Danny Greene
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Daniel John Patrick Greene (November 14, 1933 – October 6, 1977) was an Irish-American organized crime figure based in
Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
. Greene gained power first in the local chapter of the
International Longshoremen's Association The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) is a North American labor union representing longshore workers along the East Coast of the United States and Canada, the Gulf Coast, the Great Lakes, Puerto Rico, and inland waterways. The ILA h ...
, where he was elected president during the early 1960s. He later became a full time
crime boss A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, Don, gang lord, gang boss, mob boss, kingpin, godfather, crime mentor or criminal mastermind, is a person in charge of a criminal organization. Description A crime boss typically has absolute or nearl ...
and began competing with
Jewish-American organized crime Jewish-American organized crime initially emerged within the American Jewish community during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It has been referred to variously in media and popular culture as the Jewish Mob, Jewish Mafia, Kosher Mob, K ...
figure
Shondor Birns Alex Birns (February 21, 1907 – March 29, 1975), best known as Shondor Birns, was a notorious Jewish-American mob boss and racketeer from Cleveland, Ohio, who was once labeled as the city's "Public enemy No. 1" by the local newspapers. He was ac ...
and the
Italian-American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, w ...
Cleveland crime family The Cleveland crime family or Cleveland Mafia is the collective name given to a succession of Italian-American organized crime gangs based in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States. A part of the Italian-American Mafia (or ''Cosa Nostra'') phenom ...
for control of the city's criminal underworld. Greene set up his own crew called the Celtic Club, complete with enforcers and a close alliance with
outlaw biker An outlaw motorcycle club is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, ...
gangs. During the 1970s, Greene allied himself of mobbed up
labor union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
leader
John Nardi John Nardi (January 21, 1916 − May 17, 1977) was an influential associate of the Cleveland crime family who was involved in labor racketeering in Cleveland, Ohio. At the end of his criminal career, Nardi turned against his crime family in a blo ...
during the latter's war against Jack Licavoli for leadership of the
Cleveland crime family The Cleveland crime family or Cleveland Mafia is the collective name given to a succession of Italian-American organized crime gangs based in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States. A part of the Italian-American Mafia (or ''Cosa Nostra'') phenom ...
. Competing factions set off more than 36 bombs, most attached to cars, in murder attempts, many successful. After the humiliating failure of multiple attempts of his life and Greene's decision to repeatedly taunt the Licavoli faction as "maggots" in the Cleveland news media, Greene was successfully assassinated in 1977 by
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 earl ...
enforcers
Ray Ferritto Raymond W. Ferritto (April 8, 1929 − May 10, 2004) was an Italian-American mobster from Erie, Pennsylvania. Ferritto is best known for the 1977 assassination of Irish mob boss Danny Greene. He served as hitman and soldier for the Cleveland and ...
and Ronald Carabbia. A subsequent police investigation revealed that Greene's murder had been a
criminal conspiracy In criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to commit a crime at some time in the future. Criminal law in some countries or for some conspiracies may require that at least one overt act be undertaken in furtherance o ...
by the Italian-American
crime families A crime family is a unit of an organized crime syndicate, particularly in Italian organized crime and especially in the Sicilian Mafia and Italian American Mafia, often operating within a specific geographic territory or a specific set of activ ...
in Cleveland,
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, and
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. The investigation also resulted in the defections of both Ray Ferritto and Los Angeles crime family boss
Jimmy Fratianno Aladena James Fratianno (born Aladena Fratianno; November 14, 1913 – June 29, 1993), also known as "Jimmy the Weasel", was an Italian-born American mobster who was acting boss of the Los Angeles crime family. After his arrest in 1977, Fratianno ...
, followed by the exposure and arrest of a
mole Mole (or Molé) may refer to: Animals * Mole (animal) or "true mole", mammals in the family Talpidae, found in Eurasia and North America * Golden moles, southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae, similar to but unrelated to Talpida ...
inside the Cleveland FBI. The investigation also laid the groundwork for many successful Federal prosecutions of the
Italian-American Mafia The American Mafia, commonly referred to in North America as the Italian American Mafia, the Mafia, or the Mob, is a highly organized Italian American criminal society and organized crime group. The organization is often referred to by its mem ...
in multiple cities nationwide.


Early life and education

Daniel John Patrick "Danny" Greene was born November 14, 1933, in
Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, to John Henry Greene and Irene Cecelia Greene (née Fallon). His father was also born in Cleveland,Source Citation: Year: 1920; Census Place: Cleveland Ward 26, Cuyahoga, Ohio; Roll: T625_1373; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 491; Image: 443. but his mother was born in
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. Three days after his birth, Greene's mother died. He was called "Baby Greene" until his mother was buried, after which he was eventually named after his grandfather (Daniel John Greene). Danny's father drank heavily and eventually lost his job as a salesman for
Fuller Brush The Fuller Brush Company sells branded and private label products for personal care as well as commercial and household cleaning. It was founded in 1906 by Alfred Fuller. Consolidated Foods, now Sara Lee Corporation, acquired Fuller Brush in 19 ...
. After this, Danny temporarily moved in with his grandfather (a newspaper printer), who had also been recently widowed. Unable to provide for Danny, his father placed him in Parmadale, a
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
orphanage An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...
in
Parma, Ohio Parma is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, located on the southern edge of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, its population was 81,146. Parma is the seventh largest city in the state of Ohio, the largest suburb in the state, and ...
, three miles outside Cleveland. In 1939, Danny's father began dating a nurse. He married her, and they started their own family and brought Danny to live with them. At age 6, Danny resented his stepmother and ran away on several occasions. His paternal grandfather took him in, and Danny lived with him and an aunt for the rest of his childhood in the
Collinwood Collinwood is a historical area in the northeast part of Cleveland, Ohio. Originally a village in Euclid Township, it was annexed by the city in 1910. Collinwood grew around the rail yards of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway (now CS ...
neighborhood. Taking advantage of the fact that his grandfather worked nights, Danny roamed the streets at night. When Danny's father died in 1959, the newspaper
obituary An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...
listed his children from his second marriage but did not mention Danny. Danny attended St. Jerome Catholic School, where he developed a great fondness for the nuns and priests, developed a lasting friendship with some of his teachers, and served as an
altar boy An altar server is a laity, lay assistant to a member of the clergy during a Christian liturgy. An altar server attends to supporting tasks at the altar such as fetching and carrying, ringing the altar bell, helps bring up the gifts, brings up t ...
. He was athletic, excelled at baseball, and was an all-star basketball player. Although Danny was a poor student, the nuns at St. Jerome let him play sports because he was valuable to the team. Danny attended St. Ignatius High School. There he frequently fought with
Italian-American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, w ...
students, children of more recent immigrants struggling for a place, and he developed an intense dislike for Italians that lasted his entire life. After being expelled from Saint Ignatius, he transferred to Collinwood High School, where he excelled in athletics. He was also a
Boy Scout A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...
for a short time, before being kicked out of his troop. He was also expelled from Collinwood High School, in that case, due to excessive
tardiness Tardiness is the habit of being late or delaying arrival. Being late as a form of misconduct may be formally punishable in various arrangements, such as workplace, school, etc. An opposite personality trait is punctuality. Workplace tardiness ...
, which he claimed was caused by the bullying of fellow students.


Military service

After being expelled from Collinwood High School in 1951, Greene enlisted in the
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
, where he was soon noticed for his abilities as a boxer and marksman. He was stationed for a time at
Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune () is a United States Armed Forces, United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Its of beaches make the base a major area for Amphibious warfare, amphibious assault training, and its ...
,
Jacksonville, North Carolina Jacksonville is a city in Onslow County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 72,723, which makes Jacksonville the 14th-largest city in North Carolina. Jacksonville is the county seat and most populous commun ...
and was transferred many times, possibly because of behavioral issues. Promoted to the rank of
corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non ...
in 1953, Greene taught new junior Marines how to be artillerymen. He was
honorably discharged A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. Each country's military has different types of discharge. They are generally based on whether the persons completed their training and the ...
later that year.


Waterfront

In the early 1960s, Greene worked steadily as a
longshoreman A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes. After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number o ...
at the Cleveland docks, years before the work was unionized by the
International Longshoremen's Association The International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) is a North American labor union representing longshore workers along the East Coast of the United States and Canada, the Gulf Coast, the Great Lakes, Puerto Rico, and inland waterways. The ILA h ...
(ILA). In his free time he read about Ireland and its turbulent history, and began to think of himself as a "Celtic warrior". Some writers have speculated that reading about such warriors inspired his criminal ambitions. In 1961, the ILA removed the president of the local union. Greene was chosen to serve as interim president and handily won the next election. Once president, Greene had the union office painted green (to represent his Irish ethnicity) and installed thick green carpeting. He was known to drive a green car, wear green jackets, and often handed out green ink pens. In office, he raised dues 25% and pushed workers to perform "volunteer" hours to assist in providing a "building fund". Those who refused often found themselves losing work. He fired more than 50 members while denouncing them as "winos and bums" to other workers. Greene led sometimes violent protests and strikes to force the
stevedore A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes. After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number o ...
companies to allow the ILA to oversee the hiring of dockworkers. As a prerequisite to landing a job as a longshoreman, many workers had to unload grain from the ships on a temporary basis and turn their paychecks over to Greene. Said to have been collected to build a union hall, most of the funds ended up in Greene's personal bank account. An unidentified ILA member would later recall about Greene, "He read ''
On the Waterfront ''On the Waterfront'' is a 1954 American crime drama film, directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg. It stars Marlon Brando and features Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Pat Henning, and Eva Marie Saint in her film debut. ...
''. He imagined himself a tough dock boss. But he was thirty years too late. He used workers to beat up union members who did not come in line, but he was never seen fighting himself. He was a spellbinding speaker and a good organizer." As a union organizer, Greene sometimes declared work stoppages, as frequently as 25 per day, to demonstrate to company owners his authority on the docks. On one occasion, he threatened to murder the two children of one owner, and the FBI put the man's house and family under protection. After Sam Marshall, an investigative reporter, collected
affidavits An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or '' deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by law. Such a statemen ...
that supported charges of extortion, Greene was exiled from the union and convicted of embezzlement. The conviction was later overturned on appeal. Rather than face a second trial, Greene pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of falsifying union records, was fined $10,000, and received a suspended sentence. Afterward, he did not pay the fine nor receive any prison time. After returning to his rackets, Greene met and befriended Teamsters boss Louis Triscaro, who introduced Greene to
Jimmy Hoffa James Riddle Hoffa (born February 14, 1913 – disappeared July 30, 1975; declared dead July 30, 1982) was an American labor union leader who served as the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) from 1957 until 1971. F ...
. After the friendly meeting, Hoffa later reportedly said to Triscaro, "Stay away from that guy. There's something wrong with him." Marty McCann, of the Organized Crime Division of the FBI, recruited Greene as an informant. Greene passed along information to the FBI and became a top-echelon confidential informant, but only that which suited his personal needs, and he would not hurt those close to him. Greene's codename was "Mr. Patrick", a reflection on his Irish pride. It was his
confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...
name and that of his beloved Irish saint. Protected by his informant status, Greene increased his criminal activities. By 1964, the union members were fed up with Greene's behavior. ''
The Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday. As of Ma ...
'' began writing a nine-part investigative series about him. The series brought Greene unwanted attention from the U.S. Attorney, the
Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...
, the Labor Department, and the
Cuyahoga County Cuyahoga County ( or ) is a large urban County (United States), county located in the Northeast Ohio, northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is situated on the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the Canada–United States border, U.S.- ...
prosecutor. The ILA began its own investigation and soon removed Greene from office. Eventually, Greene was convicted in federal court of embezzling $11,500 in union funds and on two counts of falsifying records. The verdict was overturned by an appeals court, and federal prosecutors and Greene negotiated a settlement of Greene's guilty plea in exchange for two misdemeanor charges and a $10,000 fine, but he paid only a fraction of it.


Criminal career

Greene was hired by the Cleveland Solid Waste Trade Guild to "keep the peace". Impressed with his abilities, mobster Alex "Shondor" Birns hired him as an enforcer for his various "
numbers A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The original examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...
" operators. Additionally, the Cleveland Mafia family
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 underbo ...
, Frank "Little Frank" Brancato, used Greene and other Irish-American gangsters, during the 1960s, to act as errand boys and as muscle men to enforce the Mafia's influence over the garbage-hauling contracts and other rackets. Until his death in 1973, Brancato reportedly regretted having brought Greene into the mob due to the damage Greene did. For example, in May 1968, under Birns's orders, Greene was supposed to attack a black numbers man who was holding out on protection money due. Unfamiliar with the military-type detonator, Greene barely made it out of his car before the bomb exploded. He survived being thrown nearly 20 feet, although the hearing in his right ear was damaged for life. He told the police a story about what had occurred, and thereafter would only trust professionals to handle bombs for him. "Big Mike" Frato broke away from the Cleveland Solid Waste Trade Guild and founded the more legitimate trade group called the
Cuyahoga County Cuyahoga County ( or ) is a large urban County (United States), county located in the Northeast Ohio, northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is situated on the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the Canada–United States border, U.S.- ...
Refuse Haulers Association. A legitimate businessman, he protested Greene's bringing mob involvement and strong-arm tactics to the guild (although he had his own connections). The Cleveland Solid Waste Trade Guild fell apart shortly thereafter. In September 1970, Greene instructed Art Sneperger to place a bomb on Frato's car, but Sneperger had second thoughts and told Frato. Sneperger was a police informant and told Sgt. Edward Kovacic of the
Cleveland Police Cleveland Police is the territorial police force responsible for the policing area corresponding to the former county of Cleveland in Northern England. As of September 2017, the force had 1,274 police officers, 278 police staff, 124 police com ...
intelligence unit about Greene's plans and Greene's role as an FBI informant. Greene once again ordered Sneperger to plant a
bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...
on Frato's car in 1971. The bomb detonated before Sneperger could get away, killing him and sparing Frato, who was across the street. Some investigators believed the premature explosion was caused by a radio signal, possibly from a short wave radio or a passing police car. Others thought that Birns and Greene killed Sneperger after learning he was an informant. Sgt. Kovacic was told by an underworld source that Greene had pushed the detonator, killing Sneperger instantly. The case was never officially solved. On November 26, 1971, Frato was shot and killed at Cleveland's White City Beach. Greene was arrested and interrogated. He admitted to the killing but claimed self-defense. He said Frato had fired three shots at Greene, who was jogging and exercising his dogs, and fired one back. Evidence seemed to corroborate Greene's story, and he was released. Cleveland police later learned Frato was armed and had an opportunity to kill Greene several weeks prior to the White Beach shooting. During their partnership, Greene and Frato had become so close that they had named sons after each other. Not long afterward, Greene again found himself a target while jogging in White City Beach. A sniper, concealed several hundred feet away, fired several shots at Greene from a rifle. Instead of ducking to the ground, Greene pulled out his revolver and started shooting, while running toward his would-be assassin. The sniper fled and was never positively identified. Investigators learned that this attempt was part of a murder contract left by Birns. Greene left his wife and their three children for their own safety and moved to
Collinwood Collinwood is a historical area in the northeast part of Cleveland, Ohio. Originally a village in Euclid Township, it was annexed by the city in 1910. Collinwood grew around the rail yards of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway (now CS ...
, where he rented an apartment. Journalist Ned Whelan wrote about Greene: "Imagining himself as a feudal baron, he supported a number of destitute Collinwood families, paid tuition to Catholic schools for various children and, like the gangsters of the Twenties, actually had 50 twenty-pound turkeys delivered to needy households on Thanksgiving." He often picked up restaurant tabs for friends, neighbors, and acquaintances, and left generous tips. Greene evicted a
bookmaker 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 Bookma ...
who operated out of a small Waterloo business, and kept a local bar in order by making personal visits. When a rowdy group of
Hells Angels The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC) is a worldwide outlaw motorcycle club whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporatio ...
moved into Collinwood, Greene visited their headquarters with a stick of dynamite. He threatened to light it and throw it into their club house until they came out to hear his warning to keep things quiet while in Collinwood.


The Celtic Club

Greene formed his own crew of young
Irish-American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...
gangsters, called "The Celtic Club". His main enforcers were Keith "The Enforcer" Ritson, Kevin McTaggart, Brian O'Donnell, Danny Greene Jr., Billy McDuffy, Elmer Brittain, Ernest "Ted" Waite, Art "Snep" Snepereger and Jimmy "Icepick" Sterling who set up gambling dens across the city. He also allied with
John Nardi John Nardi (January 21, 1916 − May 17, 1977) was an influential associate of the Cleveland crime family who was involved in labor racketeering in Cleveland, Ohio. At the end of his criminal career, Nardi turned against his crime family in a blo ...
, a
Cleveland crime family The Cleveland crime family or Cleveland Mafia is the collective name given to a succession of Italian-American organized crime gangs based in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States. A part of the Italian-American Mafia (or ''Cosa Nostra'') phenom ...
labor racketeer who wanted to overthrow the leadership. The relationship between Greene and Birns began to sour. Greene had asked Birns for a loan of $75,000 to set up a "cheat spot" (speakeasy and gambling house). Birns arranged for it through the
Gambino crime family The Gambino 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, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Ame ...
, but the money was lost in the hands of Birns's courier Billy Cox, who used it to purchase
cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
. The police raided Cox's house, arrested him, and seized the narcotics and what was left of the $75,000. The Gambino family wanted their money, and Birns pressed Greene, who refused to return it, reminding Birns that he could not return something he had never received and that Birns was responsible for it, since Birns's courier had lost it. To settle the dispute, Birns directed an associate to hire a hitman for Greene, gave him $25,000 for the job, and noted it should be carried out even in the event of any harm befalling Birns. Several minor underworld characters, burglars by trade, took the contract, but their numerous assassination attempts on Greene failed. Not long afterward, Greene found an unexploded bomb in his car when he pulled into a Collinwood service station to get gas. The explosive was wired improperly and failed to detonate. Greene disassembled the bomb himself, removed the dynamite, and brought the rest of the package to a policeman, Edward Kovacic. Kovacic offered him police protection, but Greene refused it. He also refused to hand over the bomb, stating, "I'm going to send this back to the old bastard that sent it to me". Suspecting that Birns had ordered the hit, Greene decided to retaliate. On March 29, 1975, Holy Saturday, the eve of Easter, Birns was blown up by a bomb containing C-4, a potent military explosive, in the lot behind Christy's Lounge, formerly Jack & Jill West Lounge, a go-go spot at 2516 Detroit Ave. near St. Malachi's Church. On May 12, another explosion rocked Collinwood. Greene's building at 15805 Waterloo Road was destroyed, but he sustained only minor injuries. As the second floor fell, he was shielded from the debris by a refrigerator that had lodged against a wall. A second, more powerful bomb failed to explode, for which Greene credited the
intercession Intercession or intercessory prayer is the act of praying to a deity on behalf of others, or Intercession of saints, asking a saint in heaven to pray on behalf of oneself or for others. The Apostle Paul's exhortation to Saint Timothy, Timothy sp ...
of St. Jude, whose medal he always wore around his neck. In 1975, Greene began to push into the
vending machine A vending machine is an automated machine that provides items such as snacks, beverages, cigarettes, and lottery tickets to consumers after cash, a credit card, or other forms of payment are inserted into the machine or otherwise made. The fir ...
racket, traditionally controlled by the Mafia, as well as muscled into gambling operations. This angered the Cleveland family leadership, especially the soldier Thomas "The Chinaman" Sinito. Greene controlled some of the more lucrative laundry contracts that Sinito wanted, and Sinito deemed the excessive fees Greene charged for coin-operated laundry contracts extortion. Sinito and mob soldier Joseph "Joey Loose" Iacobacci murdered one of Greene's associates. In retaliation, Greene had dynamite wired to the frame of Sinito's car, but Sinito found the bomb, removed and disarmed it, and later destroyed it. In Greene's competition with the Mafia to build a vending machine empire, John Conte became a victim. Conte owned a vending machine company (that provided slot machines to various private clubs and parties) while working as a route man for another one. Conte was also a close friend of
Joseph Gallo Joseph Gallo may refer to: * Joseph Edward Gallo (1919–2007), cheese producer, brother of winemakers Ernest and Julio Gallo * Joseph N. Gallo (1912–1995), American gangster, consigliere of the Gambino crime family * Joe Gallo (1929–1972), als ...
's. On the day of Conte's disappearance, he told his wife he had a meeting with Greene. That was the last time she saw him; his badly beaten corpse was discovered a few days later at a dump site in Austintown. Police investigators theorized that Conte was beaten to death in Greene's trailer and his body later transported to Austintown. They found some physical evidence, but Greene was never charged with Conte's murder. In 1976, longtime mobster John Scalish died, leaving control of Cleveland's lucrative criminal operations, specifically the city's Teamsters Union locals, up for grabs. Scalish had appointed
James Licavoli James T. Licavoli (born Vincentio Licavoli; August 18, 1904 − November 23, 1985), also known as "Jack White" or "Blackie", was an American mobster based in Cleveland, Ohio, and one of the earliest organized crime figures to be convicted under t ...
as his successor, but other mobsters, such as
John Nardi John Nardi (January 21, 1916 − May 17, 1977) was an influential associate of the Cleveland crime family who was involved in labor racketeering in Cleveland, Ohio. At the end of his criminal career, Nardi turned against his crime family in a blo ...
, challenged Licavoli for leadership of the organization. Within weeks, with Greene's assistance, Nardi had many of Licavoli's supporters killed, including Licavoli's underboss, Leo "Lips" Moceri. The Cleveland family's enforcer, Eugene "The Animal" Ciasullo, was seriously injured and sidelined for several months by a car bomb. Soon afterward, a bomb planted in Alfred "Allie" Calabrese's car killed an innocent man: Frank Pircio, of Collinwood, died while moving Calabrese's Lincoln Continental before getting his own car out of their shared driveway. This began a longstanding war between Licavoli's Cleveland crime family and Greene's Celtic Club. In 1976 alone, 36 bombs exploded around the Cleveland area, which was soon given the moniker "Bomb City, U.S.A." The
ATF The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as the ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and preven ...
tripled its staffing in northeast Ohio in order to handle the bomb investigations. A suspected bombmaker, Martin Heidtman, was arrested but was released for lack of evidence. Rick Porrello reported in his book, ''To Kill The Irishman'', that Greene, using bombs or bullets, killed at least eight of the Mafia hit men sent to assassinate him.


Final days


Media personality

After the Waterloo Road bombing failed to kill him, Greene played up the stories of the Mafia's failed assassination attempts to his benefit. His bravado and flamboyant behaviour only added to his growing aura of invincibility and power in the
urban legend An urban legend (sometimes contemporary legend, modern legend, urban myth, or urban tale) is a genre of folklore comprising stories or fallacious claims circulated as true, especially as having happened to a "friend of a friend" or a family m ...
s of the Cleveland criminal underworld. Greene granted interviews to local television stations; for a newspaper photographer, posed proudly in front of a boarded-up window of his destroyed apartment building; and during a televised interview said to one television reporter,
The luck of the Irish is with me and I have a message for those yellow maggots. That includes the payers and the doers. The doers are the people who carried out the bombing. They have to be eliminated because the people who paid them can't afford to have them remain alive. And the payers are going to feel great heat from the FBI and the local authorities ... And let me clear something else up. I didn't run away from the explosion. Someone said they saw me running away. I walked away.
In response to the reporter's assertion that, like a cat, Greene had nine lives, Greene said, "I am an Irish Catholic. I believe that the Guy upstairs pulls the strings, and you're not going to go until he says so. It just wasn't my time yet." In another televised interview, Greene denied any knowledge of the underworld war. He said, "I have no axe to grind, but if these maggots in this so-called Mafia want to come after me, I'm over here by the Celtic Club. I'm not hard to find."


Assassination

On May 17, 1977, Greene's longtime ally John Nardi was killed by a bomb, planted by Pasquale Cisternino and Ronald Carabbia. After Nardi was murdered, Licavoli arranged a ceasefire with Greene, hoping to catch him off-guard and then have him killed. Shortly after their meeting, Greene muscled in on a large West Side gambling operation originally run by Nardi. Greene offered a percentage to Licavoli, who declined it. On October 6, 1977, Greene went to a dental appointment at the Brainard Place office building in
Lyndhurst, Ohio Lyndhurst is a small city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, and an eastern suburb of Cleveland. The population was 14,050 at the 2020 census. A small part of Lyndhurst was originally part of Mayfield Township. History The land currently c ...
. Members of the Mafia had tapped his phone and knew about the appointment. After Greene had visited a dentist and left the office building, he approached his car. The automobile parked next to his exploded, killing Greene instantly. The car bomb was believed to have been planted by a hitman known as
Ray Ferritto Raymond W. Ferritto (April 8, 1929 − May 10, 2004) was an Italian-American mobster from Erie, Pennsylvania. Ferritto is best known for the 1977 assassination of Irish mob boss Danny Greene. He served as hitman and soldier for the Cleveland and ...
. Greene's remains were cremated on October 8, 1977, and he was buried at Calvary Cemetery in Cleveland.


Aftermath

Ray Ferritto Raymond W. Ferritto (April 8, 1929 − May 10, 2004) was an Italian-American mobster from Erie, Pennsylvania. Ferritto is best known for the 1977 assassination of Irish mob boss Danny Greene. He served as hitman and soldier for the Cleveland and ...
was arrested in relation to Greene's murder. Ferritto implicated
Jimmy Fratianno Aladena James Fratianno (born Aladena Fratianno; November 14, 1913 – June 29, 1993), also known as "Jimmy the Weasel", was an Italian-born American mobster who was acting boss of the Los Angeles crime family. After his arrest in 1977, Fratianno ...
in the planning of the murder, and Fratianno was indicted for charges related to the bombing. Fearing for his safety, Fratianno agreed to become a government witness against the Mafia. In return for his testimony, he pleaded guilty to the murder charges and received a five-year prison sentence, of which he served 21 months. In 1980, after testifying for the government that led to the racketeering convictions of five reputed Mafia figures, Fratianno entered the federal
Witness Protection Program Witness protection is security provided to a threatened person providing testimonial evidence to the justice system, including defendants and other clients, before, during, and after a trial, usually by police. While a witness may only require p ...
.


In popular culture

*Rick Porrello, a former Cleveland-area police lieutenant, wrote ''To Kill The Irishman: The War that Crippled the Mafia'' (1998), about Greene's engagement with the Mafia. He won a national non-fiction award for the book. *Porrello's book was adapted as a movie first entitled ''The Irishman: The Legend of Danny Greene''. Filmforce.com articl

/ref> *The biopic ''
Kill the Irishman ''Kill the Irishman'' is a 2011 American biographical crime film directed by Jonathan Hensleigh, and starring Ray Stevenson, Vincent D'Onofrio, Christopher Walken, and Val Kilmer. Written by Hensleigh and Jeremy Walters, it is based on the lif ...
'' (2011), which loosely chronicles Greene's life, was directed by
Jonathan Hensleigh Jonathan Blair Hensleigh (born February 13, 1959) is an American screenwriter and film director, working primarily in the action-adventure genre, best known for writing films such as ''Jumanji'', ''Die Hard with a Vengeance'', and ''Armageddon'' ...
, stars
Ray Stevenson George Raymond Stevenson (born 25 May 1964) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He is known for playing Dagonet in the film ''King Arthur'' (2004) and Titus Pullo in the BBC/HBO television series ''Rome'' (2005–2007). He has portrayed two Marv ...
as Greene, and received favorable reviews. *The ''
Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...
'' season 11 episode, "Brother's Keeper", is based on Greene's case.


References

*English, T.J. ''Paddy Whacked: The Untold Story of the Irish-American Gangster''. Regan Books, 2005.


External links


Danny Greene: The Most Influential Mobster You've Never Heard Of
by Rick Porrello

at the
Crime Library Crime Library was a website documenting major crimes, criminals, trials, forensics, and criminal profiling from books. It was founded in 1998 and was most recently owned by truTV, a cable TV network that is part of Time Warner's Turner Broadcastin ...

Kill the Irishman: The real story behind the movie about Danny Greene (timeline)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, Danny 1933 births 1977 deaths 1977 murders in the United States Gangsters from Cleveland American trade union officials convicted of crimes American gangsters American crime bosses Federal Bureau of Investigation informants United States Marine Corps non-commissioned officers People murdered by the Cleveland crime family Murdered American gangsters of Irish descent People murdered in Ohio Deaths by car bomb in the United States Saint Ignatius High School (Cleveland) alumni Irish-American culture in Ohio People convicted of embezzlement