The DeBiase (Biase) Brothers of Omaha, Nebraska

The State of Nebraska has never been synonymous with Italian organized crime or clandestine Mafia activities.

Yet, once upon a time, the City of Omaha did, indeed, have a small grouping of Mafia-connected racketeers who operated various illegal rackets and criminal activities there in connection with their underworld brethren from other cities.

The most active of this group was the notorious DeBiase brothers. The DeBiases were four siblings who were more commonly referred to as the “Biase” brothers.

The oldest of the four brothers was Anthony (Tony Biase) DeBiase, born in 1908. The next oldest was Benny, born in 1911, three years Tony’s junior. Then there was Sammy, born in 1913. Their youngest brother was Lous, born in 1916.

Although they generally operated within the City of Omaha and its surrounding territories, all within the State of Nebraska, the eiBiases seem to have been most closely affiliated with the Civella Mafia Family based out of Kansas City, Missouri.

The DeBiase Brothers were most likely directly “with” top Kansas City mafioso Silvestro (Silver Dollar Sam) Carollo.

Silver Dollar Sam Corrollo

Other known associates of the Biases included Kansas City Family members Felix (Little Phil) Ferina and his partner Anthony J. (Tiger) Cardarella. Both men would later figure into a criminal case with Tony Biase involving narcotics and the attempted murder of a federal informant.

The FBI also alleges that all four brothers kept in close contact with several other key mafia members based alternately in the cities of Las Vegas, Nevada; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and the state of California.

Within Omaha itself, they were known to be close associates of two other notorious local hoodlums, Anthony Marcella and Bernard (Benny the Blimp) Barone.

The Biase brothers were known to be very close to eachother and often operated in tandem together.

They operated for years from a retail tobacco store they owned, the Owl Smoke Shop, located at 610 S. 16th Street in Omaha. They also liked to frequent the nearby Newhall Hotel.

From this ostensibly legitimate tobacco business, they were said to have operated a lively horse and sports bookmaking gambling business. It was well known the Biase Brothers also dabbled in the criminal receiving and reselling or “fencing” of stolen goods.

From mid-1934, Sammy and Benny Biase were among 11 suspects nabbed by the FBI for their involvement in a large-scale, organized interstate automobile theft ring that was broken up by local, state, and federal investigators.

Over a half-dozen stolen vehicles were recovered, and at least another dozen autos were suspected of having been taken as well. Two other known underworld figures named Benny Barone and Antonio (Tony) Veriano were also arrested in this case.

The Narcotics Game

The Biase brothers also had a reputation within the underworld as being interstate narcotics traffickers who received their source of supply from out-of-state mafia affiliates for redistribution within the City of Omaha.

As mentioned above, during the late 1950s and early 1960s, Tony Biase figured into at least one murder investigation and a second attempted murder conspiracy.

Both of these investigations related to the planned homicide of a former underworld confederate whom Biase and his underworld associates feared would testify against them in open court about their former joint narcotics trafficking activities.

Listening in on an FBI “bug” installed on a suspect’s telephone, federal agents clearly documented Biase, Chicago hoodlum Luigi (Lou Farrell) Fratto, and several other mafiosi discussing the murder conspiracy.

But the federal government was able to safeguard one witness before any harm could come to him. However, a second federal informant named Kenneth Bruce Sheetz had been shot four times and seriously wounded.

Sheetz survived and ended up testifying before a grand jury implicating Biase and his cohorts, which resulted in their indictments for attempted murder and narcotics violations.

By now considered one of the overall bosses, if not the top man overseeing the Omaha rackets, Anthony Biase was eventually indicted and charged in a second case relating to federal narcotics offenses.

Later, he was convicted of those charges after a jury trial in December of 1960, and he was sent away to serve 15 years in the Federal Penitentiary.

His three brothers reportedly held the fort on the streets for Tony while he was on “ice.”

Anthony DeBiase also picked up an additional 5-year jail term tacked on to his federal sentence in the first case involving the murder conspiracy against Sheetz, but this conviction was eventually reversed on appeal.

What follows are brief thumbnail sketches for each of the brothers:

Anthony Joseph DeBiase

Anthony Joseph DeBiase -- aka Tony Biase -- was born on September 6, 1908 in Omaha.

Anthony DeBiase

The oldest and most prominent of the brothers, Tony DeBiase, stood 5 feet 3 inches tall and was stocky at 160 pounds. He had wavy black-grey hair, hazel eyes, and a dark olive complexion. Tony also sported a prominent 3-inch diagonal scar across his right cheek.

Believed to have been a lifelong bachelor, by the late 1950s, he was residing at 2207 Mason Street.

FBI #36521, Omaha-PD #9839

Starting in 1922, over the years, his police record listed arrests for burglary, armed theft, numerous times for bookmaking and illegal gambling, federal narcotics law violations, and conspiracy to commit murder.

Both the FBI and the FBN considered Tony Biase to be one of the more influential members of the Omaha mafia organization.

He was known to deal in the interstate traffic of wholesaling narcotics and was also active as a bookmaker. In addition, Biase was a partner in the Owl Smoke Shop.

Tony Biase served almost a decade behind bars for a Federal Narcotics Act conviction from 1960 until finally winning parole in 1970.

He died twenty-one years later, on September 21, 1991, at 82.

Bernard Benjamin DeBiase

Bernard Benjamin DeBiase -- aka Benny Biase -- was born in Omaha on November 12, 1911.

Bernard DeBiase

He stood 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighed a solid 185 pounds. He had brown eyes and black hair, a medium olive complexion, and a heavy build.

Benny first resided at 408 S. 24th Street, but after he got married, he and his wife relocated to 4215 Pinkney Street in Omaha.

FBI #1749112, Omaha-PD #15527

Benny DeBiase had a serious criminal record dating back to 1931 for robbery, attempted burglary, weapons possession, assault on a police officer, grand larceny, vagrancy, false auto registration, fraud, and auto theft. He had one felony conviction for armed robbery.

He listed employment as a partner with his two brothers in the Owl Smoke Shop.

Besides the gambling racket and narcotics trade, Benny was also known as an avid “fence.”

Samuel DeBiase

Samuel DeBiase -- aka Sammy Biase -- was born on November 6, 1913, in the City of Omaha.

Samuel DeBiase

Sammy was 5 feet 6 inches tall and 150 pounds slim. He had dark brown wavy hair, brown eyes, and a dark olive complexion.

He, his wife, and his kids resided at 1014 S. 27th Street in Omaha for many years.

FBI #157566, Omaha-PD #12338

Sam DeBiase had a very lengthy police record listing over 24 arrests by the mid-1960s on charges ranging from theft, assault, armed robbery, gambling, burglary, vagrancy, auto theft, grand larceny, fraud, and possession of stolen goods. He was a twice-convicted felon relating to armed robberies.

Federal authorities considered Sam Biase to be a devout drug trafficker, bookmaker, and fence of stolen goods. He was considered one of the more important of Omaha’s mafia racketeers.

Louis DeBiase

Louis DeBiase -- aka Louie Biase -- was the youngest of the Biase siblings. He was born on February 1, 1916, in Omaha.

Louis DeBiase

He stood 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed a stout 180 pounds. Louie had dark brown eyes, black wavy hair, and a dark complexion like his older brothers.

FBI #1298537, Omaha-PD #16921

Considered the most carefree and least traditional of the brothers, Louis DeBiase was unmarried and had no permanent address.

Instead, he was known as a racehorse enthusiast, avid bettor, and tout who liked to travel around the United States and attend horse races at various tracks throughout the country.

Louis often hung around his brothers' Owl Smoke Shop when in town. He was the only brother not involved in the business. In fact, Louis was never known to engage in any legitimate business.

His criminal record dates back to when he was just sixteen years old. It listed arrests for robbery, possession of burglars' tools, resisting arrest, and operating a bunco game (fraud.)

Like his brothers, Louis was listed by the FBI as engaging in narcotics and bookmaking .

Until next time…”The Other Guy”

The DeBiase (Biase) Brothers of Omaha, Nebraska

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