Joseph "Joe Iron Man" Ardizzone (born Giuseppe Ernesto Ardizzone; ; November 19, 1884 – disappeared October 15, 1931,

declared dead A presumption of death occurs when a person is thought to be dead by a group of people despite the absence of direct proof of the person's death, such as the finding of remains (e.g., a corpse or skeleton) attributable to that person. Such a pr ...

1938) was an Italian-born early

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

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 r ...

, who became the first Boss of the Los Angeles crime family. He was involved in a long-standing feud with the Matranga family. He once claimed to have killed 30 men.

Early life

Ardizzone was born on November 19, 1884 in Piana dei Greci (today Piana degli Albanesi), in the Province of Palermo,

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, to Antonino Ardizzone. The Ardizzones were of Arbëreshë origin, being related to several other families and they would maintain contact in America. Those families included the Cuccias and the Matrangas.

Early years in America

The Ardizzone family came to America at different times. Antonino came in the later 19th century, landing in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

then taking the train to southern

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. He became a wealthy farmer and wine maker. His other children, including Stefano and Francesco also moved to the Los Angeles area. Giuseppe was one of the last to arrive.

Matranga feud

International gunman sought in Mafia case, LA Times, 1917

For reasons uncertain Giuseppe, who Americanized his name to Joseph, became involved in a dispute with the Matrangas who lived in Los Angeles. They were distant cousins from Piana dei Greci. In what he later called an act of self-defense, Joseph shot and killed a Matranga ally named George Maisano in 1906. He then fled California and hid in different states. He eventually returned and was arrested, but the charges against him were dropped. In December 1914, he then married Elsa Marie Ellenberger who was the daughter of a German neighbor in the city of Sunland, California where they lived at that time. In court documents, she had also been referred to as Elsie A. Ardizzone. Shortly after that their home was burned down by arsonists. Starting in 1917, three of the rival Matrangas were killed: Sam Matranga was shot in front of his home (1837 Darwin Avenue); his brother Pietro Matranga was also shot in front of his home (1510 Biggy Street) a month later. Then a relative of the Matrangas, Joseph LaPaglia, was also killed. On October 12, 1918, Tony Matranga fired a rifle at Stephen Ardizzone which hit his truck; Matranga was tried on a charge of assault with a deadly weapon.

Later life

While it is uncertain when Ardizzone became a member of the Mafia, or even if his immediate family were members, he was in a leadership position in the early 1920s. Upon the resignation of Rosario DeSimone for unknown reasons, he became the next chief of the Los Angeles crime family. During his time as boss

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

was active and many, if not most, Mafiosi were involved in bootlegging. The Los Angeles Family was certainly active during this time period. In 1931, when the Castellammarese War between Joseph Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano was taking place, the Los Angeles crime family may have supported Maranzano.

Nick Gentile Nicola Gentile (; June 12, 1885 – November 6, 1966), also known as Nick Gentile, was a Sicilian mafioso and an organized crime figure in New York City during the 1920s and 1930s. He was also known for publishing his memoirs which, violating th ...

notes in his memoirs that during a conference Maranzano was backed by two men from California. Joseph Bonanno (died 2002) and his son Salvatore Bonanno (died 2008) wrote of several close associates in the Los Angeles area, such as Jimmy Costa (from Castellammare del Golfo), Nick Guastella, Frank Bompensiero and Tony Mirabile. It was also during this time that a faction developed that opposed Ardizzone. In early 1931 he was driving with his friend Jimmy Basile when gunmen drove by and shot at them. Basile was killed and Ardizzone wounded. Ardizzone managed to be taken to the house of Leon DeSimone, the physician son of former L.A. don Rosario DeSimone. He was treated and sent to a hospital. A second attempt was made on his life in the hospital, so his family came to act as bodyguards. Underworld sources indicated that he agreed to retire after these incidents. The opposing faction apparently did not believe Ardizzone, and on October 15, 1931, while on his way to a cousin's house in Etiwanda, driving a 1930 Ford Coupe SRW7653 and carrying a .41 caliber Colt revolver No.323 he "disappeared". An intense search followed, but his body was never found. After seven years, Ardizzone's wife had him declared legally dead.State of California, ''Final report of the Special Crime Study Commission on Organized Crime'' (Sacramento, 1953).

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