The Hit Parade: 1970 to 1973

Lara:

Hi everyone! Thank you for listening as always. Nina and I were torn over what to call today’s episode. When we started putting it together, Nina named it “Johnny Martorano’s Hit Parade.” Yes, most, but not all, of the murders we’re discussing today were Martorano’s handiwork. But he was also very busy outside of the timeframe that we’re covering today, so I overruled her!

Nina:

So much for this being a democratic process over here! 

Lara:

What are we going to do, vote or something? There’s only two of us! We’ll end up with a Mexican standoff! I have seniority, so that's the end of that story.

Nina:

All of you old goats not wanting to give up control is part of the problem and why we’re in this jackpot right now!

Lara:

Bitter Millennial!

Nina:

You’re raining on my parade over here!  

Since this is a Hit Parade episode, it’s going to be long (and very detailed). The years we’ll be focusing on are 1970 to ‘73 except for the ‘74 murder of Al Notarangeli. But I do want to quickly go back to 1965 just to set the scene for what was coming up in the next decade.

Lara:

We just can’t seem to get out of the 1960s!

Nina:

That’s because what happened in the ‘60s gang wars informs just about everything that took place in the Boston underworld for the next four decades! I know people want to move on, but I don’t think you can properly understand what happened with Winter Hill without that context. 

Lara:

I agree with you, and our younger listeners who didn’t live through those days might not realize how the more recent events of the late ‘80s and ‘90s are all linked back to those earlier happenings. 

Nina:

Exactly! We should also note that we will be covering Joe Barboza’s activities while under Federal Protection during this same time frame in the next episode. Now with that out of the way, let’s get started.

Some of you might recall that Johnny Martorano was arrested with Jimmy Flemmi in November of ‘65. Jimmy had been on the lam since early September of that year when he jumped bail and failed to appear in court after he attacked John Cutliffe in late August. 

Lara:

On January 26th the following year, Jimmy appeared in court. The court psychiatrist testified that Jimmy’s memory was “impaired” because of the “tremendous pressures of hiding from his enemies”. Jimmy was deemed incompetent by Judge Tauro, who ruled that he could not be tried on the Cutliffe assault charge. Instead Jimmy was sent to Bridgewater for 30 days of observation. 

Nina:

Stress?!? It was all the dope he’d done, and whatever hell went on in his house when he was a kid. 

Lara:

No question about either of those two things.

Nina:

Jimmy and Johnny plead guilty and were finally sentenced in March: Johnny got 6 months for harboring a fugitive, but was credited with time served and was back out on the street later that month. Jimmy got 4-6 years at Walpole for jumping bail. He was released on March 28th, 1969.

Lara:

On June 30th that same year, a 302 was submitted by FBI SA Joseph Reilly. The FBI began surveilling their former Top Echelon Informant, Jimmy Flemmi, earlier that month because Jimmy had gone back to his old friends and old routines. Note he was cut from the informant program not because he was running around killing people, but because he jumped bail in the case that Nina just mentioned.

Now who were Jimmy’s old friends? Johnny Martorano, Frankie Salemme, and Steve Busias, to name a few. 

Nina:

The BPD had been monitoring Jimmy’s associates and their activities pretty much from the moment he had been released from Walpole. Detective Ed Walsh noted that he had seen Flemmi at Suffolk Downs, and he had heard that Jimmy was operating an after-hours club above the Manor Cafe at 553 Dudley Street, which if I’m not mistaken had been owned by Walter Bennett. Although we should note Walter had been dead for two years at this point. Flemmi was also frequenting Enrico’s Lounge on LaGrange Street in Hyde Park, and the Bat Cove on Friend Street in North Station.

Walsh informed the Feds that Jimmy, Busias, and Frankie had been scooped up in early May after what he called “a disturbance” at The Party Lounge. But the cops had been forced to release the three men when no charges were brought against them.

Lara:

Ed Walsh and his team continued to trail Jimmy Flemmi and the boys throughout the summer and fall of 1969. 

On September 25, the body of John Banno was discovered in an empty parking lot behind 65 Berkeley Street. He’d been stabbed to death. Johnny would later claim Banno as one of his victims, though he was never charged for that murder. 

Nina:

But the stabbing MO makes me think it was actually Jimmy and Johnny was still protecting him two decades after Jimmy’s death. Or he was protecting his own street cred. The story he told about why he killed Banno sounds totally bogus. Some beef at the Sugar Shack.

Lara:

I doubt Martorano is going to ring us up and set the record straight!

Nina:

How can he? He’s told like three different versions of events!

Lara:

Anyhow, in November of ‘69, Ed Walsh reported to the Feds that Flemmi stayed put in his apartment during the day and at approximately 11:30pm he’d go to the Pond Cafe in JP where he’d meet Johnny Martorano. After having a few drinks, the two men would leave and go into Boston. Since Jimmy’s drivers license had been revoked, Johnny Martorano always drove. 

Once in town, they’d go to either The Attic Lounge, the Living Room or the Downtown Lounge and meet up with Billy Balliro, Jessie Tortoricci, Nicky Femia, Sonny Colontino and former BPD officer John “Jack” Azulay. 

Nina:

The BPD also noted that Jimmy seemed to have a lot of money after his visits to the clubs. They suspected that Jimmy was picking up shylock money for his brother Stevie, who was still on the lam. 

On December 13th, Jimmy stabbed the Pacino brothers, Lawrence and Leonard at their club. Supposedly the Pacinos were arguing with a friend of Jimmy’s named Daggett, and Jimmy got involved.

But Detective Walsh stated that he believed that Jimmy was shaking down the Pacinos and that was the real reason he was in the Pacinos’ club.

Lara:

I want to give a little more on Billy Daggett. Since he’ll be reappearing later next season when we cover Stevie’s demise. Daggett was living in Dorchester as a teenager when he enlisted in the Marines at the age of 18, but he went awol. He and one of his Corp mates from Roxbury went on a robbery spree including a $1900 payroll heist before renting a room at the Statler and blowing all of the money. He was shipped off to Concord in 1957 and released in ‘59 only to get sent up again for five years for stabbing a kid in Dorchester. In May of 1961 he was charged and tried for killing Joseph Francione’s partner, Frederick LaTorella while they were both locked up in Walpole. Daggett claimed self defense stating that LaTorella attacked him with a bat in the prison yard.

Nina:

I still think Jimmy was involved in that murder. He was also locked up at Walpole at the same time and had killed Raymond Gabriel just a few months earlier. Daggett, Jimmy, and two other men were indicted in June on murder charges. Jimmy would eventually be acquitted of the Gabriel murder in March of 1962.

Lara:

Daggett was acquitted in late 1961 and sent back to Concord to wrap up his bid. From the time of his release the following year up until his death in 1981, there were no further charges. But he and Stevie Flemmi were partners in the Geneva Cafe in Dorchester.

Nina:

Isn’t that where Stevie put Deborah Hussey to work?

Lara:

And she was only 17! 

Back to the surveillance of Jimmy. On December 16th, Walsh decided it was time to inform the Feds that his team was working with the Secret Service and that they might be able to offer more information. Three days later the Secret Service Agent working the case was contacted by the Feds. He told them that his original goal in monitoring Flemmi was to get him on a firearms violation. But instead he’d found out that Flemmi was “pushing phony money”, and the Secret Service were trying to build a case. 

As shocking as this may be for our listeners, Flemmi had another brawl that same evening. This time in a car on Huntington Ave. in Jamaica Plain. Flemmi accused Black Jimmy Abboud of being an informant for the Task Force investigating counterfeit money.  

Nina:

Jimmy was probably jealous that he was no longer a prized informant! 

Lara:

Oh I'm sure. I’m also sure that Jimmy was no stranger to the Secret Service. You remember the American Express travelers check counterfeiting ring that Jimmy inserted himself into?

Nina:

Billy Stuart dragged Jimmy to testify in front of a Grand Jury in New York City in late 1964 about that case. 

Speaking of testimony, Abboud later testified that he and Jimmy were passengers in a car driven by a third unnamed man (presumably Johnny). He said Jimmy had tugged at his belt, reached into his coat pocket, and cocked his pistol. Hearing the click, Abboud jumped on Jimmy to gain control of the gun. Jimmy got shot in the shoulder in the struggle, but he managed to bite Abboud’s hand. 

Lara:

So Flemmi of him!

Jimmy was indicted on January 8th, and entered an innocent plea. Assistant DA Zalkind asked for bail to be set at $100,000. Joe Balliro, Jimmy’s attorney, countered with $5000 bail. They compromised on $25,000, which was promptly posted. Jimmy’s latest arrest didn’t put a damper on his activities. His routine didn’t change and he appeared to still be collecting money for Stevie including weekly collection trips to joints owned by Louis Venios (an old associate of Frank Smith’s).

Nina:

Jimmy appeared in court with his attorney Joe Balliro on March 16th for the first day of his trial in the Jimmy Abboud case. But he disappeared after leaving the courthouse on March 19th, and went on the run. Now two Flemmis were fugitives.

The jury returned a guilty verdict the following day despite Balliro’s objections to a verdict in absentia, but Jimmy was not sentenced at that time. 

Lara:

Now with the knowledge that Jimmy and Stevie Flemmi, Johnny Martorano and even Joe Barboza were roaming about freely, let’s begin with our murder victims. 

On February 6th, 1970 Louis “the Fox” Taglianetti was gunned down along with his girlfriend outside of her apartment. We won’t cover Louis' background here, just the most recent events before his slaying. For more about his early days listen to La “Causa” Nostra.

In 1968 Louis Taglianetti was charged with the murder of Jackie Nazarian seven years after Jackie was killed. Rudy Sciarra was tried in ‘63 and cleared. The late Willie Marfeo was charged, but the authorities were unable to obtain an indictment. Previously, Louis The Fox had been convicted by the Feds on income tax evasion charges. That trial brought the wiretaps at the Coin-o-Matic into the public eye. For the first time the average citizen got a look into Raymond Patriarca’s world. 

Nina:

The latest trial against Louis the Fox was scheduled to begin when he was gunned down as he left his girlfriend’s apartment in Cranston, RI at 10pm on Friday, February 6th. At least two men fired a pump-action 16-gauge shotgun and a .38 caliber pistol at him. A roll of cash totalling $1143 was found in his shirt pocket, and a silver medal of St. Jude, the patron saint of lost causes, was found in his other pocket. 

No one was ever charged with Louis’ murder, but the description of the hit sounds like JR Russo to me. As for the timing, it might have been related to his own upcoming trial, but the first Marfeo Melei murder trial was also set to begin just a week and a half later. Maybe Raymond and Jerry were afraid Louis would try to make a deal. 

Lara:

I agree that it was likely that JR killed the Fox at Raymond’s behest. There were too many headaches to take the risk of Louis getting on the stand.

Five days after the Fox was killed, longtime ally of the late Buddy McLean, Tommy Ballou was gunned down near the Bunker Hill Monument in Charlestown. The 39 year old longshoreman had been shot three times in the head and once in the shoulder. A marriage license was found in his pocket. His friends said he was to marry the following week. An empty .30 caliber Smith and Wesson pistol was discovered about 50 yards from his body. The neighbors reported hearing what they thought was a car backfiring between 2 and 3 that morning. The news of Tommy’s slaying spread like wildfire. The people who knew him told the cops that Tommy had more friends than enemies.

Nina:

Tommy had a lengthy record. His most recent offense had taken place in 1965 when he was stopped and frisked outside of the funeral home where Buddy McLean was being waked. Tommy had an unlicensed firearm and of course was arrested. In 1966 he was sentenced to four to five years in prison, but was released two and a half years later.

Lara:

Ballou’s record went back to the 1950s. Another case we’ve discussed in two other episodes was the murder of Philip Goldstein a local bookie in May of 1959. Goldstein was killed just before he was due to testify against Tommy in the attempted robbery case that had been pending since 1958. Goldstein himself had been arrested in the same case because he failed to appear in court.

Nina:

But Tommy’s real claim to fame was that he’d helped Tommy Callahan harbor two of the Brinks’ thieves Sandy Richardson and James Faherty in 1956. For more on that story listen to our episode about the early days of Boston’s FBI Office.

Lara:

Like so many of the other murders we’ve covered, no one was ever tried for Ballou’s slaying. Nor was a clear motive ever uncovered. One rumor was that supposedly Ballou was one of only a few people that knew that Allan Fidler aka Suitcase and Harry Johnson were out in California looking for Barboza in order to kill him. 

Nina:

No teasers! We’ll get into that next week!

Lara:

Ok, ok!

Before we move on, let’s cover a few events that happened following Tommy’s murder.

Nina:

In April of 1970, the Boston Police released their most wanted list, but instead of the top 10 it was the top six. And the lucky winners were: Stevie Flemmi, Frankie Salemme, James Michael Murphy, Phil Cresta, Steve Roukous and Mello Merlino. Jimmy Flemmi was also still on the lam, though he didn’t make the list.

The following month the convictions were upheld in the Teddy Deegan murder case. We’ll get deeper into that along with what else Barboza was up to next week.

On July 13, 1970 the body of Richard Doyle was discovered in Peabody. He had been killed gangland style, shot several times in the head and neck.

Lara:

Now here’s the interesting thing about Doyle, he had been arrested for passing stolen money orders that were taken from Logan Airport. He was killed after he posted bail. Two weeks later, two men and two women from East Boston were arrested. Fast forward to September of 1992 and the murder of Susan Taraskiewicz. Another tragedy. Taraskiewicz stumbled upon the credit card and money order theft ring that was being run out of the airport where she worked. The ring was being run out of East Boston allegedly by the Rosettis. Early next season we’ll have an episode dedicated to Susan and our theories including at least one other death that we believe might be linked also. Both Doyle and Taraskiewicz’s murder remain unsolved.

Nina:

The next homicide was on August 24, 1970. George Cochran’s body was found dumped in Revere with three bullets in his head. Patrick Bedard and Arthur Fano were arrested the following month. Supposedly they were associates and had a falling out over profits from their illicit activities.  Later that year they were both convicted and sentenced to 18 to 20 years. Three years later Arthur went AWOL during one of his furloughs. That whole furlough thing in your state seemed ill fated from day one.

Lara:

That's an episode in itself.

Before we wrap up 1970, let’s discuss Spike O’Toole’s brawl with a former Boston cop named  Robert Noonan. Spike shot him in the chest, arm and face on Dot Ave at about 12:30 am on August 27th. The cops said they thought the fight started over a dog.

Nina:

Spike was arrested on September 2nd and indicted on the 4th. Bail was set at $25,000 cash, but Spike was unable to post it and was shipped off to Charles Street. Noonan refused to cooperate with the cops, but Spike was still put away and was off the streets for the next three years. We’ll get back to Spike at the end of the episode.

Meanwhile the following month Jimmy Flemmi was arrested by the Feds and the Staties in a trailer camp near Westover Air Force Base in Chicopee, Mass. You’ll recall from earlier in this episode that Jimmy had disappeared in March in the middle of his trial. There’ll be much more to come of Jimmy throughout the season, of course.

Lara:

1971 saw 99 homicides in the State of Massachusetts, but it appears that only one of them was organized crime related.

On February 18th, 1971 ex-con Joseph Brazil was found shot in the head on the sidewalk at 61 Monument Street, just blocks away from where Tommy Ballou had been killed one year earlier. Brazil was still alive but he was pronounced dead on arrival at Mass Gen. He had a .32 caliber revolver in his pocket, but never got a chance to fire back at his assailant. 

This was not the first time Brazil had been shot at in this location. He was involved in a shootout 11 years earlier, and was arrested on weapons charges since he’d been carrying two revolvers, an automatic pistol and 100 rounds of ammo. 

Nina:

And that wasn’t the only pinch Brazil took. Let’s talk about his lengthy record that dated back to 1947 when he was picked up along with Ronnie Dermody as part of a gang committing b&e’s in Cambridge. He was serving his 5 year sentence in Concord Reformatory when he briefly escaped with another boy in July 1950. But the pair didn’t make it far, and were captured roughly three hours later. 

The following April he was stabbed by another prisoner named John Perry. The next month Brazil pleaded guilty to charges of assault with intent to murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. He’d allegedly stabbed Perry four times because Perry had ruined his escape attempt by turning over a hacksaw blade to a prison guard.

Lara:

Geniuses!

Brazil was sentenced to 9-12 years for the intent to murder charge, and 8-10 on the assault charge, both concurrent and in State Prison. 18 months later, he was involved in another knife fight. This time with a couple of other men who will be familiar to longtime listeners: Louis Arquilla and George Ashe. Ashe was the only one who got away unscathed.

In September 1953, Brazil made another failed bid for freedom with Joe Flaherty and three other men. They took two prison guards hostage, but they were soon surrounded in the prison underwear shop and surrendered without incident.

Nina:

In April 1960, he was arrested for the attempted robbery of the Hillside-Cambridge Bank in Medford. Brazil was allegedly one of the lookouts in a 13 man team, which included Rico Sacramone, Anthony Sacramone’s cousin.

Al Farese represented Brazil at the arraignment and protested the high bail of $100,000, saying “this is nothing but a police publicity stunt.”  To which the judge replied that he thought the bail had been set too low. The gang was suspected of committing at least three other recent bank robberies in the West End, Medford, and Somerville.

Lara:

Brazil was found guilty of armed robbery the following November. At the sentencing the judge stated that he believed that Brazil was the mastermind of the armed robbery crew, and gave him 10-12 years to be served after he finished an earlier sentence at Walpole. 

In January the next year, Brazil’s wife was arraigned on charges stemming from the January 1960 robbery of the Somerset Savings Bank in Somerville. She pleaded guilty two months later and was given a suspended sentence to the Women’s Reformatory and three years probation for being an accessory before the fact. She had dyed her husband’s hair and put makeup on his face to disguise his appearance. 

Brazil was finally paroled in December 1970, and was murdered just two short months later.

Nina:

We need to jump ahead here to finish the story about Brazil and who killed him. In April 1973, Rico Sacramone was picked up by a local trooper in Lowell. Rico had been badly beaten and must have had a concussion because he’d been walking along the side of the road in a daze. The trooper reported that he thought at first that Rico had been the victim of a hit-and-run. But when Sacramone regained consciousness at the hospital he blurted out that he’d been beaten up because he’d murdered his former partner Brazil. 

Lara:

Why he’d murdered Brazil is unclear. The charges against Sacramone for the April 1960 Medford job had eventually been dropped, though Rico was later convicted of another robbery that he’d committed in Medford in August of ‘59. He was released on parole in October 1964, but found himself behind bars again after being shot during the assassination of Buddy McLean the following year.

Rico was charged with Brazil’s murder, but never brought to trial. Instead Sacramone’s body was found face down in a marsh in Saugus less than two years later. His feet were bound with wire and he’d been executed with a single bullet in his right temple. His murder was never solved.

Nina:

Now let’s get back to our timeline. On May 13, 1972, the leader of the Mullin Gang, Donald Killeen, was shot in the face with a .45-caliber Reising submachine gun. A total of 15 rounds were fired at him in the driveway of his Framingham home at 9:00PM. It was Donald’s son Gregory’s 4th birthday. Killeen had received a phone call and told his family he had to step out. He never even had a chance to reach for his gun.

The Framingham Police recovered facemasks and leather gloves near Killeen’s home along with the machine gun the following day.

Donald was not the only Killeen brother to be murdered. In 1950, George was shot to death in the North End. Another unsolved homicide added to the list. Edward was found shot to death in 1968, but the death was listed as a suicide.

Lara:

Do you believe it was suicide?

Nina:

Come on! You know that there's a 99% chance he was killed and the authorities didn’t want to bother to investigate if they didn’t have to. 

Lara:

No argument from me.

Nina:

Donald Killeen’s driver and bodyguard was none other than James “Whitey”  Bulger. At the time of his murder, Killeen was the owner of the Transit Cafe located on Broadway in South Boston. Following his death Whitey took over the bar.

Lara:

The rumor for decades was that Whitey was responsible for Donald Killeen’s death, but Patrick Nee claimed that the killer was actually another member of Killeen’s gang, Jimmy Mantville. No one was ever charged in Killeen’s assassination. 

There was one more brother, Kenneth. Kenneth’s claim to fame was that he had chewed off the nose of Mickey Dwyer, brother-in-law of former BPD Commissioner Mickey Roche. Kenneth wrapped it up in a napkin and sent it by taxi to the Boston City Hospital. It appears the doctors were able to reattach it. Kenneth later said that he was out jogging in City Point in the summer of 1972 when he passed a car with four men in it. They delivered him a message, "it's over. You're out of business. No further warnings.” 

Nina:

In September of ‘72, shotgun blasts rang out at Kenneth Killeen’s Marine Road home. Luckily no one was injured. Kenneth spread the word on the street that he was retiring from the bookmaking business. He even set a date of September 29th as the last day he would take any action.

DA Garrett Byrne floated the rumor that Howie Winter would be the likely candidate to fill the void created by Killeen stepping down. Which just makes it sound like Garrett Byrne was giving Howie his vote of confidence.

Lara:

Meanwhile, loanshark Paul Folino went missing on September 1st. Folino had been borrowing money at a rate of 1% from the Anguilos, then lending it out at 5% interest. His body was found in a shallow grave in Boxford the week of Kenneth’s retirement.

Michael Pellicci was given Folino’s territory by Jerry Anguilo after Folino was killed. After Pellicci was arrested, convicted and shipped off to the pen in Atlanta. Slim Kazonis took it over, but his profit earning was cut short by his own arrest. We’ll get into the loan shark and book making operations in a few episodes. Not to sound like a broken record, but no one was ever charged in Folino’s slaying.

Nina:

It’s Boston! It’s normal! I think we’ve solved more murders over the last year and a half doing this podcast than the authorities have in seven decades.

Lara:

But nobody will listen to us.

Nina:

Well at least we’re trying.

The next murder took place at 2:30 am on March 8th, 1973. Michael Milano, Louis Lapiana and Diana Sussman were stopped at a traffic light on the corner of Sparhawk and Market Streets in Brighton when another vehicle pulled alongside them and opened fire with .45 caliber pistols. Both men were seriously injured with Milano succumbing to his wounds a few hours later. Lapiana was left paralyzed from the neck down. Sussman escaped with a nonlife threatening wound.

Lara:

Now for the even more tragic part, it was a case of mistaken identity. The two men were bartenders at Mother’s in the North End which was co-owned by Indian Al Notarangeli. Milano recently purchased a Mercedes Benz, albeit a used one, because Indian Al drove one. Milano had a fascination with Notarangeli, right down to growing his hair out just like Al. 26 years later, Johnny Martorano copped to the botched assassination in that fucking pedantic manner of his that makes my blood boil.

Nina:

At least Frankie feigned an appropriate emotional response when recounting his atrocities!

Lara:

Lapiana issued a statement after Martorano confessed. “I don’t know why I’m alive, but I am. My future was taken away from me, but I got over being bitter about my injury. I’m enjoying life. This never stopped me.”

Nina:

That poor man.

Now Indian Al and another guy were believed to have been the ones who killed Paulie Folino who we just discussed a short while ago, so that was the likely motive for the attempted hit. Al had been wracking up enemies left and right, but Johnny got the wrong guy. We’ll get into Al’s murder in a bit. But first let’s cover the murder of Al Plummer on March 20, 1973.

Lara:

The press version of events was that Al Plummer was driving Hugh “Sonny” Shields and Frank Cappizi when they were hit with a hail of bullets. Eight bullets from a submachine gun hit the car, killing Plummer, and injuring both Shields and Capizzi. Sonny was shot in the back and taken to the Mass General Hospital. Capizzi was hit in the thigh, and taken to Winthrop Community Hospital. He was placed under arrest for illegal possession of a firearm that the cops found in the shot up car.

Nina:

Capizzi would testify in 2013 during Whitey Bulger’s trial about that night. “I had been hit in the head and felt warm blood running down my neck. 100 bullets hit the car, and I had about 30 wounds from glass, metal, and bullets. One slug came to rest millimeters from my heart.”

Lara:

And that’s why Capizzi testified that he heard Sicilian even when people spoke English.

Nina:

You just had to bring that up!

Lara:

I couldn’t resist!

Nina:

Whitey’s attorney questioned Capizi about Indian Al. Capizzi stated he was friends with “Indian Al’’ Notarangeli. But when Attorney Carney asked, “How did Al make a living?’’ Capizzi snapped back, “Ask Al.’’

Lara:

Now the who, what, when and why. As we mentioned earlier Jerry Anguilo wanted Indian Al dead because he killed Folino amongst other transgressions.

According to the story we know, Howie Winter and Johnny Martorano agreed to take care of Al for Angiulo. The first attempt ended with Milano dead and Lapiana crippled for life. Then one night while Howie and Johnny were tracking Indian Al they spotted Notarangeli, Plummer, Shields and Capizzi coming out of the Aquarium on Atlantic Ave. When the quartet left the restaurant Jimmy Sims, Howie and Johnny tailed them.

Nina:

The plan was to drive alongside their car and just start blasting. Johnny sure did love his drivebys. While in pursuit, a car cut them off and they had to stop in front of Al's car on Commercial Street, near the Coast Guard Station.

Sims was behind the wheel, Johnny was in the front seat and started shooting out of the back window. As we mentioned before, Plummer was killed, Shields and Capizzi were shot, but managed to get out of the car and took off. Indian Al was in the front seat but didn’t have a scratch on him, and managed to slip away.  

Lara:

Johnny later claimed that Whitey was also present at the botched hit in a crash car. There’s some question as to how truthful that claim was. There is no doubt that Whitey was a stone cold killer, but it appears that Johnny and Stevie may have inserted Whitey into their stories when he wasn't actually there.

Nina:

We aren’t the only ones to question the veracity of those claims. Their timeline is questionable, to say the least. But we will never know for sure. Let’s move onto the next victim.

Just four days after Plummer was killed William H. O’Brien was murdered on March 24. 

Decades later the newspapers tried to say that this was the same Billy O’Brien who robbed Melrose Trust in November 1955 with Whitey Bulger, but the middle initial is different and the age is 13 years off.

Lara:

How many times have we seen similar mistakes?

Nina:

It’s as bad as the family trees that people attach the wrong people and records to.

Lara:

I can accept it from the amateur genealogists, but it’s irritating when journos do it. Anyhow, Whitey’s Billy O’Brien had already been killed in mid-January 1967. He was found slumped across the front seat of his car off Rte 139 near the Randolph line. The autopsy showed powder burns on his face and six bullet holes on the right side of his head. The window on the driver’s side was rolled down, and the window on the passenger side had been shattered by the gunshots, leading the police to believe that it had been a two man job. One man had stopped Billy, and while he was distracted, the other opened fire. 

That Billy O’Brien hadn’t given up his criminal activities since being released. At the time of his murder, he was out on bail after getting caught with Dickie Joyce for robbing the Cities Service Oil Company Terminal on Quincy Ave. in Braintree earlier that month. 

Nina: 

Multiple possible motives there. And another murder unsolved. There will be more to come from Dickie Joyce later in the season.  Now, back to the second Billy O’Brien. This time, Ralph DiMasi, who was a passenger in O’Brien’s car, was the likely target. And just like in the Milano and Plummer slayings, Johnny Martorano missed his man.

Lara:

Now how did DiMasi and O’Brien come to be in the same car? Supposedly O'Brien and DeMasi had left a meeting with Tommy King, a later victim of Martorano’s, at Linda Mae's restaurant on Morrissey Blvd in Dorchester to buy guns. The three of them did time together in Walpole. When they left the meet, the duo were heading to deliver a birthday cake for O'Brien's daughter. O’Brien was driving with DeMasi in the front passenger’s seat. The hit car pulled beside them and began shooting. Sims was the wheelman, Howie Winter and Martorano were the shooters. O’Brien was dead at the scene. Demasi was hit 8 times, but still managed to get out of the car and chase the hitters on foot. 

Nina:

And then he got himself to the Boston City Hospital! 

Lara:

You know I always admire such savagery.

Nina:

Because you’re a savage!

Lara:

Nah, I’m as delicate as a flower. And no I’m not giving you a chance to respond! 

Nina: 

Too bad! DiMassi required surgery to remove bullets that had been lodged in his back and arm. But he checked himself out of the hospital the next day. Something else you’d admire.

Lara: 

Slap some tape on and go baby!

And that’s what DiMasi did. O'Brien’s funeral was held the following week at the Gate of Heaven church in Southie. Demasi attended, and found himself arrested by the BPD’s Organized Crime squad after they found a .38 revolver on him. Ralphie’s parole was violated and he was shipped back to Walpole.

Nina:

Probably ended up saving his life. As usual, there were many versions of the events surrounding the murder of O’Brien and attempted murder of DiMasi. Some said that O'Brien was the target because he was a rat. But most believe that Demasi was the target. Demasi was part of Indian Al’s crew, and had a reputation for being a dangerous guy. Ralph had no idea that Winter Hill was killing Al’s guys for the Mafia.

Lara:

The irony of that! Considering Stevie and company were ultimately responsible for bringing Jerry and the rest down in the end.

The day after O’Brien’s murder, Ted Harrington made a statement: “Two underworld factions are obviously involved in a feud and it’s frightening because enforcers and heavy weapons are on both sides.”

He continued: “I don’t expect a war as bloody as the gross conflict in Boston during the 60s. Dozens of people were killed then. But it looks like the start of an all out gang war. I hope people in the underworld in power will do everything to control the factions, but I don’t know how it will go.”

Harrington’s plea fell on deaf ears because just a few days later, another member of the Notarangeli crew fell victim to Winter Hill. Not in Boston this time, but in Fort Lauderdale where James Leary was in hiding.

Nina:

Jimmy Sims and Joe MacDonald drove to Florida to find Leary. Joe Mac tried to sneak up on Leary, but Leary spotted him and threw himself on Joe. As they were brawling on the floor MacDonald got a shot off. Leary tried to escape, but MacDonald put 5 rounds in Leary's head.

Lara:

Two weeks later, on April 18, Indian Joe Notarangeli, Indian Al’s brother was killed in Medford. A gunman dressed as a construction worker walked into the Pewter Pot Coffee Shop where Joe was eating. He fired two shots into Joe and walked out. There was a car with a getaway driver waiting outside.

The press was quick to point out the connections between Leary, the Notarangelis, Capizzi and Plummer. Capizzi and Indian Al had been convicted of firebombing a motel in Vermont in 1969. 

Nina:

Although the witnesses said the hitter was dressed as a construction worker with a yellow helmet, Martorano later testified that he was wearing a white meat cutters coat when he killed Indian Joe. Do I need to say these people are all liars?

Lara:

And no one called them out on their bogus details or lies!

Nina:

Except us!

A Florida detective also noted at the time of Indian Joe’s slaying that the description of Leary’s killer and the construction worker matched. 

Do you remember that quote from Jimmy Martorano about Joe Mac? “Who do you think was doing all the killings for Winter Hill? It was Joe.”

I was skeptical of that claim initially, but that may turn out to be the most honest thing any of these guys ever said.

Lara:

I suspect you’re correct.

By the time Jimmy “Spike” O’Toole was killed in December of 1973, the number of homicides in Boston had surpassed 100. 

But let’s go back a couple of months. On September 25th, just after being released from prison after the altercation with Noonan that we discussed earlier, Spike was shot while getting into his car.

Nina:

As an aside, Robert Daddieco had just been disappeared by the Feds, so they could clear Stevie Flemmi of the charges against him.

Lara:

Back to the attempt on Spike. Two masked men armed with revolvers shot Spike in the left wrist, the left hand, right and left legs, pelvis and buttocks. Miraculously, none of O’Toole’s vital organs were hit. When the cops went to question him about the attack, Spike gave them the phony name of James Murphy, but otherwise refused to talk.

Nina:

But on December 1st, Spike's luck ran out. At 7:30pm just around the corner from his house in Dorchester, four men in a gold car firing an automatic weapon hit Spike four times in the chest. 

The gold car reminded me of the reported gold car that had been scouting out the neighborhood around the bus stop were Punchy was murdered. Maybe there was some truth to the story that Howie killed Punchy.

Lara:

I know it wouldn’t be the same car but that theory does remind me of how Jack Kelley preferred to have a green car. The other thing that reminds me of Punchy’s hit was the construction workers outfit which was what witnesses said the hitter of Indian Joe was wearing. And remember Howie later claimed he was the one who shot Punchy outside of the Beaconsfield. 

Nina:

Well, Eddie Connors who owned the barroom in Dorchester that Spike used to hang in, claimed publicly for years that he orchestrated the hit on Spike and had given Spike’s location to Howie. Connor’s big mouth and eventual efforts to make a deal with the Feds would cut his life short in 1975, but we’ll get to that when we cover the hits of ‘75.

Lara:

Speaking of 1975 when Martorano testified at Whitey’s 2013 trial he admitted under cross-examination that he initially told State Police that Flemmi had helped him kill O’Toole and that the killing took place in 1975. He said he recanted when he discovered O’Toole was slain in 1973 and realized Flemmi could not have been involved because he was still on the lam then.

Martorano said they talked about it so much on the phone he mistakenly thought Flemmi had been there.

Nina:

Who’s to say that Flemmi wasn’t back in the area at that point? Afterall, Frankie had been convicted in the Fitzgerald car bombing case back in June, and like I said earlier, Daddieco had already been moved from the area by the Feds.

Lara:

I don’t buy it. I think that trio were the biggest liars of all the liars! They told the Feds what they wanted to hear to make the best deal they could.

Nina:

No argument here!

We’re going to wrap up today with Indian Al. We’d planned to end this episode with Spike’s murder at the end of 1973, but since Indian Al was the catalyst for five of the murders we’ve covered today, we decided to include his demise.

Al’s body was found stuffed in the trunk of a stolen car in Charlestown on February 22nd, 1974. The car had initially been stolen in Dorchester 11 days earlier. It was stolen a second time by two boys who took it for a joyride. When the cops stopped them and searched the car, there was Al with a single bullet in his head. He’d last been seen alive in Winchester the previous morning.

Lara:

Let’s backtrack to immediately after the Plummer hit when Al fled to Oregon with his family. About eight months later he returned to Boston, and reached out to Howie Winter. Al told Howie that he wanted to meet Jerry Angiulo to bury the hatchet. Howie reached out to Jerry and the meeting was arranged. Al was told he’d have to make restitution for the damage he’d done. Howie and Johnny picked up Al at Northgate Shopping Center in Revere. Al was carrying a bag stuffed with $50,000. From there they drove to the North End for a meeting with Jerry at Cafe Pompeii on Hanover Street.

Jerry was seated in the back of the cafe. All of the tables around him were empty in order to prevent anyone from overhearing his conversations. 

Nina:

He should have been that cautious everywhere!!!

Lara:

Especially after the wiretap disclosure, but he must have believed that lightning doesn’t strike twice.

Nina:

Well, that was a mistake. It was also a mistake to trust a Flemmi, but Jerry kept doing that too.

Anyhow, Al began apologizing to Angiulo and handed him the bag with the $50K. In classic Jerry style he went on a tirade berating and chastising Al for his misdeeds. He directed Al to never contact him again and to only go through Howie from that point on. Johnny and Howie drove Al back to Revere, and they returned to the North End to meet Jerry who gave them $25,000 to finish off Al for killing Paulie Folino, and told them not fuck up a fourth time. 

I have to interrupt myself here: why would you trust these guys to do the job a fourth time? 

Lara:

In the meantime, Al reached out to Sal Sperlinga to try and arrange a second meet with Jerry.

If you're asking why, we don’t know. One version of events is Martorano’s. He claimed that he and Sal drove to pick up Al. In Stevie Flemmi’s version of events he said Howie Winter was with Johnny. 

But Stevie was technically still on the lam when this all took place, and wouldn’t surrender himself to the authorities until May 6th.

Nina:

Pathological liars!

Lara:

No kidding! 

Nina:

Back to Al’s demise. The driver Sal or Howie pulled up, Johnny got out of the front seat, let Al sit in the front and Johnny sat behind Al. 

Lara:

The Death Seat. I’m sorry but if you were on shaky ground would you get in the front seat with anyone sitting behind you!?

Nina:

I wouldn’t be getting in the car at all! 

But I think the lesson in all of these stories is the same. Hubris will ruin you every time.

Lara:

The downfall in every Greek tragedy!

With Johnny comfortably tucked in the backseat he shot Al twice in the head. They drove back to Marshall Motors, robbed Al of any valuables he had, wrapped him in a blanket and put him in the trunk of a stolen car. They drove to the Bunker Hill housing projects in Charlestown and abandoned the vehicle. Shortly after, two teenagers spotted the popped ignition and took the car for a joyride with Al still in the trunk. Not long after they were stopped by Boston PD. The cops spotted the broken trunk, so they pried it open and there was Al. 

Nina:

It would be over two and a half decades until Stevie and Johnny would tell their versions of events. Like their brethren their stories have to be taken with skepticism. 

Lara:

And speaking of liars, next week Joe Barboza will be the topic of discussion. Along with the lying authorities who protected him. We’ll be covering him from after his testimony at the Deegan trial until his slaying. We hope you join us!

Nina & Lara:    BYE!!!!