Since it was a nice day out, besides the minor gusts of wind blowing. I decided to enjoy the day, and hit the cemeteries. So I went over to Mt. Olivet cemetery, I was frolicking around Mt. Olivet roughly four hours.

Photo is from Find A Grave.com

The History:

The cemetery grounds encompass over 300 acres, of sprawling manicured lawns, bountiful gardens with richly picturesque flower arrangements, along with a large array of statuary exhibits. The culmination of all these things, is what makes Mt. Olivet cemetery a true oasis in the city of Detroit. Founded in 1888, the growing need for a second Catholic burial ground to serve the incoming immigrant population from Europe was thus decided, and Mt. Olivet is what came out of the incarnation.

The Tour:

When I was at Mt. Olivet, a few weeks ago. The object as per the usual when I go there, was to track down the gravesites of “reputed” Detroit mobsters. After arriving at the cemetery, I strolled into the office, to obtain the section maps I so desired. So I could then pinpoint exactly where in the particular sections, I could find my target(s). After handing the office clerk the list of sections I wanted, her eyes lit up, like a Christmas Tree on Christmas Eve, at which point I casually told her all I needed were the section maps, and I can then do the rest of the searching from there. After obtaining the much-needed maps, off I went.

First on the list was Frank Randazzo who was murdered on July 11th 1976 along with reputed mafioso’s Nick Ditta, & Joseph Siragusa, at the cold-blooded hands of Ernest Tom Kanakis, a convicted gambler. Not much else is known about this particular case. But what is known, is that despite finding the location and some Randazzo family members in section 77, Frank was nowhere to be found, so I pretty much came to the utter disappointed conclusion that he was unmarked. So I marked that one-off as not found, and I then moved on to the next reputed mobsters on the list.

Which leads me to the next graveside I visited was that of Dominic, Salvatore, and Isadore Rubino. Dominic was the patriarch of this family, and reputed to be an early Detroit bootlegger. He had the misfortune of being murdered in 1926 during one of the early Detroit mob wars. His sons Salvatore, & Isadore were also murdered a few months after Dominic. Salvatore, Isadore, & Dominic are buried in the same family plot as Matthew Michael Rubino, who was in his teens when his father, and brothers were murdered. Matthew would eventually rise through the ranks of the Detroit mob and peacefully pass away in the 1970s.

After paying my respects to the Rubino’s, I then strolled over to where James V. and Peter J. Bellanca are buried. James V. was a known associate of the Detroit crime family, and was allegedly responsible for organizing the Hazel Park Racetrack deal. As for Peter J. he grew up with Jack, & Anthony Tocco, and was their legal counsel throughout the years until his death in 1998. The Bellanca’s are blood related to the Renda family who were bootleggers here in Detroit.

After leaving the graveside of the Bellanca’s I then strolled over to section 53 where Giuseppe “Joe” Vitale rests. Giuseppe was the 17-year-old son of Giovanni “John” Vitale, who was an early Detroit bootlegger and mob leader. Giuseppe, had the misfortune of being murdered in 1920 during one of the early struggles for mob power in Detroit. After finding the gravesite of Giuseppe, I then casually strolled around section 53, to try to find the gravesite of early Detroit mafioso, & bootlegger Vito Renda. With no such luck of finding his gravesite I then came to the once again disappointed conclusion that Renda might be unmarked, or I casually overlooked the gravesite. So I’m definitely gonna have to check things out again to see if he has a marker, the next time I’m at Mt. Olivet.

After unsuccessfully tracking down the gravesite of Vito Renda. I then strolled over to where reputed mobster Antonino Alescio rests. This would be the second or third time finding his gravesite. Alescio was the bodyguard to early Detroit mob boss Tony Giannola. As times got tough Alescio would betray Giannola by murdering him in 1919. This murder would spark the Giannola-Vitale Gang War. Alescio met his demise in January of 1920 when he was murdered perhaps in retaliation for the Giannola slaying.

Rounding out the day the last graveside I checked out was that of Gerald (Jerry) Buckley, I’ve been to this gravesite a few times in the past, but wanted to get some fresh photos of the site. Buckley was a radio personality in Detroit who painstakingly tried to end political corruption in the Detroit Mayor’s office, and Wayne County Sheriff’s Department. Buckley thus played a pivotal role in the ouster of Detroit Mayor Charles Bowles, which would ultimately cost him his life. On July 26th 1930 while lounging around the lobby of the Hotel LaSalle on Woodward Ave in Detroit, three men entered the lobby, found their target then proceeded to pump hot lead into the corpse of Gerald (Jerry) Buckley. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

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