For episode four of Series Two, Andrew meets mafia genealogist, writer, and YouTuber Justin Cascio.

Justin explains how he got into genealogy, and what led him to research the Mafia of Corleone in Sicily, Italy. He also talks about the challenges of researching Sicilian records, how Latin has been helping, the importance of searching those unindexed FamilySearch records, and how a distant cousin has helped him to see photos of his some of his Sicilian family for the first time.

Listen to the episode

Also available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and others…

The Life Story:
Giuseppe Longo

Justin chose his Great Grandfather, Giuseppe Longo, born in Sicily during the 1890s, whom he best describes as ‘a pimp’, due to his horrific treatment of enslaving white women into prostitution, along with his other crimes once he had arrived in the USA.

Justin then talks about the mafia climate that surrounded Giuseppe, and the affect it ultimately had on Giuseppe’s relationship with his wife Rosalia and their two daughters.

The Brick Wall:
Giuseppe Longo

In an unusual turn of events, it’s Justin’s choice of Life Story who he also chooses for his Brick Wall. Rather than the events of Giuseppe Longo’s adult life, Justin wants to explore his parents and siblings, but he just can’t find enough clues – or consistent ones at least.

Giuseppe’s (or latterly ‘Joseph’) date of birth is unknown, so Justin wants to find his baptism record, but there’s confusion there too! It takes place on either 3rd April 1893 or 1895, and either in Cefalù or Capaci which are not far from Palermo, Sicily. Finding this, will hopefully reveal the parents’ names and help him to finally build his family tree another generation back.

If you think you can help Justin break his brick wall, then you can contact him over at his blog mafiagenealogy.com, over on his Facebook page, or by sending him a message via our Contact Form (just select his name, and we’ll pass your message on).

In the meantime, somewhat uncertain of Andrew’s offer of help in the garage, Justin accepts, but there’s a bit of an ‘IT glitch’…

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Episode Credits:
Series Two, Episode Four

• Andrew Martin: Host & Producer
• Justin Cascio: Guest