Frank J. Valenti (September 14, 1911 – September 20, 2008) was

boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, ...

of the criminal organization known as the Rochester crime family from 1964 to 1972. As the head of the organization he oversaw

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...

, prostitution and

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...

rackets operating in the city of

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located in W ...

for 8 years. Frank and his brother Constenze "Stanley" Valenti were among the 100+ Mafiosi that attended the legendary Apalachin Meeting in 1957. At the time, Frank was underboss of the family.

Joe Valachi Joseph Michael Valachi (September 22, 1904 – April 3, 1971) was an American mobster in the Genovese crime family who is notable as the first member of the Italian-American Mafia to acknowledge its existence publicly in 1963. He is credited wit ...

identified the Valenti brothers as central figures in the Mafia when he became a government witness in 1963. Valachi also stated that Frank was a

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

in the

Bonanno crime family The Bonanno crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the " Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, and in the United States, as part of the criminal phenomenon known as ...

of New York City. According to the U.S. Social Security Death Index, Frank was born in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

, where he became a powerful crime figure throughout the 1930s–1950s. Valenti also owned a chain of Spaghetti Village restaurants in Pennsylvania. In 1958, Frank's brother Stanley was boss of the Rochester crime family and refused to cooperate with law enforcement regarding questioning about the Apalachin Meeting. As a result, Constenze was sentenced to 16 months in prison. Jake Russo took this opportunity to seize control of the family. Frank tried to intervene but was ordered out of the state for 3 years following a conviction for violation of the election laws. He moved back to Pittsburgh in the early 1960s, serving as a capo in the

Pittsburgh crime family The Pittsburgh crime family,CapeciChapter 5 "Mafia Families Poison the Northeast"/ref> also known as the LaRocca crime family''Organized Crime in Pennsylvania: Traditional and Non-Traditional''. Pennsylvania Crime Concession. April 15, 1988 or P ...

under

John LaRocca John Sebastian LaRocca (December 19, 1901 – December 3, 1984) was the Sicilian-born American boss of the Pittsburgh crime family from the 1950s until his death in 1984. Born in Villarosa, Sicily, LaRocca and his family immigrated to the Unite ...

. In 1964, with support from the LaRocca family, Valenti returned to Rochester and took control of the family. Jake Russo disappeared around that time, never to be seen again. In 1970, Valenti informed Stefano Magaddino that the Rochester crime family would no longer pay tribute to Buffalo; the Rochester crime family was on its own, with support from the Pittsburgh crime family. He had a stint in federal prison on extortion charges, before moving to

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

, and then

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. Frank Valenti was A commissioned member of Buffalo, New York. He moved to Arizona in 1977, where he was allowed to retire. He died on September 20, 2008, at a nursing home in

Sugar Land Sugar Land is the largest city in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, located in the southwestern part of the metropolitan area. Located about southwest of downtown Houston, Sugar Land is a populous suburban municipality centered around ...

outside

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

at the age of 97.

References

The Mafia Made Easy
Peter J. Devico (June 5, 2007) {{DEFAULTSORT:Valenti, Frank 1911 births 2008 deaths American crime bosses American gangsters of Italian descent