Gaspare DiGregorio (1905 - 1970)

Born 4 Oct 1905 in Castellammare del Golfo, Trapani, Sicily, Italy

Ancestors

Husband of Maria (Magaddino) Di Gregorio — married 8 Dec 1924 (to 4 Aug 1927) in Niagara Falls, Niagara, New York, United States

Died 11 Jun 1970 at age 64 in Smithtown, Suffolk, New York, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Justin Cascio [send private message]

Biography

On 5 October 1905 in Castellammare del Golfo, Leonardo Di Gregorio, age 52 (b. 1853), macellaio (butcher), reports the birth on 4 October in via Ultima, #16, to Maria Ciaravino fu Gaspare, his wife, with whom he lives, a male child who is presented and named Gaspare.^[1]

Gaspar DiGregorio is a high-ranking member of the Bonanno crime family in New York City.^[2]

Gaspare and Joseph Bonanno started out during Prohibition together in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, with a basement distillery.^[3]

Gaspare marries twice, first to Maria Magaddino, who is his first cousin, and the sister of Buffalo Mafia boss Stefano Magaddino.

Gaspare Di Gregorio, age 21 (b. 1903), son of Leo Di Gregorio and Maria Ciaravino, marries Maria Magaddino, age 20 (b. 1904), daughter of John Magaddino and Josephine Ciaravino, on 8 December 1924 in Niagara, New York.

Gaspare lives at 1653 Whitney Ave and works as a butcher. He and his parents were born in Italy. Maria lives at the same address. She and her parents were born in Italy. They are married by a Roman Catholic priest on 8 December 1924 in Niagara Falls. Gaspare’s name is spelled “Gaspere” in this record. Witnesses are Stefano Magaddino and Carmela Magaddino.^[4]

Maria dies on 4 August 1927 in Manhattan, at age 22. Her last address was 2814 Ave K in Brooklyn.^[5]

In a photo appearing in A Man of Honor, the book by Joseph Bonanno, of his wedding in 1931 to Fanny Labruzzo, the men in the photo are said to be, left to right Joe Bonanno, Gaspar Di Gregorio, Sebastiano "Buster from Chicago" Domingo, Natale Evola, Vincent Danna, Charles Di Benedetto, Martin Bruno & Salvatore Profaci.

Gaspare remarries in 1934 to Vita LaSala, whose name appears in Gaspare's obituary as his surviving spouse. Gaspare and Vita have three children: Leonard (c. 1935), Antonina (c. 1939), and Kathleen (c. 1947).

In the 1950 federal census of Rockville Center, Nassau County, NY, ED 30-214, taken 21 April, Gasper Digregorio, 44 (b. 1906), heads a household at 162 Walnut with his wife Vita, 37 (b. 1913), both born in Italy, and their children Leonard, 15 (b. 1935), Antonina, 11 (b. 1939) ,and Kathleen, 3 (b. 1947), all born in NY. Gaspare is the proprietor of a ladies coat company.^[6]

Gaspare is said to register at a local motel for the Apalachin meeting in 1957. He is a captain in the Bonanno Family.

He is wounded in an attempted assassination, at the site of a fake peace meeting in Brooklyn, on 28 June 1966. He suffers a heart attack two years later.^[2][7]

Death of Gaspare

Gaspare dies of lung cancer in the hospital in Smithtown, NY, on 11 June 1970. He was 64.^[2][8]He is buried in Saint Charles Cemetery in East Farmingdale, Suffolk, NY with his second wife, Vita.^[9][10]

Sources

1. ↑ Atto di nascita, Gaspare Di Gregorio. (1905, October 5). Record no. 403. Archivio di Stato di Trapani > Stato civile italiano > Castellammare del Golfo > 1905 https://antenati.cultura.gov.it/ark:/12657/an_ua16107938/5YbKVev Img 142 of 271
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaspar_DiGregorio
3. ↑ Hortis, C. A. (2014). The mob and the city: The hidden history of how the Mafia captured New York. New York: Prometheus Books.
4. ↑ "New York, County Marriages, 1847-1848; 1908-1936," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZ9N-S43 : 9 March 2021), Gaspere DI Gregorio, 8 Dec 1924, Niagara, New York, United States; citing ref. ID , county clerk offices from various counties, New York; FHL microfilm 897,563.
5. ↑ "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2W52-3GM : 13 May 2022), Casparri De Gregorio in entry for Maria Di Gregorio, 1927.
6. ↑ "United States 1950 Census", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6XRW-ZQ4V : Thu Oct 05 04:44:33 UTC 2023), Entry for Gasper Digreforio and Vila Digreforio, 21 April 1950.
7. ↑ Renner, Tom. Joe Bananas Claims Illness, Can’t Testify. (1968, June 6). Newsday, p. 15. Retrieved 28 January 2019 from Fultonhistory.com.
8. ↑ "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JR7B-72K : 7 January 2021), Gaspare Digregorio, Jun 1970; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
9. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6261066/gaspare-digregorio: accessed 14 October 2023), memorial page for Gaspare DiGregorio (4 Oct 1905–11 Jun 1970), Find a Grave Memorial ID 6261066, citing Saint Charles Cemetery, East Farmingdale, Suffolk County, New York, USA; Maintained by John Donne (contributor 47286829).
10. ↑ "United States, GenealogyBank Historical Newspaper Obituaries, 1815-2011", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q53T-KFNX : 18 July 2020), Gaspare Digregorio, 1970.