Francesco (Big Frank) Majuri – “The Underboss”

On November 14, 1957, Frank Majuri’s life and that of his mob brethren would be forever changed. He and 62 of the brotherhood would be caught by NYS troopers during a raid on the home of Upstate New York Boss Joseph Barbara, Sr.

Francesco (Big Frank) Majuri - aka "Frank Majuri," "Frank Martin," and "Frank Gagliano" - was born in 1908 in Manhattan, NYC. Majuri was raised and would be a lifelong resident of New Jersey. He resided for years at 629 South Broad Street in the Elizabeth section with his wife Carmela and two children.

Frank Majuri

By 1980, they had relocated to 635 Ercama Street in Linden. He had a son, Charles, who would later join his father in the life. Charlie is alive and reputed by law enforcement to still be active.

Frank stood at 5-foot 10-inches and weighed a solid 230-pounds. He had dark brown hair and eyes with a slight cross to his right eye.

He served as the vice president of Local #394 - Hod Carriers & Common Laborers Union (AFL-CIO) of Elizabeth, NJ for years.

He also listed his occupation as that of a working foreman for C.F. Braun & Co., of Tromley Point in Linden, NJ. This company was firmly under the thumb of the DeCavalcante crew for years.

FBI # 1102386, SBI # 96262, CTPD # 8037

Majuri was long ago identified as a hoodlum and mafioso.

The FBI tagged him as the longtime “underboss” or “sottocapo” of the NJ-based borgata first led by Filippo Amari and later by Nicholas Delmore .

Majuri would maintain his high position through the administrations of both Delmore and his nephew and successor Sam DeCavalcante. In later years, under John Riggi, he would become the official “consigliere” for this Family before completely retiring.

His activities included bootlegging, gambling, shylocking, extortion, and labor rackets.

Big Frank was a well-respected member of the underworld. He had started out as an alcohol bootlegger in the 1920s and 1930s. Over the years, he added various gambling rackets to his repertoire of activities.

He was also well acquainted with most of the important mafiosi of his era including:

• Filippo (Big Phil) Amari

• Nicholas (Nicky Dell) Delmore

• Sam (Sam the Plumber) DeCavalcante

• Louis (Fat Lou) Larasso

• Robert (Bobby Basile) Occhipinti

• Joseph (Joe Tiger) Sferra

• Emanuel Riggi

• Frank (Frankie Coch) Cocchiaro

. .... all other members of his Family as well as:

• Vito Genovese

• Dominick Olivetto

• Anthony (Little Pussy) Russo

• Angelo (The Gyp) DeCarlo

• Antonio (Tony) Riela

One of his primary functions and focuses, as well as that of the Family at large, was to oversee the activity of certain labor unions and construction projects through their ironclad control of Local # 394 - Hod Carriers & Laborers Union of North America.

This local was a “cash cow” and at the very base of their power in the borgata.

Labor investigators alleged that he oversaw the systematic shakedown of Italian-speaking immigrants who were in the employ of Local # 394 -illegal workers, who Majuri would find work for within the union, and derive “kickbacks” from, as agreed upon.

He had a limited police record which started in 1935:

>> 1935 - illegal manufacture of alcohol

>> 1936 - contempt

>> 1937 - sale of untaxed alcohol

>> 1950 - disorderly conduct (crap game)

>> 1954 - bookmaking

>> 1957 - probation violations

>> 1959 - conspiracy to obstruct justice/perjury (sentenced to serve 5 years in 1960. It was later reversed in appeal in 1960.)

On November 14, 1957, Frank Majuri’s life and that of his mob brethren would be forever changed. He and 62 of the brotherhood would be caught by NYS troopers during a raid on the home of Upstate New York Boss Joseph Barbara, Sr.

Home of Joseph Barbara, Sr., where The Commission meeting was held.

Authorities claimed that they had uncovered a national meeting of the most important Italian criminals in this country - The Mafia!

The resulting public exposure and the additional investigations that it would start would be a major headache for both Majuri and “The Honored Society.”

He was hauled before countless grand jury sessions and committees probing the affair, always citing his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. All 62 mafiosi were indicted on obstruction of justice charges. And although convicted, all would have those convictions overturned on appeal.

Unfortunately, Frank was one of the very few to actually go to jail. He had been on parole at the time for another case.

The parole commission immediately violated him and remanded Majuri back to prison to complete his stint. A top member of his crew, Louis Larusso, was also nabbed with Majuri at Apalachin.

Investigators tortured Majuri and Larasso. They were arrested on federal labor law violations for “accepting a thing of value” from C.F. Braun & Co. Why? Because they accepted two days' pay while the FBI could prove that both were at Apalachin those two days and not “on the job. ”

The indictments were eventually dismissed by a federal judge, but it does go to show to what lengths the “G” would go to harass these men.

Frank Majuri lived to the age of 74, passing away in 1983.

He had served very little time in prison, in spite of the lofty position he held as the underboss, and later the consigliere, for almost 20 years -- and he had been in the thick of things during the “golden era” of the mob.

I must say that I, for one, consider his “career” to have been a successful one.

One that in today’s underworld would be hard to replicate given law enforcements sophistication nowadays..... he died within several years of his official retirement from “The Life”.

Francesco (Big Frank) Majuri – “The Underboss”

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Francesco (Big Frank) Majuri – “The Underboss”

Unlock This Door to the Underworld

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You May Also Enjoy

The Anthony Strollo Regime of NY/NJ

The Day Charlie (the Bug) Workman Saved a Horse

Racketeer Profile – San Francisco’s “Jimmy the Hat” Lanza

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