Life in Los Angeles
In 1920 Di Giorgio and his family were renting a house at 1017 East 21st Street in central Los Angeles. Nicola Gentile, who was a Mafia leader in Pittsburgh and several other cities, noted that he was feared throughout California. Nevertheless, Di Giorgio continued to have enemies and was shot a second time, on July 18, 1921, after returning home from a trip to the beach with his family. He was shot in the leg and recovered. Di Giorgio, described as a "wealthy fruit dealer," and his wife both told LAPD officers that he had no enemies and did not know who shot him or why.
Apparently not long after this incident, Gentile (who noted Di Giorgio's leg injury) visited him in the home of his underboss, Rosario DeSimone. Gentile was on a mission to remove a "death sentence" placed on his compare, Vincenzo Chiappetta. Gentile did not know the reason for the death sentence on Chiappetta, only that it concerned an unresolved issue between the two of them. Chiappetta was one of the men arrested with Di Giorgio in 1908, and was now a member of the Kansas City Family. Before meeting Di Giorgio, Gentile transferred his membership from the Cola Schiro crime family in Brooklyn (Salvatore Maranzano's predecessor), to the San Francisco Mafia organization. From there arrangements were made to meet with the Los Angeles Mafia leader. When they did meet, it was cordial and respectful. In the end, Gentile was successful in convincing Di Giorgio to drop the death sentence, and a letter of explanation was sent to the Kansas City leader Paolo DiGiovanni.
Read more about this topic: Vito Di Giorgio
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