Buffalo Mob

#OnThisDay in 1891, Stefano Magaddino, longtime boss of the Buffalo Mob and a founding member of the Commission, was born in Sicily. Organized crime ran deep in Magaddino’s family. Both of his grandfathers had led separate factions of the Sicilian Mafia. After immigrating to the United States, Magaddino settled in New York City and became involved in organized crime. In 1921, he was arrested in connection with a revenge killing in New Jersey. Fearing retaliation, he eventually relocated to western New York. Following the death of Buffalo Mob boss Joseph DiCarlo in 1922, underboss Angelo “Buffalo Bill” Palmieri invited Magaddino to take control of the crime family. Magaddino went on to build a powerful criminal organization in western New York while maintaining interests in legitimate businesses, including the Magaddino Memorial Chapel, Power City Distributing Company of Niagara Falls, and Camelia Linen Supply Company of Buffalo. His consigliere, John C. Montana, was a prominent Buffalo businessman and former city council member. In the 1930s, Magaddino became one of the founding members of the Commission, the governing body created to coordinate relations among the nation’s major Mafia families. For decades, Magaddino largely avoided prosecution. But in 1968, an FBI investigation into illegal horse race betting involving his son, Peter, led agents to recover $473,000 connected to the operation. Investigators later searched Magaddino’s home, where he reportedly had a heart attack during the search. A doctor on scene determined he was faking it. Magaddino was arrested, but his attorneys repeatedly delayed his trial because of his reported health problems, and he never served time in the case. His power diminished during his final years as his health declined and his leadership weakened. Magaddino died of a heart attack at his home in 1974.