In the 20th century, a mafia crime family on the east coast of America completely vanished. Let’s check it out. I’m James Ladwish and welcome to OC Shorts, bringing you detailed historical snapshots of the American Mafia and other organized crime. Feel free to subscribe if you like that sort of thing.
In the public eye, the mafia in New Jersey became famous due to the fictional TV crime family, the Sopranos. In real life, when people discuss a New Jersey mafia crime family, they often think about the Davalocanti crime family. However, what is rarely discussed is that historically there were in fact two New Jersey crime families, the Newick crime family and the Elizabeth crime family.
The Elizabeth crime family is now known famously as the D cavalcanti family after their famous boss Sam de Calbocanti. However, the new crime family would disappear from existence completely. I sat down for a fascinating conversation with respected mob historian Scott Dichi, a man who has penned books about the mob in New Jersey, including Garden State Gangland, and his new book Jersey Boss, which covers the life and times of New Jersey based Genevese powerhouse Jerry Cina.
We discussed the mysterious Newick crime family and its disappearance. Hi, Scott. Thanks again for coming on. Always a pleasure speaking with you. Um I think a lot of people aren’t aware when they think of New Jersey, they think of the Davocanti family. Um but I think people are kind of not aware that in the early days there was actually kind of two small families.
There was the Newark family and the Elizabeth family. Um which obviously then became the Davocantes. But the Newick family eventually disbanded and disappeared. Can you talk a little bit about about the Newick family? And there’s some kind of confusion about, you know, who was their leadership and and things like that.
>> Yeah. So, the Newark family is is certainly a newer I would say a newer family. They’re they’re an old family, but um it’s probably only been in the last 10 15 years that there’s really been kind of a effort to really research them because not much like you mentioned was really known about them.
They didn’t last a very long period of time, maybe only about 20 years at the tops. Uh but it was a group of Sicilian immigrants who uh formed a family in one part of Newark. And some of the early members are people like Gasper Demo, uh Sam Monaco. Um another one was Stfano Badami who later kind of becomes associated with the Elizabeth family or the Dalvocante family.
Uh then you got people like Vincenz Vincen, excuse me, Vincenzo Troya, uh who come over, they’re associated with with the Rockford, Illinois family. Then he comes over and is associated a member of the Newark family. Uh he gets he gets killed I think I want to say 31 30 34. Uh >> I mean Troy is an interesting character because when you look at the kind of the events of round 31 um and the stuff from Nicola Gentile he mentions Troy as quite this kind of vocal important kind of individual among this whole Marano era. >> Yeah he’s um uh he goes to meet with Lucky Luciano and oh actually I’m sorry it wasn’t Troy that was killed in 31. It was Sam Monaco supposedly the underboss. Troy was killed in 35. But yeah, so Troy shows up as one of these really kind of important early mafia figures that not, you know, again, not a lot is known about. We’re learning more and more as time goes on. Uh but then all of a
sudden, like by 1937 38, they’re they’re kind of disbanded. So they, you know, they’re there for a short period of time and then they disband. They go to other families. I think the Columbus were were the recipients of a few members. Um the one thing that I think is still a little bit of a mystery is exactly why um they disbanded there.
There was definitely some um uh rivalry with them and Richie the Ballardo and his operations. Uh there was certainly some violence. A number of the Newark family members were killed. But yeah, it’s it’s an interesting little kind of I wouldn’t say footnote a little bit more than a footnote in in mafia history. >> I mean, do do you think it it was a violence? cuz I think in your book um uh garden state gangland I mean the talk about the you know >> you know there was was there an attempt on on Gaspar Deika as well and he kind of steps back from that. >> Yeah Gasper Deikica and I believe it was his father that they ended up shooting as well. >> He steps back you know Badami again as I mentioned gets kind of associated with the Dalvakanti family who really start flexing their muscles. Um, and as I think as some of their members, again, this is a small family, get picked off, other ones kind of find uh shelter with with other New York families and kind of move under their wing. Uh, interestingly, um, you know, Stfano
Bonami, so he gets associated with with the Dalvocante family and 20 years later in 1955, he shot and killed by Sam Monaco’s brother at Veto’s um, clam bar in Newark. Uh, so there was still remnants of whether it was grudges from the from the old New York family or little you see little fingerprints that kind of spread out into the to the greater New York New Jersey mafia uh era.
>> So I mean why do you think they are kind of forgotten? Is it is it because they were so small and because of the the the tenure the length of time they’re around? >> Yeah. Well, the first time I ever heard of him was in Bill Banano’s book, which, you know, was riddled with some inconsistencies and errors, but so, you know, you’re like, “Oh, was that really a thing?” >> I I think the fact is because they were gone so early, there’s not just not a lot of definitive stuff that says, “Okay, there was a Newark family.” A lot of it is inference and kind of looking at relationships between people and and seeing little mentions here and there in wire taps of oh there used to be a a Newark bug. So it’s it there’s no clear like there was no informance that said hey there was this family there was you know the Newark was a family. So I think because they disbanded so early, we’re we’re just now being able to put the pieces together, whether it’s through, you know, through enhanced availability of ancestry, you know, those kind of
documents, looking at familial connections, which of course is very important in some of these early mafia families. So I I think we’re we’re finding out more and more and even since I’ve written Garden State Gangland, it’s been been several years. Uh there’s there’s been researchers that have come up with even more information on them.
So, there’s a book there maybe in the future. >> As mentioned, Scott has a new book coming out called Jersey Boss about the life and times of Genevese crime family powerhouse Jerry Cina. So, what can people expect from your book? >> So, with Jersey Boss, one of the things I wanted to do was was tell the story of kind of Jerry Cino’s rise, his life, and kind of parallel that with what was going on in the mafia in New Jersey at the time.
Uh the other thing I did which which I’ve never really done in a book before is I actually have a whole chapter called like who was Jerry Cina. So I talked to family members, people that knew him just you know uh things on wiretap just what kind of person he was because because sometimes I think when we when we do these mob bios or talk about these mobs we we spend a lot of time on the criminal aspects but you know I thought he was kind of a really interesting individual.
uh he was in the papers a ton in the 1940s, but not for any gangster stuff for golf. He was he was a successful amateur golfer. Uh so, you know, these are kind of like little quirks that I thought were interesting. So, I I kind of try to flesh it out a little bit more in terms of of not only what he did, but who he was in the context of of organized crime.
>> In the comments below, let me know your thoughts on the topic covered in this video. I hope you found that interesting. Thanks for watching.
