Niagara Falls tours of Magaddino mob sites could be a hit
Visitors will get close-up look at local mob history
By Aaron Besecker
- NEWS NIAGARA BUREAU
Updated: 06/26/08 9:04 AM
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- David Fruscione holds a photo of Gaspare Magadino at the Little Italy Niagara museum, which is part of The Mob Tour in Niagara Falls.
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Want to see where mob hitmen played on the streets of the Cataract City? Want to know where the bomb was thrown that killed the sister of one of the country’s longest-reigning Mafia bosses? How about the restaurant where the powerful and famous came to pay tribute to the Don, an spot that’s still open today?
It’s all in Niagara Falls, where the Mafia’s web once touched at least one home on every street in the city, according to the owner of a new tour company.
Buffalo entrepreneur Michael Rizzo, who runs The Mob Tours, plays the role of the storyteller guiding visitors to the sites the mob called home.
The places are all around the city, but probably unknown to almost everyone, including area residents. Places like the former funeral parlor on Niagara Street the Magaddino family used as its headquarters.
Like the former home of a mob defense attorney who was beaten with a hammer and had his neck sliced by a pocket can opener. And the row of houses on Dana Drive in Lewiston where crime boss Stefano Magaddino and his family lived when they moved out of the Falls.
Magaddino, who ruled the city for decades, was “one of the most powerful Mafia Dons in U.S. history,” Rizzo says from the front of the tour bus.
In a 90-minute tour, Rizzo narrates the story of gambling, bootlegging and thuggery which helped the Magaddinos rise to power.
He spent five years researching, thinking he would write a book on the subject. This weekend will be the company’s third weekend offering tours.
In a city world-famous for its natural wonder, once the stomping ground for a major player in the history of organized crime in the United States, Rizzo says he wants to offer one chapter of the Falls’ story.
Outside St. Joseph Catholic Church on Pine Avenue, Rizzo describes Stefano Magaddino’s 1974 funeral that took place inside, one which no Mafia bosses attended.
Another stop on the tour is Little Italy Niagara, a 19th Street storefront with space dedicated to memorabilia tied to the city’s history of organized crime.
Items on display include hats and shoes worn by members of the Magaddino family, said Dave Fruscione, production director for Little Italy Niagara.
Those items, as well as photographs of the Magaddino family, adorn the walls of the building, formerly used in the crime family’s bookmaking operations.
At this point, Rizzo’s tours concentrate on the Niagara Falls area, but he is looking to possibly expand the tour into the Buffalo area this fall.
He said wants to give tourists another reason to stay in the area longer. So far, locals have been the ones signing up the most, he said.
Tours leave from a stop on Third Street between Buffalo Avenue and Rainbow Boulevard at 11 a. m. and 1 p. m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
Trips are $29.95 per person. The company has planned several upcoming special events, including “Dress as a Gangster Day” on July 19, which corresponds with the anniversary of Stefano Magaddino’s death.
To sign up or to get more information, go online to themobtours. com or call 578-4939.
