Salvatore Todaro (mobster)

Todaro was born Agosto Arcangelo on January 26, 1885, in Licata, Sicily, to Joseph and Marie ( Malfatona) Arcangelo. He was raised in Licata, and was a childhood friend of Joseph Lonardo. The local economy was dominated by sulfur mining. The mine owners were extremely wealthy, while nearly all the other people in Licata were extremely poor. Organized crime had been deeply embedded in both Sicilian and Licatan culture for centuries, with the Black Hand and Onorata Societa operating in the town. Arcangelo family friend Joseph Lonardo emigrated from Italy to the United States in February 1901, followed by Todaro shortly thereafter, entering the country on April 15, 1901, and arriving in Cleveland, Ohio, the next day. His first job was as a night watchman on The Flats. ==Criminal career with the Lonardos==

About 1913, a somewhat loosely organized Italian American gang known as the Mayfield Road Mob formed in Cleveland's Little Italy neighborhood. The protection racket was the core business of the Mayfield Road Mob at first. Once Prohibition began, Joseph Lonardo and his brothers began taking over the Mayfield Road Mob and organizing it, turning it into the dominant criminal organization in Cleveland. In the early 1920s, Joseph Lonardo, his brothers Frank and John, and Todaro were working in the Lonardo confectionary business. and nationally throughout the United States on January 16, 1920. Todaro quickly got involved in the transportation of illegal liquor. Corn sugar was the key to the manufacture of corn whiskey. It could not only be substituted for grain as the main ingredient in mash but also permitted faster production of the final liquor. Control of the corn sugar industry as well as the distribution of illegal liquor was critical to anyone seeking to dominate the illegal liquor industry. Lonardo essentially established a cottage industry in the production of illegal corn whiskey. He and his brothers used their profits from previous criminal activities to invest heavily in corn sugar manufacturing, a completely legal enterprise, and purchased a warehouse at Woodland Avenue and E. 9th Street. Todaro oversight of the Lonardo corn sugar business Todaro entered the Lonardo corn sugar business as a truck driver in 1923. He was convicted of second-degree murder and—surprisingly, according to the local news media—sentenced to life in prison rather than death in the electric chair. Todaro secured Licarti's release from prison by inducing federal law enforcement officials to demand his deportation. Ohio Governor A. Victor Donahey shocked the press and public by commuting Licarti's sentence. Although federal records indicated that Licarti sailed for Italy on April 4, 1925, he in fact returned to Cleveland where he lived on the west side. In a report that was later retracted, the local news media claimed that a vast criminal conspiracy was attempting to silence witnesses in the Patitucci shooting. DiCarlo, Gallelo, and two others were charged on February 4 with witness intimidation and the attempted kidnapping of a witness with force of arms. Patitucci provided further testimony against DiCarlo on February 5. Sylvester Camerano ( Lester Cameron) was called as a defense witness, impugning Patitucci's character. Patitucci's wife, May, directly contradicted her husband's testimony on the stand. DiCarlo and Gallelo were found guilty of witness intimidation and sentenced to six year in federal prison. Todaro became involved in the case when Patitucci sent him a telegram on March 1, asking him to come to Buffalo as soon as possible. Patitucci then attempted to shoot his own wife on March 10, and a few minutes later committed suicide by swallowing bichloride of mercury. On his deathbed, Patitucci allegedly wrote a statement in which he retracted his court testimony accusing DiCarlo and Gallelo of shooting him. Todaro visited Patitucci in a Buffalo hospital on March 31, at which time (Todaro said) Patitucci disclosed the existence of his written confession, telling Todaro it was located in a notebook at the home of Patitucci's mother. Todaro later told federal investigators that he took the notebook and returned to Cleveland. He stored it at the grocery he owned with Joseph Lonardo, and discussed its existence with Lonardo and others. When Patitucci died, Todaro turned the notebook over to Buffalo-based attorney Horace O. Lanza. Although Patitucci's signature on the written confession was verified by handwriting experts, the local district attorney refused to acknowledge it. He felt that Patitucci had signed the document as a means of saving his life. Once he served a reduced prison term, the district attorney believed, Patitucci would flee the state and make the "confession" public—freeing his enemies. State officials would find it very difficult to extradite him under those circumstances. ==Tenure as Cleveland crime boss==

Lonardo's death threat According to Nicola Gentile, Lonardo resolved in October or November 1926 to have Todaro killed, using Todaro's mistreatment of one of Lonardo's Jewish employees as a pretext. Lonardo told capo Lawrence Lupo to carry out the assassination; Lupo, in turn, chose Angersola and Colletti as the killers. Joseph Biondo and Paolino Palmieri, members of the Buffalo crime family, tried to convince Lonardo to rescind his murder plans, but he refused. Gentile conferred with Palmieri, and both men agreed that Todaro's actions did not warrant death. A high-ranking organized crime messenger and mediator with powerful ties in the Sicilian mafia, Gentile feared a loss of prestige if he could not convince Lonardo to stop the hit. He asked Colletti not to make the hit until Gentile had left Cleveland. Gentile finally told Lonardo that if Todaro was murdered without good reason, Gentile would leave Cleveland and never return. This was a serious threat: Gentile and Lonardo were partners in a legitimate gourmet food import business and Gentile had established a store in Cleveland which sold tin cans and other containers needed by bootleggers. Lonardo also stored large stocks of bootleg liquor owned by Gentile, and Gentile would stand to lose a great deal of money. The seriousness of Gentile's announcement impressed Lonardo, who rescinded the assassination order the next day. Afterward, Gentile, Biondo, Palmieri, and Mayfield Road Mob member Frank Milano visited Todaro. Todaro was dismissive of Gentile; in response, Biondo, Milano, and Palmieri beat Todaro and told him that he owed his life to "this saint". Todaro abjectly apologized to Gentile. The five men then visited Lonardo, who forgave Todaro for his betrayal. Later, when Todaro fell ill, Lonardo even visited him on his sickbed. Defection to the Porrellos In April 1927, Lonardo left for Sicily for five months to visit his mother. Lonardo left his brother, John, and Todaro in charge of the Mayfield Road Mob and the corn sugar/illegal distillery business while he was gone. Todaro was unhappy with Lonardo's rule. Despite largely managing the Lonardo corn sugar business, he had gained little wealth. Although it is unclear who approached whom first, after Lonardo's departure Todaro and the Porrellos conspired to undermine the Lonardo illegal liquor organization. John Lonardo lacked good judgment, and a leadership vacuum emerged in the Mayfield Road Mob which contributed to the rise of the Porrellos. The Lonardo family's influence with local politicians and police evaporated, and law enforcement raids on home brewers loyal to the Lonardos increased significantly. A Porrello subordinate, Mike Chiapetta, began swiftly building a home brewing network loyal to the Porrellos. Just a few weeks after Lonardo's departure, the Porrellos had taken control of more than half of Lonardo's corn sugar and corn whiskey business. Todaro suddenly became wealthy. Lonardo returned to Cleveland in August 1927. He correctly surmised that Todaro had conspired with the Porrellos to undermine his business, and was allegedly enraged that Todaro refused to acknowledge that he owed his social status to Lonardo—not the Porrellos. In retaliation, Lonardo ejected Todaro from the Mayfield Road Mob. Murder of Lonardo Lonardo was not eager to start a gang war. He met several times with the Porrellos to discuss what was happening, allegedly seeking a merger of the two gangs and their bootleg operations. Todaro, however, resolved to kill Lonardo and take over organized crime in Cleveland. Lonardo met future "boss of bosses" Salvatore "Toto" D'Aquila while living in New York City from 1901 to 1905. Lonardo treated D'Aquila "like a god", and was one of his strongest supporters. D'Aquila supported Lonardo in his successful attempt to become boss of the Cleveland mafia. In New York, Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria was contending with D'Aquila for control of the city's mafia, and began backing challenges to D'Aquila's supporters in other cities. Much of Masseria's extended family lived in Cleveland and his brother was a member of the Mayfield Road Mob, so Masseria's interest in Cleveland was particularly acute. Masseria supported efforts by Todaro and the Porrello brothers to challenge Lonardo, and Masseria encouraged Todaro to murder Lonardo and become boss. Todaro likely ordered the murder of Lonardo as well as arranged the meeting at which Lonardo was killed. Early in the evening of October 13, 1927, someone telephoned Lonardo and asked him to come to the barber shop owned by Ottavio Porrello (Joseph Porrello's brother) at 10902 Woodland Avenue. Lonardo and John arrived at the barber shop without any bodyguards (which was highly unusual) Gentile claims he knew immediately that Todaro, assisted by the Porrellos, had ordered the murder of Lonardo. Becoming Cleveland crime boss Lupo attempted to gain control over the Lonardo corn sugar and corn whiskey empire after Lonardo's death No one was ever convicted of Lupo's killing, although police believed Colletti was one of the killers and they suspected Charles "Chuck" Polizzi (foster younger brother of Mayfield Road Mob member Alfred Polizzi) of involvement as well. Lupo may have been killed on the orders of fellow Mayfield Road mobster Anthony Milano. Federal law enforcement officials believed that Todaro then successfully took over Lonardo's criminal enterprises, becoming the second boss of the Cleveland crime family. A local newspaper echoed this assessment, calling him "chief of the corn sugar business". Other sources disagree. Rick Porrello (Joseph Porrello's grand-nephew) claims that Joseph Porrello, not Todaro, vied to control bootleg liquor in Cleveland. Angersola, Colletti, and Chuck Polizzi, he says, were also trying to win control of the former Lonardo organization, but each soon fell in line behind Frank Milano. Joseph Porrello, he says, declared himself boss after Lupo's death. Crime authors Patricia Martinelli and Joe Griffin and Don DeNevi do not provide similar details, but do say that Porrello succeeded Lonardo as boss. Historian David Critchley said that Todaro allied with the Porrellos rather than became boss himself, and Griffin and DeNevi claim that Todaro served as the Porrello's underboss. Crime historians Thomas Hunt and Michael A. Tona conclude that Todaro and the Porrellos jointly ran the Mayfield Road Mob. However, Todaro appeared to exercise more power in the group, as it was he who guided the gang into supporting Masseria. Unlike D'Aquila, Masseria believed in admitting non-Sicilians and even non-Italians to the mafia. Todaro and the Porrellos believed the same, whereas Lonardo did not. A major meeting of Sicilian and Italian organized crime figures was scheduled at Cleveland's Hotel Statler the first week of December 1928. Law enforcement authorities at the time hypothesized that the meeting was called to end Cleveland's "Corn Sugar War", or to set up Chicago gang leader Joe Aiello for murder, or to reorganize the rackets after the deaths of Arnold Rothstein and Frankie Yale, or an attempt to elect a successor to Chicago gangster Antonio Lombardo. Several sources say this meeting occurred at the instigation of Joseph Porrello, who invited the heads of the most powerful mafia families in the country to the city to confirm himself as boss of the Cleveland crime family. Although the meeting was raided by police before it could occur, Rick Porrello said Joseph Porrello would have been formally anointed boss because he had Joe Masseria's backing. Hunt and Tona argue that the Statler Hotel meeting was called to confirm Masseria as "boss of bosses". They point out that Masseria had been the de facto boss of bosses since the death of Umberto Valenti (D'Aquila's patron) in August 1922 and D'Aquila's flight from his Brooklyn home in 1925–26. Most of Masseria's extended family lived in Cleveland, making Cleveland a likely site for a confirmation meeting. Similar meetings in the past involved hundreds of crime figures. Only 23 individuals were arrested at the Statler, making $10,000 ($ in dollars) a month in profits. He successfully bribed a number of local officials, including two judges and a Cuyahoga County prosecutor, to protect his illegal businesses. By June 1929, Todaro had allegedly amassed more wealth than any of the Lonardos or Porrellos Todaro spent little of his money, although in 1928 he bought two cars and a new home at 2685 E. 126th Street in Cleveland. He sent large amounts of money home to his brother in Italy, where Todaro was engaged in building a luxurious mansion. In 1929, however, Todaro's corn sugar profits declined as the public began to choose higher-quality smuggled liquor over poor-quality home-distilled corn whiskey. ==Death and interment==

Threats to safety Todaro was not suspected of ordering Lonardo's death for more than a year. Aftermath Joseph Porrello became the undisputed boss of the Cleveland crime family after Sam Todaro's death. Concetta Lonardo was charged with first-degree murder in Todaro's death, but acquitted in November 1929. Angelo Lonardo and Dominic Sospirato fled Cleveland. They later returned, were convicted of second-degree murder in Todaro's death, and sentenced to life in prison. They won a retrial from the Ohio Supreme Court, and the charges were dropped on November 25, 1931, for lack of witnesses. Frank Lonardo was murdered in the card room of the Chester-18th Barber Shop at 1735 Chester Avenue on October 20, 1929, in retaliation for Todaro's death. Frank Alessi, Todaro's brother-in-law, helped the assassins identify their target. ==Personal life==

Todaro was tall and weighed about . His swarthy complexion garnered him the nickname "Black Sam", which was conferred on him by Frank Alessi. Todaro and his wife, Carmella (born 1894), had three children: Joseph (born August 3, 1921), Mary (born August 5, 1923), and Frank (born 1924). ==References==