Rosario Borgio

Rosario Borgio (1894 – February 21, 1919) was an early Italian mobster establishing one of the first organized crime operations in the Midwestern United States during the early 20th century. Borgio immigrated to the United States in 1910 and moved to Akron shortly after, where he married Filomena Matteo, also an Italian immigrant. The couple opened a brothel under the guise of a "soft-drink establishment" from their home on North Howard. Borgio moved the brothel across town after the arrest. He claimed his home was "police proof," as the property was guarded by an extensive security system including alarms on both the front and back stairs; pits built into the stairs which held foot-long steel spikes; a solid steel door; and a large arsenal of weapons including shotguns, rifles, pistols, and submachine guns.

Before long, Borgio controlled the Akron arm of Black Hand, a criminal organization aimed primarily at Midwestern cities with growing Italian communities. On January 10, 1918, patrolmen Edward Costigan and Joe Hunt, also on patrol, were shot and killed. Borgio targeted Costigan specifically because Costigan would stop him in the street and search him for concealed weapons whenever the two would meet following Borgio's concealed carry arrest. A fourth officer, Gethin Richards, was killed on March 12, 1918. After Detective Chief Harry Welch was given Tony Manfredi's name as a suspect, and subsequently found medical records detailing a bullet wound in the hand, Detective Chief Eddie McDonnell brought in Lt. Michael Fiaschetti from the NYPD head the mafia unit to consult. Welch sent Fiaschetti information about Manfredi, thought to have fled to New York, and the address of a pool room Manfredi's relative owned. Borgio, Mazzanno, and Chiavaro were sentenced to death. Three men, one of whom escaped arrest, were accused of involvement in the murder of Werne. The other two stood trial for murder. Vincent Damico was convicted of first degree murder, sentenced to death, and executed in 1920. His accomplice received a life sentence.