Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 125

Sundiy. July 22, 1171 Tht IriiOM RtpiiHlc California BERT SPARACINO Authorities said Sparacino has maintained close ties with a number of Hell Angels, giv ing them jobs in various bail bond agencies he has operated. -1 Federal and state officials said the fit 3 outlaw motorcycle connection, how ever, is linked to Sparacino's in volvement in narcotics smuggling. 51 6 The 40-year-old Sparacino form erly operated the Genie Bail Bond Agency in San Diego, where he em- i ployed Gary Moen, a former presi-I dent of the San Diego chapter of the 1 11 1 1 1 LOUIS TOM DRAGNA Law enforcement officials think Dragna may be a leading contender as the boss of the Southern California Mafia. A native, he has been associated with organized crime figures in the state for most of his 59 years.

Dragna is the owner of Roberta Manufacturing Co. in Rosemead, a Los Angeles suburb, and is thought to have interests in El-Jo Styles and hidden ownerships in a number of other garment firms. Federal and state authorities said he was involved in bookmaking and gambling and was suspected of smuggling illegal aliens into the country from Mexico to work in a number of garment shops. Officers said he had established significant Mexican connections and might have developed a vast network of narcotics trafficking. "We don't have a lot of information on his narcotics involvement," said one officer, "but we know he's in it." Dragna is the nephew of the late Jack Dragna, who, until his death in 1957 was the boss of the Southern California Mafia.

He has been identified as a high-ranking member of the Mafia by the California Assembly Subcommittee on Rackets, the California Organized Crime Control Commission and the U.S. Congressional Record. He was convicted of extortion in 1959. Dragna associates have included Joseph Sica, the late Frank Bompensiero, Peter Licavoli, Anthony Accardo, James Fratianno and the late Mickey Cohen. by federal officers to Carl Hammett, CARL B.

HAMMETT A former president of the Hell's Angels in San Diego, Hammett apparently presides over an uneasy alliance between members of organized crime and the outlaw motorcycle club. He has been linked by authorities to Mafia figures in California and Michigan. The Mafia-Hell's Angels connection was established and survives because the Angels honor an unwritten contract and are nearly impossible to infiltrate, said one San Diego County law enforcement official. The outlaw motorcycle gang members are said to act as couriers, enforcers and, occasionally, as hit men. Hammett, 38, also is alleged by federal authorities to be involved in the smuggling of weapons into Mexico in exchange for narcotics.

San Diego County officials said he also was connected to the pirating and smuggling of 8-track and cassette tapes. Hammett has operated a mobile marine service in San Diego, thought by authorities to be a front for smuggling activities. Although a Hell's Angel, Hammett has been linked to the Iron Horsemen Motorcycle Gang of San Diego, who reportedly have been active in drug trafficking. His associates include Gary Moen, also a former president of the San Diego Hell's Angels chapter who reportedly has had contact with Mafia boss Angelo Marino of San Jose and Bert Sparacino, a suspected narcotics dealer with mob ties. Hammett lives in Spring Valley, a San Diego suburb.

He was convicted in 1972 for possession of dangerous drugs and in 1978 for assault. Both convictions were in San Diego. who is said to smuggle weapons into Mexico in exchange for narcotics. Authorities said Sparacino most recently has been involved in the operation of Isaac's Bail Bonds in San Diego. He has been linked by law enforcement officials to organized-crime figure Frank Bompensiero, who was considered boss of the San Diego mob until he was shot to death in 1977 as an alleged FBI informant.

Another associate, according to authorities, is Angelo Marino, a leading Mafia figure in San Jose. Sparacino lives in San Diego. He was convicted in San Sose in 1966 of hit-and-run driving, in 1968 of displaying a weapon and in 1969 of battery. He also was convicted in 1972 in San Diego of disturbing the peace. JAMES FRATIANNO Fratianno has been tagged with the nickname "Jimmy the Weasel" for years, but apparently just recently lived up to the billing.

He has become the FBI's highest-ranking Mafia informant H'JS8 sty EDWARD ZUBER Currently in federal prison at Lompoc, Zuber has been identified by both federal since Joe Valachi, who appeared be- Sfore the U.S. Senate in 1963 and smm mi 39 revealed the inner workings of La Cosa Nostra. and state law-enforcement officials as a Los Angeles-area organized crime figure. He was listed in the California Organized Crime Control Commission report in 1978. A 66-year-old former Fresno, resident, Fratianno is under federal protective custody.

He worked a deal with the government in exchange for a reduced prison sentence in two gangland slayings. Zuber's associates, authorities said, have included mob financial ex The Mafia reportedly has a $100,000 contract out on pert Meyer Lansky, suspected heroin trafficker Sam Cagnina and Miami underworld boss Santos Trafficante, who many consider one of the most powerful organized crime bosses in his life. Federal authorities said Fratianno headed a ring of 1 the Southeast today. organized crime figures involved in the importation of cocaine, heroin and marijuana from Mexico to the United States before his recent government deal. The ring, according to federal agents, dealt with Ramon Jaime, a major Mexican narcotics trafficker.

Fratianno has been convicted of robbery, extortion, making false statements and conspiracy. Los Angeles police officials testifying before a state RONALD GIANNONI Federal authorities think Giannoni is a major narcotics trafficker in the San Francisco Bay area and, according to a confidential Drug Enforcement Administration report, has guaranteed his source of drugs from Mexico with shipments of arms and weapons south of the border. The 37-year-old California resident has established a close working relationship with his 41-year-old brother Emile Giannoni. Besides narcotics, law enforcement officials think the two are involved in fencing stolen property. Ronald Giannoni reportedly has established ties with a number of Mafia families.

Authorities said two former contacts included Frank Bompensiero of San Diego and Joseph Cerrito of San Jose. Bompensiero and Cerrito were high-ranking Mafia bosses until their recent deaths. The Giannoni brothers live in San Mateo, a San Francisco suburb. They have no convictions. VINCENT ALBANESE A 48-year-old Southern Californian with ties to organized crime figures in four states, Albanese has been described by law-enforcement officials as a mover of mob money.

He is associated with Development in San Diego and reportedly has been involved in construction of condominiums in San Diego and Palm Springs. Authorities said Albanese was suspected of fronting for a number of out-of-state mob figures who have invested in land and businesses in California. Albanese also has had frequent contact with Alfa Chemical Co. in Las Vegas, which reportedly is controlled by former Mafia executioner James Fratianno, now under government protection after working a deal in exchange for a reduced prison sentence for two gangland slayings. Albanese owns Yinnie's Italian Restaurant in San Diego and is said to control property throughout the southland.

Federal authorities, according to a confidential Drug Enforcement Administration report, think Albanese is involved in the smuggling of arms and weapons into Mexico in exchange for heroin. Agents said his major Mexican connections were located in Tijuana. According to California authorities, Albanese recently purchased a home in Palm Springs that belonged to Frank Sinatra's late mother. Assembly subcommittee, called Fratianno "the executioner" fur the mob on the West Coast. Zuber, also known as "Big Ed," is serving a six-year term for conspiring to bilk Las Vegas' Aladdin Hotel out of $250,000 in gambling chips and for stock and mail fraud schemes in New York and San Diego.

Authorities think he still may be active in narcotics trafficking. The former resident of Costa Mesa, has a record of stock manipulation schemes. He was convicted in New York in 1974 for mail fraud in connec-, tion with a stock ploy that bilked investors of $800,000. He also was convicted in 1970 of possession of narcotics. Federal authorities said Zuber was involved in narcotics before his 1975 fraud conviction.

They said in a confidential Drug Enforcement Administration report that he imported heroin and cocaine. Some officials think he was a contact man for narcotics for til mU' SALVATORE PISELLO A member of the Gambino family of New York, Pisello works for the Carmine Con-salvo crime organization as one of the mob's West Coast overseers, authorities said. He is a suspected nar cotics smuggler. According to a confidential Drug I Enforcement Administration report, Pisello was named by Mexico nar Is it cotics dealer Jorge Asaf Bala as his New York heroin customer. Af Dni Detroit 1 narcotics trafficker in Mexico.

Al- prison, he continues to operate what ANTHONY J. GIACALONE Publicity concerning Giacalone of late has centered on his alleged involvement VJ in the Jimmy Hoffa disappearance. Giacalone was identified as the man Hoffa said he was going to meet ANGELO MARINO Law enforcement authorities say Marino has been a high-ranking member of the San Jose, Mafia for several years. The Congressional Record listed him as a captain in the San Jose mob in 1969, under the leadership of the late Joseph Cerrito. The 55-year-old Marino owns the California Cheese Co.

in San Jose. State Justice Department officials said Marino might have established a monopoly in California on certain cheese products. Federal and state authorities also think Marino uses his cheese firm as a front for narcotics smuggling. Officials said he had used members of the Hell's Angels to transport drugs from Mexico into the United States. Some of the narcotics, according to investigators, has been moved through the state in various cheese wheels that were hollowed out.

Investigators have linked Marino to a number of Mafia leaders throughout the country, including Anthony Pinelli who is said to run the Gary, syndicate, and Salvatore "Bill" Bonanno, son of Mafia boss Joseph Bonanno Sr. of Tucson Marino and Joseph Piazza, a former member of an organized crime burglary operation, were named last year as co-defendants in the gangland slaying of Peter Catelli. Catelli was killed in Marino's San Jose cheese factory. The trial, being prosecuted by the Santa Clara County district attorney's office, is under way in Los Angeles and is expected to last through December. Marino lives in San Jose.

Authorities think the Hell's Angels connection maintained by Marino probably was established by Cerrito. officials have called a "massive drug smuggling syndicate." Pisello, 55, maintains a home in Lake Encino, a plush suburb of Los Angeles. He is said to have associated with organized crime figures Edward Lino and Charles Alaimo, two suspected narcotics dealers. Lino, according to federal sources, is the uncle of Consalvo and reportedly directs distribution for the Consalvo organization. He is said to have traveled to Italy to arrange heroin shipments back to the United States.

Alaimo reportedly received part of a 600-pound load of heroin in Tampa, that came from Hong Kong, according to federal agents. Although he has no convictions, authorities said Pisello may be emerging as a leading figure in the movement of illicit narcotics between Mexico and U.S. buyers. He also has been linked by officers to business activities in Aspen, Colo. Pisello also has been tied by authorities to Angelo Marino and Vincent Albanese, two high-ranking California mobsters.

He also reportedly met with Joseph Bon-anno Sr. of Tucson in Scottsdale in 1977, according to California authorities. Law enforcement officials said Pisello has worked as the manager of the Roma DiNotte Restaurant in Los Angeles. MICHELE MARCHESE Law enforcement officials think Marchese has been an enforcer for organized crime in the Los Angeles area for the past several years. The 57-year-old Pasadena resident has been convicted of violating federal narcotics laws (1958), extortion (1972) and possession of a firearm by a felon (1972).

In the firearms case, authorities said Marchese used a pistol to threaten a New York attorney who was attempting to protect investors in instituting bankruptcy proceedings for an oil company. During the trial, Marchese was described as a loan shark with organized crime connections. California law enforcement authorities think Marchese currently is involved in narcotics, gambling and loan-sharking. He has been affiliated with a Los Angeles firm known as Sound Alike Music Co. Federal reports indicate Marchese has been active in narcotics in the Rosarita Beach area of Baja California.

Drug Enforcement Administration officers also have reported seeing Marchese in the Tijuana area. the day the former Teamsters president vanished in July 1975. But federal authorities say Giacalone also has been involved in bringing Mexican heroin into the United States. Considered to be a ranking member of the Detroit Mafia hierarchy, Giacalone (also known as Tony Jack) has a record dating back 25 years and including a conviction for bribing a police officer. He has followed a long-established pattern of ascent through mob ranks from gambling and collec ill' 7 fa tion rackets to the point where he is believed to control street operations in Detroit.

Like many hoods, he has chosen Miami, as his home away from home in recent years. Giacalone has been fighting to stay out of prison after being sentenced in 1976 to 10 years and fined $30,000 for income tax evasion. An appeal was rejected late last year, but as is the case with many hoods, convicting Giacalone seems to have been only half the battle. Kansas City JOHN ALESSIO Authorities are not certain where Alessio hangs his socks at night, but they have called him a significant force in California's organized crime picture. He maintains homes in Tijuana, where he is said to spend of his time, and in La Mesa, a San Diego suburb.

Federal officials labelled him a top contender for the job of boss of bosses of the California Mafia in recent confidential Drug Enforcement Administration reports. He has been involved in the ownership of Sunland Park and Ruidoso Downs racetracks in New Mexico and the Juarez Race Track in Cuidad Juarez. He holds a 99-year lease on property at Caliente Race Track in Tijuana. Federal and state authorities said Alessio was suspected of controlling a vast network of gambling, narcotics and bookmaking activities on both sides of the border. Alessio, 68, spent two years in federal prison at McNeil Island, for income-tax evasion.

He was convicted of skimming bets at Caliente and using the money to improve property in California. The conviction was in 1973 and involved nearly $2 million in unreported income over a four-year period. Federal sources have described the Sunland Park racetrack in New Mexico, located near El Paso, as a major narcotics distribution center. The Alessio family built and operated dog tracks at one time in Phoenix, Apache Junction and Yuma. They have not operated in Arizona for some time, however.

JOSEPH SICA As the recognized leader of the four Sica brothers, Joseph Sica once enjoyed a "well-earned reputation" as a top racketeer specializing in strong-arm tactics, book-making, narcotics and robbery, law-enforcement officials say. A lengthy arrest record shows convictions for robbery, grand theft auto, larceny, bookmaking and extortion. He was arrested twice for murder in 1948 for the Los Angeles killing of Harry "Hooky" Rother, who was shot down in gangster Mickey Cohen's haberdashery and in the 1950 slaying of Gardena, attorney Samuel Rummel. Neither arrest resulted in a conviction. Sica also was among 17 persons indicted in the 1950s in a federal narcotics conspiracy case.

The case collapsed, however, when a key prosecution witness was found shot to death. Law enforcement officials consider Sica a pioneer in the establishment of a narcotics network between California and Mexico. The network was created, they said, when Sica worked for Cohen. The 67-year-old mobster lives in the Los Angeles area, as do brothers Frank, Alfred and Nunzio. The four are seen together frequently, authorities said.

They are said to be involved in bookmaking and loan-sharking today. FRANK LAMBE The former owner of a flying service in Fresno, called Lambair Lambe was convicted in 1972 of taking part in an airborne smuggling conspiracy. He was sentenced with his son Anthony Lambe to three years in prison. The two were indicted in a smuggling operation involving transportation of 13 tons of marijuana into the United States from Mexico between 1968 and 1970, according to court records. Federal officials said Lambe, who also is known as Frank C.

Lambetecchio, is thought to be smuggling narcotics again. His major Mexico contact, according to Drug Enforcement Administration agents, is Ed-uardo "Don Lala" Fernandez, a top Mexican narcotics trafficker. Lambe, 57, reportedly has connections with Ronald and Emile Giannoni of San Mateo, two brothers suspected of dealing in narcotics in the San Francisco Bay area. San Diego County law enforcement officials said Lambe also associated with Lawrence Fassler, a former Arizona narcotics trafficker who is now serving a life sentence at San Quentin for murder. Fassler was sentenced in the slaying of Warren Hudson, who reportedly was one of the pilots who flew for a drug smuggling ring headed by Fassler.

CHARLES V. CARROLLO Carrollo is a brother of ranking Kansas City organized-crime figure Sam Carrollo. Federal authorities say the Carrollo organization has been active in the illicit drug market for 30 years. They say Charges was known to have visited Mexico City as early as 1955 and once was associated with an optical company there. Criminal associates in Mexico City include Michael Spinelli and Niccolo Impastato..