John Russomano

Russomano served East Harlem racket boss Giosue Gallucci beginning around 1910. An enforcer and bodyguard for Gallucci, Russomano's name made the papers for the Dec. 16, 1912, killing of Aniello "Zopo" Prisco, the leader of a gang of extortionists who was looking to muscle in on Gallucci's rackets.

The police decided that Russomano killed Prisco in self-defense, but that didn't stop Prisco gang members from pursuing a vendetta against him. He was ambushed at his home Feb. 18, 1913. Russomano's bodyguard Tony Capilongo was killed by the unseen (and unheard, probably due to the use of some silencing devices) killers.

Russomano himself was shot several times but survived. He was no longer an influential figure in organized criminal history after being jailed for a Sullivan Law violation just before Gallucci's death on May 17, 1915.

© 2007 T.Hunt
The American "Mafia"