Joseph (Joe Buff) LaSelva

Joseph (Joe Buff) LaSelva was an underboss and head of the Waterbury regime of the DeCavalcante Family. He controlled almost all organized gambling in the Waterbury area and was active in the cities of Bridgeport and Hartford as well, where the LaSelva brothers ran a large-scale sports betting operation that operated through their mob proxies.

Joseph (Joe Buff) La Selva -- aka Joe Buff and Joe LaScala -- was born in 1907. He resided and operated all his life in the Waterbury section of Connecticut.

LaSelva was originally named an underboss for the Connecticut membership by former family boss Nicholas (Nicky Dell) Delmore in the 1950s. He continued to maintain his high status during the subsequent administration of Simone (Sam the Plumber) DeCavalcante.

The active “capo di decina” in Connecticut for many years serving under LaSelva’s guidance was Michael (Mickey Poole) Puglia.

LaSelva was suspected to have been “made” during the 1930s or early 40s.By 1965, the FBI identified him as a veteran “soldier” in the DeCavalcante Family who was elevated to “capo di decina” over the Connecticut membership.

Joseph (Joe Buff) LaSelva

The FBI also identified him as one of two DeCavalcante underbosses -- the other being Frank Majuri . This was a rarity in Cosa Nostra since each borgata typically had only one underboss.

Joe had two brothers, Anthony (Tony Buff) LaSelva and Thomas (Tommy Buff) LaSelv a. Both were DeCavalcante associates, later said to have been formally inducted as soldiers in Joe's Waterbury regime.

L Selva's activities included bookmaking , policy, dice and card games, shylocking, extortion, bribery/corruption, and strong-arm.

He owned and operated the General Automatic Transmission Co., in Waterbury for many years. Anthony and Thomas also worked here, and it was considered a base for their operations. The “Buff Brothers” could be contacted there on a daily basis.

He controlled almost all organized gambling in the Waterbury area (bribing town officials) and was very active in Bridgeport and Hartford as well, where the La Selva brothers ran a large-scale sports betting operation which operated through their mob proxies.

By 1967, after law enforcement surveillance, authorities listed associates and subordinates of LaSelva under his supervision to include;

Michael (Mickey Poole) Puglia -- a reputed Family “capo” for Connecticut

Louis (Lu Lu) DiGiovanna -- a “key” suspected soldier

Joseph (Pipi) Guerriero -- suspected soldier

Frank Carbone -- soldier

Anthony LaSelva -- soldier

Thomas La Selva - soldier

Eugenio (Gene) Puglia -- associate (brother of Michael)

Noxie Diorio -- associate

Hugo Allegrini -- associate

Carmen Yovino -- associate

Daniel Tesesco -- associate

Additional associates and crew members included Michael Auilante, Robert (Bobby Apples) Appicello, Caesar Telesca, and Frank Salerno, among many other hoodlums more loosely affiliated with this criminal network.

The La Selva brothers were also said to operate an active “shylock” business in Connecticut. Carmen Yovino was alleged to run dice and card games on behalf of LaSelva.

Italian-born hoodlum Frank Carbone, who had a long record and was considered a strong-arm enforcer and debt collector for the crew, was affiliated with Guerriero and Tedesco in extensive policy operations in the Hartford and New Britain area for La Selva.

Guerriero was said to have exclusive dominion over the “black” numbers action in the New Britain section.

They based operations out of Trinacria Club (a mob social club) and Giovanni’s Italian Restaurant in Hartford.

In 1965, LaSelva came under intense FBI scrutiny after his name was repeatedly captured on a “bug” illegally installed in Sam DeCavalcante’s New Jersey plumbing office describing him as an underboss and the Connecticut faction head.

In 1966, Joe and his brother, Tony, were seen leaving Ange & Min’s Restaurant in Kenilworth, NJ, after a get-together with Sam DeCavalcante and other Family members for a meeting at that location. The FBI also noted cars in the restaurant's parking lot registered to Carbone, DiGiovanna, Guerriero, and Puglia.

From that date forward, the FBI considered them all suspected (inducted) “members” in that Family.

In 1967, it was reported that Puglia operated the Bahama Holidays of Bridgeport, a travel agency that arranged gambling “junkets” to the Grand Bahamas Island.

In 1968, after the death of the LaSelva's mother in Waterbury, various DeCavalcante Family members or NJ license plates on a number of cars registered to them were observed at the wake, including Sam DeCavalcante and Corky Vastola .

Side Note: Puglia was also known to operate “floating dice games” extensively in partnership with LaSelva in the Bridgeport area where Puglia controlled many varied gambling enterprises, including policy and bookmaking, on behalf of the Family.

Joe Buff LaSelva died in 1983., and it seems he had a pretty smooth and successful mob “career.”

Until next time..."The Other Guy"

Joseph (Joe Buff) LaSelva

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