Ilario Zannino

Ilario "Larry Baione" Maria Antonio Zannino (June 15, 1920 – February 27, 1996) was a member of the Patriarca crime family. Zannino was said to be the second-highest-ranking figure in the Boston faction of the Patriarca family. He was a paternal nephew or a paternal first cousin of Boston Patriarca crime family mobster Phillip Zannino.

Ilario Zannino
Zannino's 1987 prison mugshot
Born
Ilario Maria Antonio Zannino

June 15, 1920
Roxbury, Massachusetts, USA
DiedFebruary 27, 1996(1996-02-27) (aged 75)
Springfield, Missouri, USA
Other namesLarry Baione
OccupationOwner of social club and bar, bookmaker and loanshark

Biography

Ilario Zannino was born to Joseph Zannino and Isabella LaGrada and was raised in a house on Shawmut Avenue in South End, Boston. He stood at 5'7 and weighed 160 pounds with brown eyes and dark brown hair. Although he was born in the North End, like Gennaro Anguilo he moved at an early age to Franklin, Massachusetts. Zannino moved to South Boston in the late 1930s. He is the husband of Isabella Tawa. He was often found bouncing with Stephen Flemmi. He lived for a time in Franklin, MA and graduated from Franklin High School in 1938. His relatives owned a pig farm in Stoughton, Massachusetts where it was believed that the body of murdered Greek-American mob associates James Bratsos was buried in 1954. No one has ever been charged in the disappearance of Bratsos. In his high school yearbook, he stated intentions to attend medical school. His classmates called him "Zip" which later become ironically the same nickname of FBI Special Agent John Connolly who would later successfully prosecute him for his criminal activities. He allegedly stabbed a waiter to death in a South End restaurant for slow service. He was classmates with a future elementary school principal named Larry who were in the "Let's Go" youth gang together. In 1954, Ilario attended his old friend Larry's wedding, pressed a $100 bill in his hand and said, "Buy yourself a necktie kid." Zannino rose from street tough to extorting businesses and beating up debtors all over town.

In 1985, FBI agents acquired details on the interiors of two Mafia controlled apartments in the Boston's North End. With court approval, agents picked the locks early in the morning and planted bugs that produced 800 hours of recordings. Ilario Zannino was heard explaining how dangerous it is to kill just one member of the Winter Hill Gang. "If you're clipping people," he said, "I always say, make sure you clip the people around him first. Get them together, 'cause everybody's got a friend. He could be the dirtiest motherfucker in the world, but someone that likes this guy, that's the guy that sneaks you." Zannino and Patriarca family soldier, John Cincotti were complaining to each other about the problems that they were having with the Irish American gang. Cincotti said: "They don't have the scruples that we have." Zannino agreed. "You know how I knew they weren't Italiano? When they bombed the fucking house. We don't do that."

Imprisonment

Sent to prison for loansharking and illegal gambling, Ilaro Zannino died on February 27, 1996, of natural causes at the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri.

References
  • Bloom, Robert M. Ratting: The Use and Abuse of Informants in the American Justice System. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2002. ISBN 0-275-96818-9
  • United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Organized Criminal Activities: south Florida and U.S. Penitentiary, Atlanta, Ga. 1980.
  • United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Department of Justice Appropriation Authorization Act of 1987: Hearing of the Committee on the Judiciary. 1987.
  • United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Organized Crime: 25 Years After Valachi : Hearings Before the Permanent Subcommittee of Investigations. 1988.
  • United States. Congress. House. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Criminal Justice. Oversight Hearing on Organized Crime Strike Forces: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice. 1989.
  • United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Status of the Department of Justice Organized Crime Strike Forces: Joint Hearing Before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. 1990.
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