back to Niagara Falls Reporter archive
MOB NEMESIS: HOW THE FBI CRIPPLED ORGANIZED CRIME, by Joe Griffin with Don DeNevi. 336 pp. Prometheus Books, Amherst, N.Y. 2002.
In the late 1960s, he found himself in Buffalo, where the aging and ailing Don Stefano Magaddino was already losing his grip. In Cleveland 10 years later, he was there to pick up the pieces following one of the most vicious mob wars in history. When then-U.S. Attorney Rudy Giuliani prosecuted the famous Commission Case of the mid-1980s, Griffin provided him with Angelo Lonardo and the aptly named Jimmy "The Weasel" Fratianno, at the time the two highest-ranking LCN chieftains ever to enter the federal witness protection program.
And in 1995, as an inspector for the Laborers International Union of North America, he participated in the takeover of Buffalo Local 210.
These stories and more are recounted in his new autobiography, "Mob Nemesis," making the book must reading for any serious student of organized crime and, in particular, its manifestations in Buffalo and Cleveland.
In both locales, the mob was already in trouble at the time of Griffin's arrival. In Buffalo, Magaddino had lost much of his national luster by arranging the unfortunate 1957 Commission meeting in rural Apalachin, N.Y., where the mob guys stood out like so many sore thumbs and attracted considerable law enforcement attention. Locally, the Old Man became the focus of a lot of grumbling when he arbitrarily ended the practice of handing out annual Christmas bonuses to his underbosses and capos.
By the time Griffin got to Cleveland, various mob factions were involved in a bloody war that resulted in the deaths of dozens of wise guys. At the time, the Cleveland crime scene was dominated by various factions of Italian, Irish and Jewish descent, all of whom were battling for supremacy in the wake of longtime boss John Scalish's death of natural causes in 1976.
Those living in certain Cleveland neighborhoods at the time were treated to the vicarious thrill of what seemed like weekly window-shaking bomb blasts or gunfire. The faction headed by Danny "The Irishman" Greene finally succeeded in blowing up Shondor Birns, who managed the remnants of Moe Dalitz's Prohibition-era "Little Jewish Navy." This was followed by no fewer than six attempts on Greene's life ordered by Scalish's successor, James "Jack White" Licavoli. When they finally got him -- detonating a dynamite-filled car parked next to his in the parking lot of his dentist's office -- the FBI had already penetrated the Licavoli organization with numerous wiretaps and informants.
In the trials that followed, the entire leadership of the Cleveland family was convicted on RICO charges relating the murders of Greene and several of his associates.
The stories are interesting and reasonably well told. Which is not to say that "Mob Nemesis" is not without problems, some of which are fairly serious.
To begin with, the book is riddled with typographical errors, never a good sign in what is supposed to be an authoritative account. These editing errors are compounded by simple factual mistakes that could easily have been checked. The Como Restaurant, for example, is referred to as the "Como Inn," and a chain of Standard Oil Ohio gas stations, Sohio, are repeatedly called "Soho" in the text. Cleveland's Danny Greene is referred to as the head of the "West Side" gang when, in fact, his Shamrock-festooned headquarters was located in Collinwood, on the city's far eastern side.
Likewise, Griffin's account of Magaddino's arrest, on Nov. 26, 1968, raises questions. While Griffin states the arrest took place at the Old Man's house on Dana Drive in Lewiston -- as his arraignment undoubtedly did -- every contemporary newspaper account states Magaddino was pulled over by authorities while driving along the 2800 block of Niagara Street. And the former FBI agent's recollection of the Don's funeral is completely at odds with those of friends and family members who attended the services at St. Joseph's.
In the brief section devoted to the Laborers Local 210 investigation by the LIUNA Inspector General's office, Griffin names -- and provides photographs of -- no fewer than 16 alleged mob associates from Niagara Falls and Buffalo. Nowhere, however, does the author state what evidence LIUNA had in reaching its conclusions. The fact that most of the individuals -- including the alleged boss and other leadership -- are still out walking around speaks for itself.
Griffin might be taken aback by the many here -- including prominent business people and politicians -- who express feelings bordering on nostalgia for the prosperity and order that accompanied most of Magaddino's rule on the Niagara Frontier. Is the disorganized crime of today -- which includes things like muggings of elderly people on Pine Avenue and Niagara Street -- any better than the organized crime that preceded it?
And the book's central premise, that the FBI "crippled" organized crime, remains debatable, at best.
"Mob Nemesis" should enjoy brisk sales, particularly in Ohio and Western New York. It is an ultimately flawed book, but one which adds to our understanding of goodfellas and the guys who hate them.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | August 20 2002 |