The St. Louis crime family, also known as the Giordano crime family or St. Louis Mafia, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. History Early Italian gangs The earliest records of the St. Louis Mafia date back to the mid-1890, with Italian Mafia gangs operating in the city. By the early 1910s, Dominick Giambrone was recognized as the local Mafia boss in St. Louis, until 1924, when he stepped down and fled the city. With the passage of Prohibition in 1920, control of St. Louis's illegal bootlegging operations became a major power struggle between the seven different ethnic gangs; the Green Ones, the Pillow Gang, the Russo Gang, the Egan's Rats, the Hogan Gang, the Shelton Gang and the Cuckoos all fighting to control illegal rackets in the St. Louis area. The Green Ones was a Sicilian gang, formed in 1915, by Vito Giannola, his brother John Giannola and Alphonse Palizzola before immigrating to America. After the three men arrived in America they went their separate ways: Vito Giannola to St. Louis, John Giannola to Chicago and Alphonse Palizzola to Springfield, Illinois. During the early 1920s, Vito Giannola reunited with his brother John Giannola and Alphonse Palizzola in St. Louis. The three men imposed a tax on all goods sold in the city's Italian community. In 1924, Vito Giannola became the most powerful Mafia boss in St. Louis forcing Dominick Giambrone to flee the city. Giannola attempted to take control of the bootlegging rackets in the area and fought with members of the Egan's Rats gang and Cuckoos Gang. On September 9, 1927 Alphonse Palizzola was shot and killed by a rival gang. Months later boss Vito Giannola was shot 37 times to death on December 28, 1927. The remaining members of the Green Ones gang including John Giannola went into hiding. The Pillow gang was the earliest Italian gang in the city being active since 1910. The gang was led by Pasquale Santino until 1927, when he was murdered. Carmelo Fresina became the new leader, giving the gang the nickname "the Pillow gang" because Fresina carried a pillow with him to sit on after, he had been shot in the buttocks. Fresina formed an alliance with splinter group of the Green Ones called the Russo gang led by Tony Russo. The two gangs battled with the Green Ones until 1928, when the Russo