Leonard Falzone (Jan. 26, 1935, to Nov. 12, 2016)

Born Jan. 26, 1935, in Buffalo, Leonard F. Falzone was a longtime leader of the mob-plagued Laborers International Union (LIUNA) Local 210. Convicted of racketeering in 1994, Falzone was sentenced to five years in federal prison. Efforts by authorities to prosecute him for more violent offenses were unsuccessful.

Falzone's association with the Laborers began in the early 1970s - about the same time as a misdemeanor conviction for possession of stolen property.

Eavesdropping federal agents heard Falzone's name mentioned in 1977, as mobster John C. Sacco conversed with his brother Richard, a veteran Buffalo police officer. John Sacco described a failed plan for the murder of Faust "Frosty" Novino. The underworld had decided that Novino was partly responsible for the 1974 killing of Albert Billiteri, Jr., and put a contract out on Novino. During the conversation, John Sacco mentioned that Leonard Falzone was one of the men who participated in the botched hit. While prosecutors never forgot the connection, they were unable to build a credible case against Falzone.

Early in March of 1980, police and federal authorities suspected Falzone of involvement in the daytime, workplace killing of FBI informant William "Billy the Kid" Sciolino. A car known to be frequently used by Falzone had been observed and ticketed for illegal parking at a location where the killers' getaway vehicle was subsequently found. At Falzone's home, detectives discovered a number of items - including a .25-caliber pistol - that had been reported stolen in burglaries in the early 1970s. Falzone was questioned about the Sciolino murder and processed on a charge of possession of stolen property. That charge was later dismissed, when a judge found problems with the search warrant used by detectives.

The Sciolino case quickly grew into federal and county grand jury probes of the underworld of western New York and the corruption of Laborers Local 210.

The investigations resulted in no indictments for the Sciolino murder or the apparently related killing of Carl J. Rizzo (Rizzo's decomposing remains were discovered in the trunk of an abandoned car on April 10, 1980.) In spring, 1983, however, seven officers of Laborers Local 210 were indicted on charges of conspiracy and embezzlement of union funds. The defendants were Leonard Falzone, brothers John A. Pieri and Joseph R. Pieri, Daniel Domino, Victor Randaccio, Daniel Sansanese Jr. and Joseph Todaro Jr. Federal agents stated that the defendants had misused as much as $150,000 of union funds on unauthorized vacations through a five-year period.

In the early 1990s, Faust Novino agreed to testify about the failed murder plot against him. He was called as a witness in a perjury trial of Vincent "Jimmy" Sicurella, believed to be one of five gunmen who fouled up the Novino hit. On the stand, Novino did not name defendant Sicurella as an attacker, but indicated that Leonard Falzone, John Sacco, Frankie Billiteri and someone who "looked like Joe Todaro Jr." made the attempt on his life. According to Novino, he drew a handgun and shot his way out of a trap. He recalled colliding with Falzone, putting his pistol to Falzone's chest and pulling the trigger. But, he said, the weapon jammed.

Federal prosecutors, armed with turncoat witnesses, tape recorded conversations and statements from problem gamblers who turned into unwilling loanshark customers, began the racketeering case against Leonard Falzone in May 1994. At the time, Falzone supervised the $82.8 million pension fund of Laborers Local 210. Prosecutors said he also happened to be a capodecina in the Buffalo Crime Family. On July 1, a jury found Falzone guilty of racketeering and racketeering conspiracy. Co-defendant Joseph Sacco was convicted of conspiracy but acquitted of a racketeering charge.

At the time of Falzone's conviction, a jubilant law enforcement official claimed that Falzone was the "No. 2 or, at the very least, the No. 3 man in organized crime in Buffalo."

Falzone resigned from his officer position with Local 210. On Jan. 18, 1995, he was sentenced to five years and a month in federal prison. Sentencing Judge Richard Arcara stated: "The court does not question that you are a caring, loyal father and husband... But you are a complex man, almost like a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."

As Falzone entered federal prison, U.S. Justice Department officials entered into a consent agreement with the Laborers International Union under which organized crime influence would be eliminated from the union. Local 210 resisted the cleanup effort. In 1996, control over Local 210 was assumed by the international union and Local 210 leaders were replaced. In June of that year, the international announced that 28 members of Local 210 were known mobsters or mob associates. It launched a disciplinary effort to exclude sixteen reputed Buffalo Crime Family members from any further involvement in the union. Leonard Falzone's name appeared prominently in that list.

Reporting on Falzone's death at the age of 81, the Buffalo News noted that the previous twenty years had been quiet ones for Falzone: "His thick Buffalo News file contains not a single story after 1996."

Falzone died at his Amherst, New York, home on Nov. 12, 2016.

Link:

• "Leonard Falzone, 1935-2016" (Writers of Wrongs - 16 Nov 2016)

Sources:

• Hunt, Thomas, and Michael A. Tona, DiCarlo: Buffalo's First Family of Crime, Volume II - From 1938, 2013. Buffalomob.com/
• SA Buffalo, "FBI Prosecutive Report of Investigation…," File no. BU 159A-147, Sept. 29, 1983.
• "Magaddino La Cosa Nostra family racketeering enterprise investigation," John R. Catanzaro FBI file, Sept. 30, 1996, p. 1, 4.
• "In Memory of Leonard F. Falzone," Obituary, Lombardo Funeral Home, Lombardofuneralhome.com

•  "FBI bares alleged talks about Billiteri 'hit,' others," Buffalo Courier Express, June 28, 1977.
• "Police to quiz car's owner in Sciolino death," Buffalo Evening News, March 10, 1980.
• "Man sought in Sciolino case located," Buffalo Courier Express, March 11, 1980.
• Coppola, Lee, and Walter Fuszara, "Lawyer meets with probers in Sciolino slaying," 1Buffalo Evening News, March 11, 1980.
• "Charges against Falzone dismissed," Buffalo Courier Express, May 21, 1980.
• Hammersley, Margaret, "Misuse of funds charged," Buffalo News, April 29, 1983.
• Hammersley, Margaret, "Other U.S. probes seen linked to Local 210 arrests," Buffalo News, April 30, 1983.
• "Innocent plea made by Falzone in probe of union embezzling," Buffalo News, May 2, 1983.
• Herbeck, Dan, "Prosecutor makes case against Falzone bail," Buffalo News, Aug. 25, 1989, p. C1.
• Schulman, Susan, "Sacco gave information on unsolved crimes, official says," Buffalo News, Oct. 26, 1990.
• Herbeck, Dan, "Novino set to testify as federal witness," Buffalo News, Nov. 23, 1992.
• Buckham, Tom, "Novino describes escape from ambush in 1976 and identifies 4 of 5 suspects," Buffalo News, April 13, 1993.
• "Elfvin sentences Sicurella to minimum of 21 months for perjury," Buffalo News, June 12, 1993, p. B12.
• Herbeck, Dan, "Trial is latest in 25-year try to nab Falzone," Buffalo News, May 5, 1994.
• Herbeck, Dan, "Jury in loansharking trial hears tapes of Falzone demanding collection of debt," Buffalo News, May 20, 1994.
• Buckham, Tom, "Jury hears FBI tapes in loansharking trial," Buffalo News, May 24, 1994.
• Anzalone, Charles, "Spano says Vegas venture needed Falzone’s backing," Buffalo News, May 26, 1994.
• Herbeck, Dan, "Mob-linked figure guilty as racketeer," Buffalo News, July 2, 1994.
• Herbeck, Dan, "Falzone gets five-year term as loan shark," Buffalo News, Jan. 19, 1995.
• Herbeck, Dan, and Michael Beebe, "Local 210 told to purge mob ties," Buffalo News, Feb. 16, 1995. 
• Herbeck, Dan, "Laborers Local 210 sues to block mob-cleanup plan," Buffalo News, March 15, 1995.
• Herbeck, Dan, "Union says mob runs Local 210," Buffalo News, Dec. 14, 1995.
• Herbeck, Dan, "Ouster set for leaders of Local 210," Buffalo News, Feb. 23, 1996.
• Herbeck, Dan, "Union links 28 members of Local 210 to mob," Buffalo News, June 19, 1996, p. B1.
• "Mob’s control of Local 210 has a long history," Buffalo News, Dec. 5, 1999.
• Herbeck, Dan, "Local 210 gets clean bill of health," Buffalo News, Jan. 26, 2006.
• "Leonard F. Falzone," Obituaries, Buffalo News, Nov. 14, 2016, Buffalonews.com. 
• Warner, Gene, "Death of Leonard F. Falzone stirs memories of organized crime probe," Buffalo News, Nov. 15, 2016, Buffalonews.com. 

Salvatore Pieri (Jan. 29, 1911, - Aug. 24, 1981)

Sam Pieri in 1931

Salvatore "Sam" Pieri was born Jan. 29, 1911, in Buffalo to Sicilian immigrants Giovanni and Ignazia (Anna) Ciresi Pieri. Giovanni and Ignazia were both born in Montemaggiore Belsito, a hilly Sicilian region north of Valledolmo and Vallelunga. Giovanni entered the U.S. on April 20, 1893. Ignazia entered July 1, 1898. They were married in Buffalo's St. Anthony's Roman Catholic Church on Nov. 16, 1900.

Sam was the seventh of nine children born to the couple. His siblings were Salvatora "Elsie" (married to Joseph DiCarlo on Nov. 29, 1924), Vincenza "Genevieve," Adelina, Giovanni "Johnny Rai," Giuseppina "Josephine," Giuseppe "Joe," Stefano "Steve," and Horace "Hobbie."

He first ran into trouble with the law when he was just 10 years old. He was arrested Aug. 7, 1921, for malicious mischief. He was later discharged. Grand larceny and juvenile delinquency charges against him were similarly dropped in 1926. He was charged with truancy on Oct. 27, 1927, and turned over to a truant officer. Sam completed seventh grade and then did not return to school.

As a result of Pieri's first criminal conviction, for second-degree larceny, he was sentenced in June 1928 to an indefinite period of probation.

Pieri in 1933

Pieri and brothers John and Joe became members of the DiCarlo Gang. Working for their brother-in-law Joseph DiCarlo, they extorted payments from operators of craps games and bookmaking parlors.

Sam Pieri and fellow DiCarlo Gang member Joe "the Goose" Gatti were arrested Jan. 6, 1931, along with two other alleged accomplices. They were charged with first-degree robbery in connection with the $3,000 armed holdup of a gambling establishment in Rochester. The charge was eventually dropped.

Pieri was less fortunate later that year. On Sept. 2, he and two other men were arrested as they unloaded 300 quarts of Canadian ale from a rowboat at the foot of Buffalo's Hudson Street. (A fourth member of the bootlegging group escaped by swimming away.) Pieri was convicted of bootlegging and tariff violations and sentenced to 60 days in Erie County Prison.

Pieri and "Goose" Gatti escaped conviction on another first-degree robbery charge in the spring of 1933. By the end of that year, 22-year-old Pieri made Buffalo Police Commissioner Austin J. Roche's list of Public Enemies (No. 12).

On Jan. 23, 1934, Pieri married Caroline LoTempio. DiCarlo Gangster and future Cleveland crime boss John "Peanuts" Tronolone was Pieri's best man.

Pieri, Tronolone, Anthony "Lucky" Perna and others were arrested in spring 1935 for violating the new Brownell Law, which made consorting of criminals unlawful. Though the men were convicted, their six-month prison sentences were suspended.

Pieri in 1969

Pieri earned the respect of western New York crime boss Stefano Magaddino the following year, as he imposed mob discipline upon a relative. The LoTempio brothers, Pieri cousins, were believed responsible for a May 1936 bombing that took the life of Magaddino's sister. The LoTempios were rebelling against a Magaddino-imposed tax on their gambling rackets. Pieri arranged for Frank LoTempio to attend the wedding of a relative in Buffalo. Following the reception, Pieri escorted LoTempio to his car. After a short conversation, Pieri shook LoTempio's hand and turned away. Two men emerged from a nearby parked vehicle and shot LoTempio to death.

The 1949 disappearance of gambler Patsy Quigliano was also linked to Pieri. Quigliano was deeply in debt to mob higher-ups, and Pieri reportedly was to transport him to meet with Joseph DiCarlo in Cleveland on the day he disappeared.

In the early 1950s, a three-year Federal Bureau of Narcotics investigation pointed to Sam Pieri and Salvatore Rizzo as the regional leaders of a heroin and cocaine smuggling ring involving Buffalo, New York City and Cleveland. Pieri and Rizzo were arrested May 22, 1954. Charges against Rizzo were dismissed. Pieri was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in Atlanta Federal Prison. He was released May 7, 1963.

The prison term enhanced Pieri's stature in the underworld. Within the institution's walls, he established strong relationships with members of the Profaci and Genovese crime families and became especially close to jailed crime boss Vito Genovese. Upon Pieri's release, law enforcement officials wondered if he might become more powerful than Magaddino underboss Frederico Randaccio or possibly Magaddino himself.

The Magaddino organization was staggered by the imprisonment of Buffalo underworld leaders Randaccio and Pasquale Natarelli in December of 1967. Pieri and DiCarlo took advantage of the situation, mobilizing elements of the old DiCarlo Gang to take control of gambling rackets in Buffalo.

Claiming there had been a dramatic dropoff in underworld revenues, Magaddino imposed additional taxes on his men, refused to assist in gambling racket financing and eliminated bonuses he had previously paid to his lieutenants. In November 1968, Magaddino was proved a liar, as federal agents discovered nearly a half-million dollars in cash hidden in a wall of his son Peter's home.

The events of the 1960s drove a wedge between Buffalo Mafiosi and the organization's Niagara Falls-based leadership. In July 1969, a rebel Mafia faction in Buffalo selected Pieri as its acting boss, Joseph Fino as its acting underboss and Joseph DiCarlo as its acting consigliere. When informants brought the news to the FBI, Pieri became the Bureau's top target in Buffalo.

Pieri, Anthony Romano and Ralph Jacobs stood trial in 1970 for transporting stolen jewelry. As the state was concluding its case, authorities heard evidence that Pieri had attempted to bribe a juror. A mistrial was declared, and Pieri was charged with obstruction of justice. He was convicted of jury tampering and sentenced to five years in federal prison.

Pieri in 1975

When paroled in December 1973, Pieri immediately returned to his top position in the Buffalo Crime Family. Capodecina John Cammilleri's brief challenge to Pieri's leadership ended with Cammilleri's murder on May 8, 1974.

The FBI's next move against the Pieri administration consisted of inserting an undercover agent into two Buffalo gambling clubs that featured high-stakes Ziganette card games. As a result of the investigation, Pieri was found in violation of his parole and returned to prison to complete his jury tampering sentence.

Upon his release, Pieri found federal authorities ready to try him for conspiracy and gambling in connection with the Ziganette parlors. Pieri eventually pleaded guilty to conspiracy and was sentenced to a year in prison.

Securing his release after four months, Pieri sought to reestablish discipline in a criminal organization that had been shaken by informants and law enforcement infiltration. The May 1980 murder of William "Billy" Sciolino, a mob informant, was intended as an example.

Less than a month later, the partly decomposed body of Carl Rizzo was found in the trunk of a car. Rizzo was initially suspected of also being an informant, but investigators learned he had been involved in a Pieri-sponsored racket related to union dental plans.

Pieri's hold on the Buffalo Crime Family was weakened with the October 1980 death of Joseph DiCarlo. DiCarlo provided continuity during Pieri's prison sentence and conferred legitimacy upon Pieri's leadership claims.

Seven months later, Pieri became seriously ill. He passed away Aug. 24, 1981, at the age of 70.

Pieri gravesite