Ravenite Social Club
 | |
| Former names | Raven Knights Social Club (1919–1955) |
|---|---|
| Address | 247 Mulberry Street |
| Location | Little Italy, New York City, New York, USA |
| Coordinates | 40°43′23″N 73°59′46″W / 40.723069°N 73.996172°W |
| Owner | Carlo Gambino (1957–1960s) Aniello Dellacroce (1960s–1980s) |
| Type | Social club |
| Opened | 1926 |
| Closed | 1993[1][2] |
The Ravenite Social Club was an Italian American heritage club at 247 Mulberry Street, in Little Italy, New York City. It was used as a mob hangout and the storefront later became a shoe store, and as of 2022 is a men's clothing store.[3][4]
The Ravenite is sometimes identified as the successor to the Alto Knights Social Club, however, the latter was, in fact, two blocks away from the Ravenite at 86 Kenmare Street. The two clubs existed concurrently.[5]
History
[edit]The club was founded in 1919, first as the Raven Knights Social Club, and later became a hangout for John Gotti and others. In the 1950s, Carlo Gambino took over and renamed the club "The Ravenite." Although some sources say he named it in honor of his favorite poem by Edgar Allan Poe, "The Raven," the club started as the Raven Knights before Gambino came to America in 1921.[6] Gambino stopped habituating the club when he discovered police had a growing interest in surveillance of the club. It then became under the management of Aniello Dellacroce.[7]
It was frequented and used as the headquarters of the Gambino crime family in the late 1970s and 1980s.[7] Around 1990, the Federal Bureau of Investigation was able to infiltrate the Mafia using secret electronic surveillance, because John Gotti used an apartment above the Ravenite; the FBI subsequently sent agents to install voice recorders and other wiretaps inside the apartment. The FBI then used recordings from secret Mafia meetings in that apartment against Gotti. Exterior surveillance also recorded numerous union officials outside the Ravenite, helping the FBI in connecting the boss of the Gambino crime family to the city's labor unions.[8][9][10]
References
[edit]- ^
- Fried, Joseph P. (January 15, 1993). "Government Sues to Seize Gotti's Assets". The New York Times. p. L B3 – via TimesMachine.
[The Federal Government] filed a civil forfeiture suit that could bring the shutdown of such legendary mob lairs as the Ravenite Social Club in Little Italy ...
- Raab, Selwyn (November 13, 1993). "From Prison, Gotti Reportedly Keeps Control of Mafia Group". The New York Times. p. L27 – via TimesMachine.
... Mr. Gotti's former Manhattan headquarters, the Ravenite Social Club, ... is now shuttered.
- Fried, Joseph P. (January 15, 1993). "Government Sues to Seize Gotti's Assets". The New York Times. p. L B3 – via TimesMachine.
- ^ Raab, Selwyn (2016). Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires. New York: Thomas Dunne Books. p. 457. ISBN 978-1-250-10170-9.
- ^ Campbell, Jeff (2004). Lonely Planet USA. Lonely Planet. ISBN 9781741041927.
- ^ "Little Italy | Italy". Archived from the original on January 7, 2012. Retrieved October 28, 2013.
- ^ https://themobmuseum.org/blog/new-film-the-alto-knights-named-for-one-of-mobs-many-social-clubs/
- ^ https://themobmuseum.org/blog/new-film-the-alto-knights-named-for-one-of-mobs-many-social-clubs/
- ^ a b Critchley, David (2008). The Origin of Organized Crime in America: The New York City Mafia, 1891–1931. London: Routledge. p. 156. ISBN 978-0-415-99030-1. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
- ^ Lubasch, Arnold H. (June 24, 1992). "Gotti Sentenced to Life in Prison Without the Possibility of Parole". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 18, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2012.
- ^ Raab, Selwyn (November 12, 1991). "U.S. Says Top Gotti Aide Will Testify Against Boss". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 23, 2011. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
- ^ "Quick Facts". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Archived from the original on October 17, 2011.
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