Tag Archives: Detroit Mafia

Graveside Recap August 19th 2011 – Resurrection Cemetery

21 Sunday Aug 2011

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As I’m sitting here smoking some Peterson “Old Dublin” pipe tobacco, in the bent style briar pipe I bought a while back. I’m reminiscing and thinking, about yesterdays trek to Resurrection cemetery. While there aren’t very many “notable” personalities who reside in the cemetery. Some of the notables who call Resurrection home, include actor & comedian Frank Nastasi, who is best known for his work on the children’s television show Lunch With Soupy starring local and nationally recognized actor Soupy Sales. Others include a survivor of the RMS Titanic disaster, along with several police officers who’ve lost their lives in the line of duty.

One of the hidden gems I find fascinating about Resurrection. Is that there are several Detroit organized crime figures buried within the gated confines of this suburban eastside cemetery. Being that tracking down the gravesites of mafioso’s around the country is a specialty I hold dear to my heart, I’ve come to respect this aspect of the grave hunting hobby.

As per the usual when I have a list of gravesites in a particular cemetery to find. The first thing I do when I arrive at the cemetery, is stop by the office to pinpoint the exact locations in the cemetery of who I’m finding. Fortunately I obtained the locations of the six mafia members on my “to find” list from the Mt. Elliott Cemetery Association website. So all I had to do when I arrived at the cemetery, was to stop by the office to get maps.

Carlo Licata's graveside in Resurrection cemetery.

So let’s get started with the tour. First on the list was Carlo Licata who was an “alleged” Detroit mafioso. His father was Nick Licata who at one time was the Los Angeles crime family boss. Carlo, was also the brother-in-law to Detroit crime family boss Jack Tocco. Unfortunately for Carlo, for some odd reason he took his own life in 1981.

Dominic Licavoli's graveside in Resurrection

The next graveside I paid my respects to was that of Dominic Licavoli. Buried a mere fifteen or so steps away from Carlo Licata, he was the youngest of the Licavoli brothers, managing to keep a low profile throughout his life, Dominic was “alleged” none the less to have been involved with his older siblings various activities. He married the daughter of Joe Zerilli. The only thing I could come up with while during some Google searching is that he was accused of bribing a government official, he dodged the charges, until being sentenced to prison in 1983, released from prison in 1987, he passed away in 1996 from complications of cancer.

Salvatore Lucido's wall crypt.

Continuing on the next graveside or rather crypt I paid my respects to was that of Salvatore “Sam” Lucido. Born in Detroit, Lucido’s criminal rap sheet would include over 32 arrests with 8 convictions for various offenses. Early in life Lucido, started out as a bootlegger, but eventually moved on to gambling after the repeal of prohibition. For a better understanding on Lucido’s wheeling & dealings I invite you to check out this page,

After visiting Salvatore Lucido’s graveside crypt I checked out the crypt of Peter “Bozzi” Vitale. Vitale, was the man behind the Detroit Partnership’s endeavors into the waste management industry back in the 1960s. Vitale, also had various illegal gambling interests as well. Not to mention his waste hauling business, was the “possible” disposal point for many unsolved Detroit underworld murders. If your interested in learning more about Vitale, and his criminal enterprises you should check out this page.

Peter "Bozzi" Vitale's graveside crypt.

Closing out the day the last gravesite I visited was the crypt which holds the remains of Salvatore Finazzo. Born in 1908 his criminal record dates back to 1926. For the most part his criminal record is squeaky clean, aside from a few legal issues. Meanwhile in 1994, Finazzo passed away at the ripe old age of 86.

Salvatore Finazzo's graveside wall crypt.

There was one more gravesite I wanted to find, while I was at Resurrection, this past Friday August 19th. But there was a funeral in the section I was about to go strolling around. So out of respect I stayed out of that particular area, because the last thing I wanted to do was go near the funeral, then whip out my camera, that would not look good on my part, and it would not look good for other grave hunters. So after Friday unfortunately being cut short, I went back today, and had no such luck finding the gravesite of Nick Ditta, I think I might have overlooked it. So in the coming weeks I’m gonna go back and search again. But I’ve got reason to believe Mr. Ditta might be unfortunately unmarked.

Graveside Recap August 12th 2011 – Mt. Olivet Cemetery

14 Sunday Aug 2011

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As I’m sitting here in the lounge, at the cigar shop, puffing on a cigar. For starters I haven’t been doing any serious grave hunting since, I’ve been back from the gravecation I went on at the end of May to Los Angeles. I suppose I’ve just been busy with school, and other projects I’ve been working on namely producing the Gravecast Podcast which you can find on this blog.

So let me bring you all up to speed on yesterdays trek to Mt. Olivet cemetery in Detroit. Recently, I discovered on the Mt. Elliott Cemetery Association website which Mt. Olivet cemetery is a part of. That if you click on the “Genealogy” link on the website, you will come to the “Search For An Ancestor” page. This page is a searchable database organized by name (first, middle, last), approximate date of death with the years starting in 1810, and ending in 2011, and then cemetery. There are six cemeteries in the Mt. Elliott Cemetery Association database. I found the easiest way to do a search, was to mention the last name(s) of the people you were looking for, omit the cemetery, list the years ranging from the earliest to the latest, this will widen your search no doubt, but will search all the cemeteries in the database.

After the discovery of the database, I got to thinking. I could use this database to do my research, which would save the time I’d have to waste bothering the clerks in the office at the various cemeteries which are a part of the Mt. Elliott Association. So all I’d have to do is get the section maps I’d need, then I could go on my way.

Which brings me to yesterday’s trek at Mt. Olivet. As many of you probably know one of the things I specialize in as a grave hunter, is tracking down the final resting places of gangsters. Being that Mt. Olivet cemetery in Detroit has an overabundance of organized crime figures gravesites. I decided to use the website database I mentioned above for my own personal gain.

While searching a few names on the database, I was able to get the locations of some Detroit mafioso’s buried in Mt. Olivet, and Resurrection cemetery. Being that I just planned to visit Mt. Olivet, I wrote down the names & locations I found for that cemetery. Then off I went. The figures I found on the database included Matthew “Mike” Rubino, Dominic “Sparky” Corrado, & Leonard “Black Leo” Cellura. There were a few other names I looked up which I knew the locations for but out of curiosity I looked up their names for the hell of it.

Rubino Family monument in Mt. Olivet

After arriving at the cemetery, I stopped by the office to get the section maps I needed. First on the list was “alleged” Detroit Mafioso Matthew “Mike” Rubino. Born in 1911, and passing away in 1972. Rubino had various “alleged” criminal interests, along with legitimate business interests. For a better understanding of Rubino’s activities (both alleged criminal, and legitimate) please visit this website.

Black Leo is buried unmarked in the family plot of his wife in Mt. Olivet cemetery Detroit.

Next on the tour who’s graveside I paid my utmost respects to was Leonard “Black Leo” Cellura. Born in 1892, Cellura was “alleged” to of been affiliated with the Gianolla brothers, and was a close friend of Salvatore “Sam” Catalanotte. Not much else is known about Cellura other than he survived the mob wars which plagued the city of Detroit during the early part of the century. He passed away at the ripe old age of 80 in 1972. One of the interesting things about Cellura is that he’s buried in an unmarked grave in the family plot of the Darga family which was his wife Bertha’s maiden name.

The next graveside I visited & paid my respects to was the grave of Dominic “Sparky” Corrado. Born in 1913, Dominic is the brother of Pietro Corrado. Sparky got his start in organized crime, as an enforcer for the original leaders of Detroit’s LCN faction. Not much else is known about him that I could dig up, other than that he was a suspect in numerous unsolved underworld murders. He passed away in October of 1976. The other two names I had locations for one of which turned out to be false, the other the door of the mausoleum building at Mt. Olivet was locked.

Sam Catalanotte's graveside in Mt. Olivet

So keeping with tradition and not wanting the day to come to an abrupt end. I went over to where Salvatore “Sam” Catalanotte’s gravesite monument was and paid my respects to him. Salvatore got his start in the Detroit La Cosa Nostra faction working for the Gianolla/Giannola brothers during the Vitale-Giannola War. Was known as a peacemaker because he lobbied for an uneasy alliance between the east and westside mobs in Detroit, which for some reason was named the Pascuzzi Combine. Catalanotte unfortunately lost his life due to complications from influenza.

Chester LaMare's graveside in Mt. Olivet Detroit.

Next up and rounding out the day, I visited the graveside of Chester “Big Chet” LaMare. He was an early leader of the Detroit mafia. He led the westside mob, which was based in Hamtramck a hamlet located within the city limits of Detroit. LaMare was a strong opponent of Angelo Meli, and Joseph Zerilli, which would eventually cost him his life. All in all it was a great day, for a great hunt. I’m gonna be going back to Mt. Olivet in the coming days for more grave hunting grandeur. So please stay tuned.