Most aficionados of the American underworld are at least somewhat familiar with iconic Mafia leaders like Stefano Magaddino, head of the notorious Buffalo-Niagara Falls Family. They were a relatively large borgata that had far-flung interests in several major cities and many smaller towns across the sprawling middle and northwestern sections of New York State and beyond.
But this article is not about the top leaders. It’s about the literally hundreds, if not thousands of their supporting cast – all the neighborhood gamblers, bookmakers, policy-lottery racketeers, dice and card game operators, shylocks, thieves, bootleggers, and counterfeiters who were the very backbone of the so-called underworld in various cities and towns within the state. Without this supporting cast, Steve Magaddino and other mafia bosses would have had no one to “boss over,” and no racket operations to rule over.
This story delves into the mob’s little-known rank-and-file members and important associates; the actual mobsters who rolled up their sleeves, ran the daily gambling rackets in these various areas, and made it all happen. It’s about the men who actually took the chances to first go out to create and then operate those rackets to bring in the profits, enforce the rules, and deal with any malcontents when the time came. These were the men who most often also faced criminal investigations and took the “pinches” and jail time that came along with it.
Often Imitated. Never Duplicated. Button Guys of The New York Mafia...There's Only One!
