Antonio "Tony the Scourge" Lombardo (; November 23, 1891 – September 7, 1928) was an Italian-born American

mobster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

. He was ''

consigliere Consigliere ( , ; plural ) is a position within the leadership structure of the Sicilian, Calabrian, and Italian-American Mafia. The word was popularized in English by the novel ''The Godfather'' (1969) and its film adaptation. In the novel, a c ...

'' to

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...

, and later the President of the Unione Siciliana.

Biography

Born in the town of

Galati Mamertino Galati Mamertino is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina in the Italian region Sicily, located about east of Palermo and about west of Messina. Galati Mamertino borders the following municipalities: Frazzanò, Longi, ...

in Sicily on November 23, 1891, Antonio Lombardo immigrated to the United States in the early 20th century where he became a successful wholesale grocery business owner in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. In September 1917 he was involved in the killing of Cleveland Police Officer Elmer Glaefke A long time Mafia associate, Lombardo became Al Capone's advisor after

John Torrio John Donato Torrio (born Donato Torrio, ; January 20, 1882 – April 16, 1957) was an Italian born-American mobster who helped build the Chicago Outfit in the 1920s later inherited by his protégé Al Capone. Torrio proposed a National Crime Syn ...

retired in 1925. Lombardo tried unsuccessfully to negotiate peace between the

Chicago Outfit The Chicago Outfit (also known as the Outfit, the Chicago Mafia, the Chicago Mob, the Chicago crime family, the South Side Gang or The Organization) is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate or crime family based in Chicago, Illinois, th ...

and the North Side Gang during the four-year gang war, suggesting that Capone surrender supposed Dean O'Banion assassins

Albert Anselmi Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert C ...

and

John Scalise John Scalise (born Giovanni Scalise, 1900, Castelvetrano, Sicily – May 7, 1929, Chicago) was an American organized crime figure of the early 20th century and, with partner Albert Anselmi, was one of the Chicago Outfit's most successful hitme ...

, which Capone refused. Lombardo, with the help of Capone, later became President of the Unione Siciliana in November 1925, attempting to regain control of the unstable organization as well as instituting reforms, including opening membership to non-Sicilian Italian immigrants (such as the

Neapolitan Neapolitan means of or pertaining to Naples, a city in Italy; or to: Geography and history * Province of Naples, a province in the Campania region of southern Italy that includes the city * Duchy of Naples, in existence during the Early and Hig ...

Capone) and changing the organization's name to the Italo-American National Union. Lombardo's reforms, however, caused some resentment within Unione Siciliana members. With the partnership of Al Capone and New York gangster

Frankie Yale Francesco Ioele (; January 22, 1893 – July 1, 1928), known as Frankie Yale or Frankie Uale, was an Italian-American gangster based in Brooklyn and second employer of Al Capone. Early life Yale was born in Longobucco, Italy, on January 22, ...

worsening, possibly due to the end of payoffs from the Unione Siciliana to Yale, Lombardo was challenged for the Presidency by

Joe Aiello Giuseppe "Joe" Aiello (; September 27, 1890 – October 23, 1930) was a Sicilian bootlegger and organized crime leader in Chicago during the Prohibition era. He was best known for his long and bloody feud with Chicago Outfit boss Al Capone. Ai ...

, supported by Yale, in January 1928. Grave of Antonio Lombardo (1891–1928) at Mount Carmel Cemetery, Hillside, IL 1

Lombardo, however, refused to resign and continued to organize civic projects under the Unione Siciliana until shortly before his death on September 7, 1928. Lombardo was gunned down, along with his bodyguard Joseph Ferrara (although bodyguard Joe Lolordo survived), allegedly by an alliance of the

Gang and the North Side Gang, at the intersections of Madison Street and Dearborn Street. It was said that Moran ordered this death and had his two experienced gunman do the job with the help of Aiello. Thought to be retaliation for the murder of

the previous July, Lombardo's death was in turn soon avenged with the murder of members of the Joe Aiello Gang and the St. Valentine's Day Massacre, in 1929. He is buried in Mount Carmel Cemetery in Hillside, Illinois. Only one gunman was identified in Lombardo's death: a Frank Marco aka Marlo who was killed in New York City February 17, 1931 ; a possible unknown accomplice to Marco was killed September 9, 1928, in Michigan. Another suspect was Pietro La MantiaAl Capone Museum
/ref> It is also alleged Peter Gusenberg also helped carry out the murders on Antonio Lombardo and Pasquale Lolorado with his younger brother

Frank Gusenberg Frank Gusenberg (October 11, 1893 – February 14, 1929) was an American contract killer and a victim of the Saint Valentine's Day massacre in Chicago, Illinois. Early life Born in Lakeview, Chicago, Gusenberg was the second oldest of thr ...

and Albert Kachellek, a fellow cellmate at Joliet.

References

*Kelly, Robert J. ''Encyclopedia of Organized Crime in the United States''. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2000. *Sifakis, Carl. ''The Mafia Encyclopedia''. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. *Sifakis, Carl. ''The Encyclopedia of American Crime''. New York: Facts on File Inc., 2001.

External links

The American "Mafia": Who was who ? - L
*

by Allan May

by Allen May {{DEFAULTSORT:Lombardo, Antonio 1891 births 1928 deaths 1928 murders in the United States Gangsters from the Province of Messina Al Capone associates Consiglieri Murdered American gangsters of Sicilian descent Chicago Outfit mobsters Prohibition-era gangsters American Roman Catholics People murdered in Illinois Male murder victims Burials at the Bishop's Mausoleum, Mount Carmel Cemetery (Hillside) Italian emigrants to the United States

Biography

Further reading

References

External links