Angelo Meli
Encyclopedia
Angelo Meli was a Detroit, Michigan
mobster who became a consiglieri and then leading Chairman of the Detroit Partnership
criminal organization of La Cosa Nostra.
, Sicily
. As a youth, Meli's family immigrated to Detroit. In the early 1920s, Meli, Leo Cellura, and Chester LaMare opened the Venice Cafe in Detroit. The Meli Boys excelled in extorting brothels, gambling houses and bootlegging
operations. With Meli's assistance, LaMare soon dominated crime in that city. It required an effort by state investigators on recommendations from Michigan Governor, Alex Groesbeck
to smash the organization. Thirty-one criminals were convicted of liquor law violations. Meli escaped the crackdown and entered into an agreement with Salvatore Catalanotte
, boss of Detroit's Unione Siciliane
. With Catalanotte's support, Meli formed the Eastside Mob with top aides Leo Cellura, William Tocco
, and Joseph Zerilli
. Catalanotte was instrumental in establishing the partnership between the Eastside Mob and the River Gang and other Jewish groups.
After Catalanotte's death in 1930, LaMare began raiding Meli-controlled speakeasies,and liquor storage houses. Meli responded by ordering LaMare's murder, which happened on February 6, 1931. After LaMare's murder, Meli oversaw the merger of Detroit's various mob factions into what later became the Detroit Partnership
.
. He was a major figure in illegal weapons smuggling and in settling labor disputes. His involvement in labor racketeering helped Jimmy Hoffa
's rise in the Teamsters Union., Charter Books, New York: He suffered only one conviction on charges of carrying a concealed weapon. Meli had extensive legitimate business holdings in the Michigan area. He remained a powerful figure in the Detroit Partnership until his death in December 1969 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
. He was buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield, MI.
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
mobster who became a consiglieri and then leading Chairman of the Detroit Partnership
Detroit Partnership
The Detroit Partnership, also known as the Detroit crime family, Detroit Combination, Detroit Mafia, Detroit Outfit or Zerilli crime family is an American Mafia crime family based in Detroit, Michigan...
criminal organization of La Cosa Nostra.
Criminal career
Angelo Meli was born on February 10, 1897 in TerrasiniTerrasini
Terrasini is a town and comune in the Province of Palermo on the island of Sicily in Italy.-Data:Terrasini is located west of Palermo at the motorway between Palermo and Trapani, between the mountains and the Gulf of Castellammare near the Palermo International Airport.Terrasini's population works...
, Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
. As a youth, Meli's family immigrated to Detroit. In the early 1920s, Meli, Leo Cellura, and Chester LaMare opened the Venice Cafe in Detroit. The Meli Boys excelled in extorting brothels, gambling houses and bootlegging
Rum-running
Rum-running, also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law...
operations. With Meli's assistance, LaMare soon dominated crime in that city. It required an effort by state investigators on recommendations from Michigan Governor, Alex Groesbeck
Alex Groesbeck
Alexander Joseph Groesbeck was an American politician who served as Attorney General and the 30th Governor of the State of Michigan.-Early life:...
to smash the organization. Thirty-one criminals were convicted of liquor law violations. Meli escaped the crackdown and entered into an agreement with Salvatore Catalanotte
Salvatore Catalanotte
Salvatore "Sam Sings in the Night" Catalanotte was an Italian-American mobster and boss of Detroit's Unione Siciliana from 1920 to 1930. "Sings in the night" is a translation of his last name.-Criminal career:...
, boss of Detroit's Unione Siciliane
Unione Siciliane
The Unione Siciliana was a Sicilian-American fraternal organization which eventually was rumored to have controlled much of the Italian American vote within the United States during the early twentieth century...
. With Catalanotte's support, Meli formed the Eastside Mob with top aides Leo Cellura, William Tocco
William Tocco
William "Black Bill" Tocco was an Italian-American mobster from Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan and a founding member of the Detroit Partnership of La Cosa Nostra.-Early years:...
, and Joseph Zerilli
Joseph Zerilli
Joseph Zerilli was a Prohibition-era Detroit gangster who led the crime family known as the Detroit Partnership from the 1930s through the 1970s.-Early life:...
. Catalanotte was instrumental in establishing the partnership between the Eastside Mob and the River Gang and other Jewish groups.
After Catalanotte's death in 1930, LaMare began raiding Meli-controlled speakeasies,and liquor storage houses. Meli responded by ordering LaMare's murder, which happened on February 6, 1931. After LaMare's murder, Meli oversaw the merger of Detroit's various mob factions into what later became the Detroit Partnership
Detroit Partnership
The Detroit Partnership, also known as the Detroit crime family, Detroit Combination, Detroit Mafia, Detroit Outfit or Zerilli crime family is an American Mafia crime family based in Detroit, Michigan...
.
After the establishment of the Partnership
Once the Detroit Partnership was established, Meli became consigliereConsigliere
Consigliere is a position within the leadership structure of Sicilian and American Mafia crime families. The word was popularized by Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather , and its film adaptation...
. He was a major figure in illegal weapons smuggling and in settling labor disputes. His involvement in labor racketeering helped Jimmy Hoffa
Jimmy Hoffa
James Riddle "Jimmy" Hoffa was an American labor union leader....
's rise in the Teamsters Union., Charter Books, New York: He suffered only one conviction on charges of carrying a concealed weapon. Meli had extensive legitimate business holdings in the Michigan area. He remained a powerful figure in the Detroit Partnership until his death in December 1969 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
. He was buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield, MI.
Further reading
- Kelly, Robert J. Encyclopedia of Organized Crime in the United States. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2000. ISBN 0-313-30653-2
- Sifakis, Carl. The Mafia Encyclopedia. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. ISBN 0-8160-5694-3
- Sifakis, Carl. The Encyclopedia of American Crime. New York: Facts on File Inc., 2001. ISBN 0-8160-4040-0
- Dan E. Moldea, The Hoffa Wars, Charter Books, New York: 1978 (ISBN 0-441-34010-5).
- Charles Brandt, I Heard You Paint Houses: Frank "the Irishman" Sheeran and the inside story of the Mafia, the Teamsters, and the last ride of Jimmy Hoffa, Steerforth Press, Hanover (NH, USA) 2004 (ISBN 1-58642-077-1).