Putting together a book Cleveland Mafia history..share your stories if you have any?

[Khan Vozdig]

I hope I'm not taking this thread into off topic territory by bringing this up OP and I sincerely apologize if I am , but since this thread concerns the topic of organized crime in Cleveland , I figured I might as well pose the following question ...

Which is that were there any Hungarian organized crime groups ever active in Cleveland ? I mean I find it real strange that a city which at one time had such a large Hungarian population would never develop a significant gangster element from within it ...

Especially considering the fact that there were influential Hungarian figures in Cleveland ( like Jack Russell ) who must have surely rubbed shoulders with organized criminal elements operating in the city ...

FWIW I do believe that one of the assassins who attempted to murder Danny Greene was named William Kiraly , which means the fellow was of at least partial Hungarian descent based on his surname .

[sheena12]

Originally Posted by ImpactPlaya

I'm doing a book on organized crime history in Cleveland. Its not just on LCN.
If you have any stories to share,I would welcome them.

While it's about an hour away, I want to point out that Youngstown was a hotbed of Mafia activity in the middle of the last century. I don't know if the crime families are connected to one another, or not.

If you are open to expanding your focus to all of NE Ohio, you would do well to research Y'town.

In the early 60s, Youngstown was featured on the cover of Life (or maybe Look) magazine as "the Most Dangerous City in America".

https://gangsterreport.com/mafia-hit...h-mob-murders/

Y'town was also mentioned in the recent movie "The Irishman".

[ImpactPlaya]

Originally Posted by Khan Vozdig

I hope I'm not taking this thread into off topic territory by bringing this up OP and I sincerely apologize if I am , but since this thread concerns the topic of organized crime in Cleveland , I figured I might as well pose the following question ...

Which is that were there any Hungarian organized crime groups ever active in Cleveland ? I mean I find it real strange that a city which at one time had such a large Hungarian population would never develop a significant gangster element from within it ...

Especially considering the fact that there were influential Hungarian figures in Cleveland ( like Jack Russell ) who must have surely rubbed shoulders with organized criminal elements operating in the city ...

FWIW I do believe that one of the assassins who attempted to murder Danny Greene was named William Kiraly , which means the fellow was of at least partial Hungarian descent based on his surname .

I think when the Hungarians migrated to Cleveland there was a abundance of blue collar jobs that they populated
Hence circumstances didn't dictate the breeding of a Hungarian
Mafia family
Look at your larger cities with thriving mafia families
NYC DETROIT CHICAGO
No documentation of a Hungarian mafia family
I know of some 2nd 3rd generation Hungarians who were used
For muscle by some old timers.
The Hungarians also had a certain closeness with the.Hungarian church's
Alot of Hungarians did have city service jobs.

[Khan Vozdig]

Originally Posted by ImpactPlaya

I think when the Hungarians migrated to Cleveland there was a abundance of blue collar jobs that they populated
Hence circumstances didn't dictate the breeding of a Hungarian
Mafia family
Look at your larger cities with thriving mafia families
NYC DETROIT CHICAGO
No documentation of a Hungarian mafia family
I know of some 2nd 3rd generation Hungarians who were used
For muscle by some old timers.
The Hungarians also had a certain closeness with the.Hungarian church's
Alot of Hungarians did have city service jobs.

Do you know the names of these 2nd and 3rd generation Hungarians who were used as muscle by the Italian mob ?

Thanks for the answer by the way !

[ImpactPlaya]

Pilaggi and Homrock.

[pknopp]

Just an interesting anecdote.....or not.......

I can recall as a kid going to the union Christmas programs where every kid would get a Christmas gift from the union. (I got a football that I can recall).

One day while watching the Sopranos' they had an episode dealing with handing out Christmas gifts after Big ***** was no longer around. I sort of chuckled wondering if they had the same arguments before handing out our gifts.

[on3]

Originally Posted by pknopp

Just an interesting anecdote.....or not.......

I can recall as a kid going to the union Christmas programs where every kid would get a Christmas gift from the union. (I got a football that I can recall).

One day while watching the Sopranos' they had an episode dealing with handing out Christmas gifts after Big ***** was no longer around. I sort of chuckled wondering if they had the same arguments before handing out our gifts.

Good ol' Big Chuck and lil John. I miss those skits. Ben Crazy was amazing!