John LaRocca
Of Pittsburgh. A McClellan Committee investigator named him in 1958 among five men added to the list of Apalachin attendees and said he was in business in Pittsburgh with Gabriel Mannarino and Michael James Genovese. A Los Angeles police captain testified to stopping a car in which he was a passenger in 1956.
- Aliases
- John S. LaRocca, John Larocca, La Rocca
- Rights
- Biography on this page is limited to what the cited federal records state.
On the record
- 14 March 1956 — Capt. James E. Hamilton of the Los Angeles Police Department testified that officers stopped Frank DeSimone's car and found as a passenger "John S. LaRocca, of Pittsburgh, Pa.," and that "the press quoted Senator Williams as classifying John LaRocca as the top racketeer of the Pittsburgh area" (Part 32, pp. 12332-12333). Police testimony repeating a press report.
- 1956 — The McClellan Committee staff list's entry for Michael James Genovese of Gibsonia, Pa., reads: "Partner in L & G Amusement Co., Pennsylvania, coin machines, with John LaRocca in 1956" (Part 32, p. 12197). Committee staff memorandum, which the chairman said "is not evidence."
- 1958 — Committee investigator Sherman Willse named "John LaRocca, Pittsburgh" among five names added to the original list of 58 Apalachin attendees. Robert F. Kennedy said the committee had tried to subpoena him and that he "has taken off for parts unknown." Investigator George H. Martin said he was in business in Pittsburgh "With Gabriel Mannarino, I believe," and with Michael James Genovese, and agreed that he had a jukebox business there (Part 32, p. 12260). Committee staff testimony.
- 28 November 1960 — United States v. Bufalino, 285 F.2d 408 (2d Cir. 1960), lists John Larocca among alleged co-conspirators named in the indictment for whom no evidence of presence in the Apalachin area was introduced (n.1). Court opinion.
This page is limited to federal records. No record opened here states a role for him in any organization. The “top racketeer” phrase is a police captain repeating a newspaper’s account of a senator’s remark; it is not used on the Pittsburgh family chart. A 1957 Third Circuit opinion in a perjury case against a John S. Larocca of Pittsburgh was opened during research, but it does not say that its defendant is the man in these hearing records, so it is not filed or cited here. No record opened gives his birth or death date.
Records
itemTestimony of committee investigators Sherman Willse and George H. Martin on the Apalachin attendees (Part 32, p. 12260)McClellan Committee investigators described their chart of the Apalachin attendees' activities (Exhibit 5), named five men added to the original list of 58, among them "John LaRocca, Pittsburgh," and said LaRocca was in business in Pittsburgh with Gabriel Mannarino and Michael James Genovese.
itemTestimony of Capt. James E. Hamilton, Los Angeles Police Department, before the McClellan Committee (Part 32)The commander of the Los Angeles police intelligence division described stopping Frank DeSimone's car in 1956 and finding "John S. LaRocca, of Pittsburgh, Pa." as a passenger, and said police knew who LaRocca was only from newspaper clippings.
itemMcClellan Committee staff list: "Individuals at Apalachin and Names of Some of Their Contacts and Associates" (1958)An alphabetical staff memorandum printed in Part 32 (pp. 12194-12201) giving a residence and a summary of arrests, businesses and associations for each Apalachin attendee and some contacts. The chairman admitted it "for guidance and information only" and said "It is not evidence."itemUnited States v. Bufalino, 285 F.2d 408 (2d Cir. 1960)Second Circuit opinion reversing the convictions of Russell Bufalino and nineteen others for obstructing justice and perjury after the 14 November 1957 gathering at Apalachin, New York. The court says the government offered no evidence of the meeting's purpose.