Search results
Oct 15, 2009 · The Des Moines Junior Chamber of Commerce granted him an honorary lifetime membership as well as a plaque for his outstanding service to the community. In addition, Fratto worked as a civilian recruiter for the Navy and helped enlist over 75 recruits; he headed a War Bond Drive that sold over $1 million worth of war bonds; and he received an award for his work on behalf of the Italian-American ...
Newspaper clip showing a photo of Louis Fratto when he appeared to testify at the Kefauver hearings.. Louis Thomas Fratto (July 17, 1907 – November 24, 1967), born Luigi Tommaso Giuseppe Fratto, also known as "Lew Farrell" and "Cockeyed Louie", was an American labor racketeer and organized crime figure in Chicago, Illinois and Des Moines, Iowa from the 1930s to 1967.
- Overview
- History
- Historical Leadership
The Des Moines Crime Family, also known as the Iowa Mafia, the Des Moines Mafia, the Left Hand, and the Fratto Crime Family, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family, that dominate organized crime activities in the Midwest as part of the American Mafia. Although originally a splinter group, of the larger Chicago Outfit, the Des Moines Mafia has ga...
Origins
The Des Moines Family originated as a bootlegging gang during prohibition under Lorenzo Tieri. In 1930, following the establishment of the Commission, Committee, and Council (Triple Cs or CCC), the Des Moines gang became a crew within the larger Chicago Outfit. Tieri enjoyed a strong relationship with Outfit boss, Al Capone. Following the acquirement of the Des Moines Crew, Tieri traveled to Chicago in early 1930 to meet with Capone and officially induct 15 of his soldiers into the Outfit. Tieri made John Montana his right-hand man and Federico Randaccio his advisor. Although officially a decina in the Chicago Family, the Des Moines crew acted with high autonomy, as if they were their own family. Tieri had extensive gambling, extortion, loansharking, and labor racketeering operations through Des Moines, and neighboring cities. Following Capone's conviction of tax evasion, in 1931, Albert “Deerpark” Prestiano was installed as the boss of Chicago. Prestiano, a long-time friend of Capone, was less fond of Tieri. In 1932, Prestiano demoted Tieri to soldier and promoted loyal soldier Francesco Marino as the boss of Des Moines. Marino then demoted Montana and Randaccio, replacing them with Frank Bompensiero and Artie Zapulla.
Marino as boss
Fearing retaliation from Tieri, or other his loyal followers, Marino put a contract out on his faction. However, Tieri, a hitman himself, proved challenging to kill. Surrounding himself with loyal soldiers, Tieri moved to Sioux City to further himself from Marino and set up a solid crew for himself. Amongst Tieri's crew were Montana, Randaccio, long-time soldier Angelo Polizzi, Tieri's protégé Louis (Luigi) Fratto and his brothers Frank (Francesco) and Paul (Paolo). By 1933, Marino had stopped going after Tieri, when he moved to Sioux City. Marino continued Tieri's rackets while also expanding into truck hijackings, auto theft rings, and prostitution. Not trusting the soldiers already inducted into the crew, Marino requested permission from Chicago to induct an additional five men. When Marino made the request, it reaffirmed Chicago’s influence over the Des Moines decina. Between 1933 and 1934, Chicago soldier, Giacomo Mirabile travelled to Des Moines and Sioux City multiple times to hold sit downs between Tieri and Marino. These peace meetings were held to keep a lid on the tensions, and as a result of the meetings, Mirabile gained the sobriquet “The Peacemaker,” and became the consigliere of the Outfit. Although Tieri and his faction were in Sioux City, they were still formerly apart of the Des Moines crew, and as a result of the 1934 peace conferences, interactions between the Des Moines decina hierarchy and the Tieri “sub-crew” resumed. Tieri protégé Louis Fratto was unofficially appointed as the emissary to the Des Moines crew bosses. Although the right hand men of Marino, Bompensiero and Zapulla were close friends with Tieri and often mingled with his faction. According to a high-ranking member-informant in the Tieri faction, the pair travelled to Sioux City to play cards and socialize with the Tieri “sub-crew” and were often heard discussing Marino’s abuses of power. Around this time the Chicago Outfit-Des Moines decina numbered twenty formally inducted soldiers with many more associates, however most of the soldiers were scattered throughout smaller Iowan cities, with identified soldiers in Ames, Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Davenport, Ankeny, and a formidable power base in Sioux City. Despite the fact that Marino was the official capodecina, Tieri still held most of the power in the crew. Tieri had the men and influence to retake the decina, however, according to informants, he refused to break cosa nostra protocol and defy his mob superiors.
Boss:
•1921-1932 – Lorenzo Tieri - Demoted to soldier •1932-1950 - Francesco Marino - Murdered by Paolo Dragna •1950-1963 - Louis Fratto Sr. - Died of Cancer (First official boss of the Des Moines Family) •Acting 1961-1963 - Lorenzo Tieri - Became Consigliere •Acting 1963-1964 Angelo Polizzi - Placeholder •1964-1976 - Frank "Frankie from Downtown" Scarifaldi - retired •1976-Present - Louis "Junior" Fratto - Son of Louis Fratto Sr. •Acting 1985-1986 - Frank “The Uncle” Fratto •Acting 1998 - Johnny "The Prince" Fratto - Became underboss •Acting 2003-2005 - Johnny "The Prince" Fratto - Became street boss
Street-boss:
•2005-Present - Johnny "The Prince" Fratto
Underboss:
•1921-1932 - John "The Trainstopper" Montana - Demoted •1932-1950 Frank Bompensiero - Died of Natural Causes •1950 - Francesco Marino Jr. - Demoted •1950-1961 - Frank Fratto - Imprisoned 1957-1960, 1961-1981 •1961-1964 - Frank "Frankie from Downtown" Scarifaldi - Became boss •1964-1979 - Angelo Polizzi - Died •1979-1981 - Paul "The Chimp" Hudson - Murdered by Vincent Montessori (Chicago) •1981 - Dominick "The General" Conte - Murdered under orders from Louis Fratto Jr. •1981-1986 - Giacomo "Jackie the Kid" Santi - Imprisoned for life •1986-1987 - Fat Tom Galione - Died of a heart attack •1987-1992 - Frank Galione - Retired •1992-1995 - Phil "The Zip" Guiscardi - Murdered •1995-2005 - Johnny "The Prince" Fratto - Became acting boss in 1998, became street boss in 2005 •Acting 1998 - Paolo "Little Paulie" Fratto - Demoted back to caporegime •Acting 2003-2005 Paolo "Little Paulie" Fratto - Elevated to official underboss •2005-Present - Paolo "Little Paulie" Fratto - Imprisoned 2008-2010, 2011, 2013-2019, 2020-2022 •Acting 2008-2010 - Salvatore "Sally Bugs" Delpiello - Demoted back to caporegime •Acting 2011 - Joseph “Medigan Joe” Ardizzone - Demoted back to caporegime •Acting 2013-2015 - Giuessepe “Old Joey” Fanaro - Retired •Acting 2015-2018 - Lorenzo “Enzo the builder” Mangano - Died of a heart attack •Acting 2018-2019 - Ignacio “Nate” Saietta - Demoted back to caporegime •Acting 2020-2022 - Salvatore "Sally Bugs" Delpiello - Demoted back to caporegime
Oct 5, 2016 · “Des Moines has done great things the last 20 years. The one thing that the city still lacks is a multifaceted venue that can — with moving walls and flexible furnishings — be a dinner theater, a movie house, a live music venue, a comedy club, a wedding reception venue and a meeting place,” he explained.
Nov 18, 2023 · The recent Gambino family indictments are a far cry from the mob’s heyday in New York, when sensational murders like the 1985 assassination of Gambino boss Paul “Big Paul” Castellano and his ...
As a cub reporter for the Des Moines Register during the early 40’s, Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Clark R. Mollenhoff (from Strike Force) witnessed "the tentacles of Lou Fratto reach into the Des Moines police department to promote his friends into the Sheriff’s office for a gun permit, into the prosecutor’s office to kill a criminal indictment, into the local courts to manipulate ...
Jul 23, 2021 · A photo tour and interactive map of New York Mafia history. ... the streets of New York are steeped in mob history. ... Harlem's East 115th St. block, between 1st and Pleasant Avenues, was once ...
