20 Facts About Ignazio Lupo

Ignazio Lupo's business was centered in Little Italy, Manhattan, where he ran large extortion operations and committed other crimes including robberies, loan-sharking, and murder.

Ignazio Lupo was paroled after serving 10 years of a 30-year sentence.

Ignazio Lupo was born in Palermo, Sicily, to parents Rocco Lupo and Onofria Saietta.

Ignazio Lupo has sometimes been referred to, using his mother's maiden name, as Ignazio Saietta, but his actual surname was Lupo.

Ignazio Lupo went into hiding after the killing and, on the advice of his parents, eventually fled Sicily to escape prosecution.

Around this time, Ignazio Lupo began preying on his fellow Italian immigrants, using the extortion tactics of the Black Hand.

In 1902, Giuseppe Morello acquired a saloon at 8 Prince Street, at the rear of the premises where Ignazio Lupo was running his saloon.

Ignazio Lupo became closely associated with the Morello-Terranova faction and eventually married into their immediate family when he wed Salvatrice Terranova on December 23,1903.

Ignazio Lupo maintained his leadership over his Little Italy-based interests, but in the early 1900s Lupo merged his Mafia faction with the Morello-Terranova faction, which basically formed what became known as the Morello crime family, then the leading Mafia family in New York City.

Ignazio Lupo kept his base of operations in Little Italy, but shared the overall leadership of the crime family with Giuseppe Morello, who operated from his base in East Harlem, while various members of their group, including Morello's half brothers, led the affiliated groups and ran the rackets with soldiers such as Giuseppe Fanaro, Giuseppe "Joe" Catania Sr.

Ignazio Lupo demanded absolute obedience from the members of his crew, killing one of his relatives because he suspected he might be a traitor.

Ignazio Lupo's reputation became so fearsome that it was common for Italian immigrants to cross themselves at the mention of his name.

Ignazio Lupo was a suspect in the killing on July 22,1902, of Giuseppe "Joe the Grocer" Catania.

Ignazio Lupo was suspected of the April 14,1903, barrel murder of Madonia Benedetto.

Ignazio Lupo was sentenced to 30 years and imprisoned in Atlanta Prison, but was granted parole on June 30,1920.

In such circumstance, the President would order Ignazio Lupo arrested and returned to prison to serve out the remainder of the sentence.

The Syndicate preferred to use bribery first, and felt Ignazio Lupo's tactics generated too much heat.

On his own, Ignazio Lupo formed a protection racket involving bakers.

In 1936, New York Governor Herbert Lehman petitioned President Franklin D Roosevelt to have Lupo returned to prison for massive racketeering.

Ignazio Lupo was returned to Atlanta Prison to serve a few years on his original counterfeiting sentence.