Giuseppe Castro is born 24 October 1811 and baptized the next day. He is the son of Calogero Castro and Giuseppa Monteleone. His godparents are Bernardo and Maria di Giglia, a married couple.
The 1812 stato delle anime reports Giuseppe is already two years old, living in the strada del Canc. Catinella, in the Porto Salvo district, with his parents and siblings.
On 9 September 1833, a bounty is set for the capture or killing of Giuseppe Castro, called "Rapanzino," (the word appears to be related to "cropping" or abduction), and Nicolo' Ciavarello, called Puntillo ("stubbornness"), both of Corleone. They are members of a predatory gang of 16-18 members, most of them from Corleone.
Calogero Castro lived on the strada del Canc. Catinella in 1811, and nearby on the strada di Colletto the following year. In 1834 he and his family return to the strada di Don Vincenzo Catinella. Calogero is reportedly 61 (he is 68, based on previous census), his wife Giuseppa, 49 (56, by previous census), children Giovanni, 22 (he is 25), Giuseppe, 20 (he is 22), Gaetano, 15 (he is 17), and Maria Carmela, 10 (b. 1824), and Anna Felicia Monteleone, 74 (b. 1760), Giuseppa's mother, who lived with them in 1812. Her father, Gaetano, who appeared in Calogero's household in 1811 and 1812, may have died by this time.
Giuseppe, despite his appearance in the census, is a wanted man at this time.
The bounty is renewed 24 April 1834. Two members, brothers Bernardo and Antonino Palumbo, are captured and guillotined in Palermo in September 1835, according to eyewitnesses, but most of the members escape justice and reconstitute the band. It's possible the Palumbo brothers escape to Tunis.
On 17 March 1836, a bounty is placed on the lives of thirteen remaining members of the gang, including Paolo and Biagio.
Giuseppe is clearly killed, reportedly at age 27 (he is 28) on 8 July 1836. The same day, Leoluca Mondello, age 28, and who is also named in the fuorbando, is found killed. They are among the last members of the gang to be killed or captured.
There is no record that Giuseppe ever married.
Baptism of Josephus Castro, 25 October 1811
Calogerus Castro family, 1812 stato delle anime
Death of Joseph Castro Rapanzino, 8 July 1836
Leggende popolari siciliane in poesia raccolte. By Salvatore Salomone-Marino. Published 1880. Accessed online 5 April 2015.
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Categories: Cascio Name Study | Corleone, Palermo | Corleone Mafia | Gangsters