Antonio Miranda (1887 - 1930)

Born 4 Jan 1887 in San Giuseppe Vesuviano, Naples, Campania, Italy

Husband of Pasqua Albano — married 9 Feb 1924 (to 6 Feb 1930) in Thompsonville, Enfield, Hartford, Connecticut, United States

Died 6 Feb 1930 at age 43 in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States

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Biography

Early Life

Antonio Miranda is born 4 January 1887, based on his first papers for naturalization^[1], and on 4 June 1887, according to the grave stone where he lies with his wife, Pasqualina Albano, and her first husband, Carlo Siniscalchi.^[2] Reports at the time of his death indicate Antonio was born in Italy and lived in Brooklyn before moving to Springfield in 1924.^[3]

He arrived in New York around 18 February 1911, according to his first naturalization papers, in 1928.^[1] Based on the record of his emigration in 1923, he first visited the US in 1911, and he was born in San Giuseppe. His father's name is Vincenzo.^[4] Based on records found for Michael Miranda in New York, the brothers are from San Giuseppe Vesuviano, in Naples, and their parents are Vincenzo Miranda and Carmela Bifurco.

On 2 June 1915, Toni Miranda, No. 66118, is sentenced to Sing Sing Prison for carrying a pistol, a felony. He is 27 (b. 1888), born in Naples, Italy, a carpenter. He is not married. He is 5’5” and 145#. He is a moderate tobacco user. His parents are living. Toni lives with his brother Mike Miranda at 178 Mulberry St, an address in Little Italy. No previous offenses listed.^[5]

Marriage to Pasqualina

Antonio's future wife, Pasqualina, is married to Carlo Siniscalchi, who becomes the "King of the Bootleggers" of Springfield, Massachusetts, with the enactment of Prohibition. He is killed in 1921.

Antonio appears on Line 15 of the manifest of the Conte Rosso, arriving in New York on 15 January 1923. According to the manifest, he has previously been in the US in 1911 and 1922. Those records have not yet been found. He leaves his father, Vincenzo, in San Giuseppe, where Antonio was born. He is 35 years old (b. 1887), single, a carpenter. He is joining his brother Michael at 365 Broome St, NYC. He is 5’5” with brown/chestnut coloring.^[4] An article about Antonio's death names two of his brothers, Michael of New York and Pasquale of Italy.^[3]

Antonio is a close ally of New York crime bosses Frank Costello and Vito Genovese. Costello and Genovese are in a bootlegging operation together in New York in the 1920s, with Charlie "Lucky" Luciano, Meyer Lansky, and Bugsy Siegel. In 1922, the gang join the crime family of Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria. Antonio runs Carlo's rackets in Springfield.^[6] Antonio's brother, Michele, is a protege of Vito Genovese, and is close to both his and the Lucchese crime family in New York. Michele later becomes consigliere to Genovese.

Michele appears on Line 24 of the manifest of the Conte Verde, arriving in New York on 11 January 1924. He is 30 (b. 1893), single, a barber. He leaves his father, Vincenzo, behind in San Giuseppe Vesuviano. He is going to his brother, Antonio, at 182 Mott St, New York. Born in San Giuseppe Vesuviano, his last residence was in New York, NY.^[7]

Antonio marries Pasqualina Siniscalchi in a small, "semisecret" ceremony conducted by a justice of the peace in Thompsonville, Connecticut, on 9 February 1924. ^[8][9]

Later that year, Antonio appears in Line 10 of the manifest of the Colombo, arriving in New York on 30 October 1924. He is 36 (b. 1888), of Italian birth, a joiner by profession. His last permanent residence was in Springfield MA. He leaves his father Vincenzo in San Giuseppe, in Italy. Antonio is returning to Springfield, joining his wife Pasqualina Miranda there at 74 Wilcox St.^[10]

Antonio and Pasqualina have one child, Vincent (1927).

Vincent, also called Michele Vincenzo, is born 25 October 1927 in Springfield.^[11]

Antonio Miranda, whose occupation is in real estate, declares his intention to naturalize in the Commonwealth, Hampden Co., in January 1928. He has a dark complexion, weighs 172# (his height is cut off in this image). He was born in San Giuseppe “Vermimano” (Vesuviano), Italy on 4 January 1887. He lives at 76 Wilcox St, Springfield. His wife’s name is garbled as “Sargualina Albanis.” He arrived in New York around 18 February 1911.^[1] He swears an oath of allegiance to the United States on 28 May 1928.^[12]

Antonio Miranda, age 41 (b. 1887), becomes a naturalized citizen on 30 March 1928 in Hampden Co. He has a minor child, Vincenzo, 7 mos. (b. August 1924) In Springfield. There are xxs for his wife’s name.^[13]

Death of Antonio

Antonio dies of blood poisoning in 1930, soon after the family moves to a nicer house.^[6] The gangrene that kills him is evidently the result of a minor procedure, to remove a callus from his foot.^[3]

Antonio dies in Springfield on 6 February 1930 and is buried in St. Michaels Cemetery.^[2]

Antonio is buried in a solid bronze casket. Reporting on his funeral is awed by the hundreds of mourners, and tens of thousands spent on flowers. The floral tributes that have arrived from such distant points as San Francisco and Miami, to 843 Chestnut St, Springfield, are estimated in value between $15-20K. Some 200 private cars are expected to take part in the funeral cortege. An airplane is engaged to drop flowers over the grave.

Known as an affluent but not ostentatious real estate agent, Antonio's importance to organized crime is completely overlooked, except possibly in unreported gossip.^[3] Bill Feather credits Antonio as the boss of the Mafia in Springfield during the 1920s.^[14]

Death of Pasqualina

Pasqualina is shot and killed, while sitting in a parked car with a friend, Michael Fiore, in the early morning hours of 12 November 1932.^[15] Fiore, who police indicate is the intended target of the shooting, is wounded.

Legacy

Antonio's brothers, Michele and Donato, are both known members of Mafia families in other American cities: Michele, also known as Mike, most significantly: in New York, as an associate of Vito Genovese; and Donato as a member of the Mafia in Boston.^[14]

Antonio's son, Vincent, marries Lucy T. Scibelli.^[16] He dies at age 68 on 2 December 1995 in Springfield, MA.^[11]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; NAI Number: M1368; Description : Petitions For Naturalization, No101401 - 101800, Jan 14 - 21, 1928
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVKD-KGM5 : 13 December 2015), Antonio Miranda, 1930; Burial, Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, United States of America, Saint Michaels Cemetery; citing record ID 44502696, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3} “Flowers For Dead Amount to $20,000: Elaborate Funeral Planned for ‘Little Italy’ Chief Mirando of Springfield To Be Buried in $7500 Casket--Hundreds Mourn.” Published 10 February 1930 in the Daily Boston Globe. Pp 1, 9. https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.bpl.org/docview/758200751?accountid=9675
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} "New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JNNP-B6D : 6 December 2014), Antonio Miranda, 15 Jan 1923; citing departure port Naples, arrival port New York, ship name Conte Rosso, NARA microfilm publication T715 and M237 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
5. ↑ New York State Archives; Albany, New York; Sing Sing Prison, 1852-1938; Box: 24; Volume: 59
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Barry, Stephanie. “Organized crime in Springfield evolved through death and money.” 11 December 2011. http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/12/organized_crime_in_springfield.html Accessed 15 May 2017.
7. ↑ via Steve Morse.org. Accessed 11 June 2017.
8. ↑ Widow of Carlo Siniscalchi weds. (1924, February 19). Springfield Daily News. P. 9. Retrieved 5 September 2022 from masslive.newsbank.com.
9. ↑ Connecticut State Department of Health; Hartford, CT. https://www.ctatatelibrarydata.org/marriage-records/ accessed 5 September 2022
10. ↑ "New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JN4S-85S : 6 December 2014), Antonio Miranda, 30 Oct 1924; citing departure port Naples, arrival port New York, ship name Colombo, NARA microfilm publication T715 and M237 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JP41-YM6 : 20 May 2014), Vincent Miranda, 15 Dec 1995; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
12. ↑ National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington D.C.; NAI Number: M1368
13. ↑ Ancestry.com. U.S. Naturalization Records Indexes, 1794-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007. Original data: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Microfilm Publications; Records of District Courts of the United States, Record Group 21; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1} Feather, Bill. "Springfield + Worcester factions." 16 March 2018. https://mafiamembershipcharts.blogspot.com/2018/03/springfield-worcester-factions.html Accessed 19 March 2018.
15. ↑ “Woman Is Slain By Machine Gun: Companion in Parked Car at Springfield Wounded Mrs. Miranda’s Husband Killed in Same Manner 10 Years Ago.” Daily Boston Globe. PP 1, 19. 12 November 1932.
16. ↑ "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKW2-4Q4N : 22 July 2016), Vincent M Miranda, Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, 04 Dec 1995; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing Union-News, born-digital text.