MAFIA BURIAL GROUND. the mob and St. John's Cemetery

The New York Mafia was comprised of five distinct crime families, each one boasting hundreds of members. Led by administrators that included a boss, underboss and consigliere (advisor to the boss), along with capos (crew captains), soldiers and associates, combined the families that operated throughout the five boroughs, Long Island and northern New Jersey consisted of thousands of racketeers and gangsters.
Given the nature of their business, some became victims of violence that cut their lives short while some went on to live long lives, passing away due to one medical issue or another. With that many individuals, cemeteries in the New York area contain the remains of many Mafia members. While some cemeteries have two or three deceased Mafioso interred on their grounds, St. John’s Roman Catholic Cemetery in Middle Village, Queens has an astonishing thirty-two mobsters occupying plots.

With names like Luciano, Profaci, Galante, Gambino, Gotti, Colombo and Genovese among others, it is clear that St. John’s was the preferred burial ground for Mafia bosses, as well as numerous other notorious individuals of all levels. Some, who were close associates in life, are surrounded and in close proximity to other mob figures who were formidable adversaries during their criminal careers.

Documented in this book are the profiles of every Mafia member interred at St. John’s Cemetery. Whether allies or bitter enemies during their lifetime, some are actually interred close to the very person who ordered their demise. Read the history of each mobster, who in their own way shaped the existence of the New York Mafia.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

During a 38-year career with the U.S. government as editor of an 85,000-circulation monthly magazine, Anthony Musso worked simultaneously as a freelance journalist and weekly columnist for Middletown's Times-Herald Record and later Gannett Newspapers' Poughkeepsie Journal. He is the author of 11 books, for which he presents approximately 75 programs annually in support of. In addition, Musso organizes and narrates all-day "Hidden Treasures of the Hudson Valley" bus trips for various organizations and is a regular speaker for Road Scholars, AARP, regional senior centers, and retired teacher councils.


This event is part of our Burroughs Brunch series, highlighting authors who appear in our John Burroughs collection of books on local and naturalist topics of interest.