Shownotes
John DiTrapani rose to prominence within the Milwaukee Mafia in the early 1950s. He was considered to be one of the “Young Turks”, which also included Jack Enea and Frank LaGalbo, who had angled to take over leadership from Milwaukee Mafia boss John Alioto. Under Alioto’s rule, the muscling of gamblers and legitimate businesses stopped, but internal dissent continued. DiTrapani spread the word that he would pay for “hits” in order to get the leadership role. This would lead to his eventual death, Enea's death, and cause LaGalbo to lose stature and to transfer his mafia membership.
John DiTrapani was murdered outside the LaTosca Cafe around midnight on the night of March 17, 1954. His bullet-riddled body was found behind the wheel of his light blue 1952 Cadillac sedan at 425 North Van Buren Street in Milwaukee. Frank LaGalbo would later tell an informant that DiTrapani was killed because he tipped off police that the Chicago Outfit was behind a gambling deal that took a large sum of money from oil baron Robert Roman. This alleged motive was never proven, and the murder remains unprosecuted to this day.
The murder was no doubt a mob hit, and it was the catalyst that caused the Milwaukee Police Department to look into the Milwaukee Mafia and Milwaukee's Italian-related crime more closely than ever before. The investigation uncovered a lot of information about the Milwaukee Mafia and John DiTrapani's involvement. It also found that DiTrapani was shady in his private life, too.
For more information: milwaukeemafia.com/john-ditrapani
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