Trapani crest
The Trapani crime family is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate with territory primarily in Queens, New York, as well as Miami, Florida; Havana, Cuba; and finally, Las Vegas. They were founded in 1955 by Aldo Trapani, an Underboss of the Corleone crime family who was given control of New York while Michael Corleone moved to Las Vegas, but they were still close allies and, in fact, the Trapanis were a satellite family of the Corleone Organization. In the 1960s, Dominic conquered the title of Corleone Don, given way from Michael Corleone, and they merged together. While they were allied to the Corleone crime family and the Roth crime family, they were enemies with the Barzini crime family, Tattaglia crime family, Stracci crime family, Cuneo crime family, Tony Rosato's Gang, Carmine Rosato crime family, Granados crime family, Mangano crime family, and Almeida crime family. They took over most of their territory from the rival families during the 1940s and 1950s.
History[]
Founding[]
The family was created by Corleone Underboss Aldo Trapani, who played a key hitman in the family during the Five Families War of 1945-1955, who extorted local businesses to earn extra cash, bombed the rival families' compounds, and killed their made men to gain power in local neighborhoods, centered in Little Italy. Trapani was given his title of Don of New York after killing Carmine Cuneo, Victor Stracci, Philip Tattaglia, and Emilio Barrese on August 1, 1955, and after taking over every last business owned by the rival Five Families. Trapani was sworn as "Godfather" in 1956 and was given control of Don Michael Corleone's New York operations while he moved his base of operations to Las Vegas.
1950s[]
After Michael Corleone's move to Las Vegas, Aldo Trapani effectively became his own boss. He managed Corleone's interests in New York City and expanded his criminal empire, taking over the businesses of the rival families and finishing off whatever they had. Trapani soon became the boss of all of New York's boroughs as well as northern New Jersey, and in the later 1950s he began to branch out. Trapani made a business connection to Mexican crime boss Rico Granados, although he refused to buy a hotel in Florida from him; it sunk underneath a swamp soon after. Trapani gained territory in Miami, which he gave to his caporegime Tony Rosato, while he entrusted New York City with Carmine Rosato. His underboss Dominic Trapani learned several vital leadership skills while under his tutelage, having boosted cars back in the 1940s while Trapani was rising in power. Trapani also became a business partner with Hyman Roth, an influential Jewish crime kingpin who had hundreds of millions of dollars and several casinos in both Las Vegas and Cuba. The Trapani family gained strength through its connections to Roth, and they became a major player in the American Mafia.
1959[]
On December 30, 1958, Aldo Trapani, Michael Corleone, Eddie Pennino, Dino Pennino, Rico Granados, Samuele Mangano, Alejandro Almeida, Louis Russo, and Eddie Levine, among other dons, were invited to Havana to celebrate Hyman Roth's 68th birthday and also to recieve their shares in casinos, as Roth was preparing to retire and to hand his casinos and hotels in Havana to his partners. However, the night of the final meeting on New Years' Eve, the Cuban revolutionaries under Fidel Castro stormed the city and captured all of the casinos, and the dons were forced to flee to their planes, shooting it out with the revolutionaries who were taking control of the city. Michael Corleone, Aldo Trapani, Dominic, and Fredo Corleone rushed to the airfield, where Trapani was shot in the back of the neck by a Cuban sniper, who was in turn gunned down by Fredo, Michael, and Dominic. On the plane ride back to New York, Dominic became Don.
Four weeks later, the Rosato Brothers split from the family and took what they had, with Carmine Rosato taking over Queens and Tony Rosato taking over Miami. Dominic showed perfect strategy in taking over the crime rings and doing favors for people in exchange for the locations of Carmine Rosato's made men, who were all killed off. He assaulted Carmine's Compound after taking over every last racket, and Carmine Rosato was killed and his compound blown up, destroying his family, and initiating conflict with his brother Tony in Miami.
Shortly after the hit on Carmine Rosato, Dominic recieved a phone call from Hyman Roth from Miami, inviting him to come to Miami and take over some rackets from the Granados crime family, who were attacking his fronts due to their anger over the Cuban Revolution. Dominic took over all of Rico Granados' adult entertainment studios quite easily, but faced Tony Rosato's attacks as well, and took advantage of Rico and Tony's rivalries against one another to wage war on his terms. During his time in Miami, he was hired by CIA Agent Henry Mitchell to assassinate Alejandro Almeida, who organized a communist strike at the airport, which blocked Dominic from returning to New York for business matters. Almeida was shot and killed at the JC Junk and Crushing yard on Dodge Island, along with many of his militiamen. Unknown to Dominic, he was a Soldier in the Almeida crime family, starting a practically-bloodless war that would last until Dominic headed to Havana in 1960 to start the real war.
Dominic attempted to ally with the Mangano crime family later in 1959 when news came that former business partner Samuele Mangano was moving to Miami with his organization, opening Global Storage as a front for his Sicilian cars that were being smuggled into the city. It succeeded, but hitmen ambushed him at his safehouse, and he assumed that they were Mangano's men due to Fredo Corleone's thoughts that Mangano wanted to take over the city by smuggling men and arms into Miami. He took over Global Storage after bombing it and he massacred everybody that was there, in a fit of rage. The Manganos took revenge while he was meeting with Paolo Riccitelli, and the Manganos took over his gun running fronts. Samuele Mangano was angered, as he was a volatile Sicilian, and he waged total war on him. Hyman Roth offered to help Dominic if he headed to Cuba to help him assassinate Castro to regain all of the casinos, but he tipped the police off when he arrived at the Presidential Palace, and Alejandro Almeida, a Cuban Army General and a mob boss, arrived with buttonmen, and Dominic barely survived the chase from the palace to the airport.
With war against every family in Miami being waged, the Trapanis had little space to breathe. However, they took over Mangano's gun running rackets and later took over the Casino Imperial and Casino Havana. Afterwards, in January 1960, he stormed Samuele Mangano's private estate and killed the last of the Manganos, bombing the compound and later rebuilding it as his base-of-operations in Miami. He did the same with every other compound, eliminating every rival gang and taking over Miami.
After the Kane Commission on organized crime subsided, Michael Corleone ordered Dominic to get rid of Hyman Roth. Roth was shot dead in a gun battle between Dominic and both Roth's bodyguards and the MIPD, and the Roth Conspiracy was put to an end. Dominic fought off accusations of Roth's murder and other problems and ended the family's problems by killing Fredo Corleone on the orders of Michael Corleone.
1960s-1990s[]
After taking over Miami, Dominic faced little problems and his crews robbed Banco de Cuba, Merit Credit Union, Liberty Bank, and Security First Savings & Loan, each robbery accounting for a monetary gain of $8,000-$10,000. Dominic was proclaimed Godfather after the death of Hyman Roth, given way by Michael Corleone, who wanted Dominic to be boss while he served as a retired casino manager. Dominic was confirmed at a ceremony at the Mangano Compound in Miami, which was now his home, and he became the most powerful mob boss in the United States. Michael Corleone made the move to Las Vegas and Dominic Corleone also did not see Tom Hagen after his ceremony, becoming the highest-ranking mobster in New York, Miami, and Havana.
One of Dominic's first moves as Don was to fire all of his property guards to rake in the flow of cash, as he had no need for guards once the rival families were eliminated. Dominic made money through gambling, arms smuggling, diamond smuggling, chop shops, adult entertainment, prostitution, drugs, construction, gun running, and money laundering, with a daily income of $78,902 daily after he fired his guards. Dominic steadily climbed the path to becoming a millionaire without any major difficulties.
During this time, he also climbed his way up the social ladder by making friends in high places. He did favors for several people, including Cuban Chief Judge Juan Pablo Del Monte, Lieutenant-Governor of Florida Robert Rizzo, and Washington DC lobbyist Leon Brinker. Dominic Corleone exchanged his services for gestures of gratitude such as freeing his made men from jail, repairing damaged businesses, or keeping the police away from him at any time. Through these connections, Dominic Corleone gained immense influence in politics in both the United States and Cuba. His connections across the 90 miles of water allowed him entry into Cuba through Takeoff Airways, and his travel agent Dolores Rush facilitated his trips from New York to Miami or Havana, where he would stay for however long he wanted.
Dominic's bank robbing and his completion of favors for passers-by in Miami, New York, and Havana earned him a small fortune, and he spent time across his several compounds. His typical crew consisted of Underboss Jimmy Lira and his Caporegimes Leon Castellani and James Petriboni, and they were the ones who followed him on his trips. They served as his bodyguards as well as his bank robbing crew, with Jimmy Lira cracking the safe while Petriboni and Castellani provided the muscle (Petriboni could also act as a demolitions man, so he could help with blowing open the vault wall, while Castellani could kick down a door allowing another entrance to the bank).
Family (1956-1959)[]
Don: Aldo Trapani ( 1926 - 1968 ) It was originally Monreale
Underbosses: Dominic Trapani, Giacobbe Massa, Vinebaldo Petosa, Caio Cassata, Aristotele Colasuonno, Carmelo Brigante, Oderico Luisi, Emiliano Rosato
Consigliere: Peter Clemenza (1905-1958) Pacheco Trapani, Sicily
Caporegimes: Jimmy DeNunzio, Jimmy Lira, Tommy Cipolla, Eligio Castanza, Lamar Castanza, Tony Russo, Carmine Rosato, Tony Rosato, Orlando Vespucci, Diego Cenni, Frank Pentangeli, Federico Castanza, Armando Strazzi, Vinnie Pisano, Diego Tagguchi, Leonardo Gallinari, Agosto Ricci, Grant Rosato
Soldati: Angelo Granelli, Lego Coalliere, Joey Blazes, Norman Rossi, Philip Giotti, Leroy Castellani, Gary Lamberteschi, Trips Trapani
Family (1959-1981)[]
Don: Dominic Trapani
Consigliere: Tom Hagen
Underboss: Jimmy Lira
Caporegimes: Tommy Cipolla and Elroy Mancini
Soldati: Alvin Uzzano, Ray Fogliano, Leon Castellani, Roy Giordano Peter Guerra, James Petriboni, Lee Manticho, Clyde Petriboni, Leroy Petriboni, Ray Ricci, Vernon Strazzi, Theodore Strozzi, Bernard Uzzano, Walter Uzzano, Edward Porco, Earl Buondelmonti, Ray Compagni, Gary Amidei, Clifford Dati, Johnny Rizzo, Leon Pazzi, Edward Chiaro, Jack Pucci, David Fogliano, Franklin Fogliano and Leroy Petriboni
Gallery[]
