The King of the Night: The Shadowy Santo Volpe - Pittston's "Representante"

Although he is arguably one of the original and certainly one of the most important Mafia figures to ever land on the shores of the United States, Santo Volpe’s illustrious life and underworld career has largely remained in the shadows and been lost to history…That is, until now!

Button Guys was so intrigued by Volpe’s life story that we decided to dig further into his background. What we uncovered amazed us, so much so, that we decided to thoroughly research him to bring him to the pages of The New York Mafia website.

Through extensive research we were able to piece together his life and career from his earliest days back in Sicily to his meteoric rise within the American criminal underworld, and later, as he elevated himself into the upper world where he enjoyed a magnificent career as one of the most successful and respected of Pittston’s high society.

And now, without further ado, Button Guys would like to introduce you to the iconic Santo Volpe…

An Inauspicious Beginning

Santo Angelo Volpe Sr. - aka “The King of the Night” - was born on October 20, 1879, in the quiet, little town of Montedoro in the Province of Caltanissetta, Sicily. The town is located approximately fifty miles southeast of the capital city of Palermo.

Montedoro was a tiny village of only several thousand inhabitants. But although he came from this poor village and had few good prospects, he did hold one "ace in the hole." By his late teens, Santo had been formally inducted into the Sicilian Mafia as a "picciotto," or young soldier. By his early twenties, Santo was already being recognized throughout the Mafia as a young, but up-and-coming mafioso.

Montedoro, Sicily

Santo Volpe was described as standing 5 feet 4 inches tall, and old photographs show a well-dressed man with a slim to medium build. Government records also reflect that he had chestnut-colored hair and eyes, and a "rosy" complexion.

While he was still in his early twenties back home in Montedoro, one day Santo met a young Sicilian girl from the neighborhood, eight years his junior, by the name of Dorothea Licata. The young couple quickly fell in love, and after a short courtship, they married. The newlyweds soon started a family of their own. Meanwhile, Santo was also busy further establishing his mafiosi credentials within the Mediterranean island’s Sicilian "Brotherhood."

But the Volpe family’s normal daily life was soon interrupted by several letters he received that were sent from his close friend Stefano La Torre in the United States, in one of which La Torre took the liberty to insert a paid ticket and boarding pass so Volpe could come to America.

Santo, Dorothea and three of their five children.

Santo took advantage of the opportunity and set sail for what would turn out to be the decision of his lifetime. This trip would not only alter Volpe’s life forever but that of his young wife and family as well. For that matter, his arrival in the States would also change the lives of countless other people, some for the good, some for the very bad.

Unwittingly, at the time, Santo Volpe would also alter the course of organized crime in the United States.

By the time he arrived stateside in 1905 (possibly 1906,) he was considered a mafioso of some standing. He made his way up to the Pittston section of Northeastern Pennsylvania where his close friend lived and where he had numerous other contacts.

Santo looked at the area and fell in love. He got comfortable and eventually decided to set down permanent roots in this quiet, little coal mining town, embracing the area and making it his own. In fact, he lived in Pittston for the next half century, until the day he died.

His dear "compare" and benefactor, Stefano J. La Torre, was a close childhood friend of Volpe, and a fellow mafioso as well, who had immigrated to Pittston years earlier.

For that matter, many of Volpe’s former neighbors and friends from back home in Montedoro had also settled in Pittston as well as other Sicilian nationals who were also drawn to the area.

Legend has it that it was Steve La Torre who originally sent word back to his friend in Sicily, encouraging him to join La Torre in the United States. La Torre was said to have made the arrangements and paid for his "compare’s" passage on the ship that brought him to America’s shores. He had also arranged to set his friend up in a small apartment and provided him with some money to help Volpe get on his feet and gain a foothold in the “New World.” From their earliest days together as boys back in Sicily, these two mafiosi would remain the closest of friends and criminal confederates for many decades to come.

Side Note: Immigration & Naturalization records show that Santo Angelo Volpe applied for and was granted American citizenship in Pennsylvania, on August 31, 1911. Santo was thirty-one years of age when he officially became a United States citizen.

His wife, the former Dorothea Licata, was born on July 6, 1887.

Seeds of the Mafia

Steve La Torre is also credited with having been the man to first plant the seeds for what would eventually become the Volpe Crime Family, a notorious Mafia network that controlled the entire Northeastern section of Pennsylvania. It was La Torre who had gathered together a small group of fellow Sicilians to form the first vestiges of what, years later, would become one of the largest and most important Mafia clans in the United States.

Once his "compare" Santo arrived in Pittston, La Torre then reportedly relinquished control of this fledgling clan over to his friend who had a well-established reputation as an important "uomo d’onore" (man of honor) back in Sicily.

Partners in crime - Stefano La Torre and Santo Volpe.

Santo Volpe then became the first recognized leader of the Pittston Mafia clan with Steve La Torre acting as his trusty "sottocapo," or underboss. The two men then set about reorganizing and expanding their troops into what would become a full-fledged Mafia Family that was recognized throughout all Cosa Nostra.

The Volpe Family became one of three formally recognized Cosa Nostra networks based in the state of Pennsylvania. It also became one of the most important borgatas to ever plant their flag on American soil.

Never a lazy man, simultaneous to developing the first vestiges of the Mafia Family he would head, Volpe also continued working hard on a daily basis in Pennsylvania’s coal mines to earn a steady salary and to build up his bankroll.

Side Note: Volpe and La Torre were both born in Montedoro, a town known for its many sulfur mines. In fact, sulfur mining was the primary vocation for its townspeople and their personal blood families who all earned a living as miners. In fact, a major catalyst for Montedoresi to first relocate to the United States in search of a better life was after the sulfur industry market collapse of 1896. This was the spark that ignited the desire of many of their townspeople to immigrate to “The New World.”

Where i all started - Montedoro, Sicily.

Times were very hard back then, and the Italian people, in particular, were very poor, Santo being among them. But after a few years of laborious backbreaking mining work and some smart maneuvering, Santo was able to establish a nest egg. So, he returned to his native Sicily and brought his wife Dorothea back to the United States with him to restart their life together.

The young couple quickly reestablished their family life and went about expanding their family. His family would eventually grow to include five children, a son they named Santo Jr. after his father, and four daughters they named Gaetana, Stephanie, Angelina, and Alfonsina.

He was Good to His Family

During those first years in the States Santo and his growing family resided at 154 South Main Street in Pittston. Years later, the Volpe family moved to another house nearby where Santo and Dorothea raised their children and remained for the rest of their lives. Santo, his wife, and their children would enjoy many happy times together in the spacious family home he bought for them at 215 Wyoming Avenue in West Pittston, Pennsylvania. This house became the family compound.

215 Wyoming Avenue, West Pittston

Some years later, Santo and Dorothea also acquired a second residence at Harvey’s Lake which they enjoyed as a summer vacation home with their children, grandchildren, extended family, and friends.

An Interesting Side Note: Many years later, Santo Jr.’s wife Grace reportedly left him for another man. She fled to Rochester to be with her lover and they were living together much to the dismay and embarrassment of her husband as well as his father. One evening while walking through town, the two lovers were accosted by an unidentified gunman who opened fire on the illicit couple. Grace’s lover was shot dead on the spot. She took off running down the street with her would-be assassin in hot pursuit. He fired several gunshots at her. She was wounded but reportedly survived her injuries.

A Sicilian-styled vendetta and revenge plot orchestrated by her estranged father-in-law, no doubt.

The Prohibition Years

Soon after Santo assumed power as the official “Capo Famiglia” of the Pittston crew, the borgata became very active in the local rackets…and the bodies started dropping.

From that point forward, Volpe never looked back. He quickly went about consolidating and expanding his underworld power and not just over the local Mafia then operating in Northeast Pennsylvania. He reached out to establish new alliances and rekindle old contacts among key Sicilian mafiosi all across America who had also since immigrated to the States themselves and were now establishing newly formed Cosa Nostra borgatas all across the nation.

During the 1910s and 1920s, Santo and his men aggressively began taking over control of rackets from independent criminals and gangs. By the time Prohibition was enacted in 1920, "The Volpe Family" was firmly established and well-positioned to cash in on the illegal manufacturing of alcohol and bootlegging distribution which promised to be a very lucrative endeavor, indeed!

As the Volpe Family seized control of Pittston’s illicit liquor trade, this was also around the time that gangland bloodshed began to accelerate in earnest. The Volpe Family quickly built dozens of alcohol stills to produce wine, beer, and hard whiskey all across the territory to keep up with the public’s desire for alcoholic beverages.

This brought Volpe’s soldiers into direct conflict with many independent bootleggers who were either forced to capitulate to the Mafia’s demands for a "piece" of their business or be killed. Many bootleggers succumbed to the Sicilian's threats. Many others didn’t and got themselves slaughtered for their resistance.

A Case of Mistaken Identity

During all this early gangland warfare, back on July 23, 1918, it was reported in the local newspapers and by the police that Volpe had been found murdered after local authorities had found a shot-up corpse and searched the victim’s pockets trying to identify him. Santo Volpe’s business card was among the man’s possessions and police took for granted that the dead man was Volpe. As it turned out, our boy was not the hapless victim.

A case of mistaken identity.

Sporadic murders took place over the next few decades as Pittston’s Mafia eliminated the competition and solidified their stranglehold over the territory. Similar techniques were utilized all over the country until the Italian mob reigned supreme throughout the nation’s underworld.

Dinner was Okay, But Dessert was to Die For!

Although Santo did his best to remain behind the scenes as a "shadow" leader, on several occasions, he was connected to underworld activities. One instance occurred on August 19, 1932, when Volpe was among fourteen top mafiosi released from a Brooklyn lockup after they were picked up by detectives of the New York Police Department during what was described by newspapers at the time as “sweeping raids by 40 New York Policemen through Manhattan and vice-ridden districts of Brooklyn.” Those arrested were charged with the torture slaying of Pittsburgh mob boss Giovanni (John) Bazzano.

The murder victim was found inside a burlap sack that was discarded along a gutter in Brooklyn’s Red Hook section on August 8th. An autopsy later revealed that the man’s corpse had been savagely mutilated. The medical examiner said that Bazzano had suffered over 21 stab wounds before being strangled to death.

At the time of the incident, authorities believed that Bazzano had been lured to Brooklyn under the guise of attending a big honorary dinner party, along with over a dozen other top racketeers who were also in attendance. But it was all just a ruse to lure Bazzano to New York.

Being arraigned for John Bazzano’s murder.

It was later revealed that Bazzano had been assassinated as reprisal for him having killed three of the notorious Volpe brothers only nine days earlier. The Volpe brothers (who were not related to Santo,) like Bazzano, were very prominent racketeers operating within the city of Pittsburgh.

Of the fourteen mafiosi arrested, four were from Pittsburgh while others traveled to New York from other cities. Besides Volpe, others arrested included such notorious New York racketeers as Giovanni (Johnny Bath Beach) Oddo, Anthony (Tony the Chief) Bonasera, Giuseppe (Joe) Traina, and Albert (The Executioner) Anastasia, who, at the time of his arrest, identified himself to police as Robert A. Anastasio. Also arrested was Samuel (Toto) Di Carlo of Buffalo.

Despite all the public hoopla and newsprint at the time of their arrest, within a day or so, Volpe and all the others were released from custody and all charges were dismissed against them by the police who cited a "lack of evidence."

Dropping Bodies Along the Road to Success

Then, a year later, in 1933, Volpe was questioned once again by local Pittston police who repeatedly grilled him about three different gangland murders, including the disappearance and murder of Sam Wichner, a known Wilkes-Barre beer runner for which the police held Volpe for more questioning.

In the meantime, Wichner’s widow had repeatedly told authorities that Santo Volpe and several other men had been in the company of her husband the night before he disappeared.

But the wily Volpe feigned complete ignorance of the situation, denying he had any knowledge whatsoever of murders, gangland violence, or criminal activity. So, notwithstanding the incriminating statements Wichner’s wife made to them about Volpe, the authorities were once again forced to release him from police custody several days later for "lack of evidence."

A Minimal But Serious Police Record

With the exception of the high-profile arrest for Bazzano’s murder by the New York Police Department back in 1932 and having been picked on several other occasions during those early years by local police for investigations into other murders that he was later released from, Volpe had no police record, whatsoever.

And despite whatever negative press he may have received during these incidents, it doesn’t seem to have affected his ability to smoothly transition into the upper world of business and politics or to have hindered his ability to hobnob with influential legitimate people in high places.

In fact, he was so shrewd, that by the late 1930s, Volpe, who by then was already in his late fifties, had actually transitioned himself like a mafioso chameleon into what can only be described as a pillar of his community, which looked upon him in awe as a major businessman. He became known as a top employer who provided a large segment of Pittston’s community with steady jobs.

Santo was also much sought after as a valuable and influential friend to have. In fact, as his life’s trajectory progressed, Volpe would enjoy one of the best reputations around town.

The Volpe Crime Family

By the time the Volstead Act had been repealed in 1933, and the consumption of alcoholic beverages had once again become legal, the Pittston-Scranton clan was a powerhouse as a direct result of all the untold millions of dollars it generated for well over a decade from their bootlegging rackets. The so-called "Santo Volpe Family" was now firmly established as the preeminent criminal organization in its acknowledged territory.

At their peak, the borgata’s rank-and-file membership was thought to boast at least fifty to sixty "blood" inducted soldiers, possibly even more. The Family also had hundreds more additional criminal "associates" who bolstered their ranks.

Mafia boss Santo Volpe Sr., seen here at the height of his underworld power.

And although they might have still been considered only a medium-sized Family by Cosa Nostra standards, they were a very powerful group who were influential on both a local and national scale.

Yet, for all the underworld inroads they made and all the power they achieved, for most of their history, the Mafia clan that Volpe established conducted themselves in as low-key a fashion as possible.

But make no mistake about it, because the borgata that Volpe headed was equal parts deadly and lucrative, gangster-like and legitimate business-like.

In fact, more than a few of his soldiers had deadly reputations as efficient assassins who had committed many gangland murders over the years under Volpe’s direct orders. Other soldiers were ranked as being among the wealthiest mafiosi in all Cosa Nostra. While still others were considered to be among the most savvy and successful business leaders to ever grace the Italian underworld.

Some of the clan’s early founding members included such important mafiosi as Cataldo (Charlie) Polizzi, Calogero (Charlie) Bufalino and young his son Angelino (Angelo) Bufalino, and Giovanni (John) Sciandra, to name but a few.

More Clan Leaders

And despite the fact that their fearless leader largely remained a shadow and an elusive "behind-the-scenes" boss for most of his career, more than a few of his rank-and-file would later rise up to become among the most powerful and notorious mafiosi in the nation.

Notorious goodfellows such as the aforementioned Giovanni (John) Sciandra, another low-profiled mafioso, was believed to have been installed as the new “Representante” of the clan around 1940 or so, shortly after Santo retired from active duty.

John Sciandra headed the Family for nearly a decade. With his passing from natural causes in 1949, Giuseppe (Joe the Barber) Barbara, who started out as a top gunman, strong-arm man, and killer for Volpe, and years later for Sciandra, assumed power.

Joseph Barbara was officially elected by the membership to be the Family’s next “Representante.” It was a lofty position that he enjoyed from 1949 until his death from natural causes in 1959. A ten-year run at the top, as it were.

The Apalachin Mess

Unfortunately for Joe, during his tenure as “Capo Famiglia,” he became even more notorious because of an embarrassing incident that took place at his sprawling estate in Upstate Binghamton, New York on November 14, 1957.

The "incident" of which I speak, was, of course, the infamous Apalachin Mafia Meeting where over sixty of the nation’s most important racketeers were nabbed by NYS Police, while another fifty or so were believed to have avoided the clutches of the authorities by escaping on foot through the thick woods and underbrush.

New York State Trooper Sergeant Edgar D. Croswell first became suspicious when dozens of black Cadillacs and Lincolns began converging on his sleepy little upstate village. After driving into town and checking with local shopkeepers and motel clerks, he learned that dozens of known criminals and top hoodlums from various cities around the country had begun checking into rooms at area motels and hotels.

Sgt. Croswell asked for and received permission from higher-ups to investigate further. So, on the morning of November 14th, he gathered up carloads of fellow troopers to accompany him to the Barbara estate where they set up police roadblocks along the exterior of Barbara’s property line and at key intersections around the property…and then they waited.

His sixth sense and subsequent efforts resulted in one of the worst days the American Mafia ever had!

It also cost Joe Barbara tremendous personal embarrassment as well as several years of being the key target of intensive Federal and State law enforcement pressure. And whether directly or indirectly, it ultimately caused Joe to suffer several massive heart attacks, which ultimately led to his death in 1959.

Next up was a mafioso who needs no introduction. Rosario (Russ) Bufalino had served for many years as a trusted Family caporegime. After Barbara rose to power, he became the "official" underboss, or second-in-command. Upon Barbara’s untimely death from natural causes in 1959, Bufalino moved up and then became the newly elected "Representante” of their Family.

The Killers

Aside from the exploits of notorious gunman Joe Barbara, among the many other strong-arm enforcers and killers known to have served under Santo Volpe were such dangerous mafiosi as Arcangelo (Big Angelo) Polizzi, Carlo (Charlie) Barbara, Gaetano (Tommy the Sheik) Sesso, Salvatore (Sam) Galante, Giuseppe (Joe) Galante, Anthony (The Governor) Guarnieri, Giovanni (John) Parrino, Modesto (Murph) Loquasto, Giaocchini (Dandy Jack) Parisi, and Samuel (Swimmy) DeBella.

These men are but a small representation of all the "capable" assassins who served as soldiers and capos within the Pittston Family.

The Moneymakers

On the financial side of things, the Pittston clan boasted such extraordinary moneymakers as the five Medico brothers: Philip T. Medico Sr., Burgio (Billy) Medico, Arcangelo (Angelo) Medico, Charles Medico, and Samuel (Sam) Medico.

All five brothers, as was their father before them, were considered among the wealthiest mafiosi in the nation. They owned and operated a virtual family conglomerate they named Medico Industries which was a multi-faceted, multimillion-dollar interlocking series of companies that supplied heavy equipment for construction; owned and developed extensive real estate; won lucrative multimillion-dollar government contracts annually; and brought in millions of dollars in annual profits from many other revenue streams to benefit themselves and their Mafia superiors.

Santo encouraged his men and relatives to infiltrate local government.

Among the plethora of businesses under their umbrella were the following: Medico Industries, Inc., Medico Realty Company, Medico & Gelso Realty Company, Medico & Gelso Coal Company, Atlas Excavating Company, Pittston Equipment Company, Power Installation Company, State Industrial Supply, Pittston Steel & Machinery Company, and L. Cohen & Sons Scrap Iron Co. of Wilkes-Barre, PA.

Another powerhouse was the understated, but exceptionally wealthy and influential businessman Luigi (Lou) Pagnotti, who ranked as another icon in the coal industry and was also a business tycoon and philanthropist. Pagnotti just happened to also quietly double as one of the Mafia’s top soldiers.

He was the president and/or stockholder of no less than an interlocking network of nine coal companies, including the Sullivan Trail Coal Co., Indianhead Coal Co., Pagnotti Coal Co., Mammoth Local Coal Co., Lehigh Valley Coal Co., Dorrance Coal Co., Harry E. Coal Co., Anthracite General Coal Co., and Pagnotti Enterprises, Inc., a holding corporation.

Pagnotti also owned or controlled Atlas Sports Enterprises (a major boxing promotion company,) the Old Forge Discount & Deposit Bank (of which he was president,) and Number One Construction Company.

Other financially powerful mafiosi of the clan included brothers Calogero (Carlo) and Luigi (Lou) Consagra, both of whom held the rank of Family soldier while operating the lucrative Consagra Coal Company on a daily basis.

Or Calogero (Charlie) Gelso Sr., another Family soldier who also gained prominence within the coal industry through his ownership interests in companies like Gelso Coal Company, Local 14 Coal Company, and the Medico & Gelso Coal Company.

Two more noted area business moguls were Palmer and Fred Correale, two brothers who also doubled as close associates of the Volpe Crime Family. They were deeply engaged in the construction industry and were considered business titans who were so wealthy they owned a private airplane with their own pilot, who was on the Correale company payroll.

Pittston's Garment Rackets

Amazingly enough, although they were far away from Manhattan’s famous Garment District, by the late 1940s, and for many decades thereafter, this family successfully conducted garment racketeering on a fantastic scale.

Truth be told, the Pittston Family’s incursion into the garment industry actually occurred after Volpe had already relinquished his position as boss of the Family. Nonetheless, it shows the strength and resilience of this clan that they should take over and dominate yet another legitimate industry in such a powerful way.

An older Santo Volpe Sr.

Through various methods, over the years, the Family was to successfully infiltrate and dominate a number of key Teamsters Union locals, laborers locals, and other such labor organizations which greatly helped them facilitate extensive labor shakedowns and other types of labor racketeering schemes.

Other Nefarious Pastimes

Horse and sports bookmaking, policy numbers and the Italian lottery, regularly held large-scale floating dice games, burglary gangs and theft rings and the systematic fencing of stolen goods, strong-arm extortion, business shakedowns, etc. There was seemingly no end to their racket activities.

Extensive mob infiltration of the local coal mining industry, garment manufacturing rackets, labor union racketeering, professional prizefight rackets, construction rackets, and a wide array of other types of businesses that, at one time or another, were all infiltrated and corrupted by the Pittston Family.

And Santo Volpe had put most of it in place. It was an underworld coup that would keep Santo and his top capos and soldiers "in the chips" for nearly a century!

A Deep Thinker and Doer

Obviously, Volpe was an extremely intelligent man. From an early age, Santo seems to have always had the uncanny ability to not only quickly evaluate any given landscape in front of him but also navigate that landscape successfully and conquer it. In fact, it seems to have been his life’s forte.

Meet Mr. Santo Volpe - the distinguished businessman and philanthropist.

That became clearly evident during his early years in Pittston when, within just a few years time, this man - an immigrant who couldn’t even speak the English language when he first arrived in this country- had not only established himself as one of the country’s most important Mafia bosses with a full-fledged rank-and-file membership behind him who considered him their leader but also made it his business to heavily involve himself and his membership in a vast array of legitimate businesses and industries that were key to the very health and welfare of Pittston’s residents.

Volpe’s vision eventually extended all across the Greater Northeastern Pennsylvania area, and, by extension, to thousands and thousands of other households along the Northeast corridor who unwittingly found themselves dependent upon Volpe and his crew for coal to heat their homes and businesses.

What had started out as a lowly "job" when he first immigrated and lowly rung on the ladder as an uneducated coal miner toiling deep within one of the area’s many coal mines had become the very vehicle by which Santo Volpe would later use to rise to great heights, exceeding even his wildest dreams and expectations.

King of the Anthracite Region

During his early years living in Pittston, Volpe became a partner in or the owner-operator of several local businesses which included his ownership of a malt and beverage store, cigar and confectionery store, and a tavern.

But it appears that Volpe’s entrance into the coal mining business and the inroads he’d soon make were to become the true springboard that catapulted him to business stardom. Coal was, at that time, before the widespread usage of natural gas, one of the most important commodities so pivotal to the daily existence and life of the average citizen.

After familiarizing himself with the landscape, Volpe soon decided to go into business for himself, and within a few short years, he had become a major player within the Anthracite region’s coal industry. He subsequently became one of the original founding members of the Anthracite Committee of the Production Control Plan after being appointed to the position in 1940 by former Governor Arthur James.

He first infiltrated the industry by investing in and opening up a small coal mining company. Then, little by little, using his natural business acumen as well as his growing underworld power, Volpe and several key soldiers of his made deeper inroads into the industry, expanding their holdings by buying up and absorbing other coal companies until they became one of the biggest in the industry.

Over the years, Volpe was said to hold ownership interests in numerous other coal mining firms, including Can-Do Coal Company, Knox Coal Company, Avon Coal Company, Gateway Coal Company, and Pittston Coal Company. In addition to his public holdings, he was suspected of having hidden ownership interests in other coal firms operated by various mob associates and subordinates.

And as the overall boss of the Pittston "Family," after all the smoke cleared, Santo, in particular, eventually found himself sitting atop a holding corporation that controlled a small conglomerate of coal mining, extraction, and distribution companies that enjoyed a near ironclad domination over a majority of the Anthracite Region’s total coal production output.

The awesome power that he eventually derived from his "kingdom-like" control over the coal industry, more than even his nationwide power as a Mafia boss within the Italian underworld itself, soon made the name "Santo Volpe" almost synonymous with Pennsylvania’s coal industry.

Volpe - The mover and shaker!

In less than twenty years, he had become the largest independent coal dealer in existence, the acknowledged power, and the uncrowned king of Pennsylvania’s Anthracite Region.

There is little doubt that the significant level of control Volpe and his crime Family enjoyed over key elements of the union representing workers in the coal mines was through the fear generated by strong-arm methods and murder which greatly helped Volpe and his fellow mafiosi in their efforts to dominate the coal industry.

Throughout the 1950s, more than one United States Senate Committee held public hearings to investigate organized crime’s alleged infiltration and stranglehold over the American labor movement.

During these hearings, the senators discovered and identified several important members of the Volpe Family who had actually become salaried union officials in the United Mine Workers of America so as to better serve the nefarious goals of Pittston’s Cosa Nostra.

They included such characters as caporegime Dominick J. (Nick) Alaimo, who was the committeeman for Local #1005; soldier Calogero (Charlie) Gelso, a union official with Local #7519; and "associate" August Lippi, who the mob installed as President of United Mine Workers District Council #1.

By at least the early 1930s, Volpe and his closest soldiers started a coordinated campaign to buy partnerships in or buy out the ownership of numerous coal mining companies, and when they could, the leases for various coal mine shafts and collieries.

For instance, in 1933, he took over the ownership lease for the Number Six Colliery, a Pittston-based Company that required him to hire and give jobs to over 1,000 local miners and workers.

In the coming years, he became a partner and was named the president of the Gateway Coal Company of Forest City. He also became vice president of the Newport Excavating Company of Nanticoke. This was in addition to his original company, the Volpe Coal Company, which operated the No. 6 and Butler Collieries, both of which were located in Pittston.

And although years later he ostensibly divested himself of the Volpe Coal Company operations to the Jermyn-Green Coal Company, nevertheless, it was said that Volpe still remained the true behind-the-scenes power, or the true king behind the throne, so to speak.

Honored and Revered by the "Pezzo Novanta"

That same year, 1943, when the Volpe Coal Company operations were technically transferred to the Jermyn-Green Coal Co., Mr. Volpe was honored by over 200 employees of the firm and by district officials of the United Mine Workers Union of America at a formal dinner held in his honor in the nearby city of Wilkes-Barre. Also in attendance that evening were top representatives of the Pennsylvania State Department of Mines as well as many local civic leaders and politicians.

Volpe is also noted for having been one of the original founding members of the Anthracite Committee of the Production Control Plan, having been appointed to that position in 1940 by former State Governor Arthur James himself. Santo served on that control board for many years until illness forced him to resign from the post.

Meet Mr. Santo Volpe - the assistant chairman!

For many years, he was also an important member of the Coal Operators Wage Negotiating Committee. Not to mention his deep involvement with the many local civic affairs that he took an active part in and the numerous charity drives he helped organize through the years in the Wyoming Valley.

In 1944, he was awarded a Distinguished Service Certificate by the Luzerne County Council of the American Legion for his long service to the Legion. He later also received a second Distinguished Service Certificate from the Andrew Lawrence American Legion Post #644 of Swoyersville.

More Public Honors

On August 25, 1950, Volpe was a principal figure among various city, county, and state officials who attended a testimonial dinner that concluded four days of convention activities of the Italian Sons and Daughters of America (ISDA), held at the Hotel Altamont.

Santo Volpe attending Italian Sons & Daughters of America testimonial dinner.

Santo was in very lofty company, indeed. Among the other high-ranking officials and public figures who participated in the convention were such notables as Judge Michael A. Musmanno, candidate for Pennsylvania Lieutenant-Governor; Judge J. Harold Flannery, toastmaster; Attorney Anthony Ciotola, convention chairman; Mrs. Ciotola; Judge Frank Pinola; Honorable John S. Fine, candidate for State Governor; and Attorney-General Charles J. Margiotti; Oza Balosko, Italian Vice-Counsel; Silvio Daneo, Italian Ambassador to the United States; Reverend Francis Molino; Mayor Maurice Llewellyn; ISDA National President Louis P. Bilotta; State Hospital Superintendent J. Walter Tosh; and major local businessmen and employers such as Frank Correale, and Volpe’s son, Santo G. Volpe Jr.

On October 23, 1951, the 72-year-old Santo Volpe Sr. was honored as one of the pioneer individual coal company operators of the Pittston District. Newspapers reported that Volpe maintained interests in various community projects, Volpe Coal Company, and the West Side Bank of which he was the bank’s director.

Other major accomplishments of Volpe’s through the years included a lofty appointment as the director of the West Side Bank of West Pittston, which was a position he held for over 30 years. He was also the original chairman of the Luzerne County Housing Authority, a key member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel R.C. Church in Pittston and the Elks Club of Pittston (more than 35 years,) a former member of the Pittston Hospital Board of Directors, and a member of the Montedoro Society.

A "Godfather" Style Wedding

Befitting his exulted stature as a Mafia boss, and as a true example of the deep love he had for his children, he set each of them up financially so that they would enjoy comfortable lives. And when the time came, he threw each of his daughters a lavish wedding.

In particular, the wedding reception he and Dorothea gave their daughter Alfonsina Dorothy was a wedding fit for a princess...a Mafia princess, that is.

Alfonsina married a young man by the name of Joseph Saraceno who hailed from a family in Upstate New York. (Years later, the FBI alleged that Joe Saraceno was also an inducted Mafia soldier.)

Two of Volpe’s daughters

For her wedding party, Alfonsina asked her sister Stefanie to be her matron of honor. Bridesmaids included her two other sisters, Gaetana and Angelina; her brother’s wife, Mrs. Santo Volpe Jr.; Miss Josephine Gelso (mafioso Charlie Gelso’s daughter;) and Miss Antoinette Meli, of Detroit (mafioso Angelo Meli’s daughter.) The flower girl was Angela Barbara of Endicott, NY (Joe Barbara’s daughter.)

Anthony Agati was the best man. The ushers were Santo Volpe Jr., Thomas Saraceno (brother of the groom,) Charles Bufalino Jr. (nephew of the bride,) and Joseph Agolino. The bride’s nephew was the ring bearer.

A reception dinner was served at the Hotel Sterling with more than 500 guests in attendance that evening who enjoyed a wide variety of delicious Italian-styled food and top-shelf liquors while a live orchestra provided the backdrop for dancing and entertainment.

The young couple then reportedly left for a month-long honeymoon trip to sunny California. Upon their return, the newlyweds moved into a newly renovated and furnished home (another gift from the bride’s parents,) which was located directly next door to Santo and Dorothea at 213 Wyoming Avenue in West Pittston.

The Bank Director

As if Volpe’s aforementioned laundry list of worthy accomplishments wasn’t already enough to choke a horse, he continued to use his newfound influence and power to quickly work his way into the banking business.

By at least the late 1930s, Volpe had been appointed the director of the West Side Bank of West Pittston. This high-profile appointment speaks to the reverence and confidence the legitimate business sector placed in Volpe. It became a public position that allowed him to further rub elbows and ingratiate himself with local politicians and big businessmen. It also enabled him to further his personal goals, and that of his Sicilian borgata, by increasing his influence and control over local businesses and commerce.

Santo installs his son as the bank’s new director.

Volpe held his banking post for more than 30 years. During his time in office, he made sure to bring his young son Santo Jr. on board as a bank officer and board member. He also saw to it that his son-in-law Ettore Agolino became the bank’s in-house attorney and a board trustee. Another son-in-law, Charlie Bufalino, was also appointed as a board trustee.

Simply Unstoppable

Since this was the road he decided to travel, Volpe figured he might as well go all the way with his newfound persona and identity. So, he also became the chairman of the Luzerne County Housing Authority. In fact, he was the Authority’s original founding chairman.

He also became a key member and major benefactor for Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, The Elks Club of Pittston, of which he was a part for more than 35 years. He was also a member of the Pittston Hospital Board of Directors.

And in keeping with his innate sense of responsibility to his fellow Sicilians and his fellow mafiosi, Santo played a pivotal role in helping organize and found The Montedoro Society, a benevolent organization first started for the betterment of his fellow Sicilian townspeople who had immigrated from Italy to the Pittston area shortly after the turn of the 20th century. The Montedoro Society clubhouse also served a dual purpose as a regular meeting place for local mafiosi.

The King is Dead!

Santo Angelo Volpe Sr. died at 9 p.m. on the evening of December 2, 1958, while in the company of his beloved family. He had been in ill health for some time.

He died with his shoes off, in his bed, in his own home from natural causes at the respectable old age of 79. Quite an accomplishment for a mafioso of his standing.

Santo’s wake and funeral was handled from the Volpe family residence which was a very customary tradition back in those days. He was then brought to his family parish, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church for a Mass of Christian burial.

Santo Volpe and his wife pass on.

Santo was survived by his five children and their spouses. His four daughters, Mr. & Mrs. Charles and (Gaetana) Bufalino, Mr. & Mrs. Anthony and (Stefanie) Agati, Mr. & Mrs. Ettore and (Angelina) Agolino, Mr. & Mrs. Joseph and (Alfonsina) Saracino, and his son, Santo Jr. Other survivors included a sister named Alfonsina who still resided in Sicily, and a gaggle of 14 adorable grandchildren.

Santo’s beloved wife of nearly fifty years, Dorothea, had passed away a few years before him at the relatively young age of 67, on June 10, 1954. Santo then joined his wife at the family burial plot in Denison Cemetery in Forty Fort, PA.

A Large Inheritance

At the time of his death, Volpe was thought to have bequeathed to his five children, their spouses, and his beloved grandchildren a massive inheritance.

Publicly, he left his namesake son, Santo Gaetano Volpe Jr., and his four daughters, Gaetana, Stefanie, Angelina, and Alfonsina, the family home and several other properties as well as an extensive portfolio of stocks and securities in various coal companies. He also held a large block of stock in the Westside Bank of which he had been the director and president for upwards of thirty years.

Privately, the wily old mafioso was thought to have stashed away another fortune in cold hard cash from his many years at the summit of the Pittston-Scranton Mafia. It was a well-kept secret that only God and Santo himself knew about until the old man let his children in on the secret too.

But as far as how much of a cash fortune Santo had actually left to them? Or where he had stashed all that money? Well, that's anybody’s guess.

The Greatest Gift of All

But maybe the greatest gift Santo left to his children and grandchildren was a precious gift worth so much more than can be calculated by material or monetary assets.

For Santo provided them with an incalculable wealth for future generations of the Volpe family…well beyond money and mere possessions. Because during his lifetime Santo had achieved and handed down to his beloved family the so-called “American Dream.”

Admittedly, he may have taken a somewhat twisted road on his way to reach The American Dream, a mafioso’s version of it to be sure. But he got there nonetheless!

Santo, shortly before his death

Within a single generation, during his own lifetime, Santo was able to elevate himself from his life as a racketeer and devout mafioso, to a highly respected businessman, philanthropist, and top community leader. And through his sheer force of character, tenacity, balls, and business acumen, he made sure to accumulate a vast fortune along the way.

By proxy, he then bequeathed his unbelievable success in life down to his children and grandchildren. Innocently enough, they were able to reap the benefit of his vast accomplishments. Subsequently, it became their responsibility to carry on this newfound American legacy for future generations of the Volpe family to come!

In closing, let me say that Santo Volpe also undoubtedly left a deceptively large footprint across the American Mafia as well as an indelible footprint on the Pittston-Scranton area where he spent the better part of his life.

Until next time…”The Other Guy”

The King of the Night: The Shadowy Santo Volpe – Pittston’s “Representante”

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