The Famiglia Vagabonda ("Wandering Family") was an American

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 alcohol ...

-era criminal organization of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

origin operating in Clarksburg and Fairmont, West Virginia. The gang was composed of Black Handers, Camorristi and

Mafiosi 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 ...

. John C. McKinney, a detective who investigated the group, identified them as the "Famalia icVagabonda." At the time, local media simply identified the group as The Black Hand.

History

The Famiglia Vagabonda first emerged in Marion County in 1908 as a group of Italian-born criminals under the leadership of Frank Pisconeri. The gang carried out a campaign of extortion in the Italian community and was also involved in gambling, narcotics trafficking, bootlegging, prostitution, kidnapping and murder. "Big Joe" Cenetti, leader of the Famiglia Vagabonda's Clarksburg faction, was shot dead in his automobile near Reynoldsville on December 28, 1921 as a result of an internecine conflict. In March 1923, Harrison County authorities arrested nine members in connection with twelve murders and series of dynamitings carried out in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland. Vincenzo "Jim" Urso, who led the Fairmont group, avoided prosecution as he had moved to Canada prior to the investigation.The 'Corbi Regime' of Baltimore, Maryland
TheNewYorkMafia.com (March 18, 2020) In early 1924, several members were executed for murder. Nicholas Salamante, Phillip Connizzaro and Richard Ferri were sentenced to be hanged on 4 January 1924. Approximately a month later, on 15 February, Samual Muratore was also executed. Another member, Pasquale "Patsy" Corbi, had been sentenced to life imprisonment in April 1923 for the January 16, 1922 murder of local barber Francesco "Frank Naples" Napolitano, a reputed Camorra member. Corbi's sentence was later commuted to eighteen years; he was paroled in 1932 and relocated to

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Maryland where he led a Calabrian mafia group that later became the Gambino crime family's Baltimore Crew.

References

{{Reflist Organizations established in 1908 1908 establishments in West Virginia Organizations disestablished in 1923 1923 disestablishments in West Virginia Italian-American organized crime groups Gangs in West Virginia Italian-American culture in West Virginia