Early Leaders in the Italian Colony 1823-1906.

 Drawn to Los Angeles by the success of Italian land baron Giovanni Batista Leandri, Bartolo Ballerino begins his quest for riches working as vintner in the growing Italian community around the central plaza. Among those whom he works in conjunction with are the likes of Claudio Napoli, Giuseppe Gazzo and Giovanni Covachichi. The Los Angeles wine business is growing in popularity thanks to the efforts of Pierre Vignes. Ballerino ends his career as a vintner using the proceeds to acquire a small piece of property in an area two blocks north east of the plaza. From this location the notorious crib district would form earning Ballerino a place in the annals of crime in the city of angels.

 With Ballerino out of the picture Covachichi and Gazzo "owners of a winery on Alameda street," gained control of virtually every aspect of life in the Italian conclave. Covachichi served as benefactor for many newly arrived immigrants finding jobs and housing for a small fee. On land originally owned by Juan Ramirez, Covacchi is believed to have financed the building of a brick structure known today as the Pelanconi house. It was Covachichi's partner Gazzo "who may have been of Spanish heritage and is referred to by J.S. Mc Groarty as Don Jose," who taught Antonio Pelanconi the art of winemaking after his settling in Los Angeles in 1853. Pelanconi's talents as a vintner brought him into contact with the firm of Rivarra and Sanquinetti. It was the assets of this firm that he purchased and used to establlish his independence.

The Emergence of Antonio Pelanconi.

 As was the case with many of the early Italian settlers, Pelanconi was a native of Trieste, Italy. His 1860 marriage to Juan Ramirez's daughter Isabel instantly inproved his standing in Los Angeles as it produced seven offspring. Beyond the association of Covachichi, Gazzo and Pelanconi coupled with the fact that Covachichi built Los Angeles's first brick structure on land acquired from Ramirez, little is known of the origin of the association between the foursome. Pelanconi purchased Covachichi's brick structure in 1871 marking the first of several acquisitions which preceeded the construction of his own winery located directly across vine street from the family home. His (431 is the listed address) Alameda street operation was run by Giacamo Tononi and Victor Valla for six years prior to their purchasing the facility outright in 1877. Antonio Pelanconi died May 13, 1879 at the age of 47, upon his passing Isabel married Giacamo Tononi in 1881. Tononi raised the surviving Pelanconi children as if they were his own.



From Pelanconi to Tononi.

 Seizing the mantle vacated by Pelanconi as the benefactor of the Italian colony, Giacamo Tononi successfully combined the responsibility of raising a family which included Antonio and Isabel's two children "Lorenzo and Petra," by delegating authority and control of his winery to Phil Sartori and a fellow Italian by the name of Sormano. Lorenzo joined Tononi in running the families business holdings after graduating from Santa Clara college in 1886. This move was followed in short order by the addition of Sartori and Sormano as partners in the wine business. In 1888 Tononi associate Alberto Vignolo joined F. Ricchini in organizing La Societa Unione e Fratellanza Garibaldina. The first documented Italian brotherhood organization moved into a building on Olvera Street situated very close to the center of the Pelanconi/Tononi family holdings. Giacamo Tononi died in 1892 leaving a large estate which was administered by Isabel and her oldest son Lorenzo. Lorenzo busied himself with running the familiy business's which grew steadily under his tutelage. He later joined longtime family friend attorney Joseph Sartori on the advisory board of the Bank of Little Italy before pausing long enough to marry Martina Yorba who hailed from the old Spanish family for which the town of Yorba Linda is named.



Post Tononi.

 Following the death of Giacamo Tononi control of his winery continued to rest in the hands of Phil Sartori but his assistant Sormano faded from view and Charles Pironi emerged as a key figure. Shortly after an extended period of travel, Secondo Guasti an ambitious immigrant from Mombaruzzo found work (1878) at a restaurant owned by the Amillo family on the grounds of the Avilla Adobe. In the tradition of Antonio Pelanconi, Guasti improved his situation by taking his bosses 15-year old daughter Louisa Anna as his bride. Hard work and a career change from cook to vintner saw Guasti advance from buying grapes from the Vignes family on behalf of Tononi to opening the first of three wineries he would own in southern California. Guasti established himself as a premier winemaker using grapes from the vines of the reknowned Vignes vineyard to produce a fine version of the red wine produced in Italy at his small Aliso street winery. With a steady growth in business came a desperate need for expansion and he thus purchased a larger facility at 2nd and Alameda streets.



Guasti Expansion.

 Recognizing an opportunity to further increase his profit margin if only he could secure a reliable and cost effective source of grapes for his operation, Guasti found just the deal 60 miles east of Los Angeles in the sandy soil of Cucamonga. In a deal recalling the Pelanconi connection, Guasti entered into a deal with Los Angeles banker Isaias Hellman which would allow him to purchase the land needed to grow his own supply of grapes. All Secondo needed was the capitol to complete the deal. For this feat the former cook turned vintner exhibited his talent as a promoter as he rounded up 15 investors who supplied the money to launch the Italian Vineyard Company in 1900. The company quickly established itself by completing the deal with Hellman for 2,000 acres of Cucamonga land for approximately $.75 per acre and the vision which led many to call Guasti crazy began to take shape. In the coming years the Italian Vineyard company added an additional 6,000 acres to its holdings in the Cucamonga/Ontario region 5,000 of which were used to grow grapes the remaining three housing a small Italian community named for its founder Secondo Guasti.

Around the Plaza 1900-1904.

 The business ties which benefitted Covachichi, Pelanconi and Tononi successfully bloomed to the point where their successors no longer had the time or desire to serve as benefactors in the Italian colony and thus the immigrants and less fortunate members of the community began to turn to the criminal element for protection and on occassion financial support. With most of the men whom held sway in the Italian colony when he arrived in the 1850s long gone, Bartolo Ballerino was regularly identified as the king of the crib district in the local papers and thus came to be admired for his financial susccess inspite of his apparent lack of morals. This small area consisting of the early Chinatown was typical as one could find the same vice related activity that one might have found in the dives of San Francisco's Barbary Coast or San Diego's Stingaree. Chinese Opium dens were liberally mixed with gambling dens and road houses run by the likes of Ballerino and Chris Buckley to name a few.

 A sudden shift in political climate or more than likely a desire to use the land for expansion of the cities growing financial district stripped Ballerino of his vice kingdom and a sizeable chunk of an extremely relaible income in December 1903. Unwilling to go down without a fight Ballerino threatened to sue the city for $20,000. The sum he affixed to the depreciation in the value of his land once the cribs had been shuttered. While his suit drew some press coverage it was never filed and the true purpose seemed to be to draw attention away from the fact that he and his girls were setting up in other areas of town namely along Alameda street and the nearby towns of Long Beach and San Pedro where a recent crackdown had deprived local bad man known as Butcher Alf of his sizeable income. As Ballerino became more of a headache than a threat he and his cheif aide Joseph Wiot were sentenced to a 30 day jail term in May 1904. Following his release Ballerino was never much of a factor in the underworld and a new violent era was ushured in.

See Uncle Joe.

 As Ballerino battled to stay on top with local authorities, Giuseppe Cuccia emerged as the most dominant force in the Italian conclave. Cuccia's importance around Main street came to light following the June 2, 1906 shooting of George Maisano by Joe Ardizzone. When a business deal turned sour between Maisano and a sister of Ardizzone, both parties turned to uncle Joe to mediate their claims before any blood was shed. If Maisano realized that Cuccia was a blood relative of the Ardizzone boys before the three fruit merchants sat down for their chat is unknown but ultimately he was severely disappointed in the outcome as he was ordered to make amends to the Ardizzones. Cuccia's ruling failed to alleviate the tension between the two families and he two was added to a growing list of enemies by the Maisano clan.

  Until the Aridizzone ruling Cuccia had enjoyed a sparkling reputation as a fair and impartial man and when Maisano openly stated he believed Cuccia's judgement to have been clouded in regard to the Ardizzones, people began to predict trouble. The inevitable showdown took place on Main street near Avenue 19 shortly after Maisano for the last time insulted Cuccia's integrity publicly. The old man reportedly laughed off the comments aimed at him but in short order Maisano lay mortally wounded the work of a large muscular Italian identified by detectives as Joe Ardizzone. Ardizzone managed to escape the police dragnet layed out for him and vanished seemingly into thin air. Cuccia on the other hand continued to sit comfortably atop his perch untouchable as the colony don. Maisano launguished for nearly two months before succumbing to his wounds on July 29, 1906 at the French hospital in Los Angeles.

  The death of Maisano naturally was a tramatic experience for his family which issued promises of revenge which were apparently mistaken for idle threats. The seriousness of the threats were realized when Cuccia himself fell victm to an assassins gaze in front of 406 Bauchet street. His killer had approached the old man astride a bicycle before opening up at close range. Confindent in his marksmanship the killer dragged his bicycle into a nearby yard before disappearing into the rear of one of the homes. As was the case with Maisano little co-operation would be given as the detectives questioned a long list of suspects among them Frank Ardizzone brother of Maisano's killer. Tony Matranga was later named as the prime suspect in Cuccia's death but he was never brought to justice for the act.
2003@ Gate City Publishing-California Crime File.


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