Girolomo "Momo" Adamo (1895–1956) was an Italian American mobster in the American Mafia. He lived in

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

and Kansas City before moving to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

in the 1930s and soon became

underboss Underboss ( it, sottocapo) is a position within the leadership structure of certain organized crime groups, particularly in Sicilian, Greek, and Italian-American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the boss. The under ...

Jack Dragna Jack Ignatius Dragna (born Ignazio Dragna, ; April 18, 1891 – February 23, 1956) was an American Mafia member and Black Hander who was active in both Italy and the United States in the 20th century. He was active in bootlegging in Californ ...

in the

Los Angeles crime family The Los Angeles crime family, also known as the L.A. Mafia or the Southern California crime family, is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate based in Los Angeles as part of the larger Italian-American Mafia. Since its inception in the ea ...

. His brother Joseph Adamo was also a member of the crime family. Both he and his brother were well connected criminals in San Diego, working with such mobsters as

Frank Bompensiero Frank "Bomp" Bompensiero (October 29, 1905 – February 10, 1977) was a Mafia hitman and longtime caporegime in the Los Angeles crime family. In 1956, with the death of boss Jack Dragna, Bompensiero was demoted to the rank of soldier by the new ...

and Jimmy (The Weasel) Fratianno. In 1950, Momo was arrested along with several members of Jack Dragna's family including

Tom Dragna Tom Dragna (born Gaetano Dragna; ; November 25, 1888 – September 30, 1977) was a Sicilian-American bootlegger and mobster who became a member of the Los Angeles crime family. He was the brother of Jack Dragna and the father of Louis Tom Dragna. ...

(brother), Louis Dragna (nephew), and two men named Frank Paul Dragna (his son and nephew, respectively) when Dragna fled the state after being named in the California Crime Commission report as a member of a crime syndicate in Los Angeles. The five of them were taken into custody by the

Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...

, who believed they were responsible for bombing

Mickey Cohen Meyer Harris "Mickey" Cohen (September 4, 1913 – July 29, 1976) was an American gangster, boxer and entrepreneur based in Los Angeles during the mid-20th century. Early life Mickey Cohen was born on September 4, 1913, in New York City to Je ...

's home or knew who was. The men were all released without being charged, when the police couldn't find evidence of their involvement (Tom built the bomb, but otherwise none of them were involved). When Jack Dragna died in 1956, the Los Angeles crime family cast a secret vote to see who would become the next boss. Momo was hoping as a long time L.A. Mob leader he would be elected. However, USC trained lawyer-turned-mobster

Frank DeSimone Frank A. DeSimone (July 17, 1909 – August 4, 1967) was an American attorney and the boss of the Los Angeles crime family from 1956 to 1967. DeSimone was the son of former don Rosario DeSimone. He was sometime referred to as "One Eye" because ...

was elected boss in what is believed to be a rigged election. DeSimone demoted Adamo, and Adamo moved to San Diego shortly after. In the same year, Adamo attempted a

murder–suicide A murder-suicide is an act in which an individual kills one or more persons either before or while killing themselves. The combination of murder and suicide can take various forms: * Murder linked with suicide of a person with a homicidal idea ...

by shooting his wife Marie Adamo in the head, before shooting and killing himself. Marie ended up surviving. The reason for the attempted murder was never confirmed, but according to police informants, Adamo's shooting himself and Marie was possibly out of shame from Frank DeSimone raping Adamo's wife while being forced to watch. Many mob historians don't believe this story. Other sources have trouble believing the strait-laced DeSimone, living with his mother, a USC law school graduate and a practicing attorney, would have raped a mob associate's wife, or anyone else. Adamo's wife Marie was having an affair during their marriage and an alternative theory given is that Adamo committed these actions after finding out about her affair. Marie Adamo who never talked about the shooting incident publicly, recovered and later married

, who was widowed after his wife Thelma died.

Notes

References

* * *http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/1999/mar/11/cover-fateful-check-us-grant/ *http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/1999/mar/18/cover-when-everything-was-lost/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Adamo, Momo 1895 births 1956 suicides American gangsters of Sicilian descent Los Angeles crime family Prohibition-era gangsters Suicides by firearm in California