Giuseppe Aiello (1890 - 1930)

Born 27 Sep 1890 in Bagheria, Palermo, Sicily, Italy

Died 23 Oct 1930 at age 40 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States

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Biography

Joe Aiello, a Chicago gangster, mafioso, and rival of Al Capone, was born Giuseppe Aiello in Bagheria, Sicily, on 27 September 1890.^[1][2][3] Joseph is the son of Carlo and Catherine Aiello.^[4] His mother dies when Joe is young.^[1]

Joe immigrated in July 1907 at age 17.^[1]

On the SS Cretic, departing Naples on 13 July 1907 and arriving in Ellis Island:

20. Giuseppe Aiello, 17 (b. 1890), farm laborer, born in and last resided in Bagheria, leaves his father Carlo in that city. He is going to Utica where he is planning to join his brother Andrea at 445 Bleecker St., Utica, NY.^[5]

In the 1910 federal census of Utica, NY, Giuseppe and his brothers Andrea and Nunzio are boarders:

Sebastiano D’Amato, 32, heads a household at 271 Jay St, Utica, NY, with his wife, Maria, 32, and boarders: Andrea Aiello, 22 (b. 1888), married; Giuseppe Aiello, 20 (b. 1890), single; Nunzio Aiello, 24 (b. 1886), single; and Nicola Aiello, 20 (b. 1890), single. All were born in Italy. Maria and Sebastiano immigrated in 1910, have been married for two years, and have no children. Sebastiano is a pastry store clerk and Maria is a tailoress. The Aiellos are all moulders at a pipe foundry. Andrea came in 1906, Giuseppe in 1907, Nunzio in 1910, and Nicola in 1909.^[6]

In 1914, Nicola, with whom Andrea, Joe, and Nunzio lived in 1910, marries Rosina Buccola in Utica. He is not their brother.

In 1915, Salvatore Aiello, of Jay St. in Utica, petitions for naturalization. He may be Sam Aiello, Joe's brother.

In 1916, Joe's brother Nunzio marries in Chicago.

In 1917, Joe's brother, Andrea, registers for the draft in Chicago.

Joseph Aiello, age 26, registers for the draft for WWI. He lives at 537 Bleecker St., Utica, NY. He was born 27 September 1890 in Palermo, Italy. He is a laborer employed by Rosario Pans? of Utica. He is single, an alien. The registrar describes Joe on 5 June 1917 as being tall and slender with brown eyes and hair.^[3]

Later that month, Antonio Gagliano is fired upon by Joe Aiello and Joe's business partner, Samuel LaFada. The men briefly owned a bar together in Utica.^[7] Joe's father- and brother-in-law, Ottavio and Sam Amara, are arrested for hiding Joe from the police. Joe and Samuel both had permits to carry firearms. Joe was found with a recently fired revolver. Gagliano, who'd fired in return, accidentally hit another man and was arrested for first degree assault, as were LaFada and Aiello.^[8]

After the shooting, Gagliano refused to identify Aiello or LaFada in court and said the police forced him at gunpoint to sign a statement. He was charged with perjury. LaFada was killed in Buffalo in October.^[9]

Joe lived in Utica and worked there and in Buffalo.

He marries Caterina Amari (or "Amara"), who is also from Bagheria. Joe and Catherine have five known children: Lena (c. 1917), Carlo/Carl Thomas (1919), Antonino/Anthony (1922), Catherine (1924), and Joseph (1928).

According to most accounts, Joe's involvement in a shooting in 1917 precipitated his move to Chicago.^[10][1] He does not appear to leave Utica until after his daughter's tragic death in 1921.

In 1918, Joe's brother, Nunzio, registers for the draft. He lives with brother Andrea at 224 Locust St. in Chicago, the same address where Nunzio brings their father, Carlo, in August 1920.

Lena is born late in 1918, based on her reported age at death.

His son, Carlo Aiello, is born 16 September 1919 in Utica.^[11]

Lena, age three and a half, is scalded to death in an accident in her parents' home at 839 Bleecker St., in Utica. She fell into a tub of water her maternal grandmother had heated for bathing.^[12]

In Chicago, Joe joined Antonio Lombardo, who was a powerful figure in the Unione Siciliane. However, he grew ambitious and created a partnership with Bugs Moran. This way, he lost the protection of Lombardo, and put him at odds with Al Capone.^[10]

Joe's son, Antonino, was born 13 July 1922 in Chicago.^[13]

Joe and his brothers Salvatore/Sam, and Pietro/Peter took over the old Genna brothers' territory in Chicago in the early 1920s, after they were killed by North Side Gang members.^[2]

Joe's father, Carlo, dies on 18 April 1923 in Chicago. He is 64. Carlo was in the fruit business. He is buried on 21 April in Mt. Carmel.^[14]

Catherine is born 12 July 1924 in Chicago to Joseph, 34 (b. 1890), and Catherine Amara, 25 (b. 1899), both born in Bagheria.^[15]

Joe was in conflict with Al Capone. He tried to have Capone killed on more than one occasion.^[2]

According to Critchley, in late 1927 Capone forced Aiello to leave Chicago.^[10]

Joe's youngest, Joseph, was born 5 August 1928 in Chicago.^[16]

Joe had alliances with Gaspar Milazzo of Detroit, and Stefano Maggadino of Buffalo.^[1] During the Castellammarese War in New York City, Joe Aiello financed Maranzano's campaign.^[2]

In the 1930 federal census of Chicago, Joseph Aiello, 40 (b. 1890), heads a household at 2553 Lunt Ave. He owns his home, worth $65,000. He and his wife Catherine, 31 (b. 1899), were both born in Italy. They first married at ages 27 and 18 respectively (m. 1917). Their oldest son, Carl, 10 (b. 1920), was born in NY. The rest of the children were born in Illinois: Anthony, 7 (b. 1923), Catherine, 6 (b. 1924), and Joseph, 2 (b. 1928). Also living with them is a sister in law, Rose Amora, 33 (b. 1897), single, born in Italy. Joseph is a wholesale grocer who does not know when he emigrated. He is a naturalized citizen. His wife came in 1909 and his sister in law in 1904. She works as a maid.

Joseph’s neighbor, Giuseppe Gagliardo, 48 (b. 1882), is the president of a labor union. ^[17]

Joe was killed by Capone's men on 23 October 1930.^[2] He was 40 years old. The record of his death gives his occupation as an importer and wholesale grocer. Joseph is buried in Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Hillside, IL.^[4]His last address is 2553 Lunt Av. He is buried by Peter J. Maruca Funeral Home. His wife or daughter is the informant, Catherine Aiello.^[18][19]

According to this Find A Grave profile, Joe was not buried in Illinois, but near his son, Carl, in New York. The biography claims Joe was born in Castellammare del Golfo.^[20]

Carl Thomas Aiello, born 16 September 1919 in Utica, NY, dies 3 February 1999^[21] in Bradenton, Florida.^[22]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Wikipedia:Joe_Aiello entry on Wikipedia accessed 16 April 2020.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} Aiello, Joseph (1890-1930): Who Was Who on The American Mafia Retrieved 16 April 2020 from http://mob-who.blogspot.com/2011/04/aiello-joseph-1890-1930.html?m=1
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-91J9-94K5?cc=1968530&wc=9F8Q-16D%3A928312401%2C929096901 : 14 May 2014), New York > Utica City no 1; A-Anderson, William > image 109 of 205; citing NARA microfilm publication M1509 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} "Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947," database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N34Y-729 : 27 December 2014), Joseph Aiello, 23 Oct 1930; Public Board of Health, Archives, Springfield; FHL microfilm 1,892,695.
5. ↑ "New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9R8-X99J-C?cc=1368704&wc=4XBX-3CB%3A1600422326 : 26 January 2018), Roll 952, vol 2130-2131, 27 Jul 1907 > image 611 of 740; citing NARA microfilm publication T715 and M237 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
6. ↑ "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRVY-Y4S?cc=1727033&wc=QZZ4-62Z%3A133641301%2C135767001%2C143851501%2C1589089706 : 24 June 2017), New York > Oneida > Utica Ward 8 > ED 125 > image 44 of 58; citing NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
7. ↑ “Clear Up Shooting Case.” Utica Daily Press. 13 June 1917. P. 13.
8. ↑ “The Utica Shooting.” The Rome (NY) Daily Sentinel. 23 June 1917. P. 8.
9. ↑ ”Former Utican Killed in Buffalo.” The Utica (NY) Observer. 8 October 1917. P. 14.
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1 10.2} Critchley, D. (2009). The Origin of Organized Crime in America: The New York City Mafia, 1891-1931. New York: Routledge.
11. ↑ New York State Department of Health; Albany, NY, USA; New York State Birth Index
12. ↑ “Scalded to Death by Fall into Tub.” Utica Herald-Dispatch. 9 March 1921.
13. ↑ "Illinois, Cook County, Birth Certificates, 1871-1940," database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N7Q9-KLX : 18 May 2016), Joseph Aiello in entry for Antonino Aiello, 13 Jul 1922; Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States, reference/certificate 27601, Cook County Clerk, Cook County Courthouse, Chicago; FHL microfilm 1,379,130.
14. ↑ "Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NQXJ-RHS : 9 March 2018), Carlo Aiello, 18 Apr 1923; Public Board of Health, Archives, Springfield; FHL microfilm 1,877,387.
15. ↑ "Illinois, Cook County, Birth Certificates, 1871-1940," database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVPC-Z1SV : 18 May 2016), Joseph Aiello in entry for Catherine Aiello, 12 Jul 1924; Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States, reference/certificate 31025, Cook County Clerk, Cook County Courthouse, Chicago; FHL microfilm 100,510,688.
16. ↑ "Illinois, Cook County, Birth Certificates, 1871-1940," database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKDC-ZV2F : 18 May 2016), Joseph Aiello in entry for Joseph Aiello, 05 Aug 1928; Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States, reference/certificate 34248, Cook County Clerk, Cook County Courthouse, Chicago; FHL microfilm .
17. ↑ Year: 1930; Census Place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois; Page: 11B; Enumeration District: 1915; FHL microfilm: 2340230
18. ↑ "Illinois, Cook County Deaths, 1878-1994," database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2MZ-PGQW : 18 March 2018), Joseph Aiello, 23 Oct 1930; citing Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States, source reference , record number , Cook County Courthouse, Chicago; FHL microfilm .
19. ↑ FHL Film No. 1892695. Ancestry.com. Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Index, 1916-1947 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
20. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 16 April 2020), memorial page for Giuseppe “Joe” Aiello (27 Sep 1890–23 Oct 1930), Find a Grave Memorial no. 7557568, citing Riverside Cemetery, Rochester, Monroe County, New York, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave .
21. ↑ Ancestry.com. U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015.
22. ↑ Democrat and Chronicle; Publication Date: 14/ Mar/ 1999; Publication Place: Rochester, New York, United States of America; URL: https://www.newspapers.com/image/136401678/?article=3cdfa6cb-e5cf-4a66-8fd9-6c774bacaaea&focus=0.049337693,0.21122606,0.20739357,0.26526633&xid=2378