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 | Lauritano family coffeehouse on Navy Street |
| Lineage | |
| Parent Organization | Brooklyn Camorra (loose umbrella) |
| Profile | |
| Structure | Informal Camorra gang and criminal association |
| Activities | Gambling and card games Robbery and burglary Narcotics trafficking Murder and violent enforcement |
| Politics | |
| Leader | Andrea Ricci Leopoldo Lauritano Alessandro Vollero (prominent operational figure) |
| Allies | Coney Island gang (situational alliance) |
| Enemies | Morello–Terranova organization |
| Activity | |
| Status | Defunct |
| Years Active | c. 1910–1918 |
| Dissolved Date | 1918 |
| Dissolution Cause | Informant testimony Trials and convictions |
The Navy Street gang was an informal Neapolitan Camorra group based around Navy Street in Brooklyn. It was one of the principal constituent gangs grouped retrospectively under the Brooklyn Camorra umbrella. David Critchley identifies Andrea Ricci and Leopoldo Lauritano as leading Navy Street counterparts to Coney Island boss Pellegrino Morano, with Alessandro Vollero another prominent figure.[1]
Organization and rackets
Members and associates gathered at a Lauritano family coffeehouse on Navy Street. Testimony connected individuals to gambling, robbery, burglary, narcotics and violent enforcement, but revenues were not necessarily pooled and relationships were fluid.[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.[1]
Alliance and war
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
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; any later absorption concerned individuals or rackets.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 David Critchley, The Origin of Organized Crime in America: The New York City Mafia, 1891–1931 (New York: Routledge, 2009), pp. 106–134.
- ↑ Critchley, Origin of Organized Crime, 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.