Former officer to release history of New Ken crime

Organized crime can be a compelling subject to explore.

It becomes even more alluring when you're a former police officer, and the organized crime was rooted in the city where you worked.

That's what motivated Dennis Marsili, an author and retired New Kensington police officer, to write his latest book, “Little Chicago: A History of Organized Crime in New Kensington, PA.”

The book will be released Sunday at the Alle-Kiski Valley Historical Society's Heritage Museum in Tarentum, where Marsili will talk about his work on the book and sign copies.

The book centers on the organized crime family in the 1940s, '50s and '60s that law enforcement officials said was headed by the late brothers Sam and Gabriel “Kelly” Mannerino.

A native of Vandergrift, Marsili, 53, said he grew up only 2 miles from the home Kelly Mannerino built in Allegheny Township and heard stories about the brothers.

“Then, working as a police officer in New Kensington and hearing stories from people who lauded what the Mannerinos did for the town, that coupled with my interest in law enforcement made me think, ‘What a great topic for a book,' ” Marsili said. “I knew that people would be very interested in reading it, too.”

He said he was looking for answers to questions he formed growing up and then over his 24 years as a New Kensington police officer.

Questions such as: How did organized crime in New Kensington get started? Why did it last so long? Why didn't federal authorities simply arrest everyone involved?

“Some things are left to interpretation,” Marsili said, “but I think after reading this book people will have a much better understanding of how it came into being and how it lasted so long — not only in New Kensington but in other places around the country.”

He said the bulk of his research was compiled from FBI reports that emerged from the investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963.

“There's a website that I subscribed to that has all the reports related to the JFK investigation,” Marsili said. “A lot of the research was done there. And I supported that with a lot of interviews, newspaper articles and other Internet sources.”

He said the book deals at length with the “guns-to-Cuba” case when Mannerino associates were arrested at a small West Deer airport with a load of guns destined for Cuban rebels in the late 1950s.

The Mannerinos operated a casino in Havana at that time. Marsili said there is a lot more to that case than people realize.

“The people in Cuba that the Mannerinos were involved with were actually working with the CIA — and I think they were tied in with the Watergate break-in,” he said, referring to the June 1972 burglary that ultimately led to President Richard Nixon's resignation. “It's a tenuous link, but it's a linkage nonetheless.”

He said the book also provides a better understanding of how people in New Kensington viewed the Mannerinos' organization.

“I did not have one interviewee who had anything bad to say about the Mannerinos,” Marsili said. “At the same time, I don't want to glamorize the kind of lifestyle they led.”

New Kensington's organized crime history has been sore spot for years among some residents who believe the city remains unjustly tainted by it.

Dolly Mistrik , president of the historical society, said she has already heard complaints from some people about Sunday's event.

“It's centered on New Kensington, which is part of the Valley, so we are spreading the history of the Valley,” Mistrik said. “This is a chance for people to learn about one of our cities and what happened in the past. It's the life of people. It's how it actually was in one of our towns.

“Our mission is to preserve, teach, and keep local history alive for future generations, whether people think it's good or not.“

Tom Yerace is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-226-4675 or tyerace@tribweb.com.