Stefano Magaddino

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Stefano Magaddino

Born	October 10, 1891 Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, Italy
Died	July 19, 1974 New York, USA

Stefano Magaddino (October 10, 1891 – July 19, 1974) was an American mafia boss in the Buffalo, New York area. Born in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, birthplace of numerous Mafiosi (including his cousin, Joseph Bonanno), Magaddino immigrated to the United States in 1921.

Magaddino was arrested for alleged involvement in the murder of a man in Avon, New Jersey in 1921, who was the member of the rival Buccellato clan from Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily. An attempt on his own life was made shortly thereafter in 1936 by rival gangsters, but his sister was killed in the bomb attack by mistake. He eventually moved to the Niagara Falls, New York, suberb of Lewiston, running a profitable bootlegging business during Prohibition. The success of his business was in large part due to the proximity of his base in the Niagara Falls/Buffalo area to Canada, where the alcohol was illegally imported from.

After Prohibition, Magaddino and his crime family made their money through loan sharking, gambling, extortion, hijacking, and labor racketeering. Although fairly popular, Magaddino nonetheless had his share of enemies. He was the survivor of several assassination attempts including an attempt in 1958 to toss a hand grenade through his kitchen window, which failed to explode. This second attempt on his life was said to be directed at him by those who believed Magaddino was responsible for the 1957 Apalachin meeting debacle. He was the owner of the Magaddino Memorial Chapel, a funeral home in Niagara Falls, New York.

The Buffalo crime family Boss led his family from Prohibition era, through the 1960's and into the 1970's. For roughly 50 years Stefano Magaddino was a presence in the Western New York criminal underworld as well as being involved in national syndicate and La Cosa Nostra affairs. He was a charter member of Charlie "Lucky" Luciano's Commission and attended important underworld summitsa such as the 1946 Havana Conference and the 1957 Apalachin meeting.

The Buffalo crime family held influence in the underworld territories of Western, Utica, and Rochester, New York, in Eastern Pennsylvania, Youngstown, Ohio and as far South as Ontario, Canada. Stefano Magaddino led the Buffalo Family through it's glory years and it's most powerful and profitable era in La Cosa Nostra. He was an old style Boss that prefered to stay in the background and not draw any attention to himself or his criminal activities if possible.

Magaddino had never spent any significant time in prison, but in 1968 he and his son Peter were arrested and charged with interstate bookmaking and raid on his sons home in the led to the discovery of approximately $473,134 in a suitcase. This created much animosity among the the Buffalo crime family members and it's top leaders in the Niagara Falls/Buffalo area and led to a breakdown of their cooperation concerning criminal activities. The Buffalo Family splits into dissident factions and the leaders meet in Rochester at the end of 1968 and by early 1969 have ousted Magaddino as Boss, leaving him to lead a faction made up of his once powerful in laws and older crime family members from 1969 until he died several years later.

Stefano Magaddino died of a heart attack on July 19, 1974 at age 82. Given a funeral at a local Roman Catholic church, he was buried in St. Joseph cemetery in Niagara Falls, New York.