Richard Marino: suspected LCN Member
Was 'Dick' Marino, an Endicott-based member of the Bufalino Family?
The 1980 Pennsylvania Crime Commision report has an ‘A. Marino’ listed as a deceased ‘past and present Bufalino Family member’. Whilst this document is not entirely reliable (it wrongly identifies Joseph Scalleat, Jack Parisi, Joseph Falcone and Anthony DeStefano as Bufalino members, when they were affiliated with Philadelphia or Buffalo) it doesn’t seem to have listed any bogus members.
As well an A. Marino, the report names E. Sesso (Ernesto Sesso 1897-1977) and J. Contessa (Joseph Contessa 1893-1975) as other ‘past Bufalino members.’ This information can be confirmed by other LE files. Where the information stalls, is where it links A. Marino to a company named Kana Transport. The company name was spelled Cana and was owned by a Richard Marino. Whilst Richard Marino’s father was an A. Marino (Angelo Marini 1899-1969), he seems to have no link to LCN or Cana Transport. Other information leads to Richard Marino being the ‘past Bufalino member’ in the 1980 report.
Not to be confused with the Richard J. ‘Dick’ Marino (1939-2004) who was at one time Underboss of the Rochester LCN group, this Richard Joseph ‘Dick’ Marino was born in Endicott, NY in 1929 to Angelo Marini and Mary George.
From 1948-1954, Marino was an assistant business agent of Local 693, Teamsters Union.
In 1952, aged c23, Marino was an Usher at the wedding of a brother of Bufalino member Anthony Santacrose.
In August 1955, Marino was the Director of Bitiek Textiles Corporation, a company that completed sub-contract work for the Garment industry. This venture did not last; in September 1956, assets were seized due to non-payments of taxes. A week later, Tri-Cities Dress Co. and the Owego Textiles Co. also has assets seized for the same reason. Both corporations were headed by Bufalino family members Anthony Guarnieri and Louis Marconi.
In 1959 Marino played a key role in a campaign to have Broome Co. Federation of Labor withdraw its support from the Meat Cutters Union to organize Endicott & Johnson’s work force. Both Marino’s parents were long-time employees of E&J.
As of 1961, Marino was the Eastern representative for Midwest Transfer of Illinois, a Chicago hauling firm. He also operated a trucking firm named Roto-Transportation; its building was leased by Bufalino Family member Sam Rotella.
In March 1961, E&J announced they would hire an outside truck operator to run the firm’s interplant transportation system. The contractor was Marino, and the company (yet to be formed) was to be Cana Transport. Former Broome County DA Robert Fischer became secretary of the firm following heading special investigation of crime and vice in Utica.
FBI Files from the mid-1960s state that ‘(Anthony) Guarnieri is in partnership with Dick Marino’ and Marino is ‘acquainted with Russell Bufalino.’
In 1965 Edward Fischer learned of Marino’s association with Guarnieri. Soon, he severed his ties with Cana Transport, and finally sold his interest in Cana Transport to Marino in 1970. Fischer, prosecuted Anthony Guarnieri in 1953 when he was Broome Co. DA, and was responsible for Guarnieri’s first jail sentence (possession of firearms). By 1971, Fischer had been DA, judge and was now special assistant attorney general charged with combatting OC in New York State.
A Cana trailer full of E&J shoes was hijacked from their Endicott plant in 1968. John M. Foley and Salvatore Terranona (both of the Bronx) were arrested for possession of stolen goods; Terranona was selling the shoes over the bar of his establishment, a barroom-dance hall situated at 10 Pennyfield Ave, Throgs Neck. Detectives determined the hijacking was mafia-connected when investigating Cosa Nostra activities, particularly those of Louis Eboli, brother (?) of Tommy Eboli. During their investigation of Eboli, law enforcement received words of plans to hijack a truckload of shoes in upstate New York.
In a 1971 newspaper article, Marino discussed Guarnieri stating, “We were born and brought up in the same neighbourhood. I’ve known him all my life.”
In 1975, Vincent Christina, a Bufalino Family associate, was picked up by a man, who was reportedly a driver for the head of the local mafia (possibly Vincent Perfetti). The two arrived at Cana Transport, the driver entered the building, and then beckoned Christina to join him. From within the building, two gunmen shot at and missed Christina, before he fled the scene. He then reportedly visited an Endicott lawyer, influential with the local crime organization (most probably Remo Allio). Once realising the lawyer would not assist, he fled once more to law enforcement. Sources suggested motive for the attempted murder was due to either Christina having taken money from an OC figure, local OC figures thinking he was an informer, or that he was moving in on someone else’s crime activities. During the 1990 testimony from Ellis Klepfer, (a Bufalino Family associate, retired trucking official, ex-assistant manager of Cana, and ex-director of Bitiek), the indictment contends that Richard Marino “tried to kill Vincent Christina.” Although Klepfer had no information about the shooting, he said he often teased Marino about it and said, “I think Dick was there.”
Later in 1975, Christina testified against Russell Bufalino and Anthony Guarnieri, stating “he lived in a New York hotel as Bufalino’s guest during March and April of 1971 while training to be a prize fighter.”
Richard Marino died aged 47 in April 1976 after a short illness.
Good stuff!