John “Big Nose” Avena

John Avena was once known as “the biggest numbers man in South Philadelphia.” Born in Sicily around 1893, John succeeded Salvatore Sabella as Philadelphia’s mob boss in the early 1930s.…

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Augustus C. Buell

Augustus Caesar Buell and his two younger sisters were born to Simon and Julia Buell, residents of King’s Settlement, near Norwich in central New York. Beyond this piece of personal…

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