Misplaced Pages

Rosario Dispenza

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

Rosario Dispenza was an Italian-born American mobster. He was head of the Sicilian mafia in the Near North Side neighborhood of Chicago from 1909 to 1914.

Born circa 1870 in Ciminna, Italy, Dispenza immigrated to the United States in 1899 on board the SS Aller. He was a contact of the Morello crime family and known associate of Anthony D'Andrea.

Alongside his business partner Anthony Puccio, Dispenza co-owned the Banca Siciliana, a bank on Milton Avenue, and a saloon on the intersection of Milton Avenue and Hobbie Street. This area was colloquially referred to as the "Black Hand Belt" or "Death Corner". In 1908, Dispenza was fined $100 for allowing patrons to gamble for drinks.

On January 22, 1914, hours after Puccio was murdered outside of the saloon, Dispenza was shot and killed. Although police did not arrive in time to apprehend the assailant, a search of the area revealed two sawed-off shotguns in a neighboring alley. Police suspected that the killings may have been related to the murder of Charles Catalino, which had occurred a week prior.

References

  1. Warner, Richard N. (April 2009). "The Dreaded D'Andrea". The Journal of American Mafia History. 2 (2): 17–18.
  2. Critchley, David (2009). The Origin of Organized Crime in America: The New York City Mafia, 1891-1931. New York: Routledge. p. 56. ISBN 978-0415882576.
  3. Flynn, William James (September 30, 2020). The Barrel Mystery. Lector House. pp. 207–211. ISBN 978-9390198696.
  4. Lombardo, Robert M. (2010). The Black Hand: Terror by Letter in Chicago. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. p. 140. ISBN 9780252076756.
  5. Adler, Jeffrey S. (2006). First in violence, deepest in dirt : homicide in Chicago, 1875-1920. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. p. 186. ISBN 9780674021495.
  6. "125 SALOONS SHUT; CUTS CITY INCOME". Chicago Daily Tribune (1872-1922). May 5, 1908. p. 2.
  7. "EYE WITNESS TO DOUBLE MURDER FOUND IN HOSPITAL". Chicago Daily Tribune (1872-1922). January 24, 1914. p. 13.
Preceded byMariano Zagone Chicago Mafia Boss
c1909-1914 		Succeeded byAnthony D'Andrea


Stub icon

This United States biographical article related to crime is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

Categories: