Buster from Chicago
Encyclopedia
Buster from Chicago was a pseudonym used for a mobster and freelance hitman of the 1930s. He is alleged to have played a key role in the Castellammarese War
(1929–1931) as the assassin of Giuseppe Morello and others. Some claim that Buster was gangster Sebastiano Domingo, while others charge that Buster is a character created by Joe Valachi
to evade his responsibility for various killings.
described Buster as a "college boy" in appearance and claimed he carried a Tommy gun
inside a large violin case. While working with the unknown assassin, Valachi noted his exceptional skill with a wide range of weaponry including pistols, shotguns and machine guns. Contrary to Valachi's story that has him hiding a Tommygun in a violin case (the Thompson won't fit in a violin case), Buster did carry a sawed-off, 12 gauge pump shotgun in a guitar case.
Buster's first murder assignment for Salvatore Maranzano
was to kill Giuseppe Morello. On August 15, 1930, Morello and Joseph Perrano were shot dead in the former's East Harlem office. Two gunmen were seen fleeing the scene. Some accounts claim that Albert Anastasia
and Frank Scalise were the shooters that day, although Valachi wrote that Buster was responsible.
Buster was also responsible for the deaths of top Masseria lieutenants Alfred Mineo
and Steve Ferrigno
, gunning them down with his guitar-case shotgun as they walked through the courtyard of a Bronx apartment complex on November 5, 1930. As his accomplices, Girolamo "Bobby Doyle" Santuccio and Nick Capuzzi, fled the scene, Buster allegedly ran into an investigating patrolman who had heard the gunfire. In the guise of a frightened bystander, Buster told the officer the direction of the shooting and calmly walked away as the officer rushed to the scene. Joe Valachi then picked up the three assassins and sped them to safety.
On February 3, 1931, Buster was stationed in a basement apartment on Belmont Avenue in the Bronx in order to watch for Giuseppe Catania aka Joe the Baker. As his quarry left a store across the street with his wife, Buster opened fire. Catania fell mortally wounded and Buster made a clean getaway in the commotion that followed. Buster was supposedly proud of the fact that, despite the wide blast pattern of his shotgun, Catania's wife was unharmed.
Although he survived the Castellammarese War, Buster was distrustful of the new mob regime. According to Valachi, Buster wanted to continue fighting against Lucky Luciano
because "They'll take us away, one by one." After this, according to Valachi's McClellan Committee testimony, Buster "was killed during an argument at a crap game."
. The family lived on Oak Street, near the infamous Death Corner
that was the scene of many Black Hand
related murders.
By 1920, the Domingo family was recorded as living on a farm near Benton Harbor, Michigan
. Bastiano's older brother Tony was a member of a small fraternity of Castellammare families that sold illegal alcohol in the Benton Harbor area. Tragedy marked Domingo's stay in Michigan. On December 31, 1925, Bastiano's six-year old niece Matilda was accidentally shot and killed by her ten year old uncle Leo DiMaria, who had been playing with a revolver he found in the cushions of a couch. Eight months later two of Domingo's cousins, Sam and Frank DiMaria, lost their lives in a distillery accident. On October 22, 1927, Bastiano's sister-in-law Mary Domingo was killed by a car bomb apparently meant for her estranged husband Tony. He and 17-year old Bastiano shot up a local social club where the alleged bomber, Louis Vieglo, was hiding. Both were arrested before they could kill their target. Bastiano told the police that he was Tony Domingo's brother "Charles."
By late 1928, the Domingo family had returned to Chicago. On August 29, 1929, Tony Domingo was shot to death while eating in an Ogden Street restaurant operated by Pasquale Spilotro (father of future Chicago mobster Tony Spilotro). Bastiano had been seen with hanging out in the neighborhood with his brother in the weeks before Tony's murder. The elder Domingo's killer was never positively identified. By the spring of 1930, Bastiano had moved in with relatives in Westchester County, New York
. The youthful (and mostly unknown) Sebastiano Domingo was ready to join the Maranzano family.
On May 30, 1933, Sebastiano "Bastiano" Domingo was playing cards with a few others at the Castle Cafe, located at 72 East First Street in Manhattan's Lower East Side
. As they were, four gunmen barged inside and opened fire on the card players. An eyewitness reported that one of the triggermen yelled, "You bunch of rats," just before the bullets began flying. Police found Domingo dead on the sidewalk outside the cafe and five other men wounded. One of the victims, Salvatore Ferrara, eventually died of his wounds. Over 200 friends and relatives attended the dual funeral at St. John's Cemetery a few days later.
identifies Buster as Sebastiano Domingo: According to Bonanno:
However, Bonanno's description of Buster is very different than Valachi's. Bonanno's Buster is short instead tall like Valachi's. According to another theory, Buster is a character invented by Valachi to avoid acknowledging his own role in the killings of Mineo and Ferrigno. Valachi was inducted as a "made man
" immediately after these killings. In the Valachi version, there was no obvious motive for the mob to induct him at this point.
On the statement, "However, Bonanno's description of Buster is very different than Valachi's. Bonanno's Buster is short instead tall like Valachi's," it must be remembered that Bonanno was attempting to recall events 30 years later. A photo of Domingo reproduced in Bonanno's book shows him, in fact, to be of medium height at least.
Castellammarese War
The Castellammarese War was a bloody power struggle for control of the Italian-American Mafia between partisans of Joe "The Boss" Masseria and those of Salvatore Maranzano. It was so called because Maranzano was based in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily...
(1929–1931) as the assassin of Giuseppe Morello and others. Some claim that Buster was gangster Sebastiano Domingo, while others charge that Buster is a character created by Joe Valachi
Joe Valachi
Joseph "Joe Cargo" Valachi , Italian American, also known as "Charles Chanbano" and "Anthony Sorge" was the first Mafia member to publicly acknowledge the existence of the Mafia. He is also the person who made Cosa Nostra a household name.-Career:Joseph Valachi was born in East Harlem, New York...
to evade his responsibility for various killings.
Life as hitman
Buster's crime companions knew little of his background, other than that he was from Chicago. Government informant Joe ValachiJoe Valachi
Joseph "Joe Cargo" Valachi , Italian American, also known as "Charles Chanbano" and "Anthony Sorge" was the first Mafia member to publicly acknowledge the existence of the Mafia. He is also the person who made Cosa Nostra a household name.-Career:Joseph Valachi was born in East Harlem, New York...
described Buster as a "college boy" in appearance and claimed he carried a Tommy gun
Thompson submachine gun
The Thompson is an American submachine gun, invented by John T. Thompson in 1919, that became infamous during the Prohibition era. It was a common sight in the media of the time, being used by both law enforcement officers and criminals...
inside a large violin case. While working with the unknown assassin, Valachi noted his exceptional skill with a wide range of weaponry including pistols, shotguns and machine guns. Contrary to Valachi's story that has him hiding a Tommygun in a violin case (the Thompson won't fit in a violin case), Buster did carry a sawed-off, 12 gauge pump shotgun in a guitar case.
Buster's first murder assignment for Salvatore Maranzano
Salvatore Maranzano
Salvatore Maranzano was an organized crime figure from the town of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, and an early Cosa Nostra boss in the United States. He instigated the Castellammarese War to seize control of the American Mafia operations, and briefly became the Mafia's "Boss of Bosses"...
was to kill Giuseppe Morello. On August 15, 1930, Morello and Joseph Perrano were shot dead in the former's East Harlem office. Two gunmen were seen fleeing the scene. Some accounts claim that Albert Anastasia
Albert Anastasia
Albert Anastasia was boss of what is now called the Gambino crime family, one of New York City's Five Families, from 1951-1957. He also ran a gang of contract killers called Murder Inc. which enforced the decisions of the Commission, the ruling council of the American Mafia...
and Frank Scalise were the shooters that day, although Valachi wrote that Buster was responsible.
Buster was also responsible for the deaths of top Masseria lieutenants Alfred Mineo
Alfred Mineo
Alfredo "Al Mineo" Manfredi was a Brooklyn based New York mobster, who headed a strong American Mafia crime family during the Castellammarese War. Mineo's organization would eventually become the present-day Gambino crime family....
and Steve Ferrigno
Steve Ferrigno
Stefano "Steve" Ferrigno was a New York mobster of Sicilian origin who led an important Italian criminal gang in the 1920s. Ferrigno was assassinated along with Alfred Mineo during the so-called Castellammarese War....
, gunning them down with his guitar-case shotgun as they walked through the courtyard of a Bronx apartment complex on November 5, 1930. As his accomplices, Girolamo "Bobby Doyle" Santuccio and Nick Capuzzi, fled the scene, Buster allegedly ran into an investigating patrolman who had heard the gunfire. In the guise of a frightened bystander, Buster told the officer the direction of the shooting and calmly walked away as the officer rushed to the scene. Joe Valachi then picked up the three assassins and sped them to safety.
On February 3, 1931, Buster was stationed in a basement apartment on Belmont Avenue in the Bronx in order to watch for Giuseppe Catania aka Joe the Baker. As his quarry left a store across the street with his wife, Buster opened fire. Catania fell mortally wounded and Buster made a clean getaway in the commotion that followed. Buster was supposedly proud of the fact that, despite the wide blast pattern of his shotgun, Catania's wife was unharmed.
Although he survived the Castellammarese War, Buster was distrustful of the new mob regime. According to Valachi, Buster wanted to continue fighting against Lucky Luciano
Lucky Luciano
Charlie "Lucky" Luciano was an Italian mobster born in Sicily. Luciano is considered the father of modern organized crime in the United States for splitting New York City into five different Mafia crime families and the establishment of the first commission...
because "They'll take us away, one by one." After this, according to Valachi's McClellan Committee testimony, Buster "was killed during an argument at a crap game."
Sebastiano Domingo
Sebastiano Domingo was born in 1910 in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily. Sebastiano's nickname was Bastiano (hence Buster), and he also used the alias of Charles Domingo. In Valachi's unpublished memoirs, he claimed that Buster from Chicago, "is Castellamarese (sic) and that's why the old man got him to join in with us." Domingo and his family immigrated to America in 1913 and settled in Chicago's Little ItalyLittle Italy, Chicago
Little Italy is a neighborhood on the Near West Side of Chicago, Illinois. The current boundaries of Little Italy are Ashland Avenue on the west and Morgan Street on the east — bracketed by Harrison Street on the north and Roosevelt Road; i.e., 12th Street, on the south...
. The family lived on Oak Street, near the infamous Death Corner
Shotgun Man
Shotgun Man was an assassin and mass murderer in Chicago, Illinois in the 1910s, to whom murders of Black Hand extortionists were attributed. Most notably, Shotgun Man killed 15 Italian immigrants between January 1-March 26, 1911 between Oak Street and Milton Street of Chicago's Little Italy...
that was the scene of many Black Hand
Black Hand
Unification or Death , unofficially known as the Black Hand , was a secret military society formed by members of the Serbian army in the Kingdom of Serbia, which was founded on September 6, 1901. It was intent on uniting all of the territories containing significant Serb populations annexed by...
related murders.
By 1920, the Domingo family was recorded as living on a farm near Benton Harbor, Michigan
Benton Harbor, Michigan
Benton Harbor is a city in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan which is located west of Kalamazoo. The population was 10,038 at the 2010 census. It is the lesser populated of the two principal cities included in the Niles-Benton Harbor, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a...
. Bastiano's older brother Tony was a member of a small fraternity of Castellammare families that sold illegal alcohol in the Benton Harbor area. Tragedy marked Domingo's stay in Michigan. On December 31, 1925, Bastiano's six-year old niece Matilda was accidentally shot and killed by her ten year old uncle Leo DiMaria, who had been playing with a revolver he found in the cushions of a couch. Eight months later two of Domingo's cousins, Sam and Frank DiMaria, lost their lives in a distillery accident. On October 22, 1927, Bastiano's sister-in-law Mary Domingo was killed by a car bomb apparently meant for her estranged husband Tony. He and 17-year old Bastiano shot up a local social club where the alleged bomber, Louis Vieglo, was hiding. Both were arrested before they could kill their target. Bastiano told the police that he was Tony Domingo's brother "Charles."
By late 1928, the Domingo family had returned to Chicago. On August 29, 1929, Tony Domingo was shot to death while eating in an Ogden Street restaurant operated by Pasquale Spilotro (father of future Chicago mobster Tony Spilotro). Bastiano had been seen with hanging out in the neighborhood with his brother in the weeks before Tony's murder. The elder Domingo's killer was never positively identified. By the spring of 1930, Bastiano had moved in with relatives in Westchester County, New York
Westchester County, New York
Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...
. The youthful (and mostly unknown) Sebastiano Domingo was ready to join the Maranzano family.
On May 30, 1933, Sebastiano "Bastiano" Domingo was playing cards with a few others at the Castle Cafe, located at 72 East First Street in Manhattan's Lower East Side
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, LES, is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street....
. As they were, four gunmen barged inside and opened fire on the card players. An eyewitness reported that one of the triggermen yelled, "You bunch of rats," just before the bullets began flying. Police found Domingo dead on the sidewalk outside the cafe and five other men wounded. One of the victims, Salvatore Ferrara, eventually died of his wounds. Over 200 friends and relatives attended the dual funeral at St. John's Cemetery a few days later.
Joe Valachi
In A Man of Honor (1983), mob boss Joseph BonannoJoseph Bonanno
Joseph Charles Bonanno, Sr. was a Sicilian-born American mafioso who became the boss of the Bonanno crime family. He was nicknamed "Joe Bananas," a name he despised.-Early life:...
identifies Buster as Sebastiano Domingo: According to Bonanno:
However, Bonanno's description of Buster is very different than Valachi's. Bonanno's Buster is short instead tall like Valachi's. According to another theory, Buster is a character invented by Valachi to avoid acknowledging his own role in the killings of Mineo and Ferrigno. Valachi was inducted as a "made man
Made man
A made man, also known as a Mafioso , made guy, man of honor, or uomo d'onore , is someone who has been officially inducted into the Sicilian or American Mafia . They may also be referred to by some as a goodfella or wiseguy...
" immediately after these killings. In the Valachi version, there was no obvious motive for the mob to induct him at this point.
On the statement, "However, Bonanno's description of Buster is very different than Valachi's. Bonanno's Buster is short instead tall like Valachi's," it must be remembered that Bonanno was attempting to recall events 30 years later. A photo of Domingo reproduced in Bonanno's book shows him, in fact, to be of medium height at least.
Further reading
- David Critchley, The Origin of Organized Crime in America: The New York City Mafia, 1891-1931, New York: Routledge, 2008. ISBN 0415990300.
- Mass, Peter. The Valachi Papers, New York: Pocket Books, 1986. ISBN 0-671-63173-X.
- Sifakis, Carl. The Mafia Encyclopedia. New York: Da Capo PressDa Capo PressDa Capo Press, is an American publishing company with headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1964 as a publisher of music books, as a division of Plenum Publishers. it had additional offices in offices in New York City, Philadelphia and Emeryville, California...
, 2005. ISBN 0-8160-5694-3