Frank Lonardo

Birth Name:
Frank Lonardo
Birth Date:
April 1, 1887
Birth Place:
Italy
Death Date:
October 19, 1929
Place of Death:
Cleveland, Ohio
Age:
42
Cause of Death:
Gunshot wounds from a mob hit
Cemetery Name:
Calvary Cemetery
Claim to Fame:
Crime and their Victims
Associates:
One of four brothers that made up the Lonardo crime family, Frank was gunned down during a card game in the back of a downtown Cleveland barbershop years after the murder of his brothers Big Joe and John Lonardo. While the crime was never solved, it was generally understood that his murder was part of a plot to eliminate all the Lonardo brothers connected with the bootlegging racket and that Frank Alessi was involved in the planning of the execution.

Long story short …

The four Lonardo brothers (Joseph, Frank, John, and Dominic) and seven Porrello brothers, including Joseph Porello, immigrated to the United States from Licata, Sicily. The Lonardo and Porrello brothers first established themselves as legitimate businessmen. The two groups dabbled in various criminal activities including robbery and extortion, before prohibition, but were not yet considered a major criminal organization.

At the start of Prohibition, Joseph “Big Joe” Lonardo was the boss of the Cleveland crime family.[19] He was the second oldest of the four Lonardo brothers. He and his brothers began by supplying Cleveland’s bootleggers with the corn sugar they needed to produce liquor. His top lieutenant was Joseph Porrello, who supervised various bootlegging and other criminal operations.

In 1926, the Porrello brothers (Rosario, Vincenzo, Angelo, Joseph, John, Ottavio, and Raymond) broke away from the Lonardo family and formed their own faction. Hostilities between the Lonardo and Porrello families escalated as the families competed in the corn sugar business. During Prohibition, corn sugar was the prime ingredient in bootleg liquor.

First to go were Joe and John Lonardo. Lonardo’s death ignited what the press called the “Corn Sugar War”, a series of power-grabs and retaliatory blood feuds that left Frank Lonardo and seven Porrellos dead before it ended.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Calvary Cemetery

10000 Miles Avenue

Cleveland, Ohio, 44105

USA

North America

Map:

Map of Calvary Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio
Map of Calvary Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio

Grave Location:

Section 47, Lot 234, Grave 8

Grave Location Description

Drive up and into the cemetery until you find the road that goes under the bridge. Make a hard left and drive towards the back to Section 47. About 100 feet from the road you will see the large Lonardo monument.

Grave Location GPS

41.4422708, -81.61105849

Visiting The Grave:

Photos:

[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]
[+]

Read More About Frank Lonardo:

Videos Featuring Frank Lonardo:
Sugar Wars: The Rise Of The Cleveland Mafia - Trailer
Cleveland Stories: Rick Porrello
Cleveland Crime Families Timeline
The Mafia's Presence in Cleveland | Sitdown with Michael Franzese

See More:

Dr. Sam Sheppard

popular name: Dr. Sam Sheppard

date_of_death: April 6, 1970

age: 46

cause_of_death: Wernicke's encephalopathy and liver failure

claim_to_fame: Crime and their Victims

best_know_for: Dr. Sam Sheppard was an attractive and well-liked doctor who tended to hundreds of patients throughout his career at Bay View Hospital in Ohio. In the early morning hours of July 4, 1954 the nightmare began for the Sheppard family when Sam's wife, Marilyn, was discovered brutally murdered. Mrs. Sheppard was found lying on her bed in their master bedroom in a provocative manner. She had been “chopped 25 times in the head and chest.” There was never any hard evidence found that directly tied Dr. Sam Sheppard to the death of his wife, Marilyn. Nonetheless he was found guilty of second degree murder at his first trial. After over a decade in prison the murder conviction was overturned on June 6, 1966 due to a lack of evidence. Dr. Sam Sheppard was a free man from that time until he passed away in 1970. His experience inspired the hit TV show and movie The Fugitive.

Frank Dolezal

popular name: Frank Dolezal

date_of_death: August 24, 1939

age: 51

cause_of_death: Hanging; murdered by police while in custody

claim_to_fame: Crime and their Victims

best_know_for: A Cleveland, Ohio resident who was suspected and awaiting trial as the Cleveland Torso Serial Killer when he was murdered in prison. His name was cleared almost 70 years after his death.

Angelo Lonardo

popular name: Angelo Lonardo

date_of_death: March 31, 2006

age: 95

cause_of_death: Natural causes

claim_to_fame: Crime and their Victims

best_know_for: Big Ange, the son of Prohibition mob boss Joseph Lonardo, took control of the Cleveland crime family in 1962. He led the family until 1984 when he was convicted of running a drug ring and was sentenced to life in prison. He then became an informant, making him the highest-ranking Mafia snitch up to that time.

Back to Top