
Most Historic Mafia Meeting Ever Was Here In Upstate New York
One quiet Upstate New York town was once home to one of the most historic meetings of the mafia ever.
Apalachin, New York, was the site of a significant mafia meeting in 1957. The reason it was so significant, it led to a major police raid and had lasting impacts on FBI operations. Back in 1957, Joe "The Barber" Barbara bought a 58-acre estate in Apalachin. Only In Your State reports he did this because he didn't want to be bothered. That's why it made the perfect spot for "The Apalachin Meeting":
On November 13, 1957, 100 mafioso from the United States, Cuba, and Italy gathered here to have a big meeting. They planned to discuss loansharking, narcotics trafficking, and gambling, as well as divide the assets of the recently murdered boss Albert Anastasia."
Local and state law enforcement became suspicious when all sorts of expensive cars with different license plates from around the country arrived in this small town that was described as "the sleepy hamlet of Apalachin." After setting up roadblocks, the police raided the meeting, causing many to flee into the woods:
More than 60 underworld bosses were detained and indicted following the raid. Twenty of those who attended the meeting were charged with "conspiring to obstruct justice by lying about the nature of the underworld meeting" and found guilty in January 1959. All were fined, up to $10,000 each, and given prison sentences ranging from three to five years. All the convictions were overturned on appeal the following year. One of the most direct and significant outcomes of the Apalachin meeting was that it helped to confirm the existence of a nationwide criminal conspiracy, a fact that some, including Federal Bureau of Investigation Director J. Edgar Hoover, had long refused to acknowledge."
Up to 50 men escaped, but over 60 were apprehended. Virtually all who were captured claimed they had heard Joseph Barbara was feeling ill and that they had visited him to wish him well. The arrestees were from 21 different crime families. There were people arrested from all five of the NYC Five Families, plus people from crime families from all over the country.
The Apalachin Meeting was an important event in mafia history. One major effect it had was that it forced J. Edgar Hoover, the then director of the FBI, to accept that the mafia existed on a large scale in the United States.
The more you know.
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