Active since before the formation of Cosa Nostra itself, John Melito became one of the most important mafioso to ever live and operate in Upstate New York. He was listed as one of a dozen or so soldiers serving in the Utica-based Falcone regime, but very little has ever been researched or written about his life and underworld exploits.
During his underworld career, John Melito was active in many varied rackets. In his younger years, while he and the Falcones were looking to establish their power base and dominance over the region’s underworld, Melito was thought to have been active in strong-arm work.
And although there was never hard proof of his participation in violence, the local Utica Police nevertheless considered him a suspect in several unsolved killings of underworld rivals. In fact, one of his favorite pastimes was skeet shooting.
