GREAT NEWS! This browser does not support getting your location. One of the topics on the agenda at that ill-fated meeting was the brutal Corn Sugar War, a familial feud of the late 1920s that left eleven local mobsters dead. Featured Since he was on parole for six years, he received a prison sentence of 19 to 95 years in the third trial. It was complex and interesting," he says, noting his law firm had to build a new database just to keep track of all the evidence. BOARDMAN One-time Valley mob boss Lenine "Lenny" Strollo, 90, the former organized crime boss who cooperated with the FBI and provided testimony on several Youngstown-area killings and other. We've had a feudal government, divided up by mob nobility.". "I made the phone call," Strollo said. Everyone in Strollos gang, including some well-known characters like Frankie Lentine, got in the act. People Instead, the mob moved into rackets like gambling, loan-sharking, and controlling the vending businesses. Detroit Weekly payouts! O'Nesti and Rich pleaded guilty to conspiracy in March 1998. Verify and try again. Strollo testified they were lured in by money and, more disturbingly, legal protection. He became a government witness in 1997 after an arrest for . You may not upload any more photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 20 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 30 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 15 photos to this memorial. Altshuler went to Riddle, who recruited drug dealers Mo Man Harris and Mark Batcho. Family and friends may pay their respects on Monday, January 30, 2017 from 10:00 am until 10:55 am at St. Charles Borromeo Church, 7345 Westview Dr., Boardman. Another key figure working at the club was Ernie Biondillo, a close friend of Naples. One of those challengers was John Nardi, a reputed murderer and drug smuggler who was an officer of Cleveland Teamsters Local 410. Gains said that, though his life will never be the same, he wouldn't make a sentencing recommendation to the court. STATE OF OHIO, MAHONING COUNTY IN THE COURT OF APPEALS SEVENTH DISTRICT STATE OF OHIO, ) ) CASE NO. Agents also heard Strollo discuss bribing county officials with O'Nesti, Traficant's mob connection. It was not one of the Mafia's finest moments, though it might have been a fitting exclamation point to the Youngstown mob's collapse. She also loved her Golden Girls sisters trips to many casinos and enjoyed spending family time with everyone.Dee leaves to cherish her memories, her beloved sisters, Jennie Dundee and Vilma Cramer; as well as her loving brother and sister-in-law, Lenny (Antoinette) Strollo. The Pittsburgh crime family, [3] also known as the LaRocca crime family [4] or Pittsburgh Mafia, is an Italian American Mafia crime family based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Your Scrapbook is currently empty. Although he was facing a prison sentence, he refused to give up Strollo. And, in a surprise twist, Strollo said under oath, Carabbia's killing was done with the blessing of either Licavoli or Lonardo. January 28, 2004 at 12:00a.m. Webmasters Earn 75% comission on every sale you drive to our website. According to testimony at the trial, Riddle, Harris, and Batcho began targeting Gains in the spring of 1996, not long after his primary victory. Strollo, both hands clasped on his cane, showed no emotion as he sat and listened to Rich's remarks, sometimes glancing her way. It had all the hallmarks of the mob stories in movie theaters: colorful gangsters with nicknames like "Lemons" and "The Crab." T The Criminal Underworld Compilation Youngstown, Ohio Mafia You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial. Username. The judge said the federal Bureau of Prisons can continue to handle the medical needs of Strollo, who turns 73 in April. Mike Tobin 5 Ernest (Big Ernie) Biondillo - A strong-minded and business-savvy "button man" in the Pittsburgh mafia's Youngstown rackets, Biondillo, who came up under Little Joey Naples and Briar Hill Jimmy Prato, feuded with Lenny Strollo, Naples' replacement as the syndicate's Youngstown captain, and was shot to death while driving to work . But when he comes out to greet a visitor, Gains is more like the anti-Atticus. Saying he was "overcome," the aging federal inmate said he apologized to his family. YOUNGSTOWN - A former mob boss whose criminal enterprise helped earn Youngstown the name "Crimetown U.S.A" before turning federal witness has died at age 90. Subscribe now to get the latest news delivered right to your inbox. Current address 87 Meadowbrook Ave, Youngstown, OH 44512 $740: B. "So, they . Strollo had his own gambling operations, most notably the All-American Club in Campbell, a run-down suburb east of Youngstown where every flagpole seems to have a Greek or Italian flag hanging underneath its American counterpart. Random He was 89 years old. The last Mafia boss in Ohio came out of hiding Tuesday, long enough to be sentenced to nearly 13 years in prison for killing a rival, gunning down a prosecutor and corrupting a region's political system. Strollo was ultimately arrested and became a government informant. Add to your scrapbook. "I had lost any sensation of pain. As the top Mafia don in Ohio's Mahoning Valley, he presided over the killings and disappearances in and around Youngstown from his farm in nearby Canfield, where he tended his gardens and ate. "It's like riddles and puzzles to put together," Morford says. The mob knew the FBI was watching, but that proved to be only an occasional annoyance--like when agents raided a 1995 Super Bowl party, seized $15,000 and some gambling equipment, and arrested Jeep Garono and Danny Strollo, among others. 1,379,043,021 total records available. Prosecutors say that when it was closed in 1987, the All-American Club was the largest illegal casino in the country, generating $20 million a year for the Pittsburgh mob through card and dice games and video poker. "Well, it was a get-together of other members, and you took a, you took an oath, and it was drawing blood from your finger and burning a religious card and taking an oath of silence.". LCN was active well into the 90s there the union rackets and gambling. He was taken into custody Dec. 11, 1997, and has remained in protective custody since then, with his whereabouts kept secret. That raid would eventually lead to a major headache for Strollo, though he wouldn't know it until it was too late. By Gangsters Inc. Most assumed "Big Ange" Lonardo would take over, but underboss Milton "Maishe" Rockman insisted it was Scalish's dying wish that Licavoli be named boss of Cleveland's La Cosa Nostra. Garono, who once said a good way to get gamblers to pay up is by putting them in a bag and beating them with a baseball bat, agreed to racketeering charges four months later. See more ideas about youngstown, youngstown ohio, mob. The Saturday Evening Post memorably summarized the situation with a March 1963 story called "Crime Town U.S.A.," in which John Kobler wrote: "Youngstown has had 75 bombings, 11 killings in a decade, and no one seems to care." Ernie Biondillo often cut through this desolate street on his way to work at Youngstown United Music, which he ran after Naples's death. Riddle's ex-wife, Angela Scott, entered the courtroom wearing piles of gaudy gold chains around her neck, a stud in her nose, and a football jersey with the word "naughty" emblazoned across her ample back. Downtown Youngstown is often eerily quiet around 6 p.m., a ghost town when most cities and suburbs are still struggling through traffic gridlock. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. He was convicted of bribes, money laundering and racketeering. James "Jack White" Licavoli and the Carabbia brothers--Ronnie and Charlie--controlled the Cleveland family's interests. There is a problem with your email/password. She enjoyed crocheting, cooking and baking for her family and friends and made the best biscotti for everyone. The difference is the blase attitude we greet it with. YOUNGSTOWN One-time Valley mob boss Lenine "Lenny" Strollo, 90, the former organized crime boss who cooperated with the FBI and provided testimony on several Youngstown area killings and. & lt;a href=mailto:meade@vindy.com & gt;meade@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt; By using this site, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use. On the final count of gambling--guilty. In that trial, Terlecky's attorney was Stewart Mandel. Are you sure that you want to report this flower to administrators as offensive or abusive? Our service doesnt provide consumer reports and is not a consumer reporting agency as explained by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. In 1944, John Scalish, a suave old-school Mafia don, ascended as head of the Cleveland family. But that was seventeen years ago, when mob killers and hoodlums at least feigned having some class and panache. Patricia Meade You know what? "Lenny Strollo is the last of the main characters in the long, sordid history of crime in the Valley. You are unauthorized to view this page. From information like that, the FBI got a search warrant for Strollo's home, and, in January 1997, agents seized more than 40,000 pages of documents, including financial and gambling records. Lenine Strollo is 91 years old today because Lenine's birthday is on 04/21/1931. Failed to remove flower. In mid-1968, Armstrong was arrested for armed robbery, kidnapping, intentional shooting with intent to kill and rape. He pointed out the power of Charles "The Crab" Carabbia, who for 25 years helped run card and dice games for the Cleveland mob in working-class towns like Struthers and Campbell. All the information available through this website is gathered from public records. Lookup the home address, phone numbers, email address for this person . Kroner eventually got permission to bug Strollo's phones and sprawling Canfield farmhouse. "When I think of all the lives these people have affected because of their greed, it disgusts me. ", He quickly gets hold of himself, clears his throat, and gets angry. It was around this time that fourteen-year-old Lenny Strollo started hanging around a repair shop on Youngstown's east side, washing windows and cleaning up around the store. 8 years ago Scott Burnstein. He was convicted by a Fairfield County jury in 2001 of 32 crimes involving public money misspent on meals, trips and entertainment and then lying about it. But they didn't have the whole thing.". Clerks scurried about, and television cameramen took up positions on the courthouse stairs near Public Square. Why not thumb his nose at the feds one last time? "Jeff was very realistic from beginning to end.". The cat-and-mouse stalking continued intermittently until Christmas Eve 1996, when Riddle and his thugs finally got to Gains. She vividly remembers the first time she traveled to Youngstown with Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Morford, who pointed out the different areas controlled by the Mafia. She called Strollo a hypocrite for attending her father's funeral and shaking her hand. By then, the disheveled Traficant had crafted a populist message, which struck a chord with Youngstown's unemployed mill workers, and he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. But his monopoly of the corn sugar business was threatened when the Porrello brothers moved here from Sicily. Prato and Naples wanted Carabbia killed, to cement the Pittsburgh family's undisputed control over Youngstown. Local Mandy Jenkins, digital news pioneer who founded Mahoning Matters, dies at age 42. Three defendants, three counts each, nine guilty verdicts. Strollo implicated Altshuler, his friend of more than twenty years, in the murder of rival gangster Ernie Biondillo Jr. and attempted murder of Mahoning County Prosecutor-Elect Paul Gains. Financially strapped and with his campaign in need of funds, Appellant turned to Youngstown Mafia boss Lenine "Lenny" Strollo for help. The result: More than 70 convictions of mobsters and public officials, including a sheriff, prosecutor, county engineer, judges, lawyers and others. "The economy was down, so they needed high rollers to play," Assistant U.S. Attorney James Wooley says. The inner-city drug dealers. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. February 27, 2023, 5:15 PM. A. But after that, La Cosa Nostra--the Mafia--in Ohio is probably finished. Because of limited space, many of the more colorful stories could not be included in this column. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Dee was also the cherished aunt of many nieces and nephews as well as a great aunt and great-great aunt of many more. BOARDMAN One-time Valley mob boss Lenine "Lenny" Strollo, 90, the former organized crime boss who cooperated with the FBI and provided testimony on several Youngstown-area . Jeff Riddle's nephew Lavance Turnage certainly would be able to identify Youngstown's nouveau riche. The second shot missed Gains but hit his caller ID box, knocking out his home phone. Friends say Strollo always despised the FBI. "The mob thought they had lightning in a bottle with the drug dealers," says Milano. Judge O'Malley, meanwhile, permitted Melissa Biondillo Rich of Boardman to give a victim-impact statement. Riddle ran craps games with Altshuler at Sharkey's, a black nightclub in Campbell. In addition, University Heights attorney Stewart Mandel pleaded guilty last year to filing a false corporate income tax return. Strollo helped fix the case because he believed Turnage to be one of Altschuler's main guys, i.e. You mean that politician is likely going to be indicted on corruption charges by the FBI? Strollo preferred to exercise his power quietly, as in the virtual lock he held on the county prosecutor's office for at least twelve years. But if Strollo's contempt for the feds was increasing, so was their infiltration of the Youngstown mob. He'll die of a heart attack with two bimbos in Barbados.". Synenberg said Strollo's state time is up Dec. 8, 2008. By using this site, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use. Thanks for your help! Eventually the repairmen taught the young Strollo how to fix the various slot, pinball, and bowling machines that were common in the shot-and-beer watering holes around town that catered to mill workers. Ten months later, Strollo and his cronies were indicted. Gains left there at about 1 a.m. and stopped to buy cigarettes and cat food before he went home. Using the evidence garnered from those conversations, Morford and Kroner were able to get a court order allowing agents to hide microphones and tap the phones at Mr. A's eatery, a reputed mob hangout. Year should not be greater than current year. It's easy to view the mob as a romantic relic--with images of Al Pacino talking to Marlon Brando in a vegetable garden--or to simply write it off as an insular faction that runs a few gambling operations and rarely uses violence outside its own ranks. Word had spread quickly that the jury had reached a verdict in the racketeering trials of Bernard Altshuler, Jeff Riddle, and Lavance Turnage. "Jeff Riddle said, going into this case, 'Don't make me a snitch, and make my accusers look me in the eye,'" Milano says. "Who are the high rollers? On the first count, for the murder of Biondillo--guilty. It was a place of conflict and collaboration as it was considered Pittsburg's turf. The Crab Sleeps With the Fishes Mafia Altshuler was sentenced to one year in prison, Strollo fourteen months. "What we've had here is institutional corruption. Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request? The data offered through Vericora may be managed to assist someone learn about other person currently in their lives or search people from earlier period. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. During that trial, Traficant's friend Charles O'Nesti testified he delivered envelopes of cash to Traficant from Prato. Marker Address Rent ? Recreational Residential Senior Living Private Residence Private Residence Canfield, Ohio Strollo completed new construction of a 27,000 sq. The funeral home handling. Bernard Altshuler, an associate of one-time Valley mob boss Lenine "Lenny" Strollo, has died. He was arrested at his Canfield home and remained in protective custody until he reached a plea agreement and became a government witness. 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