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I always heard about La Cosa Nostra (Italian-American organized crime) around Fairmont, WV and also Boomer, WV in Fayette County? But is there any truth to it? Also heard it about a now defunct deli on 4th Avenue in Huntington. Then there was supposed to be Mafia rackets in Wheeling and Weirton. What is the truth on this? Where are the facts?
I do not know of this "mafia" in which you speak..
Never heard much about mafia in WV. I did also live in southwestern Pa growing up and the Brownsville area supposedly had gangsters since the 1920s. I remember hearing about a young man murdered in the 1970s who supposedly saw an owner of a jewelry store murdered(he was believed to owe mobsters money) in Uniontown,Pa and no one found out who murdered the young man but people in the region believed mobsters were behind it. Can't say if it's true or not. It's a shame that such gangsters/mafia people give Italian-Americans a bad name! I cringe when a Sopranos episode comes on! It may be a well written show but it puts Italians in a terrible light!
Last edited by appalachiangirl; 05-02-2008 at 02:22 AM..
There is alot of Mob activity in WV. Morgantown wv. Werton, Clarksburg has the
most I am from Morgantown, my family came from Italy, to morgantown, I have seen
it all. ask any questions, morgantown had lots of meetings.
I grew up in Fairmont. I do not know details about the presence of the mafia in Fairmont. However, my grandfather/uncles/and father speak of a strong mafia presence in the Fairmont/Clarksburg area. It is so intriguing to me...my brother had a friend in college that disappeared, never did find him or any clues. The rumor mill was that he owed money to the wrong people and he was placed in Cheat Lake....could those types of things happen in Fairmont? I guess I am niave....
Many years before I was born (I'm 49), my dad's oldest sister wanted to marry a man from Follansbee WV. My grandfather would not allow it because he believed that all of Follansbee was mafia. So my aunt eloped and my grandmother waited until they were a safe distance from Weirton before she told my grandfather.
In the end, my grandfather was wrong; my uncle was not mafia.
Never heard much about mafia in WV. I did also live in southwestern Pa growing up and the Brownsville area supposedly had gangsters since the 1920s. I remember hearing about a young man murdered in the 1970s who supposedly saw an owner of a jewelry store murdered(he was believed to owe mobsters money) in Uniontown,Pa and no one found out who murdered the young man but people in the region believed mobsters were behind it. Can't say if it's true or not. It's a shame that such gangsters/mafia people give Italian-Americans a bad name! I cringe when a Sopranos episode comes on! It may be a well written show but it puts Italians in a terrible light!
This I will say:
Many Americans of Italian heritage were offended when the Sopranos appeared.......today, many of those same irate individuals have become fans of the show
Who do you think was behind Brunswick pool hall fire in Clarksburg? Also, mayor was shot in Cburg. The cops were moving blackjack tables out of the Elks.
"Big Bill" Lias was reputed to be the kingpin in the Wheeling/Weirton area, with ties to the mob in Steubenville and Cleveland. Supposedly he was big in numbers and bootlegging.
Most of the mafia stuff was out of Wheeling and all along the Ohio River. The reason I always heard was that they could be over the state line in about five minutes if they got word of a raid. My favorite uncle was a dealer in illegal games in Clarksburg, (craps, 21, and poker) that were run by another uncle. He said that right after he got out of the army he decided to go to Wheeling to see if he could make some money gambling. He was there a few days when Big Bill Lias sent for him. Bill wanted to know all about him, and told him what the vig would be if he wanted to stay. He said he stayed for a while, but when they started wearing their guns on the outside of their coats he felt it was time to leave. The other uncle ran some of the many gambling operations in Clarksburg for years then moved to Charleston. Finally ended up in Columbus, OH, or at Buckeye Lake. When the FBI came looking for him at our house one time my other uncle told me they probably had seen him at White Sulphur Springs in the casino and wanted to know where he got the money from. This is peanuts now, but back in the 50's you had to have at least $35,000 in cash to get in that casino. That was a lot back then.
I estimate the Italian population of Clarksburg to be maybe 40 - 45%. Same with Fairmont. But that might be way too high. Anyway, when the Italians came over to work the mines, the fine tradition of the Black Hand came with them. That was the early version of the mafia. I heard a lot of stories about it while growing up in Clarksburg. A lot of it might have been exaggerated, but there has always been, and still is, so much illegal gambling in that state that if they legalized it, and taxed it, the state might have some money, and people would have legitimate jobs.
Most of the mafia stuff was out of Wheeling and all along the Ohio River.
I don't know anything . . my first time in West Virginia was in Wheeling around 98' and asked someone about it then, sometimes you notice things, and what I was told agrees with you, Wheeling was an easy place to escape to when things got hot in Pittsburgh. It's off-topic, but the police department had a tree out back, hanged people from it in the past.
Bugsy's in Wheeling. Most delicious lamb chops I've ever eaten besides at an Italian wedding in New York City. Unfortunately, it burned down before I moved here, or I would've take a road trip just to eat there again.
This is RD, the homesickhillbilly in texas......I havent seen or heard from anyone on the takemehomewv site until now and look who I ran into! ha ha ha......how the heck are ya? Have they started another site yet or not? What happened to the other one? I was kinda mystified when I tried to log on one day and it said the site was down...gone...kaput....how can that happen? lol.....I know you know the lowdown on that and lots of other things so git ta talkin!
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Mob in WV
Buzz123, how ya doin man?
