Think of yourself as a New York State Trooper in upstate New York. Now, picture that trooper observing a gathering of men entering a country estate owned by a shadowy character who is unknown to neighbors. Then, visualize these men all dressed in sharkskin suits, alligator shoes, skinny ties and fedora hats. See the circle driveway filled with large black Cadillacs and Lincolns. What do you do? Well, Sergeant Edgar Croswell had been quietly investigating the estate’s owner at this time and learned that Joe “Joe the Barber” Barbara was born in Sicily, emigrated to the United States in 1921 and became involved with a La Cosa Nostra family in Pennsylvania. He was under suspicion of murder when he quietly left Pennsylvania for this secluded estate in rural upstate New York. When Sgt. Croswell learned of this gathering and observed the above events on November 14, 1957, Sgt. Croswell and other troopers crashed the party. I recently received an interesting blog about this event. Go to Gangster Inc to read.
For Kansas City, this was a very important event. Several of the attendees fled though the woods to escape detection. Later that day, Nick Civella and Joseph Filardo were observed at a Binghamton, NY railroad station. Retired F.B.I. agent and author, William Ouseley relates that this sighting helped law enforcement understand that Kansas City had a La Cosa Nostra family headed by Nick Civella. The most important lesson was the Kansas City La Familia was important enough to be invited to a national meeting of La Cosa Nostra bosses.