Rosario Dispenza

Rosario Dispenza was an Italian-born American mobster. He was head of the Sicilian mafia in the Near North Side neighborhood of Chicago from 1909 to 1914.{{cite journal |last1=Warner |first1=Richard N. |title=The Dreaded D'Andrea |journal=The Journal of American Mafia History |date=April 2009 |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=17–18}}

Born circa 1870 in Ciminna, Italy, Dispenza immigrated to the United States in 1899 on board the SS Aller.{{Cn|date=January 2023}} He was a contact of the Morello crime family and known associate of Anthony D'Andrea.{{cite book |last1=Critchley |first1=David |title=The Origin of Organized Crime in America: The New York City Mafia, 1891-1931 |date=2009 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |isbn=978-0415882576 |page=56}}{{cite book |last1=Flynn |first1=William James |title=The Barrel Mystery |date=September 30, 2020 |publisher=Lector House |isbn=978-9390198696 |pages=207–211}}

Alongside his business partner Anthony Puccio, Dispenza co-owned the Banca Siciliana, a bank on Milton Avenue, and a saloon on the intersection of Milton Avenue and Hobbie Street.{{cite book |last1=Lombardo |first1=Robert M. |title=The Black Hand: Terror by Letter in Chicago |date=2010 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |location=Urbana |isbn=9780252076756 |page=140}} This area was colloquially referred to as the "Black Hand Belt" or "Death Corner".{{cite book |last1=Adler |first1=Jeffrey S. |title=First in violence, deepest in dirt : homicide in Chicago, 1875-1920 |date=2006 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, Mass. |isbn=9780674021495 |page=186}} In 1908, Dispenza was fined $100 for allowing patrons to gamble for drinks.{{cite news |title=125 SALOONS SHUT; CUTS CITY INCOME |work=Chicago Daily Tribune (1872-1922) |date=May 5, 1908 |pages=2}}

On January 22, 1914, hours after Puccio was murdered outside of the saloon, Dispenza was shot and killed. Although police did not arrive in time to apprehend the assailant, a search of the area revealed two sawed-off shotguns in a neighboring alley. Police suspected that the killings may have been related to the murder of Charles Catalino, which had occurred a week prior.{{cite news |title=EYE WITNESS TO DOUBLE MURDER FOUND IN HOSPITAL |work=Chicago Daily Tribune (1872-1922) |date=January 24, 1914 |page=13}}