History
Carlo Piranio
Carlo Piranio, a native of Sicily, immigrated to the U.S. circa 1901 with his brother Joseph. They first settled in Shreveport, Louisiana. Carlo began the Dallas faction of the American Mafia in 1921 with Joseph as his underboss. Carlo, later described as the "original head of the Mafia in Texas," was born about 1876 in Corleone, Sicily, the same hometown as early New York Mafia bossJoseph Civello
Joseph Civello was born in 1902, in rural West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. He was the second child born to Philip and Catherine Civello. His father, a farm laborer, had been in the United States since 1900. The Civello family grew to include seven children. The family remained in West Baton Rouge until 1923, when Philip relocated the clan to Dallas and opened a grocery store. Civello married in November 1929. He and his wife Mary moved into Philip Civello's home at 1902 Moser Avenue. Joseph worked as a salesman for his father's grocery store.Death of Joe DeCarlo
Law enforcement officers quickly became aware of Joseph Civello. He was convicted of Prohibition violations in 1926 and served forty days in jail. On July 12, 1928, Civello was again arrested on liquor charges. His arrest was part of a series of raids that nabbed a total of twenty-two suspected bootleggers around the city. Civello was arrested on St. Paul Street with two other men, Ernest Calchano and Joe DeCarlo. DeCarlo was an important bootlegger in the Dallas area and had recently begun refusing to send tribute payments to Carlo Piranio. Civello was selected to administer Mafia discipline. Just two days after their arrest together, Civello and DeCarlo met inside the St. Paul Drugstore at the intersection of St. Paul and Bryan Streets. Civello happened to be carrying a loaded shotgun at the time. As the men stood close to each other, the shotgun went off. DeCarlo was shot in the stomach. Rather than flee, Civello remained with the mortally wounded DeCarlo, protesting that his weapon had fired by accident. DeCarlo, with his dying breath, confirmed Civello's story. Civello was arrested and charged with murder. He continued to insist that the killing was accidental. A Dallas grand jury gave considerable weight to DeCarlo's dying statement. Within two days, Civello was released on his own recognizance. The grand jury continued its investigation into DeCarlo's death and decided on July 27 not to indict Civello.Apalachin Meeting
Joseph Civello assumed control in 1956, when Joseph Piranio died at age 78. Civello attended the infamous Apalachin Meeting of Mafia leaders in 1957, a time when he controlled narcotics, gambling, prostitution and night clubs in most of Texas. After the Apalachin Meeting, the FBI began keeping closer tabs on Civello. On January 13, 1960, Civello was indicted for conspiracy and perjury offenses. Judge Irving R. Kaufman sentenced him and nineteen other mob leaders that were at Apalachin to five years in prison. Ten months later, a U.S. Appeals Court overturned the convictions of the twenty men. Prosecutors had proven conspiracy, the court decided, but had not proven that the conspiracy was designed to accomplish some unlawful act.Joseph Ianni
After Civello's death in 1970, the FBI listed the Dallas Family as inactive. It is more likely, however, that longtime Dallas ''capo'' Joseph Ianni assumed leadership after Civello's death.Joseph Campisi
After Ianni's death in 1973, Campisi took over and ruled as boss until his death in 1990. Campisi owned a restaurant named Campisi's Egyptian restaurant but it was renamed to just Campisi's restaurant which is still in business to this day.Historical leadership
Boss
*1910–1930 – Carlo Piranio *1930–1956 – Joseph Piranio *1956–1970 – Joseph Civello *1970–1973 – Joseph "Little Joe" Ianni *1973–1990 – Joseph "Egyptian Joe" CampisiSee also
* Benny BinionReferences
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dallas Crime Family Italian-American crime families Gangs in Texas