Ignatius Lanzetta
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Ignatius Lanzetta | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 12, 1903 |
| Died | after 1960 |
| Other names | Frank Pius, Ignatius Lanzetti |
| Occupations | Gangster, crime boss, bootlegger, dope peddler |
| Spouse | May Siano[1] |
| Children | Warren and Vanna Lanzetta |
| Parent(s) | Ignatius and Michele Lanzetta[2] |
| Criminal charge | Breaking New Jersey's "Gangster Law" |
| Penalty | 5-10 years imprisonment; released in 1940 |
Ignatius Andrew "Frank Pius" Lanzetta (July 12, 1903 – after 1960) was an American criminal and member of the Lanzetta Brothers gang, who ran bootlegging, drug trafficking, and bookmaking operations. He and his brothers were often incorrectly called the Lanzetti brothers.
Ignatius Lanzetta was born in South Philadelphia to Italian immigrant parents Ignatius Andrea Lanzetta, a liquor dealer from Roseto Valfortore, and Michelina Luisi from Castelluccio Valmaggiore.[2] Ignatius had five other brothers: Leo, Pius, Willie, Teo, and Lucien; Leo being the oldest and Pius being the second oldest. Ignatius was known to be very handsome and an impeccable dresser.[3][4]
Prohibition
His oldest brother Leo formed the Lanzetta Gang with Ignatius and their other brothers in the early 1920s. Ignatius, Leo, and another brother Pius ran the gang. The brothers controlled bootlegging in Little Italy.
They were allied with Italian gangsters Michael Falcone and Louis "Fats" Delrossi and their rivals included: Polish mob boss William Michael Cusick, Sicilian Mafia and Bruno crime family boss Salvatore Sabella, Jewish mob boss Max "Boo Boo" Hoff, and Italian Mafia made man and rival dope peddler and bootlegger Joseph Bruno.[5]
The Lanzetta brothers ran their gang with extreme violence and expanded into drug trafficking and numbers writing.
Family trouble
Leo and Ignatius killed rival Joe Bruno on August 18, 1925, at 8th and Catherine Streets. Four days later, as Leo left a barber shop at 7th and Bainbridge Streets, an unknown assailant killed him in retaliation for Bruno's murder.[3][5] Sabella was Leo's suspected killer.
Pius was killed in a luncheonette on December 31, 1936 at 726 South Eighth Street.[6]
Willie was found with his head in a burlap bag with a bullet in his brain on July 2, 1939.[5][6]
Teo was convicted on drug trafficking charges in 1940 and sent to Leavenworth Prison.
Conviction
Along with Delrossi and Falcone, Ignatius was sent to prison in 1936 for breaking New Jersey's "Gangster Law" and released in 1940. They served only four years even though their sentences were "not more than 10 years and not less than 5 years of imprisonment...".[6]