[2] Organized crime had been deeply embedded in both Sicilian and Licatan culture for centuries,[2][3] with the Black Hand and Onorata Societa operating in the town.

[3] Arcangelo family friend Joseph Lonardo emigrated from Italy to the United States in February 1901,[4] followed by Todaro shortly thereafter, entering the country on April 15, 1901, and arriving in Cleveland, Ohio the next day.

His cousin, Joseph "Busy Joe" Patitucci, was a close friend and heroin and opium dealer who had been living in Buffalo, New York, since about 1900.

[20] He and his brothers used their profits from previous criminal activities to invest heavily in corn sugar manufacturing,[26] a completely legal enterprise,[27] and purchased a warehouse at Woodland Avenue and E. 9th Street.

Shortly thereafter, Todaro secured the release of his friend, Carmelo Licarti,[d] from prison and employed him in the Lonardo sugar warehouse.

[38] Although federal records indicated that Licarti sailed for Italy on April 4, 1925, he in fact returned to Cleveland where he lived on the west side.

Facing a two-year prison term in the federal penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia, he decided to turn state's evidence and testify about police corruption and drug dealing in Buffalo.

[46][47][f] In a report that was later retracted,[49] the local news media claimed that a vast criminal conspiracy was attempting to silence witnesses in the Patitucci shooting.

[58] Although Patitucci's signature on the written confession was verified by handwriting exerts, the local district attorney refused to acknowledge it.

Once he served a reduced prison term, the district attorney believed, Patitucci would flee the state and make the "confession" public—freeing his enemies.

[62] Joseph Biondo and Paolino Palmieri,[k] members of the Buffalo crime family, tried to convince Lonardo to rescind his murder plans, but he refused.

[1] A high-ranking organized crime messenger and mediator with powerful ties in the Sicilian mafia,[59] Gentile feared a loss of prestige if he could not convince Lonardo to stop the hit.

[70][n] John Lonardo lacked good judgment, and a leadership vacuum emerged in the Mayfield Road Mob which contributed to the rise of the Porrellos.

[83][o] Lonardo and John arrived at the barber shop without any bodyguards (which was highly unusual)[84] about 8:15 P.M.[85] and proceeded into the back room, which was used for playing cards.

[97] Federal law enforcement officials believed that Todaro then successfully took over Lonardo's criminal enterprises, becoming the second boss of the Cleveland crime family.

[101] Crime authors Patricia Martinelli[102] and Joe Griffin and Don DeNevi[103] do not provide similar details, but do say that Porrello succeeded Lonardo as boss.

[103] Crime historians Thomas Hunt and Michael A. Tona conclude that Todaro and the Porrellos jointly ran the Mayfield Road Mob.

[106] A major meeting of Sicilian and Italian organized crime figures was scheduled at Cleveland's Hotel Statler the first week of December 1928.

Law enforcement authorities at the time hypothesized that the meeting was called to end Cleveland's "Corn Sugar War",[107][r] or to set up Chicago gang leader Joe Aiello for murder, or to reorganize the rackets after the deaths of Arnold Rothstein and Frankie Yale, or an attempt to elect a successor to Chicago gangster Antonio Lombardo.

[2] He successfully bribed a number of local officials, including two judges and a Cuyahoga County prosecutor, to protect his illegal businesses.

[2] He associated with some of Cleveland's most famous people, once even tipping off famed restaurateur Florindo Luccioni that police were undercover in his restaurant looking for illegal liquor sales.

For example, Joseph Lonardo's widow, Concetta, found herself and her children in financial difficulty due to a probate dispute involving her late husband's will.

[30] As the widow of a boss, she was due respect and support from the crime family's new leadership,[111] and she began visiting Todaro frequently to ask for help.

Frank Lonardo also spent much time consulting Todaro, seeking business advice and as well as help in collecting debts.

[120] Angelo, John, and Rosario Porrello and their high-ranking capo, Salvatore "Sam" Tilocco, began fearing retribution from the Lonardos and started carrying guns.

Todaro, too, began going about armed, although he left his handgun in his automobile while inside the Porrello corn sugar warehouse (where he felt safe).

At Angelo's urging, Concetta (unaware of the murder plot) arranged to meet Todaro at 1 P.M. on June 11, 1929, at 10902 Woodland Avenue, a barber shop owned by Ottavio Porrello.

[118][v] Shortly after 1 P.M., a black luxury automobile driven by Angelo Lonardo pulled up to the curb at the E. 110th Street entrance to the Porrello barber shop.

[5] She had her husband's body shipped to Italy for interment, although it is unclear if he was laid to rest in Naples[99] or in a large marble mausoleum in Licata.

[132][x] Frank Lonardo was murdered in the card room of the Chester-18th Barber Shop at 1735 Chester Avenue on October 20, 1929,[134] in retaliation for Todaro's death.