#19: The Cerrito Crime Family (Part 1): The Eras of Onofrio Sciortino & Joseph X. Cerrito

[@markwilletts1252]

Bro don’t listen to anyone else, do u. ur videos are legit AF I got time and I listen to the whole thing and I’m particular af and I love em

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

I appreciate the compliment. I've developed my own style and niche. Some like it and others don't. That said, I'm happy with my work and will continue to keep grinding. I go into the detail that I do partly because it's hard to speculate when the paperwork is right there, but also there are people like you who've really bought into what I do. It gives me the validation to keep doing my thing.

[@signoguns8501]

@@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast Ive not seen or heard any criticism like that personally, Im not sure how anyone can complain, tbh. The production value is outstanding, the research is academic level, and the fact that you focus on Families that other channels typically avoid is a breath of fresh air. I absolutely love your channel. Your podcast-length deepdives are the reason people watch you, thats your unique selling point. There are enough channels out there making brief 10-minute summary videos of popular mobsters. Thats fine, it has its place, but you are on another level entirely. The detailed longform format might not bring in millions of views but you have built yourself a loyal and dedicated fanbase here.

[@johnzamboni7561]

I doubt anyone has a better history of the San Jose family than this.

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

I really appreciate it the kind words! I'll be doing a Part 2 in the near future to cover the Marino and Figlia eras in the late 1970's and 1980's up to when the family kind of became defunct.

[@FloggingKennedy]

I was hoping you’d do San Francisco or San Jose. San Jose is where my father grew up, so this should make it extra interesting for me. Time to dive in…

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Hope you enjoyed it. Part two will focus more on the Marino's.

[@Crobertg10]

This is why i like your channel, true depht and people i knew nothing from. Love it!

[@Crobertg10]

Addendum. If you have time maybe an episode on the LA family?

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Thank you! It takes longer, but I'm playing the long game so I spend more time digging.

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

@@Crobertg10 they are certainly in my long term roadmap

[@johnbarton3438]

Thank goodness you’ve finally made another one! I know it takes time but man your work is like none other! Desperate for more! Thanks man!

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Thanks John! I appreciate the kind words and patience. I'm basically a tortoise when it comes to research, production, and editing, but slow and steady wins the race. I'm going to mix in some things that will be a little faster on the production end soon (interview and movie-scene breakdown).

[@matthewrider5906]

I'm very glad to see another piece of content from you! As I understand, Cosa Nostra never really gained enough of a foothold in CA to have an 'official', Commission-recognized borgata... But hey... You're more of an expert than me! And lastly... Please, please, please...🙏🙏🙏 St. Louis's Giordano Crime Family... They were a much stronger borgata than most folks know or recognize! Specifically... Anthony 'Nino' Parrino, 'Uncle Joe' Cammarata, John 'Johnny V' Vitale, the borgata's namesake boss, Anthony 'Tony G' Giordano, & Matthew 'Mikey' Trupiano... Please!🙏💯 And if the NYC Five Families are the major leagues... The Giordano Family was like Philly's Bruno Family, or Providence's & Boston's Patriarca Family, or Newark's DeCavalcante Family.... The Giordanos were a damned-strong, Commission-recognized, triple-A club! Other major league families? The Chicago Outfit, The Detroit Partnership, & Buffalo, NY's Maggadino Family. Matter of fact, at their height, when the Boston & Providence factions of his family were in sync, I'd call the Patriarcas a big league borgata, as well!)

[@DrNickRiviera408]

I have watched alot of your stuff...NEVER disappointed.👍👍

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Thank you David! I try my best to be original as much as is possible in this genre.

[@robertjaime6808]

Right On! Finally someone did one on San Jose’s own the Cerrito Crime Family, my city & the birth of Silicon Valley!

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

They are the Rodney Dangerfield of the Mafia! No respect. No respect at all. I'll be doing a Part 2 in the near future as well to round their story out.

[@robertjaime6808]

@@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast….👍

[@robertjaime6808]

If they were that fucked up, then Joe Bonanno should have stepped in and took over the family.

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

@@robertjaime6808 that is most certainly a can of worms. I think he probably could have had enough juice to take over the family, but I believe he'd have quickly suffered the wrath of the rest of the families had he done so, which is why I believe he hung back and did his typical sniping and undercutting.

[@robertjaime6808]

I think if Joe Bonanno would have played his cards well with the commission, he probably could have brought the Cerrito Family into the Bonanno’s during the time when the New York Families gotten pissed off at Joe Cerrito for showing incompetence as a Boss of a LCN Family. I did not know all that drama was going on within the Cerrito Family & it’s unheard of that Joe didn’t do ANY disciplinary action with in the family either! That’s bad…..

[@columbusaveproductions]

Great episode and show as a whole! Really appreciate the time and effort you put in, and the quality you put out. “Good work.” 😉

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Thank you so much! It was an interesting family to cover for sure, and I look forward to branching out into San Francisco and Los Angeles.

[@Ohtheironknee]

Always glad to watch a new video. Much love from Buffalo. Ive been wanting to start a channel to explore the history of the Magaddino borgata, up to the modern day with the recent activity and ongoing court cases, since i have access to descendants and law enforcement officials. Your channel is inspirational, keep doing your thing

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

You should do it! There's always a need to have more voices contributing great content to the genre. And if someone with little to no access like myself can do it, someone with access to key people can certainly do it. Happy to help where I can or to provide advice for getting started.

[@timothygood8039]

I am too very interested in the buffalo family . This Gereace case is crazy !!!

[@davidprice6027]

Great storytelling as always! SF T-1 was Frank Bompensiero. Jimmy Frattiano told this same story about Angelo loafing till the lucky smuck got deported, and Bomp who knew Angelo well, told this tale to Jimmy after they were both on parole in the early 1960's......

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Makes a ton of sense. I was focused more on the Cerrito side and not really thinking about who the information was coming from specifically, but Frank Bomp is probably right on the money. The Cerrito family had a lot of informants too but I didn't want to venture a guess (though I have some ideas).

[@puppetmaster706]

@@TheGanglandHistoryPodcastmaybe the guy transferred from The Pittsburg Family?

[@colonelreb1014]

Bomp could've been SF T-1 but any northern Cali info he got probably came from frattiano. Bombs too echelon handle was SD 1064-C-TE. Bomp mainly operated in southern Cali. He was #3 in the LA family at one point but most of Bombs north Cali info came from frattiano

[@colonelreb1014]

@@puppetmaster706 i don't think they necessarily transferred. They were associates of East Coast families like buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cleveland that moved out West but had ties back East

[@antoinesilva1527]

@@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast The excellent website mafiahistory had this covered. Their findings pointed out the 3 who were most-fitted to the profiles of 3 San Jose informants the FBI had at the time: Salvatore Costanza, Peter Misuraca, Frank Sorce. If we calculated the percentages of members per CI then at the time, San Jose has the highest number.

[@coreypatterson1007]

Im absolutely impressed with your knowledge of this family and research i just stumbled upon your channel glad i did besides og shortz you have the best content keep it going you got yourself a new subscriber

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Thanks Corey! My channel is still small (but mighty), so most people find it by accident. And for me, that's okay for now. It does tend to take me longer to produce content as I'm just a one-man show (and my content is very long-form), but I've got a lot more content lined up which I hope you'll enjoy.

[@coreypatterson1007]

Ya just keep going bro you will surpass the rest I'm sure and I'm sure doing all that research isn't easy so I'll keep checking up on the channel and wish you all the best! 👍🏾

[@RedIce989]

Brilliant video and in-depth knowledge thank you so much.

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Thank you for the kind words Denise!

[@chrislineberry3588]

Delighted you've posted a new video Jacob!! (must confess to not having heard of this 'family')

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Thank you! Yep, they get no press. Once you watch the episode though you'll probably understand why. But alas I wanted to tell their story nonetheless.

[@RedIce989]

Your videos as always is so fastenating.interesting and enjoyable to watch and listen too.Thank you

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

I really appreciate it Denise!

[@cheech2one5]

Good work, hermano. You do your homework. I like your documentary/ reporting style.

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Thank you for watching Don Cheech! I pride myself in my research.

[@tdizzle7812]

Great show!

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Thank you for watching

[@QEsposito510]

Way to go man. As an Italian-American from the Bay Area, well-researched projects like this mean a lot.

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Thank you! At some point I'll do the San Francisco family as well.

[@Guillermo_Carratero]

This was an awesome watch, because this is a family I knew very little about and with the FBI documents you made it a real deep dive into the rise and fall of the San Jose family. I never understood why there were two small Cosa Nostra families in the same Metropolitan area. I mean San Jose and San Francisco never had more than 60 members combined at their peak. Really weird, especially if you see a case like the Patriarca family where Boston and Providence joined forces. And I heard that in the early days Philadelphia also had multiple small families that eventually united under one banner.

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Thank you for watching Guillermo! After finally finishing the Cerrito saga (Part 2 just came out), I too wonder what the point of having two families so close together was. At first, from what I can tell, San Jose was a satellite of San Francisco and eventually broke off on their own. That said, I wanted to cover the Cerrito's because you never, ever, hear about them. And after having done so, I fully understand why. That said, they were 100% a part of the legacy of the American Cosa Nostra, so I'm glad I touched on them, though I'll probably never venture back now that it's completed.

[@mobkingsinfamousrats6115]

Good Work My Friend right now I have a blog but I am going to start my own podcast on the mob but with a different little twist but your content is supreme so keep up the good work I listen to you and Jeff canarsie from Mob Talk Radio

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Thank you Mob Kings! I always say, there's room for more creators in this genre. The hardest step is taking the first step and turning an idea into reality. I will say, Jeff is my personal favorite. He is a beast when it comes to the volume of material he puts out as well as the quality of the information. That's why I subscribe to his podcast, and why I wanted to connect with him on my show.

[@mobkingsinfamousrats6115]

@@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast just waiting on license we're starting a company all to do with the mob stuff right now we just have the page on Facebook trying to get followers. Keep up the amazing work

[@davidmitnick868]

I worked in Santa Clara county and we still had Cerrito crime family in our gang database as late as 2014.

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Interesting! From a research standpoint, things do get murky when you get into the 2000's, but that little tidbit will certainly help me when I release Part Two (which I'm still in the process of researching and planning).

[@davidmitnick868]

@@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast yeah they definitely haven’t existed since the 90s. The database was ancient.

[@BostonsF1nest]

@@davidmitnick86890’s? They probably haven’t existed since the late 70’s/early 80’s. They weren’t that big to begin with.

[@dahookmob]

Man you need a special on the history channel 💯💪🏼🙏🏼

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

As a lover of all things history, you have no idea how much I'd relish that! I really appreciate the kind words of support.

[@dahookmob]

@@TheGanglandHistoryPodcastI’m also a huge history buff and especially the mob I grew up in Modesto so to here there was mob guys there is pretty kool

[@johnathansmith6511]

I love the podcast it’s really great keep doing you and keep at it I was wondering if you can look into former boss of the Genovese crime family Phil Lombardo and maybe do a podcast on him. There’s not much info on him and he was very low key. I been wanting to learn more about him. If your able to do the research on him and find enough info to do a show on him, that would be awesome

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Thank you for the compliments Johnathan! It's funny you mentioned Benny Squint, as I have some FOIA paperwork that I'll get to at some point, but really didn't tell me too much about him. Although, there was a note in those documents about him being observed yelling at an underling in public regarding something to do with his car which I found funny. Someday I'll cover him as best I can. He is certainly mysterious and rarely talked about. A lot of intrigue with who was really Boss of the Genovese family after Vito died and with all the "Front Boss" maneuverings.

[@johnathansmith6511]

That’s great to hear and thank you so much I’m looking forward to listening to it all. I can’t wait for more of your shows and content. Thank you so much

[@cj-hw3pv]

This channel is amazing

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Thank you for watching!

[@davidprice6027]

Frank Bompensiero knew Santo from going on the lam from murder charges to Tampa and then Detroit in the 1940's.

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

That does make a ton of sense. Highly placed, enough to be talking to a boss.

[@johnbarton3438]

I used to live in Dallas & would love it if you’d do an in depth dive into the mafia there!!! Please???

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Dallas is certainly on the long-term roadmap. I've heard in passing that things there were pretty violent, so I'm looking forward to eventually digging in there. And then of course there's the whole New Orleans and Jack Ruby connection.

[@sjsharks2106]

I need to take a trip to San Jose's Italian neighborhood and maybe get some information. That might help a little bit

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

From my research, they seem to have a very nice Italian Festival.

[@rick_4760]

Great content, and great research! I have a theory on smaller families like this only being viable because of the drug trade by the mob, once that ended, so did these smaller families!

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Thanks Rick! That theory could have some validity. That said, I believe that increased law enforcement pressure caused by RICO combined with dwindling recruitment pools and encroachment from other gangs also had a major impact within non-core cities.

[@columbusaveproductions]

I think you’re both correct. 👌

[@fishwickdavid5408]

Great video about the San Jose crime family. How about a video about Frank Bompensiero?

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Thank you! Frankie Bomp is on my list. I'd like to eventually cover him.

[@antoniettabonfigliovetere1195]

Will you or did you do a podcast on the sf families?

[@ravenpoeacup]

thank you for this video! I learned a lot.

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Thank you for watching!

[@Omar-us9ir]

Haven't seen that pic with the phone to his hand, fire researching bro

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Yeah, found that and several others in an old newspaper.

[@johnjohnsen7420]

Joe was the boss of the San Jose family. Joe had a few car dealerships in Los Gatos and San Jose. I worked for California cheese in San Jose CA in 1978-79 I remember Sal Marino and Randy Boyer always treated me well. I remember Bonanno in the area too. When Cerrito's daughter got married in attendance were many major crime family members . Joe was good at staying under the radar.

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Interesting! I'll be covering more on the Marino's and the California Cheese Company in Part Two and there will probably be many more cameos from the Bonanno's. I'm sure you have some great stories.

[@crashsoft1]

Sir when you worked at California Cheese were you aware it was owned by members of the San Jose family and may I please ask did you ever meet Angelo Marino? Thank you for your time.

[@antoinesilva1527]

When LIFE published the infamous San Jose Mob article, it hit Cerrito hard. He lost his crown jewel: The Lincoln - Mercury dealership, I read that Cerrito’s wife blamed him for the loss of such a huge “cleaning” outlet.

[@onewarriornation602]

Joe Bonnano was never boss of the San Jose Family.

[@mikesulyvahn7143]

Highly doubt a million a day back in the 1940s was being gambled by this man. Also doubt the organization was bringing that much in to be able to do so. You’re right…Wikipedia should I say more?

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

I agree. That number was ridiculous.

[@victorgarza6084]

I came across your channel by accident. Your content is $#%^*>< amazing!

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Thanks Victor! My channel is still very small (but mighty), so most people find completely it by accident. And for me, that's okay for now. It does tend to take me longer to produce content as I'm just a one-man show (and my content is very long-form), but I've got a lot more content lined up which I hope you'll enjoy.

[@domenicscire6240]

I worked for Cerrito’s attorney Thomas Salciccia from 2009 up until he passed in 2016. I heard a lot of stories about the Cerrito/Marino family.

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

I'd certainly be interested in hearing some of those stories. If you'd be willing to share, send me an email at [e-mail]! Thank you for watching and supporting.

[@genekunkel8001]

my father was a man that liked the ponies and could afford to gamble. he had an italian bookie that I visiited with him a few times

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Interesting for sure Gene! Thank you for watching!

[@aaronordway8756]

Have you done any research or videos on the Buffalo mob?

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

I have bumped into them in a few episodes, but I've never researched or done a video on them directly. That being said, they are certainly in my long-term roadmap when it comes to covering all families outside of New York and Chicago. At this point, I have an idea of the broad picture for Buffalo, the Maggadino's and the Todaro's, but every family has their own nuances and I'm sure the Buffalo story (which also ventures well into Canada and of course the Bonanno family) will be no different.

[@colonelreb1014]

I think it was just Joe Cerrito and Joe Civello that stayed in 312 at Hotel Casey. James Lanza was in room 316. DeSimone and Scozarro was listed as 316-318 so im assuming being they're both L.A. they'd be room 318

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

You're pretty well-versed I must say, and it's easy to tell from your comments that you have also researched this before. Are you from the San Jose area, or more of a mob generalist?

[@colonelreb1014]

@@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast not a generalist. Been doing FOIA requests for years trying to track down Top Echelon Informants to their C-TE numbers. So far I have over 17 Top Echelon Informants and their corresponding C-TE numbers. I'll give you my contact info soon as I have unredacted documents that not many people have seen. I'm not talking public Mary Ferrell files or that garbage FBI vault shit

[@colonelreb1014]

@@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast and I love your channel. It's a breath of fresh air for researchers like myself that have done this for 20plus years. I don't know how long you've been doing this but you're light years ahead of the others.

[@najeeevans]

Could you do one on Kansas, Dallas, or Milwaukee mafia

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Dallas, KC, and Milwaukee are all on the long-term roadmap for sure!

[@donolbers]

As for reporting Cerrito taking a vacation in the newspaper, that was de rigeur for the time, with most papers having a column or section devoted to such tidbits, as well as births, weddings, family reunions and such. I will take a guess that the local paper also benefited greatly from the advertising budget of a local L-M dealer, and may not have wanted to lose the dollars that such an account would have brought.

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Haha, you're probably right. I thought it was just a slow news day!

[@randythesavage1105]

This "Famiglia" is kind of a joke, in contrast to the Colorado mob which was far more serious bout ther business.

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

After doing my research, I would tend to agree

[@andrewcervantes6554]

Do one on the Lanza crime family

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

They are certainly in the long-term roadmap

[@andrewcervantes6554]

Nice! Can’t wait!

[@najeeevans]

And could you do one on Philip "Rusty" Rastelli

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

I'm sure I'll eventually cover Rastelli

[@unknown4o8er]

Thank you 🎉 for this video💯

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Thank you for watching!

[@dahookmob]

Have you ever heard the last name Cicero involved in the mob ? Seems like if someone would know it’s you 🙏🏼

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

The one that comes to mind would be Calogero "Charlie the Sidge" Lo Cicero: www.reddit.com/r/Mafia/comments/s9rsds/calogero_charlie_the_sidge_locicero_fort/ Are you a (or are you related to any) Cicero's?

[@dahookmob]

@@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast yes I’m a Cicero born in Modesto but my grandfather Cicero is a mystery….

[@dahookmob]

My dad the only Cicero I know was born in 64 but never met his father

[@gatogotti408]

good stuff,real history in american immigrants society,love this gangster content,keep up the good work..

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Thank you for the support!

[@Cruizer-kh6uh]

Ever come across the name Cassata in your research ?

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Not that I can recall.

[@richardredick7515]

@Jacob Stoopes: Are you LDS?

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

As in the Church of Latter Day Saints?

[@richardredick7515]

@@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast Yes.

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

I am not. Why?

[@richardredick7515]

@@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast No particular reason. I suspected you "looked" Mormon. My Spidey-sense was off. Darn it!

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

No worries. Thank you for watching!

[@jimsanchez8132]

Dam it’s crazy my family use to own the house last house in front of the cheese factory on Bonita street I use to play hide and seek with my cousins and me and my cousin use to hop the fence to hide and my grandparents use to tell don’t go over there now it’s a apartment complex

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Wow! I'm sure there are some stories there. Although murders happen everywhere all the time, not just in the mob, these murders in particular and the California Cheese Company's connection to the mob seems to have left a lasting impact on the local community as far as I can tell.

[@chuckyoneill9029]

Liked and shared

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Thank you as always Chuck!

[@chuckyoneill9029]

@TheMembersOnlyPodcast N.p. you always find the ones that we never get to hear of,Angelo Bruno seen him in my neighborhood when I was a Lil guy

[@sjsharks2106]

My City of San Jose

[@HowieKrakk]

The part when talked about the first boss ; I was excited when I found out ; me and him share the same bday 😂; I knew aries where born gangsta

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Well there yo u go! I wish there was more info on Sciortino, but source materials that I could find on him and the founding of the family are light. Additionally, a FOIA request came up empty.

[@HowieKrakk]

@@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast yeah I know ; what’s crazy is last year when I was tryna find info on the San Jose family ; there were literally no videos on KZbin about them ; just Wikipedia page

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

@@HowieKrakk it's cases like this that are why I try to cover the lesser known families. There's just not a lot out there on some of these groups that were very, very real.

[@christopherdanjou]

First boss has my birthday.Aries are natural born leaders

[@chuckyoneill9029]

I dont think Russell Biffalino was philly at that time, Sabella or Joseph Ida then came Angelo Bruno

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

How's it going Chucky? Russell ran his own family in N.E. Pennsylvania but visited New York, Philly, etc. regularly. The Philly line of succession was: Sabella, Avena, Joe Bruno, Joe Ida, Pollina, and then Angelo Bruno.

[@chuckyoneill9029]

@@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast Sounds right to me!

[@cabooseabs6864]

Maybe the FBI realized these guys were pretty harmless. With all the informants they might have found them more valuable for collecting info on other families.

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

That's likely 100% true. There were many connections from this family to other families including the obvious San Francisco, Los Angeles, but all the way to Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, etc. If you're the FBI at that time you were working all possible angles, and this likely was one.

[@kalishakta]

They never had the makings of varsity mafiosi. A glorified crew. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

To loosely quote the Sopranos, two f**king families in California and then we got this pygmy thing over in San Jose.

[@thomasvarley380]

😅

[@btterfly666]

According to other mafia members it’s not La Cosa Nostra. It’s just Cosa Nostra. 😊

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Yep, the way I understand it, the FBI added the L due to their proclivity for 3-letter abbreviations and somewhat mistranslating what they'd heard on wiretaps themselves. Therefore, in FBI reports you'll often see LCN instead of just CN. Additionally, if you attempt to do the translations via online translators and put in the words "Our thing" various platforms spit out something like "La nostra cosa." And then if you put it into Italian to English, the translation usually nets out to "The Cosa Nostra." Additionally, you'll also see it referred to as "Our cause" and/or "Causa Nostra" in FBI reports, which translates roughly to "La nostra causa" in FBI reports. It's all a bit odd. Again, I could be wrong about the history and why they translated it this way, but here is a great resource on the subject: mafiahistory.us/rattrap/mafialacosanostra.html

[@andrewcervantes6554]

Whoa, Modesto was mentioned!? I sell real estate there lol

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Yep, a lot of these guys didn't just live in San Jose, but lived in neighboring areas.

[@andrewcervantes6554]

@@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast that’s cool, I actually helped a family with the last name Giamona too, wonder if there’s any relation

[@patrickdecambra2219]

​@@TheGanglandHistoryPodcastThey were all up and down the peninsula. And they were discreet.

[@tinocorreia4001]

He had no criminal record because he wasn't a criminal. He owned a car dealerships.

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

You're correct. He (Cerrito) did own dealerships and spent a good deal of time focusing on legit business. That said, while his family followed his direction to stay away from crimes, there were some things that the FBI probably could have gotten them for, though I think the FBI wanted to keep the informants singing in order to get at the other families, and as a result looked the other way with the Cerritos until they couldn't.

[@neillmanning9969]

I must admit that I have heard more than one former gangster say that they didn’t have an actual proper mafia family in California but they may have felt differently in California

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

The families out West seemed to operate differently for sure. I will be interested to learn more about LA and San Francisco when I eventually dig in and do those episodes. I've always wondered why the families in California didn't simply consolidate the three or so families into one. They could have been a juggernaut.

[@robertjaime6808]

Maybe I can answer that question why the mafia was never big in California, I think it has to do with not a big population of Italians/ Sicilians in San Jose, San Francisco & L.A, not like NYC or Chicago. Another reason is law enforcement in California did not tolerate organize crime during the 1940’s & 1950’s especially down in the L.A. area & finally I think it was due to the books for membership being closed for 18yrs, 1957 to 1975, that right there probably hurt a lot of the smaller crime families while the 5 Families of NYC & the Chicago Outfit were prospering.

[@franksantucci3038]

Sciortino is pronounced Shore-tino. While talking about San Jose, you can't forget Angelo Marino, or Salvatore "Bill" Bonanno, or for that matter Carlino's grandsons who didn't know their Grandfather's business back in Colorado, until recent years. There were more, I'll let you do the homework. Good job on the Cerrito's.

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Hi Frank! You're right, I totally whiffed on that pronunciation (I will correct myself in Part 2). When I began the podcast, pronunciation of various names was not an area I anticipated having issues with, but clearly it's been a problem and something I've been trying to work on. Whenever I've been in doubt, I've tried to listen to pronunciation guides from various websites, but I thought in this case that it was obvious and the pronunciation was phonetically and felt I could forego the check (I was wrong for sure). So it's clear that I still have work to do, and will keep working to improve. As for Part 2, I'll definitely be focusing more on the Marino's as well as Manny Figlia. Also, I do expect to discuss the Bonanno's more in Part 2 (they even cropped up quite a bit in Part 1). I've also been in contact (and did an interview) with Sam Carlino, and I did see some connections to Colorado during my research for Part 1. I hope all is well!

[@franksantucci3038]

@TheMembersOnlyPodcast don't worry about the pronunciation, it's a common mispronounciation. It's my best friends growing up's last name. Our 10th grade Biology teacher, who was also our football coach, Mr Shimoyama pronounced his name the same as you. There's alot of people that do the same. My mistake on my post, I didn't watch your whole video before writing in, that's why I mentioned Angelo Marino of California Cheese fame. His son Sal had quite a reputation around San Jose. Also when Joe Bananas left San Jose and settled in Arizona, his son Bill remained behind, and had his own complications. His father Joe Bonanno was a real old time Mafiosi, the real deal the likes of which will never be seen again. Sam Carlino and his family are good hard working people, totally on the Legit. And well known and respected pillars of the community. If ever in S.J. stop by his joint, Sam's BBQ for a culinary treat. His Italian sausage is some of the best, although I think it was better at his old place the Time Deli, long gone. It was a San Jose institution for many years. Great job on your video, keep up the good work. Chi Ve Diamo.

[@antoniettabonfigliovetere1195]

You are mispronouncing many Italian names and locations. Maybe check before your next podcast. Such as garofalo it’s Ga ro fa lo!

[@MrCarlos10965]

1:49:03

[@graceberreyesa5561]

I think my uncle was involved with them. My family is Sicilian

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Okay, I have to ask. Who was your uncle?

[@enriquegonzalez526]

Great content but your getting ridiculous with the ads causing me to have to thumbs down this. Soon as you get into the flow of content their goes an ad

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Oh no. Sorry, that's KZbin's doing. All I do is select 'On' to monetization. I'll see if I can dial it back.

[@rick_4760]

Really!? Get YT premium i don't have any commercials. Why would you think that he has control of the commercials genius!!?

[@sjsharks2106]

Get premium

[@ChinDulles]

A glorified crew..I wanna say something here. The older I get the more I think the government, rfk ect were mistaken about alot of things. 1st of this isn't a crime family. If what Marino said is true and they weren't even gambling, then it's not really criminal. It's more a tight group of.buisness man and I'm sure some laws were broken( the robbery was probably insurance fraud) but my hunch is this was an outpost for Bonnanno who had.his eye on Cal. for a while. He( J.B.) probably gave him start up money in the beginning and was indebted to him. The only reason he gets this press is because of Appalachian and their was no activity around him. That's why they picked him to sue. It is ironic that he was ahead of the curve bc alot of families almost all the non NY ones pretty much blended off into legitimate landscape. What was left of them. But this really smellsnofnthe government trying to make it look national and everyone as their own crime family. The fact is we don't know what was up at Appalachian. It doesn't mean he's the actual boss of a family . He could be the gopher delivering messages. Informants are always suspect. They tell gov anything they want to here. I'm from NE and yes it's a smaller family but Patriarca was the real deal. But here again alot of misinformation. Henry tamelo and Bill grasso were both underbosses at some point but yet one was from Bonnanno and other from Columbo fam. Now maybe they transfered. Maybe it's NY trying to keep an eye out. But also the government may not exactly know. I'll give you the biggest example of all. The mob doesn't pay for hits! It's not like that. My point is theirs alot of misinformation out their. It's done on a respect basis and usually some how the person gets a new hustle to make money or doesn't get taxed but they don't pay for contracts like the movies. Joe Barboza killed 26 people alot for the mob. Never payed. He got respect and he didn't have to pay tax

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

You've got Los Angeles, San Francisco, and that pygmy thing over in San Jose (Sopranos reference)! Thank you for watching and commenting. A lot of what you're saying is very plausible, and I'll be diving deeper into the Marino's and probably more into Bonanno in Cerrito Part 2. Since you're from New England and you mentioned him (along with sharing the last name), I have to ask. Are you related to Joe Barboza?

[@BostonsF1nest]

I’m pretty reluctant to believe they existed up until the 90’s. Were there some made guys out there doing their own thing until the 90’s? Sure. But a crew of guys doesn’t constitute a family imo. The feds will always over exaggerate the scope and longevity of some of these families. San Jose as an actual crime family died when Cerrito died in the late 70’s/early 80’s. Even when he was alive they were never that big.

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

I'm planning to look more into this in Part Two, but I would say with what I know now, the assumption that the death of Cerrito was really the beginning of the end is directionally accurate. Honestly, I think they were starting to come apart earlier than that even. They limped on after Cerrito died, and that's the part we'll be covering in Part Two, but you're right I don't think they were the same. I did have one commenter who worked for Santa Clara County and they had the Cerrito's registered as a gang still in the 2000's, but by that point it was nearly defunct if not entirely defunct.

[@Slimc74]

The commission waa Joe the Fox Torrios plan. Torrio was Luciano and Capone boss in Brooklyn. He put the commission idea to Chicago in the 1920s. Then when Luciano took out both ny bosses. Torrio had him start the idea over again in Ny. Torrio was a big time boss. He doesn't get the respect he deserves. He was always quiet and low key. The Fox. Boardwalk Empire does give Torrio that respect at the end of the series when hes sitting with Luciano. Feritto whacked Danny Gteene. He was pretty vicious

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Thank you for watching and commenting! I think you're meaning Johnny "The Fox" Torrio and not Joe the Fox. I have heard that Torrio, once back in New York, was in Luciano and Lansky's ear helping them and may have been the originator of the Commission idea, though Luciano implemented it. I'll be researching that further when I cover the Castellammarese War in detail. Also, with reference to Ferrito, the man in this episode was Dominick Ferrito, uncle of Joe Cerrito. The Ferrito you're referencing was Ray Ferrito, who is the one who finally got to Danny Greene in Cleveland. I hope all is well.

[@chuckyoneill9029]

You heard of the Martoranos of Philly fame well I worked for one,true.nice guy

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Yeah, you pretty much can't talk about Philly without talking about Raymond "Long John" Martorano. I'm not as familiar with the rest of his family (I think his brother is John, though not the John who was the hitman for Whitey Bulger in Boston).

[@chuckyoneill9029]

@@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast No relation but just as crazy

[@chuckyoneill9029]

You have a good show,thanks.

[@Mercy-bf1yq]

This softy ceritto should have played mentally sick like Vinnie the chin in ny.although Joe was very smart,legit and low profile. But should have gone the Vinny route of the Genevese family. Ceritto a little girl of a mob boss.lol.

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Hi Mercy! Thank you for watching and commenting. On one hand, yes I agree that Cerrito was soft as a boss and somewhat feckless. He did not inspire fear as far as I could tell in my research, and he'd have been eaten alive in any other family (though he likely would've never risen to the boss position). However, on the other hand, he was very much ahead of the game with respect to legitimizing himself and requiring that members of his family do so as well. If it weren't for the LIFE magazine lawsuit (which he was forced to file by The Commission), I think he'd have remained relatively obscure. All that said, there were people like Marino who in my opinion were undermining him and gunning for his job, especially in the 1970's. I'm very surpirsed there were no assassination attempts. But again, that's the San Jose family in a nutshell during his reign as boss.

[@Ireland831]

The video wore me down. I watched a lot of this and didn't see any evidence of any crimes by these people. So stupid.

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

The research wore me down as well. I agree, the FBI despite being all over them couldn't find any evidence of any crimes. It's not until Part Two of the Cerrito's after a change in leadership do you see crimes committed.

[@Ireland831]

@@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast I enjoyed all the details - I was just hoping for more of a payoff with crimes when in the title it states "Crime Family".

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

@@Ireland831 totally agree. Can't have a payoff when there wasn't anything to payoff. The closest thing might have been murder conspiracy for the Harold Smith thing. In Part Two, there was more, but still not a lot.

[@tinocorreia4001]

Those west coast families were a joke. Joe the animal barbosa was hiding out in san francisco. And they had to send an east coast killer out there just to get the job done. 😂😂😂😂😂

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

I still want to hold my opinion about the other West Coast families, but I was shocked by what I found regarding San Jose. And I think we can all agree that all the families out West probably should have been much more powerful than they were.

[@washinfdc]

I do find this most interesting do to the fact i was born and raised on a dead-end street in Jose. MichaePatrick1972

[@jimsanchez8132]

Man I told my dad about this KZbin video he told me he met Saul and he wanted to buy the house that we owned on Bonita @TheGangLandHistoryPodcast

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

Wow! It's crazy how many people have crossed paths with the subjects of these videos. Thank you for watching and sharing!

[@billybattsshinebox8559]

Intro music made me want to tell you to go get your shinebox

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

No more shines, Billy

[@tonytone9152]

@@TheGanglandHistoryPodcastGo home and get your fkn shine box!!

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

@@tonytone9152 keep him here Henry! Keep him here! 😂 In all seriousness, thank you for watching and interacting.

[@freedomspreads9683]

Can’t wait for part 2 👍

[@TheGanglandHistoryPodcast]

I'll be working on that after the Angelo Bruno, Part 2 episode which I'm currently researching.

[@freedomspreads9683]

@@TheGanglandHistoryPodcastI lived in the Bay Area most of my life (specifically the Santa Cruz mountains) and for a time in San Jose and was a little (not totally) surprised to see Cerrito and his family had places in the Santa cruz mountains. I was just wondering if you knew where in the Santa cruz mountains that the San Jose crime family operated and what they operated there in specific? Or was it just like homes he lived in? Because there’s a bunch of towns in the mountains like Scotts valley, Felton, brookdale (famous for the Brookdale lodge, a famous resort that mobsters and stars from back in the day would go to escape the cities), and boulder creek just to name a few. Appreciate your work and like I said can’t wait for part 2. 👍

[@jabsosteeler]

​@@freedomspreads9683They operated in and around South San Jose and Los Gatos as the article states. I believe the meeting in the Santa Cruz Mountains was more of a one-off.

[@antoniettabonfigliovetere1195]

You are mispronouncing many Italian names and locations. Maybe check before your next podcast. Such as garofalo it’s Ga ro fa lo!