One of the better-known organized crime networks in America was the Falcone Regime of Utica, New York which first came to power during the Roaring Twenties Prohibition era.
Starting around the turn of the century, large settlements of Southern Italian immigrants from Sicily, Calabria, and the Campania regions settled in Utica drawn by the prospect of work and the open countryside and farmlands so reminiscent of their beloved homeland of Italy.
Initially, Italian criminal groups like the Neapolitan Camorra, Sicilian Mafia, and Calabrian Societa’ Onorata operated independently of one other throughout cities like Utica, Syracuse, and other Upstate towns and villages. But with the formation of Cosa Nostra in 1931, all Italian secret societies were blended and brought under one umbrella and, thereafter, operated as one entity.
Born in the village of Sciacca, brothers Salvatore and Giuseppe Falcone were of Sicilian heritage. After immigrating to America, the Falcone brothers settled in Brooklyn, New York where they developed close connections to New York’s Mafia. Through blood family and marriage ties, they became connected to the old Vincent Mangano (Albert Anastasia) Family of Brooklyn.
After a few years in New York City, the brothers decided to relocate upstate to the City of Utica. From that point forward, they began establishing themselves as leaders within the local underworld.Over time, they absorbed more Sicilians, as well as men of Calabrese and Napolitani backgrounds, into the ranks as they grew their organization. By the late 1920s, the Falcone Brothers were looked upon as leaders of their very own Mafia Family.
Headed by “Capo” Salvatore Falcone and his younger brother Joseph who served as “Sotto-Capo,” during its heyday, this Cosa Nostra “borgata” would gain a notorious underworld reputation.
