Ilario Maria Antonio Zannino (June 15, 1920 – February 27, 1996) was an American
mobster who was a member of the
Patriarca crime family
The Patriarca crime family (, ), also known as the New England Mafia, the Boston Mafia, the Providence Mafia, or The Office is an Italian-American Mafia family in New England. It has two distinct factions, one based in Providence, Rhode Island, ...
. Zannino was said to be the third-highest-ranking figure in the
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
faction of the Patriarca family rising to the position of
Consigliere. He was a paternal nephew or a paternal first cousin of Boston
Patriarca crime family
The Patriarca crime family (, ), also known as the New England Mafia, the Boston Mafia, the Providence Mafia, or The Office is an Italian-American Mafia family in New England. It has two distinct factions, one based in Providence, Rhode Island, ...
mobster Phillip Zannino.
Biography
Ilario Zannino was born to Joseph Zannino and Isabella LaGrada and was raised in a house on Shawmut Avenue in
South End, Boston
The South End is a neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is bordered by Back Bay, Chinatown, and Roxbury. It is distinguished from other neighborhoods by its Victorian style houses and the many parks in and around the area. The South En ...
. He stood at 5'7 and weighed 160 pounds with brown eyes and dark brown hair. Although he was born in the North End, like Gennaro Anguilo he moved at an early age to
Franklin, Massachusetts
The Town of Franklin is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Franklin is one of thirteen Massachusetts municipalities that have applied for, and been granted, city forms of government but wish to retain "The town of" in their o ...
. Zannino moved to South Boston in the late 1930s. He is the husband of Isabella Tawa. He was often found with
Stephen Flemmi
Stephen Joseph Flemmi (born June 9, 1934) is an American gangster and convicted murderer and was a close associate of Winter Hill Gang boss Whitey Bulger. Beginning in 1975, Flemmi was a top echelon informant for the Federal Bureau of Investiga ...
. He lived for a time in Franklin, MA and graduated from
Franklin High School in 1938. His relatives owned a pig farm in
Stoughton, Massachusetts where it was believed that the body of murdered
Greek-American
Greek Americans ( el, Ελληνοαμερικανοί ''Ellinoamerikanoí'' ''Ellinoamerikánoi'' ) are Americans of full or partial Greek ancestry. The lowest estimate is that 1.2 million Americans are of Greek descent while the highest es ...
mob associate James Bratsos was buried in 1954. No one has ever been charged in the disappearance of Bratsos. In his high school yearbook, he stated intentions to attend medical school. His classmates called him "Zip" which later become ironically the same nickname of FBI Special Agent
John Connolly who would later successfully prosecute him for his criminal activities. He allegedly stabbed a waiter to death in a South End restaurant for slow service. He was classmates with a future elementary school principal named Larry who were in the "Let's Go" youth gang together. In 1954, Ilario attended his old friend Larry's wedding, pressed a $100 bill in his hand and said, "Buy yourself a necktie kid." Zannino rose from street tough to extorting businesses and beating up debtors all over town.
In 1985, FBI agents acquired details on the interiors of two Mafia controlled apartments in the Boston's North End. With court approval, agents picked the locks early in the morning and planted bugs that produced 800 hours of recordings. Ilario Zannino was heard explaining how dangerous it is to kill just one member of the
Winter Hill Gang. "If you're clipping people," he said, "I always say, make sure you clip the people around him first. Get them together, 'cause everybody's got a friend. He could be the dirtiest motherfucker in the world, but someone that likes this guy, that's the guy that sneaks you." Zannino and Patriarca family soldier, John Cincotti were complaining to each other about the problems that they were having with the Irish American gang. Cincotti said: "They don't have the scruples that we have." Zannino agreed. "You know how I knew they weren't Italiano? When they bombed the fucking house. We don't do that."
;Imprisonment
Sent to prison for
loansharking and
illegal gambling, Ilaro Zannino died on February 27, 1996, of natural causes at the
Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...
.
References
*Bloom, Robert M. ''Ratting: The Use and Abuse of Informants in the American Justice System''. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002.
*United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. ''Organized Criminal Activities: south Florida and U.S. Penitentiary, Atlanta, Ga.'' 1980
*United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. ''Department of Justice Appropriation Authorization Act of 1987: Hearing of the Committee on the Judiciary''. 1987
*United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. ''Organized Crime: 25 Years After Valachi : Hearings Before the Permanent Subcommittee of Investigations''. 1988
*United States. Congress. House. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Criminal Justice. ''Oversight Hearing on Organized Crime Strike Forces: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice''. 1989
*United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. ''Status of the Department of Justice Organized Crime Strike Forces: Joint Hearing Before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations''. 1990
External links
New York Times: Reputed Mob Leader Guilty in Boston Racketeering Case*
ttp://www.thebrothersbulger.com/Ilario%20(Larry%20Baione)%20Zannino.htm TheBrothersBulger.com - Ilario (Larry Baione) Zanninnobr>
SouthCoastToday - Obituaries
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zannino, Ilario
1920 births
1996 deaths
American gangsters of Italian descent
Patriarca crime family
American people who died in prison custody
Prisoners who died in United States federal government detention
People from Swampscott, Massachusetts
People from South End, Boston