Navy Street gang
 Group photograph used as a prosecution exhibit in 1918; the annotations represent prosecution identifications and do not independently prove every alleged crime or rank | |
| Origins | |
|---|---|
| Founding Location | Navy Street, Brooklyn, New York City |
| Territory | Navy Street and Downtown Brooklyn |
| Headquarters | Vollero–Lauritano coffeehouse, 113 Navy Street |
| Lineage | |
| Parent Organization | Brooklyn Camorra (loose umbrella) |
| Profile | |
| Structure | Informal Camorra gang and criminal association |
| Activities | Gambling, policy and card games Robbery and burglary Extortion Cocaine sales (some leaders and associates) Murder and violent enforcement |
| Politics | |
| Leader | Alessandro Vollero Eugenio Bizzaro Andrea Ricci Leopoldo Lauritano |
| Allies | Coney Island gang (situational alliance) |
| Enemies | Morello–Terranova organization |
| Activity | |
| Status | Defunct |
| Years Active | c. 1915–1918 (securely documented combination period; earlier roots possible) |
| Dissolved Date | 1918 |
| Dissolution Cause | Informant testimony Trials and convictions |
The Navy Street gang was an informal Neapolitan and Campanian criminal group based around Navy Street in Brooklyn. It was one of the two principal gangs grouped retrospectively under the Brooklyn Camorra umbrella. Nelli identifies Alessandro Vollero, Eugenio Bizzaro, Andrea Ricci and Leopoldo Lauritano as its leaders.[1]
Organization and rackets
[edit]Members and associates gathered at the Vollero–Lauritano coffeehouse at 113 Navy Street.[1] The often-repeated 133 address is not used because the stronger source and prosecution exhibit identify 113. Testimony connected individuals to gambling, policy, robbery, burglary, cocaine sales and violent enforcement, but revenues were not necessarily pooled and some drug business was entrepreneurial rather than centrally controlled.[2]
One participant, John Esposito, testified that Navy Street was “not officially a gang”; he described friendship and shared activity rather than paid employment under bosses. Other testimony used leadership language and identified recruits or workers. The safest description is therefore an organized but informal criminal association—not a salaried hierarchy with a stable roster.[2]
Alliance and war
[edit]Navy Street cooperated with Morano's Coney Island gang in card games and violence. It also maintained prior working relationships with Sicilian figures. Critchley reports that Navy Street members split over whether to assassinate the Morellos, with some emphasizing earlier cooperation and peace.[3]
The alliance nevertheless participated in the campaign against the Morello–Terranova group. The September 7, 1916 killing of Nick Terranova and Eugenio Ubriaco intensified investigation and retaliation.[4]
Downfall
[edit]Ralph Daniello, associated with Navy Street, gave investigators extensive testimony about the Brooklyn groups. Trials and convictions in 1917–1918 imprisoned Vollero and other leading figures and broke the gang's existing organization. The surviving members were not transferred as one intact unit to Salvatore D'Aquila. During the 1920s, individuals dispersed into several networks and formerly Sicilian organizations; no direct corporate succession is established.
References
[edit]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Humbert S. Nelli, The Business of Crime: Italians and Syndicate Crime in the United States (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1981), pp. 129–134.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 David Critchley, The Origin of Organized Crime in America: The New York City Mafia, 1891–1931 (New York: Routledge, 2009), pp. 118–126.
- ↑ Critchley, Origin of Organized Crime, pp. 112–118.
- ↑ “Two Die in Pistol Fight in Brooklyn Street”, The New York Times, September 8, 1916.