| Founded | Early 1920s |
|---|---|
| Founded by | Leo Lanzetta |
| Founding location | South Philadelphia,Pennsylvania |
| Years active | Early 1920s–1940 |
| Territory | South Philadelphia andAtlantic City |
| Leaders | Pius, Leo and Ignatius Lanzetta |
| Criminal activities | Drug trafficking,prostitution,bootlegging,numbers writing |
| Allies | Michael Falcone, Louis Delrossi |
| Rivals | Mickey Duffy,Joseph Bruno,Salvatore Sabella, and other various street and bootlegging gangs in South Philadelphia |
TheLanzetta brothers, also known as theLanzetti brothers due to an incorrect spelling used by newspapers, was a group of six brothers who ranbootlegging operations inPhiladelphia and possiblyAtlantic City.[1]
There were six brothers in the gang:[2]
Their father Ignazio Lanzetta was born in the Italian town ofRoseto Valfortore, then part ofThe Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, around 1852.[9] Their mother Michelina Luisi was born in nearbyCastelluccio Valmaggiore around 1874.[10]
WhenProhibition went into effect in January 1920, the Lanzettas organized an "Alky Cooking" supply network by providing a contingent of row house dwellers with home stills and paying them to produce saleable liquor.[11] The brothers then sold the liquor at higher prices. Their most trusted associates included Louis "Fats" Delrossi and Mike Falcone. The brothers' criminal careers were marked by frequent arrests and brutal violence.
At various times, the brothers feuded with several different groups of racketeers inSouth Philadelphia, as well asMickey Duffy and some of his partners. Between 1924 and 1939, at least one brother was involved as a suspect or a material witness in no less than fifteen murder cases, including Pius' imprisonment and dismissal during the early stages of the investigation into the murder of Mickey Duffy. The brothers were also rivals ofMax Hoff's criminal organization.[12]
Leo and Ignatius killed rivaldope peddler andbootlegger Joe Bruno on August 18, 1925, at 8th and Catherine Streets. Bruno was also amade man in thePhiladelphia crime family.[11]
Leo was killed on August 22, 1925, as he left a barber shop at 7th and Bainbridge Streets, in retaliation for the murder of Joe Bruno.[2]Sicilian PhiladelphiafamilybossSalvatore Sabella was Leo's suspected killer.[11][13] Pius was killed in a luncheonette on December 31, 1936, at 726 South Eighth Street.[1] Willie was found with his head in a burlap bag and a bullet in his brain on July 2, 1939.[1][11]
Teo was convicted ondrug trafficking charges and sent to Leavenworth Prison in 1940.
Along with Delrossi and Falcone, Ignatius was sent to prison in 1936 for breakingNew Jersey's "Gangster Law" and released after the Supreme Court overthrew the law in the decisionLanzetta Et Al. v. New Jersey in March 1939.[14] Writing for the majority,Justice Pierce Butler stated that:
"The challenged provision condemns no act or omission; the terms it employs to indicate what it purports to denounce are so vague, indefinite and uncertain that it must be condemned as repugnant to the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment."
When Ignatius was released, he relocated toDetroit, Michigan, with Lucien and their mother.
In thefirst season of theHBO seriesBoardwalk Empire, the Lanzetta brothers are the basis forNucky Thompson's main rivals, the D'Alessio brothers. The D'Alessio brothers try to take overAtlantic City, New Jersey's bootlegging operations along withMickey Doyle,Lucky Luciano,Meyer Lansky, andArnold Rothstein.[1] In the show, the brothers' names are Leo, Ignatius, Matteo, Lucien, Sixtus, and Pius. In the show, Ignatius and Pius are killed by freelanceassassinRichard Harrow, Matteo is killed by Atlantic City North Side leader Albert "Chalky" White, Lucien and Leo are killed byJames "Jimmy" Darmody, and Sixtus is killed bySouth Side GangbouncerAlphonse "Scarface" Capone inChicago, Illinois.
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