While the Los Angeles Mafia never rose to the same notoriety as its counterparts in New York and Chicago, the crime family infiltrated Hollywood, had a hand in the growth of Las Vegas, and terrorized the West Coast for decades.
While New York and Chicago may be the first city to come to nous when thinking of the mob , the Los Angeles Mafia also played a major role in the history of the condemnable constitution . The L.A. crime family infiltrate the Hollywood film industry , rubbed elbows with corrupt California government official , and even helped impart about the upgrade of Las Vegas .
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The group attain its peak in the forties and ' L under the dominion of mob boss Jack Dragna , who put the L.A. Mafia on the national stage . In fact , Dragna ’s organization was so successful that it won him a spot on the Commission , and he became the only boss W of Chicago to ever make a hindquarters .
Sam Matranga and Tony Buccola, pictured in the top right of the illustration, were early leaders of the organized crime scene in Los Angeles.Matranga, originally from Sicily, built a network of criminal activities, including extortion and protection rackets. Buccola, his successor, continued to expand the family’s influence, solidifying its power in the region and laying the groundwork for future mob operations in Los Angeles.
Once Dragna died in 1956 , however , the menage ’s power start a tiresome but unfaltering decline . Under Chief William H. Parker , the L.A.P.D. crack down on organized crime through its special project force know as the " Gangster Squad . " What ’s more , Dragna ’s heir , Frank DeSimone , proved to be an inept drawing card , rent the L.A. law-breaking family spiral out of control .
Less than a 10 after Dragna ’s destruction , most members of the Los Angeles Mafia had left the city entirely — and the California limb of the gang never returned to the heights it had once reached .
The Origins Of The Los Angeles Mafia
The Los Angeles Mafia ’s early years were n’t all that different from those of its East Coast vis-a-vis . It began with a mathematical group of Italian - Americans living in Los Angeles who had former tie to the Black Hand and other street gangs . Some of the early members of L.A. ’s organized law-breaking scene were Rosario " Sam " Matranga , Salvatore Matranga , Pietro " Peter " Matranga , and Antonio " Tony " Matranga .
In 1906 , Black Hand leader Joseph Ardizzone and Matranga work party extremity George Maisano fly into a variance and asked a criminal name Joseph Cuccia to mediate . Cuccia just so happened to be Ardizzone ’s relative , so he sided with him . The Matrangas were n’t keen on this , and they made threat toward Cuccia — leading Ardizzone to kill Maisano and then flee .
Public DomainJoseph Ardizzone was the first prescribed boss of the Los Angeles Mafia , but he mysteriously disappeared in 1931 , and his dead body was never find , leading to numerous theories about his luck .
Two months after , in September 1906 , Tony Matranga hunted Cuccia down and dissipate him utterly as well . The murder at long last secured the Matranga family ’s place at the top of the organise crime ladder in Los Angeles . To really establish their foothold , they also begin openly cooperate with constabulary and feeding the authorities selective information on their competition in a mutually good arrangement .
But in 1914 , Ardizzone returned to L.A. , reignite his feud with the Matranga family . Over the next few years , the perpetual fighting steadily wore the Matrangas down , and Ardizzone ’s crew only gained more great power with the onset of forbiddance and the rise of bootlegging .
It took Vito Di Giorgio — cousin to New York ’s Morello sept genus Bos Giuseppe Morello — to finally infuse a sense of Holy Order in the Los Angeles criminal offence family after he arrived in the city in 1920 . His tenure was short - lived , though . He was killed while getting a haircut in Chicago in 1922 , and his underboss , Rosario DeSimone , took over .
In the thick of all this turmoil , however , a new aspect had entered the scene . before long after Ardizzone returned to California , he partnered up with Jack Dragna , who help him run his bootlegging performance . By 1931 , with Dragna ’s aid , Ardizzone had truly solidify himself as the drawing card of the L.A. offense scene — and then , he mysteriously vanished .
The California Crime Family Under Jack Dragna
The Dragna era of the Los Angeles Mafia marked the reliable beginning of the California crime family ’s aureate eld . WhenProhibition ended , Dragna successfully pivoted his gang into new ventures like loanword sharking and illegal gambling .
Despite Dragna ’s succeeder as the first retentive - terminal figure chief of the L.A. Mafia , the East Coast bosses were n’t confident in his leading . He was far less ruthless than his counterpart . In fact , theLos Angeles Timesonce referred to Dragna as " everything Mickey Cohen was not : cautious to a fault and hypersensitized to limelight . "
Los Angeles Public LibraryJack Dragna pull in the moniker " The Capone of Los Angeles " due to his powerful and influential position in the L.A. offence family , much like Al Capone ’s dominance in Chicago .
For a clock time , that care served Dragna well , but he faced another problem : There simply were n’t as many Italians on the West Coast as there were on the East Coast . Dragna wound up recruiting member from all across the land to heap his ranks . This have in mind that Dragna had access to some of the most capable men in the patronage , include " Handsome Johnny " Roselli , Nick " Old Man " Licata , Aladena " Jimmy the Weasel " Fratianno , Dominic Brooklier , and Frank " Bomp " Bompensiero .
But there was one mobster who was a minute more uneasy about partner up with Dragna , and that wasBugsy Siegel . Siegel had been transmit byLucky Lucianoto supervise Mafia interests on the West Coast , particularly in Las Vegas , where the mob ’s play businesses were flourishing .
However , Siegel was clever and silver - tongued . He weaseled his way into Hollywood rotary , make believe a fair routine of associate degree among some of the era ’s rise up stars and infiltrating several movie manufacture spousal relationship — which he would then extort , take in a pretty cent . But Siegel ’s fallout with the New York families over the Flamingo Hotel led to his own demise , and with it , the rise ofMickey Cohen .
Los Angeles Public LibraryBugsy Siegel ’s corpse at the medical tester ’s office after his slaying in 1947 .
Cohen , Siegel ’s chief deputy , did n’t show Dragna ’s family line the same respect as his predecessor . Instead , he start growing his own crime syndicate , and for a time , it looked as if it might match Dragna ’s . Viewing Cohen as a threat , Dragna tried to enroll some of his Italian men and kill myriad others . Then , in 1951 , Cohen was imprisoned for tax evasion , and the Los Angeles Mafia took over his gambling operations .
But Dragna ’s good chance would n’t last forever .
The Downfall Of The Los Angeles Mafia
The 1950s check off another major turn point for the Los Angeles law-breaking family — but not for the better . William H. Parker became the L.A.P.D. chief of police and , unlike his more corrupt predecessor , he perfect in on organized crime , forming his " Gangster Squad " to impart down both Dragna ’s and Cohen ’s class .
The Los Angeles crime syndicate was dealt another black eye in 1956 when Jack Dragna die of a heart onslaught and Frank DeSimone , a former attorney , took over . This decision caused " Handsome Johnny " Roselli , who had been seen as the more logical choice to conduce the class , to depart back to Chicago . Other members keep abreast , including " Jimmy the Weasel " Fratianno . With DeSimone in commission , things really started to fall asunder .
DeSimone ’s public paradigm came crumbling down when he was discovered at the ill - fatedApalachin meeting , which make him to retreat further from action that he feel would attract constabulary attention . Members of the New York mob became progressively frustrated with him , leading DeSimone to grow even more paranoid and refuse to leave his home at night . Still , he managed to stay in charge for 11 yr until his destruction in 1967 .
Milano kept the L.A. rout hanging on by a ribbon despite law enforcement ’s proficient efforts , but by the nineties , there were only an estimated 20 prescribed members in the Los Angeles Mafia — and the golden years of the California crime fellowship had well and truly passed .
After learning about the history of the Los Angeles Mafia , read about13 ring bosseswho defined the Mafia . Then , read about thedeadliest Mafia hitmenin history .
Public DomainJoseph Ardizzone was the first official boss of the Los Angeles Mafia, but he mysteriously disappeared in 1931, and his body was never found, leading to numerous theories about his fate.
Los Angeles Public LibraryJack Dragna earned the nickname “The Capone of Los Angeles” due to his powerful and influential position in the L.A. crime family, much like Al Capone’s dominance in Chicago.
Los Angeles Public LibraryBugsy Siegel’s remains at the medical examiner’s office after his murder in 1947.
