaso, in April 1913. A string of killings and arrests on both sides followed.Adamo and two associates were put on trial for the August 1913 murder of Tony Gianola's top aide Carlo Callego. Shortly thereafter an attempt was made on the life of Tony Gianola. In the latter part of 1913, the Gianolas struck indirectly at the Adamos with the elimination of their associate and adviser, Ferdinand Palma, a former Detroit detective turned bank owner and racketeer. In November 1913, both Vito, 34 and Sam Adamo, 32, were gunned down by shooters near their home.
The Gianola gang then became the dominant Italian crime group in Detroit. They controlled the most lucrative rackets within Detroit's Italian underworld. Top members of the gang who would go on to lead the Detroit Mafia and rule the local underworld included John Vitale, Salvatore Catalanotte, Angelo Meli, William Tocco, Joseph Zerilli, Leonardo "Black Leo" Cellura, and Angelo Polizzi. Tony Gianola remained the leader of the gang running operations from the base in Wyandotte. His younger brother Sam secured a reputation as a tough enforcer who led a group of killers, and Gaetano remained the adviser of the group.
The Gianola–Vitale war (1918–1919)
The Gianola brothers had aligned themselves with mobster John Vitale, who had entered the liquor business with associates Sam Cipriano, Peter Bosco and Joseph Stefano. The Gianola-Vitale alliance and their "liquor combine" were the main competitors to the Adamo brothers. While the Gianolas had fought directly with the Adamos, Vitale and his associates had continued to run the affairs of their liquor business. With the elimination of the Adamo brothers, the Gianola gang's ascension gave Vitale the opportunity to expand his liquor business. Vitale became one of the gang's most trusted and influential lieutenants, along with Cipriano and Bosco. This relationship continued until Bosco was murdered on the orders of Tony Gianola after a disagreement over proceeds from their bakery business. Animosities over the Bosco killing grew and eventually conflict arose between the Gianola brothers and Vitale.In late 1918, Vitale broke away from the Gianola gang and established himself independently, aligning himself with the remnants of the Bosco group. What became known as the "Gianola-Vitale War" emerged as one of the bloodiest battles in the history of the Detroit Mafia. It left many dead on both sides as they vied for absolute control over Detroit's Italian underworld. Several of Detroit's future Mafia leaders became top Gianola gunmen during this time, including Giuseppe Manzello, Angelo Meli, Bill Tocco, Joe Zerilli, Leo Cellura and Angelo Polizzi.
The Vitale gang struck the first major blow to their rivals when Tony Gianola was murdered in January 1919. His brother Sam took over as the new leader of the gang. The Vitale gang made an attempt on his life in February 1919. Sam escaped unharmed, but his brother-in-law Pasquale D'Anna was killed. Sam Gianola ordered a surprise attack on the Vitale forces in retaliation. He ordered his gunmen to shower the Vitale headquarters with bullets precisely when D'Anna was being laid to rest during his funeral. No one was killed, but Vitale mistakenly shot and wounded one of the police officers who responded to the shooting and was arrested.
Three weeks later, Sam Gianola was arraigned on auto theft charges. The next day, he led a team of shooters into the Wayne County jail house in response to the killings of Tony and Pasquale, opening fire on three Vitale gang members. Joe Vitale and Salvatore Evola were each shot once and survived. Vito Renda was hit 21 times but lived just long enough to break the Mafia code of Omertà and reveal to authorities that Sam Gianola was one of the shooters. Gianola was arrested and charged with Renda's murder. During the murder trial months later, it took the jury 50 minutes to find him not guilty.
Two of Sam Gianola's sons died in a house fire in July 1919, and later that summer a sit-down was called so that representatives of the two factions could seek a peaceful solution. Detroit underworld legend claims that an agreeable arrangement was achieved and that a "peace pact" was drawn and written in blood by the two feuding Mafia chieftains. Some understanding was reached regarding the liquor rackets and the other criminal activities. However, with the passing of the Volstead Act in October 1919, new motivation for the mobsters presented itself.
With the advent of Prohibition, tens of millions of dollars in illicit profits were at stake in control of the new liquor import and bootlegging trade. In early October 1919, weeks before the passing of the Volstead Act, Sam Gianola was hit by a barrage of bullets originating from a car parked in front of a bank. Gianola was hit 28 times, staggered back into the bank, collapsed and died. John Vitale, the prime suspect in the murder, was meeting with his attorney at the time of the incident discussing the strategy for his upcoming trial.
With the death of Gianola, his gang split into two independent factions, both still opposed to John Vitale.
John Vitale's reign
At the start of 1920, Vitale had emerged as the top Mafia boss in Detroit. Although the Gianola gang had fractured, two dominant figures within the Gianola organization emerged to take control of splinter factions of young mafiosi. Giuseppe Manzello, a Gianola gang gunman whose youth and ambition attracted younger members of the gang, rose to some prominence at the age of 20. Manzello's rise was met with opposition by the Renda/Mirabile family, who were the last remaining resistance within the old Gianola gang to the younger, more liberal members. The Renda/Mirabile family were more conservative and had more in common with Vitale and his faction.On August 10, 1920, while Joe Manzello stood curbside talking to his close associates Angelo Meli, 23 and Angelo Polizzi, 21, a car sped by and showered the three men with bullets. Manzello was hit by eight bullets, Polizzi by seven. Meli escaped injury but Manzello and Polizzi were rushed to hospital. Polizzi eventually recovered; Manzello died days after the shooting as a result of his injuries. Manzello's followers demanded revenge on John Vitale who they felt had ordered the shooting.
Salvatore Catalanotte, known to his friends as "Singing Sam", was a Gianola gang lieutenant by the time he was 20. At the time of the Gianola-Vitale war, Catalanotte was the president of Detroit's Unione Siciliana. He became leader of a splinter group within the gang after the murder of his bosses. Catalanotte was a protégé of Gaetano Gianola. Catalanotte formed a strong alliance with Wyandotte area beer baron, Joseph Tocco and Hamtramck Mafia leader Chester La Mare. This faction became known as the Westside Mob.
The remaining Manzella group members were opposed to the Vitale leadership and on August 11, 1920, the group retaliated and struck back at Vitale by murdering Antonio Badalamenti, a leading Vitale gang member and the boss's nephew. The attack on Badalamenti in front of his grocery store was allegedly led by Joe Zerilli, the roommate and close associate of Manzella and Polizzi. Along with Zerilli, six other Manzella group members were arrested, including Zerilli's cousin Bill Tocco, Manzella's cousin Carlo Manzella, Leo Cellura, John Mangone, Vito Paraino, Joseph Delmonico and James Barraco. All the charges were dropped against them two days later.
The elimination of Joe Manzella left Sam Catalanotte as the dominant member of the old Gianola gang and as a sign of friendship he appointed Angelo Meli the leader of the Manzella group. Bill Tocco and Joe Zerilli were named as Meli's right-hand men. Meli reorganized the group under the "Eastside Mob" flag.
On August 18, 1920, police believed that several of those freed from being charged in the Badalamenti murder participated in the murder of Joe Vitale, the 17-year-old son of John Vitale. The killing may have been accidental with the true target was the senior Vitale, as gunmen directed a volley of bullets towards Vitale, his son and wife while they were leaving their home. Vitale was struck by 18 bullets fired from two moving cars at 3:00 am on September 28, 1920. No one was ever charged with his murder. The death of Vitale marked the end in the series of feuds. Relative peace reigned following his death and the ascension of Sam Catalanotte as the head of Detroit's Sicilian Mafia.
Catalanotte organized the remaining Mafia factions under a liquor combine that became known as the "Pascuzzi Combine". The combine was a liquor smuggling and bootlegging syndicate that gave each group and its leaders their own specific territory to operate, while working together for the overall expansion of Detroit Mafia power and influence. The Pascuzzi Combine created a unified and cohesive criminal organization that controlled liquor smuggling, bootlegging, gambling, prostitution, narcotics and other rackets and was the forerunner of the Detroit Partnership under the future Zerilli-Tocco regime.