abstract
| - Priziola built a criminal empire which extended from Detroit to Canada, across the Atlantic into his birth place of Partinico, Italy and as far west as San Diego, California. Priziola's appearance was a deceptive measure of his enormous standing in the underworld. Priziola's importance to the Detroit mob lay in his heading of the families secret yet highly lucrative drug crew known as the Partinico faction. This branch of the Detroit Partnership was established by deported Partner Frank Coppola and Angelo Meli to handle the importation of shipments of heroin that entered the country through Detroit by way of Windsor, Ontario, Canada and was then forwarded on to New York city for distribution throughout the country by Frank Livorsi "the son-in-law of Angelo Meli," and his son-in-law John Ormento of the Lucchese crime family. One of Priziola's lieutenants in the operation was Raffaele Quasarano. In addition to the Partinico operation, Papa John's influence reached into Southern California where through his sons-in-laws Joseph and Frank Matranga, members of the Los Angeles crime family, he was able to secure a nice income from this region as well. The Matranga's joined their diminutive father-in-law in several legitimate business ventures in the San Diego and San Bernardino areas.
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