1. Alfred Polizzi stabilized the Cleveland crime family after a period of revenge killings, and was one of the most influential mobsters in the United States.
55 Facts About Alfred Polizzi
1. 2.
Alfred Polizzi retired to Florida in 1945, where he was involved in the construction industry.
3.
Alfred Polizzi used several aliases, including "Big Al" and Albert Allen.
4.
Alfonso Polizzi was born in Siculiana, Sicily, Italy, on March 15,1900, to Raimondo and Giovannina Polizzi.
5.
Alfred Polizzi emigrated from Italy to the United States with his family in 1909.
6.
Alfred Polizzi quit school at the age of 14 to sell newspapers on the street for the Cleveland News.
7.
Alfonso had an adopted brother, Charles "Chuck" Alfred Polizzi, known as Albert Alfred Polizzi.
8.
Alfred Polizzi's parents were Russian Jews who had emigrated to Cleveland but died soon after their son was born.
9.
Chuck Polizzi is often mistakenly called Alfred's brother; Alfred himself said he felt Chuck to be a cousin.
10.
Alfred Polizzi engaged in extortion and robbery, bootlegging, and other crimes.
11.
Alfred Polizzi was convicted of violating the Volstead Act in 1926; he served six months in prison and was fined $1,000.
12.
Alfred Polizzi was arrested again in 1928 when Cleveland police suspected him of bombing the home of Nathan Weisenberg.
13.
John Angersola and Alfred Polizzi were the two members of the Cleveland crime family to do bootlegging for the Syndicate.
14.
The Alfred Polizzi-run bootlegging operation moved large amounts of high-quality liquor into northeast Ohio and northwest Pennsylvania, generating substantial profits for Alfred Polizzi and the others involved.
15.
Alfred Polizzi, who fled the scene of the crime, was wanted by the police for questioning.
16.
Alfred Polizzi spent many years attempting bribe officials into paroling Toledo, Ohio, gangster Thomas "Yonnie" Licavoli, who was convicted of murder in 1934.
17.
Alfred Polizzi changed the name to Tip Top Brewing, and the purchased an independent beer distributor.
18.
Alfred Polizzi gained a seat on the Grand Council of the Sicilian Mafia, a group of nine leaders of the Sicilian Mafia in the United States.
19.
Dalitz and Alfred Polizzi stayed in routine touch with Frank Milano in Mexico, occasionally traveling to see and consult with him.
20.
Alfred Polizzi partnered with Dalitz in various illegal enterprises while head of the Cleveland crime family, which allegedly made both men wealthy.
21.
Mobster James Ragen and US Senate investigators believed that Alfred Polizzi controlled the wire service in Cleveland, bringing him extensive income from betting shops and parlors.
22.
Alfred Polizzi was an investor in the Beverly Hills Country Club of Newport, Kentucky.
23.
Alfred Polizzi received a portion of the profits, and continued to do so long after he had retired.
24.
Alfred Polizzi gave Licavoli permission to resettle in Cleveland and begin criminal activities.
25.
Lonardo was permitted to live only because Alfred Polizzi successfully argued that as a "civilian" he did not yet know the rules of the mafia.
26.
In 1943, Alfred Polizzi got involved in an illegal liquor sales operation that later led to a conviction under federal law.
27.
Alfred Polizzi purchased 1,501 cases of liquor from Peerless and sold it to tavern owners at a price $9.00 above the legal price.
28.
The venture proved so profitable that Alfred Polizzi made a new deal with Peerless.
29.
Alfred Polizzi illegally sold the liquor, and kicked back $1.00 for every case of liquor imported.
30.
The scheme fell apart when Alfred Polizzi's warehousemen failed to produce the proper receipts for federal inspectors.
31.
Alfred Polizzi reached a plea bargain with federal prosecutors about September 20,1944, under which he agreed to plead guilty to a single count of selling liquor without a federal wholesale liquor dealer's license.
32.
Alfred Polizzi was sentenced to two years in jail, and required to pay a $5,000 fine.
33.
Alfred Polizzi was released in prison in late 1945, and moved to Coral Gables, Florida.
34.
Alfred Polizzi retired as boss of the Cleveland crime family, and was succeeded by John T Scalish.
35.
Alfred Polizzi loaned them a large amount of money, and went into business with them.
36.
Alfred Polizzi built a shopping center for Charles "Bebe" Rebozo in 1967.
37.
Alfred Polizzi had become interested in Arizona during his 1937 and subsequent visits, and Moe Dalitz had a large ranch there which he used for hunting.
38.
Alfred Polizzi put in $35,000 into Tucson Motels, making him the biggest investor.
39.
When Cleveland mobster Thomas J McGinty settled in Palm Beach, Florida, in the early 1950s, Polizzi staked him the cash he needed to form his own real estate company.
40.
On June 3,1944, Alfred Polizzi purchased the Wood Duck for $5,000.
41.
Alfred Polizzi turned down the deal, afraid that gambling licenses wouldn't be issued and the family would lose their investment.
42.
Alfred Polizzi agreed to prevent other organized crime figures from interfering with the casino and in return became a "silent partner" in the casino.
43.
Alfred Polizzi continued to receive part of the "skim" even in retirement, about $1,000 to $2,000 a month.
44.
US Senate investigators and former mafia members said Alfred Polizzi invested secretly in the Stardust Resort and Casino.
45.
Alfred Polizzi shared in the $50,000 a month cut with John Angersola and John T Scalish, a practice that continued into the mid-1960s.
46.
Alfred Polizzi was suspected of running several illegal gambling rackets and assisting traffickers in illegal narcotics while living in Florida.
47.
Alfred Polizzi openly associated with organized crime figures such as Tony Accardo, Anthony "Little Augie Pisano" Carfano, Charles Fischetti, Rocco Fischetti, Vincent Mangano, Joe Massei, and Harry "Nig" Rosen.
48.
In testimony before the committee on February 19,1951, Alfred Polizzi admitted to bootlegging during Prohibition and to having had a substantial ownership interest in Buckeye Catering, which at one time controlled 25 percent of the illegal slot machine business in northeast Ohio.
49.
Alfred Polizzi denied having had any involvement in casinos, and claimed to have left organized crime in 1938.
50.
Alfred Polizzi told the committee that he had invested his earnings in real estate development, which included the Sands Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida.
51.
Alfred Polizzi said he had earned about $130,000 over the past six years.
52.
Alfred Polizzi died on May 26,1975, in Denver, Colorado, while attending his granddaughter's college graduation.
53.
Alfred Polizzi sought a pardon from President Dwight D Eisenhower in March 1953, but again the pardon was denied.
54.
Alfred Polizzi married Philomena Valentino, a second cousin of the wife of Anthony Milano.
55.
Alfred Polizzi used a number of aliases during his career.