The Omaha Mafia: Exploring a Network of Over 100 Criminals

Omaha, Nebraska, might not be the first city you think of when it comes to organized crime, but the truth is far more intriguing. For decades, a network of hoodlums, gamblers, and racketeers ran the city's underworld with the guidance of two enigmatic figures: Benny Barone, known as “Benny the Blimp,” and Anthony DeBiase , aka “Tony Biase.”

While not officially "made men," these two wielded immense influence over a sprawling criminal network that stretched from Nebraska to New York and beyond. From bootlegging to gambling and even narcotics trafficking, this loosely organized mob mirrored the operations of larger Mafia outfits. With connections to major mob families across the country, they built an empire that thrived for decades.

This article doesn’t just delve into Omaha’s forgotten underworld -- it reveals the names and roles of 102 hoodlums who were part of the city's criminal network, detailing their activities and connections like never before.

According to local and federal law enforcement authorities, the underworld network most prominent within the Omaha, Nebraska area was comprised of a loose confederation of hoodlums, thieves, bootleggers, and gamblers who were affiliated with -- and generally took counsel from -- two Italian mobsters by the names of Benny Barone and Anthony DeBiase.

DeBiase and Barone, who were more widely known by the underworld nicknames of -- Benny the Blimp and Tony Biase -- were widely considered to be two of the most prominent Mafia-connected hoodlums in the entire State of Nebraska.

Although they had a small inner circle of followers, they also maintained close ties to a largely more loosely organized network that, overall, controlled the vast majority of "organized crime type" activities in the City of Omaha and its outlying territories.

Generally speaking, this underworld organization was believed to have been a somewhat informal criminal network composed of a hodgepodge of hoodlums and racketeers who were active across a wide spectrum of rackets.

Omaha on the map.

Since the 1920s, the group’s criminal operations generally mirrored that of the Mafia. They included such diverse activities as selling untaxed liquor, operating illegal speakeasies and unlicensed after-hours clubs, burglaries, armed robberies, bank robbery, arson for profit, extortion, interstate auto-theft rings, horse and sports bookmaking , dice and card games, lotteries, and the trafficking of hard drugs such as morphine.

Over the years, local and federal law enforcement agencies continuously investigated them, resulting in numerous arrests and indictments for a wide variety of serious offenses. Yet, the authorities could never fully determine if one single mob figure was the absolute top boss and overall head of organized crime in Nebraska.

Instead, from what investigators could put together through constant surveillance and the gleaning of information their informants provided, Benny Barone and Tony Biase seemed to be the most important and prominent leaders of Omaha’s underworld fraternity.

They, together with Biase’s three brothers, who were all devout hoodlums in their own right, and a small cadre of close criminal associates — for lack of a better term — made up the Biase-Barone Gang.

Their Mafia-connected gang worked in unison with Omaha’s overall underworld element. This enabled the gang to take control over a good portion of the illicit liquor trade during Prohibition and other organized criminal activities such as gambling rackets like bookmaking and lotteries, and other types of ad-hoc activities as the occasion arose.

Through the years, these other activities included operating stolen automobile rings, robbing banks, committing burglaries, and engaging in arson "torch jobs" for profit.

But it remained largely conjecture on the part of the FBI and FBN as to the exact status and pecking order between Barone and Biase regarding which man held top status. No hard proof ever came to light as to who was the ultimate authority — if there was one.

But regardless of whether Tony Biase was truly Omaha’s top Mafia leader -- or if that title actually belonged to Benny Barone -- even today, it remains anyone’s guess.

What is known is that both men were important within the local underworld. What is also known is that they maintained numerous close contacts with many out-of-town mafiosi from a variety of Cosa Nostra Families sprinkled throughout the country, including Missouri, Illinois, and California, all the way east to New York.

Who's the Boss?

In their files, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics once described Tony Biase as follows, “Anthony Biase is an interstate narcotics trafficker, bookmaker and gambler and an influential member of the Mafia at Omaha, Nebraska.”

The report said, “We suspect Anthony Joseph Biase is probably the leading mafioso in Omaha. He is associated with his three brothers, Sam, Louis, and Benny, as well as Samuel Carollo of Kansas City, Missouri . He is also tied in with Louis Ventola (a major narcotics violator), who was listed by the police as a one-time resident of Las Vegas, Nevada. Associated with Anthony Marcella, now serving a 40-year term for narcotics trafficking in Los Angeles and San Francisco , and with Louis Fiano. And through him, with top Mafia boss, Vito Genovese.”

Regarding Benny Barone, the bureau wrote, “Barone is considered a contact man and Mafia leader in the Omaha area. He is primarily a gambler and liquor violator but is also known to be associated with top narcotics traffickers from New York City.”

Side Note: Although the Biase brothers and Benny Barone were known to closely affiliate and do business with FBI-documented mafiosi from a variety of Families -- and federal authorities named Tony Biase and Barone as “Mafia leaders” in Omaha, neither man was ever officially identified as being a so-called "made man" -- or a fully inducted soldier -- someone who had gone through the ancient Sicilian blood ritual of formal induction into the Mafia.

Instead, the FBI just labeled them as Mafia-connected or Mafia leaders, leading to the possibility that Biase and Barone may have been top-ranked associates, as opposed to having the rank and status of formal Mafia membership.

The hierarchy chart below represents the general overall membership of the organized criminal network known to have operated in the City of Omaha, Nebraska.

As mentioned, Barone, Biase, his three brothers, and a dozen or so of their men were considered among this gang's top "inner circle" members. But dozens of other gamblers and hoodlums were also closely allied to this criminal faction. In addition, there were many other loose affiliates.

Collectively, their criminal network was suspected of composing over 100 or so hoodlums and allied racketeers. Some were directly worked with them. Others operated more semi-independently and were believed to have paid occasional ‘tribute’ to Tony and Benny for the "privilege" of conducting business on their turf.

Regardless of specific affiliations, through the years, each of the hoodlums listed below was allied in one way or another with this faction, operating as bootleggers, gamblers, etc.

The Biase-Barone Gang Membership Chart

This Button Guys hierarchy/membership chart names 102 hoodlums known to have been part of Omaha’s organized crime network.

The Mafia of Omaha

Dive Deeper into the Underworld

The Joseph (Joe Beck) DiPalermo Regime: “The Prince Street Crew”

The Joseph (Joe Socks) Lanza Regime

The Ruggiero “Richie the Boot” Boiardo Regime

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