Talk:Alfred Polizzi

Recent edits

@Tim1965: Hi. What do you think about the IPs most recent edits? I’m not convinced of the sourcing. Vaselineeeeeeee^★★★ 03:26, 5 June 2020 (UTC)

• The use of an ampersand in a subhead is improper, and I changed that. The "Telkotte and Claypool" source is neutral, unbiased, reputable, and published. I think the edit about adding Irish members and naming one of them is worth including; the source is cited and paginated. (I fixed how it appears in order to conform with the existing citation scheme.) The Messick citation was duplicative of the existing Messick citation (and the existing one had pagination), so I removed it. The statement about the Desert Inn is duplicative of a much better sourced and detailed analysis of involvement under the sub-section "Continuing criminal activity"; I removed it for that reason. The newly-added paragraph about the Cleveland Syndicate is correctly cited, but irrelevant to this article. It belongs in its own article, which should be created. It does not belong here: (1) There is no evidence Polizzi was a member of the Syndicate (there is cited text that says he had a business relationship with them, and the text documents with citations the extent of that relationship); (2) There is no evidence that Polizzi invested in the Beverly Hills Supper Club as a Syndicate member; (3) There is no evidence that Polizzi invested in or managed any of the other 17 casinos owned by the Syndicate in northern Kentucky. To include this paragraph runs the risk of implying that Polizzi was involved in the Syndicate's casino operations and in northern Kentucky criminal activity, and so far there is no evidence that he was. He had only a tangential relationship to the Syndicate as a bootlegger, according to sources. The Supper Club fire occurred two years after Polizzi died, so I can't see adding that info, either. - Tim1965 (talk) 17:03, 5 June 2020 (UTC)

Syndicate Was Closing Aligned with the Mayfield Road Mob

Investigative journalist Hank Messick states "The Cleveland Syndicate: Moe Dalitz, Morris Kleinman, Sam Tucker, and Louis Rothkopf. Other names were added over the years. Some like Chuck Polizzi and Tommy McGinty achieved near-equality." Messick, Hank. (1967) The Silent Syndicate. The MacMillan Company, New York. P.46. So it appears the Alfred Polizzi was not a member but his adopted brother, Chuck Polizzi, was a member. Many sources do list Alfred Polizzi as a member or even the head of the syndicate. Given the aliases and nominees used by the Polizzis you can see how some confusion arose.

The business relationships between the Cleveland Syndicate and the Mayfield Road Mob are very intertwined. Both organizations cooperated with bootlegging, the production of alcohol (both owned interests in Buckeye Enterprises), the gambling rackets, the number rackets, and both invested in the same Vegas Casinos (where the skim occurred). Both organizations were based next to each other on the east side of Cleveland. From the Dalitz's Little Jewish Navy days to Vegas both groups worked closely together. The Kefauver Committee thought the organizations were related. As far a Newport goes Chuck Polizzi is listed on numerous Syndicate owned Casinos including the Beverly Hills Club, Lookout Club, and Yorkshire Club. Whether Chuck Polizzi was acting on behalf of Alfred or the Mayfield Road Mob does not appear to be addressed in any of the historical sources, but it is a reasonable inference. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2605:A000:132B:C5A2:E81A:BE0C:B43B:B6DF (talk) 16:00, 6 June 2020 (UTC)

• The Mob Museum web site does not say Al Polizzi was head of the Syndicate. It says that Polizzi admitted to living off legitimate sources of income, after having invested his illegal income in these legit businesses. It says Polizzi testified ahead of Dalitz, but the article does not say Polizzi was head or a member of the Syndicate.

"Reasonable inference" is WP:Original. "Intertwined" is an adjective I would not use to characterize the Mayfield Road Mob and the Cleveland Syndicate. They engaged in many of the same similar illegal activities, but not in the same geographic area. (The exception appears to be bootlegging.) I've never seen evidence that the Cleveland Syndicate or Mayfield Road Mob as organizations invested in Las Vegas casinos. There is plenty of evidence that individuals belonging to these two organizations invested in Las Vegas casinos. Sources show that Polizzi invested in the Desert Inn "a few years" after its construction in 1947—almost a decade after leaving the Mayfield Road Mob. (It's not clear when he made his investment in the Stardust Casino. I wish I could find out.)

Chuck Polizzi probably had extensive business investments in Syndicate-run illegal activities. He was Jewish, and the Syndicate began as a Jewish gang and was largely controlled by Jews after it opened up to other religions and ethnicities. It's unclear if Chuck was admitted to the Mayfield Road Mob; it was a Sicilians-only group, and may have barred him. On the other hand, his was a special case, having been raised from infancy by Sicilians. Sources may indeed be confused about whether it was Chuck (who used the pseudoynm "Albert") or Alfred attending an organized crime meeting, investing in an illegal business, or so on. It's not up to us to determine that; what Wikipedia asks us to do is to provide sources, and when sources conflict then all sources should be listed and the conflict noted. One of the things we can do is avoid sources that mention facts in passing; "in passing" is usually all right when the source is making claims that are not important or controversial. When it comes to Alfred Polizzi being a member or head of the Syndicate, I think "in passing" sources can't be used. If he was either, then the source should discuss his involvement and how he acted in the role. - Tim1965 (talk) 16:15, 7 June 2020 (UTC)

The sources do indicate Polizzi being involved with the Syndicate. Marc Mappen states that the Syndicate included "The Italian contingent consisted of the mobsters known as the Mayfield Road gang, named after a section of Cleveland’s Little Italy. One crossover figure in this operation was Charles “Chuck” Polizzi. His name at birth was Leo Berkowitz, but when his parents died the orphaned Jewish boy was adopted by the Polizzi family who renamed him." Mappen, Marc. (2013) Prohibition Gangsters. Rutgers University Press. New Brunswick, New Jersey and London. P.72. Michael Newton states "Frank Milano thus assumed command of Cleveland's Cosa Nastra, aided by Alfred Polizzi and pseudo-brother/cousin Charles/ne Leo Berkowitz). Charles Polizzi, in turn, bridged the gap to Cleveland's Jewish syndicate led by Moe Dalitz, while Tom McGinty's Irish mob joined the combination in a rare display of multicultural solidarity." Newton, Michael. The Mafia at Apalachin, 1957. (2012) McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson North Carolina — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2605:A000:132B:C5A2:2D5B:1864:DBAC:188E. (talk) 16:45, 10 June 2020 (UTC)

The Mayfield Road Mob was not a Sicilian only gang. The prior boss and underboss of the Mayfield Road Mob, Anthony Milano and Frank Milano (mobster) were from Calabria not Sicily. Charles Polizzi represented the interests of the Mayfield Road Mob at the Atlantic City Conference. Also, Charles Polizzi's religion, having biological parents who were Jewish and being raised by Italians, is not certain. The skim going to the Mayfield Road Mob / Cleveland Crime family is well established. Joe Griffin states: "In exchange for this percentage, the Cleveland LCN family was provided protection for the casino. The "Jewish boys" felt it was better to give a percentage of hidden ownership to the Cleveland family than a percentage to another family whose members would attempt to muscle in at a later date. Thereafter, Polizzi, his underboss, consiglieri, and capos began splitting up monthly skim proceeds from the Desert Inn and they shared this money with other Cleveland LCN members." Griffin, Joe. (2002) Mob Neimesis: How the FBI Crippled Organized Crime. Prometheus. Amherst, New York. P.288. These sources, namely books published by a university press and books published by respected publishing houses are considered reliable sources not WP:Original.

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