The Rise and Fall of the Cleveland Mafia: Corn Sugar and Blood

by Rick Porrello

Mafia boss turned federal witness Angelo Lonardo, the Sugar War, and the story of the Rise and Fall of the Cleveland Mafia.
This enduring and fascinating chronicle of the Cleveland Mafia was written after the author's many years of research into the murders of his grandfather and three uncles, who were mob bosses. The seven Porrello brothers and four Lonardo brothers, former boyhood friends in Licata, Sicily, had a wholesale lock on corn sugar, a lucrative bootleg ingredient during Prohibition. After a rogue business manager sparked the infamous sugar war, teenage Angelo "Big Ange" Lonardo emerged to commit a boldly executed murder.
The Porrello brothers attempted to secure their leadership by hosting the first known national meeting of the Sicilian-American Mafia. Meanwhile, bloody vendettas continued. Eventually, the Porrellos were succeeded by the powerful Mayfield Road mob. Its bosses, Frank Milano, Al Polizzi, and later, John Scalish, were allied with influential Jewish mobsters like Moe Dalitz. During the 1930s, the Cleveland crime family was third in power after those in New York City and Chicago and would have a role in developing Las Vegas.
Through the years, Big Ange Lonardo rose through the ranks to become the acting boss. After mob foe Danny "the Irishman" Greene was blown up, local, state, and federal law enforcers cooperated in successfully prosecuting the once-mighty Cleveland Mafia. Lonardo received a life sentence. However, he shocked friends, fellow mobsters, and lawmen when he cut a deal for his freedom. At the time, he was the highest-ranking Mafiosi to betray omerta, the Sicilian code of silence. His testimony helped the FBI and federal prosecutors wreak havoc on crime families and their bosses across the U.S. and provided an insider's history of the American Mafia.

Genres: True Crime, History, Nonfiction, Crime

246 pages, Paperback

First published October 25, 1995

About the author

Rick Porrello, a retired police chief with mob roots and a jazz musician, has been writing books that attract filmmakers. His second title, To Kill the Irishman, which he self-published, was adapted for the film Kill the Irishman starring Ray Stevenson and with Christopher Walken, Val Kilmer and Vincent D'Onofrio.

Rick has several projects in development for theatrical adaptation. His latest book, Just Play Like You Do in the Basement: Coming of Age as the Drummer for the Greatest Entertainer in the World, was inspired by the two-and-a-half years he spent working for the legendary Rat Pack performer, Sammy Davis, Jr.

Reviews

[Jen Jaketic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great history of the Mafia in Cleveland, well before the Danny Greene mob days. The author, who is the descendant of some of the original Cleveland mob members and who became a cop, uses years of research and interviews to paint very detailed accounts of the mob wars that overtook this city for years. Clevelanders will be interested to read familiar Cleveland names (like Scalish, Romano, LoPresti, McGinty) and learn of the exact locations of mob hits on the East side. I love learning about the history of Cleveland - good, bad, or otherwise - and this book was certainly a welcome addition. I've also added Calvary Cemetery (where my grandparents are also buried) to my list of places to re-visit as I want to see the final resting places of some of the men who, after being gunned down in the name of revenge and power, were given funerals where thousands of mourners flanked the streets to remember them.

[Walt · Rating 4 out of 5]

As one of the few resources on the early years of the Cleveland Mafia, the book was rather short. There was also minimal transition between the Lonardo-Porrello Feud and the Mayfield Road Gang. I also would have liked to see more information about the interactions between the Italian and Jewish crime rings.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book because I am acquainted with the author and his brother, both of whom are accomplished jazz musicians, and grandsons to Raymond Porrello, one of the seven Porrello brothers who were involved with the Sugar Wars. The family resemblence is pretty stunning. I've come away from this book heartbroken for the Porrello family. As noted in the introduction, I can understand why his the author's father wasn't initially supportive of the project. Those are some deep wounds. I hope the writing of it allowed for some healing. Objectively, I am impressed with the level of research, detail that was included, and a clear writing style that allowed the reader to actually keep track of who's who.

[D.M. Pulley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A true crime story told by the grandson of a Cleveland gangster, who happens also be a cop. The writing isn't perfect, there are too many names to keep straight, but I respect the narrator. His story is personal and real.

[Tim Evanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is police official Rick Porrello's first book, and was inspired by his family's long refusal to discuss the Porrello family's involvement in organized crime in Cleveland. Porrello's writing style tends to be somewhat clumsy, and like a first-time author without much training he litters his prose with cliches, over-used metaphors, and the occasional serious historical error (like assuming what a long-dead person "must have thought").

The book is an interesting look at the Cleveland Mafia -- the organized criminal organization founded by Sicilians and Italians in Cleveland around 1900. There are no citations here, no references, no bibliography. But from my own research, it seems apparent that Porrello primarily relied on newspaper articles in The Plain Dealer newspaper for his information. That's disappointing, as one of the reasons people read Porrello's book is to try to gain some inside dope from the Porrello family. There just isn't any.

Porrello offers extremely little in the way of any contextual information for the development of the mafia or other organized crime in Cleveland. Although he's somewhat better about the mafia's role in Prohibition, even then there's not much to help the reader understand the impact of the mafia on Cleveland, the extent of its crimes, or exactly what it is that the Porrello brothers did every day.

Roughly a third of the book focuses on the vicious blood feud between the Lonardo and Porrello families. The feud led to the death of three members of the Lonardo family and four members of the Porrello family, including Rick Porrello's own grandfather. By the time the blood-feud ended in 1932, both families had been decimated and Frank Milano had seized control of the Cleveland mafia.

The latter part of the book covers the Cleveland Mafia briefly over the next 60 years, and the effect of the blood-feud on the Porrello family. Much of this is glossed, however, almost like a short essay that covers a few "greatest hits" (like the Apalachin Conference, the betrayal by Angelo Lonardo, and the war with Danny Greene).

Overall, however, this isn't a bad book. It's just not very good. For a casual reader, it's probably good enough. For anyone expecting a good history of the Cleveland mafia, the book is a let-down. It doesn't focus on the broader picture and on very few of the other major figures in the Cleveland mafia (like important soldiers, capos, or configlieres). There are also a few factual errors in the book. It seems these are drawn from newspaper accounts (which, in the 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s weren't too particular about accuracy) and some general crime sources which weren't verified. The work is short on details, too, which is incredibly frustrating.

[Ocean G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been enjoying reading about the mob in peripheral cities (Milwaukee and Denver/Pueblo), and Cleveland was no exception. The author is a former policeman who is descended from one of the original Cleveland mafia families, so he seemed to have some good insight.

I was amazed I hadn't heard more about the Cleveland Mafia, to tell the truth, seeing as how Capone, Luciano and others had dealings with it, and that Profaci, Mangano and others were arrested there for what seems like a precursor to the Appalachian conference.

Regardless, if you're interested in reading about the Cleveland Mafia this will be a great book for precisely that. It could possibly do with an update, since Angelo Lonardo has died and presumably there have been further changes in the Cleveland Mafia.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Painfully obvious from the first page is the fact that Porrello - at least when he wrote this, I've not read any of his later books - is not a good writer. The book is not uninteresting, but it reads like a C+ college essay. While the Cleveland Mafia has a colorful history which rivals that of New York City or Las Vegas, what's presented here is somewhat disorganized summary. Characters on the periphery but still important to the overall narrative are often brought in with no background or introduction, so I frequently went to Wikipedia for that information. I didn't dislike the book; it's informative and a pleasant read, but the amateurish prose doesn't motivate me to ever read this author again.

[Vince C · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a hard time finding this one, but it was well worth it! Lot of action, the pace moved along quite nicely, (while going into some detail of the two main families involved) and he painted a good picture while telling the stories of the neighborhood. I also like how the author chose the “black sheep” route of the family, and went to the law enforcement side instead. He write likes a cop. I appreciated that his father was originally totally against the idea of him writing this book… but nostalgia and old photos warmed him up eventually. Im sure many of those photos were in the book. I’m glad he changed his mind.

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Residents of Cleveland will surely know the areas of town where the Mafia thrived in the 1900s, but will still be hard-pressed to believe all that happened. It appears that if you lived on the East Side in the first half of the 20th century, you were bound to witness a gangland slaying and they continue on your way. This book is a fascinating glimpse at Cleveland’s organized crime history and the sad tales of the immigrant families torn apart by violence and greed.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I saw this book and naturally had to grab it because I am an Italian-American girl originally from Cleveland. My only experience with the mafia has been watching the Godfather movies with my dad and a few rumors here and there. This book felt more like a family history than an actual non-biased historical writing, but was still informative. I did find myself losing focus at times and had trouble keeping track of all the different people. Overall, it was a decent, quick read.

[MaryLynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book when searching to find out anything documented about my grandfather and the speakeasies he owned in Cleveland during the 1920s.

What starts as a story of immigrant ambition—Italian families carving out power in neighborhoods along Mayfield Road—quickly turns into a cautionary tale about greed, violence, and loyalty stretched to the breaking point.

Its rise and fall encapsulates both the power and fragility of America’s mid-century mob families.

[Call Me Cordelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent, in depth look into the Cleveland Mafia, especially during the Prohibition era. If you're like me, with family roots in the area, this is even more meaningful. I had fun tracking locations that overlapped with my family and matching some stories about bootleggers outside the mob (and what tragically happened to them).

[Wesley Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A VERY interesting history of the Mob and how it developed and deteriorated during the period from Prohibition until it's effective end in the 80's and 90's. As someone that did business beginning in the 70's, it was fascinating to read about names that I actually saw in the news and in one instance, knew. I really enjoyed the trip thru history.

[Jinny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book if you’re a native Clevelander, but the litany of gangster names got a bit boring after a while.

The story toward the end of the book about Rudy Giuliani as a mafia crime buster made me sad given what he’s turned into these past few years.

Audible book. So-so narrator.

[Brett Haring · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, didn’t know much about Cleveland mafia families until this book. Well written.

[Marc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Likely not as interesting a read for those not familiar with the Cleveland names and places in the book.

[Jennifer Virgo McKinley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great information

[Chuck Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice historical summary of the Cleveland mafia wars of the 1920s & 30s during the Prohibition era. Goes into detail of the "Corn Sugar Wars" between elements of two competing organized crime groups at the time, the Lonardos and the Porrellos. As those two families were weakened due to mob killings, the Mayfield Road Mob began to cement its hold on organized criminal activity in Cleveland. After New York and Chicago, it was said that Cleveland's mob scene was the next biggest. A lot of history on the east side of Cleveland.

[Chris Longstreet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being an Italian American from the Cleveland area I feel vested in the roots of my town and it's culture. This book was an informative look into organized crime in Northeast Ohio. Although Perello is not the strongest writer he pulled together several interesting facts about the roots of the Cleveland Mafia (and specifically his family). This book will give you a greater appreciation for the city of Cleveland and it's ties to the crime in American History.

[Elizabeth Marino · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was definitely a lot of information. I happen to know the author of the book so that makes it very cool. I have also recognized many of the names in the story which makes it seem much more realistic. As I was reading I couldn't believe all the events that basically shaped our city of Cleveland.

[Dayna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting topic but very poorly written. Well researched but badly presented and biased. I got through this by putting post it notes to mark the parts that annoyed me most. On the other hand, by the end I came to appreciate the Italian Cleveland cop voice of the author coming through. It was okay.

[Kate Kaput · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a free audiobook that I couldn't pass up, given my loves of both Cleveland & true crime. it was an interesting look back at the city's history of corn sugar production & Prohibition-era trafficking, which frequently ended in... you know... murder. Sometimes it was a little tough to follow, as if it could've used better segues & more robust storytelling, but for free, it was a great read.

[Eric Frazee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story about the rise and fall of the Cleveland Mob. Interesting perspective considering one of the murdered mom men is the authors grandfather. Even more interesting is the fact that Rick is now a Policeman. Great book for Mob enthusiasts.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having lived in Cleveland many of the names and places were familiar to me and during that time the Cleveland mob was dismantled and neutralized by the FBI. Bravo!!

[Angelique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book good read but slow going and confusing at times!

[Joshua Nykamp · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the book it's a pretty entertaining book about a part of the mafia I didn't know existed.

[Christopher Lesko · Rating 5 out of 5]

man, the 1930s were deadly. kiss kiss bang bang.

[Jeffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story of rise and fall of Cleveland mafia during twenties and thirties and beyond. A good read.