Detroit’s Michael (Big Mike) Polizzi

Mike Polizzi became a top gambling “overseer” for the Zerilli Family of Detroit.

Through the years, federal and local authorities all listed him as “one of the most prominent younger members of the Detroit Mafia who is now taking over the place in the organization formerly held by his deceased father, Angelo.”

Born in San Cataldo, Sicily, on January 2, 1924, Michele Santo Polizzi was brought to the United States as a young child after immigrating with his parents, Santo and Assunta Polizzi. They settled in the Pittston-Scranton area of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

His father, Angelo Polizzi, was a well-respected early mafioso who later became a top underworld figure within the Pittston borgata, then headed by boss Santo Volpe .

Mike Polizzi

Soon after arriving in the States, Polizzi adopted the more anglicized name of Michael Polizzi. In later years, because of his height and build, he also gained the nickname of “Big Mike” Polizzi.

Polizzi stood 5 feet 11 inches, weighed a solid 230 pounds, and had brown eyes and hair.

It should also be noted that Michael was a very intelligent young man who did well enough in school to later attend and graduate from the highly acclaimed Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York.

FBI # 842609B, Detroit-PD # 98381

During their years living in Pennsylvania, Polizzi’s father, Angelo, was knee-deep in the local rackets.

So much so that he was a prime suspect in several high-profile gangland-style murders and figured into numerous other police investigations ranging from liquor bootlegging, extortion, and labor-union racketeering in Pittston’s coal mining industry.

It’s thought that the intense “heat” eventually brought down on him by local law enforcement later convinced Angelo to move away from Pennsylvania altogether.

On to Detroit

By the mid-1940s, the Polizzi family had relocated to Detroit, Michigan, where Angelo had close connections to important members of that city’s Mafia. From that point forward, Angelo set down permanent roots and started a new era for the Polizzi family.

He was welcomed with open arms by the boss and underboss of the Detroit Family, Joseph Zerilli and Guglielmo Tocco, respectively.

Angelo was immediately given a “capo di decina” position within their borgata, and with his son Mike's coming of age, he was also formally “inducted” into the “Family.”

In fact, Angelo Polizzi and his personal blood family were so well-regarded by Detroit’s leadership that his son Michael later married the daughter of one of the Zerilli Family’s most important and exulted elder statesman, Giovanni (John) Priziola .

Giovanni (Papa John) Priziola

Angelo and his new wife Angelina (nee Priziola) eventually had two children together, making both their fathers very proud grandfathers.

Mike bought a small ranch-style home for Angelina and their growing family at 17304 Juliana Avenue in the East Detroit section. The young Polizzi family would reside there for many years to come.

This marriage helped seal Mike’s future with the borgata and all but ensured that he and his father, Angelo, would continue to enjoy successful “careers” as top members of the Zerilli family.

As time passed, Mike was later elevated to serve as the new “capo” over his father's regime when Angelo eventually passed away.

A Top Gambling Overseer

Mike Polizzi’s only known arrest came in 1950 when he was picked up at the age of 26 for an armed robbery in Detroit. It was a misnomer of sorts for him because, in the coming years, his father and father-in-law made sure to involve Mike in more lucrative and safer money-making activities.

By at least the late 1950s to early 1960s, Mike held documented ownership or partnership interests in at least three lucrative and legitimate Detroit area businesses. These included the Torasion Oil Company, Moravian Acres, and Valley Plater’s Inc.

They also made sure to involve him in several lucrative illegal gambling rackets such as bookmaking and policy-numbers.

In time, Mike Polizzi was to become a top gambling “overseer” for the Zerilli Family hierarchy.

Through the years, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN), and the Detroit Police Department (DPD) all listed Polizzi as “one of the most prominent younger members of the Detroit Mafia who is now taking over the place in the organization formerly held by his deceased father Angelo.”

His known criminal associates reflected a virtual “who’s who” of the Zerilli Family, including such notorious figures as Joseph (Scarface Joe) Bommarito, Michele (Mike) Rubino , Peter (Horseface) Licavoli, brothers Anthony (Tony Jack) and Vito (Billy Jack) Giacalone, Raffaele (Jimmy Q) Quasarano, his father-in-law John Priziola, and bosses Joseph (Joe Z) Zerilli and William (Black Bill) Tocco themselves.

Through his father Angelo’s nationwide connections, Mike reportedly also maintained warm relations with top Mafia members in New York City, San Diego, California, and back in Pittston, Pennsylvania.

Until next time…”The Other Guy”

Detroit’s Michael (Big Mike) Polizzi

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