Jack Dragna
Jack Dragna | |
|---|---|
 Mugshot of Dragna in 1946. | |
| Born | Ignazio Dragna April 18, 1891 |
| Died | February 23, 1956 (aged 64) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Other names | Charles Dragna, Antonio Rizzotto |
| Occupation | Crime boss |
| Spouse |
Francesca Dragna (m. 1922) |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Tom Dragna (brother) Louis Tom Dragna (nephew) |
| Allegiance | Los Angeles crime family |
Jack Ignatius Dragna[1] (born Ignazio Dragna, Italian pronunciation: [iɲˈɲattsjo ˈdraɲɲa]; April 18, 1891 – February 23, 1956) was a Sicilian-American Mafia member, entrepreneur and Black Hander who was active in both Italy and the United States in the 20th century. He was active in bootlegging in California during the Prohibition Era in the United States. In 1931, he succeeded Joseph Ardizzone as the boss of the Los Angeles crime family after Ardizzone's mysterious disappearance and death. Both James Ragen and Earl Warren dubbed Dragna the "Capone of Los Angeles". Dragna remained the boss of the Los Angeles crime family from 1931 until his death in 1956.
Biography
Early life
Dragna was born to Francesco Paolo Dragna and Anna Dragna in Corleone, Sicily, on April 18, 1891. On November 18, 1898, Dragna came to the United States on the S.S. Alsatia with his parents, older sister Giuseppa, and older brother Gaetano.[2] They stayed in East Harlem, in Manhattan, with his mother's cousin Antonio Rizzotto's family, also from Corleone. It is unknown when Dragna's father arrived in the United States. Dragna stayed in New York for ten years before returning to Sicily. As a young man, he joined the Italian Army and later the Sicilian Mafia.
In 1914, Dragna returned to America. He appears to have had a relationship with Gaetano Reina, who eventually led his own crime family in Manhattan and the Bronx. That same year, Dragna petitioned for naturalization as Charles Dragna, and was a suspect in the murder of Jewish poultry dealer Barnet Baff. After the killing, Dragna fled to California. He was extradited to New York, but never went on trial. In 1915, Dragna was arrested for Black Hand extortion of a Long Beach man and served three years in prison. Dragna was arrested as Ignazio Rizzotto, leading to the assumption he was the brother of his criminal associate, Benigno Rizzotto, with whom he'd lived in New York City.
During the Prohibition Era, Dragna and his brother Gaetano (now named Tom) ran extortion and illegal liquor distillation operations. In 1922, Dragna married his second cousin, Francesca Rizzotto.[3] After his prison stint he worked closely with Joseph Ardizzone, a prominent mobster in Los Angeles.
Mafia Don
In 1931, Dragna succeeded Joseph Ardizzone as boss of the Los Angeles crime family. It was rumored that Dragna was involved in Ardizzone's disappearance and presumed murder. The American Mafia wanted to make inroads in California, and supported Dragna, as opposed to the "Mustache Pete" Ardizzone. His brother Tom became his consigliere.
As boss, Dragna's chief source of income came from extorting local
Siegel and Cohen
As boss, Dragna often had to do business with representatives from the more powerful Cosa Nostra families in New York. When
In June 1947, the East Coast crime families murdered Siegel in Los Angeles due to his failure to properly manage the new
Private life and death
In 1953, the federal government ordered Dragna to be deported to Sicily. Back in 1932, Dragna had violated immigration law by illegally entering the United States at the San Ysidro border crossing in San Diego after a three-day stay in Mexico.[9] However, at the time of his death Dragna was still living in California, appealing against the deportation order.
Dragna was a very private boss who eschewed flashiness and attention. However, in the 1950s, the
On February 23, 1956, Dragna died of a
In popular culture
 |
- Dragna appears as a character in James Ellroy's fictional L.A. Quartet novels, specifically The Big Nowhere (1988) and White Jazz (1992).
- Though he does not make an actual appearance, he is mentioned several times in the video game L.A. Noire.
- A character by the same name appears in the sixth episode of the second series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi TV series The Avengers portrayed by Reed De Rouen.
- Dragna appears in the 2013 film Gangster Squad, where he is played by actor Jon Polito.
- In the 1991 film Bugsy, the highly fictionalized story of Bugsy Siegel, Dragna is played by Richard C. Sarafian.
- Paul Ben-Victor plays Dragna in the neo-noir 2013 TV series Mob City.
Sources
- ^ "DRAGNA HELD FOR OUSTER - McGranery Says Californian Will Be Deported as Racketeer". The New York Times. 1952-12-08. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
- ^ Passenger Manifest for the S.S. Alsatia, 18 November 1898, available at Ellisisland.org.
- ^ "Jack Ignatius Dragna and Frances Rizzotto, 1922". California, County Marriages, 1850-1952. FamilySearch. Retrieved 2014-01-16.
- ^ Goldsmith, John A. "Chapter 4: Organized Crime" (PDF). p. 59. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-08-24. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
- ISBN 9780472929313. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
- ^ Redston, George; Crossen, Kendell F. (1965). The Conspiracy of Death. Bobbs-Merrill. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
- Eugene Register-Guard. 1950-02-13.
- St. Petersburg Times. 1950-02-14. p. 6.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Dragna to Fight Deportation". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. 1953-03-03. p. 13.
- ^ "Frank Dragna Sues Police for $350,000 in Damages". Los Angeles Times. 1950-04-08. Archived from the original on 2012-10-24. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
- ^ Messing, Philip (2007-10-07). "Inside Feds' Mafia-Pedia". New York Post. Retrieved 2012-07-09.
References
- ISBN 0-553-27091-5
- Fisher, David. Joey the Hitman: The Autobiography of a Mafia Killer. Da Capo Press: Massachusetts, 2002. ISBN 978-1-56025-393-8
- Lewis, Brad, Hollywood's Celebrity Gangster. The Incredible Life and Times of Mickey Cohen, Enigma Books: New York, 2007. ISBN 978-1-929631-65-0
- Sifakis, Carl. The Mafia Encyclopedia, Third Edition, Checkmark Books: New York, 2005. ISBN 978-0-8160-5695-8
- Warner, Richard N. "The First Mafia Boss of Los Angeles? The Mystery of Vito Di Giorgio, 1880-1922." On The Spot Journal (Summer 2008), 46–54.
- Dragna background (Part I) at Crimefile. Copyright Gatecitypublishing, 2010.
Further reading
- Buntin, John (2009). L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America's Most Seductive City. New York: Harmony Books. OCLC 431334523. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
