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Relation to those involved in crime in Rochester, NY
So my Dad's whole side of the family is from Rochester, NY. More specifically Irondequoit. My dad grew up there and fate took him to a small town in Colorado. We still visit Rochester on a yearly basis and have been finding out some awesome stuff about my family and some of my dad's old friends.
Tony Leonardo was a famous attorney who got busted for helping to run a cocaine ring in Rochester. Tony is actually my Dad's second cousin (making him my third cousin). Tony's Dad (My Grandpa's first cousin) was also the chief of police. Apparently Tony Leonardo also had some behind-the-scenes involvement in the Brinks robbery but i havent found out a ton about that.
One of the guys who helped to run the drug joint down by the lake (which is now a BBQ place) was suspected to be a snitch and ended up getting murdered by the mafia was Tony Vaccaro. Turns out my dad used to hang out with him a lot when they were younger. Small world right?
Also when i was a bit younger my uncle was showing me a house right by my grandma's house that had something to do with the mafia. I'll have to ask my uncle about that and find out what that was about.
One of the guys who helped to run the drug joint down by the lake (which is now a BBQ place) was suspected to be a snitch and ended up getting murdered by the mafia was Tony Vaccaro. Turns out my dad used to hang out with him a lot when they were younger. Small world right?
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When was that? I remember there being a club in the early 2000s where the BBQ place was, that had shady ties. One of the guys who ran the place was found dead.
Kids from Mob families attended McQuaid HS. But not from Tony Leonardo's family. His Dad was Chief of Detectives in the Rochester PD. Tony was an All American HS basketball player from McQuaid in 1965. So guess which teammate Tony helped progress from being a mediocre player to a really good player? Hint - he's CEO of a national family-owned supermarket chain and worth billions.
So my Dad's whole side of the family is from Rochester, NY. More specifically Irondequoit. My dad grew up there and fate took him to a small town in Colorado. We still visit Rochester on a yearly basis and have been finding out some awesome stuff about my family and some of my dad's old friends.
Tony Leonardo was a famous attorney who got busted for helping to run a cocaine ring in Rochester. Tony is actually my Dad's second cousin (making him my third cousin). Tony's Dad (My Grandpa's first cousin) was also the chief of police. Apparently Tony Leonardo also had some behind-the-scenes involvement in the Brinks robbery but i havent found out a ton about that.
That was the AMSA heist, and I think he was involved, after the fact, that is money from it was used to start the coke ring which used the club down by the lake as their HQ. I'd venture to guess some of the cash was used to buy the club property, amongst other things. Went there twice in my life and got the creeps both times, in fact the decor hadn't changed since '92. Two of the guys involved in the AMSA heist were a father and son, the son is in the federal pen now for the AMSA heist, involvement in the Vaccaro murder, and involvement in the coke ring. The guy in Cleveland is the one who brought the heat down on them, and Vaccaro was nailed simply because Leonardo got paranoid and figured somebody in their group was a snitch (Leonardo was a bit of a loudmouth to begin with). The Cleveland mob guy was the informant and blew the Rochester group into the FBI.
Vaccaro was part owner of Classic Billiards on W. Ridge. Very nice man and the other guy is nice, too. They were busted for after hours gambling in the late 90's. That Brother Wease guy and a bunch of other local "celebs" and sundry other folks were involved. No doubt the cops knew, and we all know how bad the Greece PD got in the later years. After the bust they cleaned the place up a scooch and started serving beer, which was cool.
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One of the guys who helped to run the drug joint down by the lake (which is now a BBQ place) was suspected to be a snitch and ended up getting murdered by the mafia was Tony Vaccaro. Turns out my dad used to hang out with him a lot when they were younger. Small world right?
That place always creeped me out, and people suspected it was a drug mill for years, under multiple owners but the folks in question really had an operation out of there. I'd imagine a lot of the folks who used to hang out there hang at the Pelican's Nest, now. Never liked that place, either, but to each their own. All I remember was walking past there during the summer and seeing flashy cars and whatnot.
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Also when i was a bit younger my uncle was showing me a house right by my grandma's house that had something to do with the mafia. I'll have to ask my uncle about that and find out what that was about.
I grew up with several mobster's kids, the mobsters who were having kids in the 70's and a couple of their bodyguard's kids. Several of the dads (the ones who are still alive) were let out of federal prison in '08. I won't name names but any observer of the "mob scene" will know who I'm talking about. 'Course the local paper there in town doesn't help, in fact they ran a mutli-edition story on some old mob guy who i think passed within the last 5 years or so (this was in '04 or so, I think). Something about a restaurant on Culver where he hung out, and it was rumored he was involved in some "stuff" at the time. I think he was let out in the 90's. Much ado about nothing, probably. Another one owned or still owns the used car lot at Lyell and Mt. Read; he did just a little time in the 80's, I think.
Another interesting tidbit that kinda flies under the radar is Frank Aloi, a local attorney who (I think) defended some of those guys wrote a book called "The Hammer Conspiracies", which pretty much chronicled the Rochester mob ca. the mid-70's or so, albeit with the names of people and places changed. It's on Amazon but goes for a good chunk, used. Been out of print for many years, now. A family member of his let me borrow a copy many years ago.
An good buddy of mine remarked how a few places on Lyell always had RG&E trucks outside, the boys would gamble while on the clock or whatever. Same for city workers and whatnot. The mob controlled the rackets in town and most of it was along Lyell, in the Dutchtown area, and maybe somewhat over towards Jay and Orchard Streets.
Trust me, people didn't talk about this stuff in public when I was a kid, quite frankly folks were afraid of what might happen if it was known they were somehow associated with the mob, even if they were simply neighbors or their kids were friends with kids from "la familia". Some were treated as lepers, in fact one jerk teacher we had made a reference to the trial which was going at the time right in the middle of class (5th or 6th grade), right in front of the kid whose father was looking at 25 to life. The teacher knew well and good what he was doing, and how it made the kid feel (guy was from Orleans Cty).
The Brinks heist was in '93, and the Irish Republican Army was involved. Half of the cash was never recovered. A retired RPD cop was the 2nd shift guard who let them in, a Catholic priest in NYC was the go-between ( I think), and the courier was an Irishman. The retired cop ended up at the bar at the old Red Fedele's on Ridge, where he told some sob story of being held at gunpoint (yeah, right), appeared "disoriented", etc. Helps to be from the west side to hear this stuff from witnesses
Last edited by HowardRoarke; 05-20-2012 at 10:21 PM..
Vincent 'Jimmy the Hammer' Massaro was hit by the mob. His death generated conspiracy prosecutions against what was alleged to be the top echelon of the organization in Rochester, New York. The testimony of informers, including two of the alleged triggermen, and detectives who surveilled mob meetings where Massaro's fate was plotted produced convictions. But there had been no surveillances. Detectives admitted perjuring themselves. Alleged mobsters were released from prison. A bloody gang war erupted, and Federal Indictments were returned against Detectives and Prosecutors. A saga of fabricated evidence and corruption unprecedented in the war against organized crime. - from book's back cover
Which pretty much sums up the shoddy police work by the MCSD and RPD at the time, plus the DA's office was terribly corrupt but "suddenly" got the point and started knee-jerking until they had their "perps" in custody. Sadly, the evidence was weak, so several of those guys were released in '77 or '78, only to get back to violence and general mayhem, in earnest. I'd venture to guess many in uniform were on the take from the mob, as well as folks within the DA's office, so the Feds stepped in and brought in the FBI to try and figure out what was going on and who to track down and question.
Last edited by HowardRoarke; 05-20-2012 at 10:23 PM..
That was horrible. As I understand it that went unsolved for quite a while, 'til her body was found in a refrigeration tank at some work site around town. I seem to remember the guy also killed an elderly woman in Hilton back around 1990 or so, or at least he was suspected of it.
Crazy stuff!
It was so sad
I think the comoany where she was found was Northern Telecom...
It was so sad
I think the comoany where she was found was Northern Telecom...
Off of University, I think. Could be wrong. Nortel (what it was called after that) was on Humboldt for a while, where Harris is (used to be Stromberg Carlson).
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Relation to those involved in crime in Rochester, NY
, now. Never liked that place, either, but to each their own. All I remember was walking past there during the summer and seeing flashy cars and whatnot. 
