John Tronolone
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John "Peanuts" Tronolone (December 12, 1910 − May 29, 1991) was a Cleveland, Ohio
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 ...
who succeeded crime boss James Licavoli as head of the Cleveland crime family. Tronolone ran the Cleveland family following the Licavoli-Nardi gang wars from 1985 until 1991. Born in
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...
, Tronolone was arrested three times before the age of 21. He allegedly gained his nickname "Peanuts" by giving candy to neighborhood children visiting his father's candy store. During the 1930s, he was a close associate of Buffalo mobster Joe DiCarlo. Sometime in the 1940s, he moved to Cleveland where he became an active member of the Cleveland crime family. In 1975, he was convicted of operating a
bookmaking A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookm ...
operation with an estimated weekly income exceeding $1 million; Tronolone was sentenced to two years imprisonment with a $2,000 fine. Tronolone maintained his family responsibilities from his residence in
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, where he also operated a
travel agency A travel agency is a private retailer or public service that provides travel and tourism-related services to the general public on behalf of accommodation or travel suppliers to offer different kinds of travelling packages for each destinati ...
. Tronolone frequently served as
facilitator A facilitator is a person who helps a group of people to work together better, understand their common objectives, and plan how to achieve these objectives, during meetings or discussions. In doing so, the facilitator remains "neutral", meaning t ...
between the Cleveland family and the Mafia Commission in New York. Since Cleveland was not a Commission member, their interests were served by front boss
Anthony Salerno Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno (August 15, 1911 – July 27, 1992) was an American mobster who served as underboss and front boss of the Genovese crime family in New York City from 1981 until his conviction in 1986. Early life Salerno was born and ...
from the
Genovese crime family The Genovese crime family, () also sometimes referred to as the Westside, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City and New Jersey as part of the American M ...
. Tronolone also helped Salerno with other important jobs. In 1980, Angelo Bruno, the boss of the
Philadelphia crime family The Philadelphia crime family, also known as the Philadelphia Mafia, the Philly Mob or Philly Mafia, the Philadelphia-South Jersey Mafia, or Bruno-Scarfo family is an Italian-American Mafia family based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed and ...
, was killed by rivals within his crime family. The Commission, upset with Bruno's unsanctioned murder, issued a death edict for Philadelphia gangster Johnny "Keys" Simone. Aware that he was in trouble, Simone traveled to Florida to ask Tronolone to intercede for him with Salerno. Tronolone called Salerno, who told him that Simone's fate was sealed. At Salerno's request, Tronolone assured Simone that everything was now OK and that he should return to New York and talk to Salerno. The reassured Simone returned to New York, where his body was discovered several days later. In 1981, Tronolone and 14 other mobsters were indicted on federal racketeering charges, including 29 counts of conspiracy to murder, labor racketeering,
illegal gambling Gaming law is the set of rules and regulations that apply to the gaming or gambling industry. Gaming law is not a branch of law in the traditional sense but rather is a collection of several areas of law that include criminal law, regulatory law, ...
, bid rigging for local food and construction industries, and conspiracy to defraud the
Teamsters Union The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the un ...
through election fraud. In October 1983, acting boss Angelo Lonardo became a protected federal witness against Tronolone and other Cleveland family members. Trenbolone then became acting boss. In 1985, after Tronolone's acquittal on racketeering charges and the death of Licavoli, Trenbolone became the permanent boss of the weakened Cleveland family. In 1989, Tronolone became the only Mafia boss to have the distinction of being arrested in a hand-to-hand undercover transaction by local law enforcement. He accepted allegedly stolen jewelry from Lt. Dave Green, an undercover Broward County deputy in exchange for bookmaking and loan sharking debts. Green was forced to wear a disguise because Tronolone knew his real identity. On May 29, 1991, Tronolone died before he could start his nine-year state prison sentence. A funeral mass was held for him at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Miami Beach.


References

*Raab, Selwyn. ''Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires''. New York: St. Martin Press, 2005.


Further reading

*Capeci, Jerry. ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia''. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002. *Neff, James. ''Mobbed Up: Jackie Presser's High-Wire Life in the Teamsters, the Mafia, and the FBI''. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1989. *Porrello, Rick. ''To Kill the Irishman: The War That Crippled the Mafia''. Novelty, Ohio: Next Hat Press, 2004. *Smith, John L. ''Running Scared: the life and treacherous times of Las Vegas casino king Steve Wynn''. New York: Four Walls Eight Windows, 2001. *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 Governmental Affairs. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. ''Organized Crime: 25 Years After Valachi: Hearings Before the Permanent Subcommittee on 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 Governmental Affairs. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. ''Federal Government's Use of Trusteeships Under the RICO Statute: Hearings Before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations''. 1989

*United States. Congress. Senate. Impeachment Trial Committee on the Articles against Judge Alcee L. Hastings. ''Report of the Senate Impeachment Trial Committee on the Articles Against Judge Walter L. Nixon''. 1989


External links


The New Criminologist: John Tronolone
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tronolone, John 1910 births 1991 deaths American gangsters of Italian descent Cleveland crime family