Matthew Michael Rubino was born on February 26, 1911 in Detroit, Michigan. His father was a prominent bootlegger aligned with the Westside Mob under the direction of Joe Marino a trusted aide of Chester LaMare. Rubino was just 15 years old when his father was slain in a gang battle August 8 1926. This tragedy was followed up by the loss of Mike's two older brothers (Samuel and Isadore aka Sidney) less than two months later when they were gunned down October 8, 1926. It can only be surmissed what impact the loss of 3 close relatives had on the young man and or if these losses played any part in the extremely callous way Rubino was later able to excecute those who managed to run afoul of his underworld superiors. Following the death of his father and brothers, Michael spent a great deal of time with Joe Marino a respected member of the bootlegging community who later participated in the recovery of a kidnapped youth. In fact Rubino went to live with Marino and was present on the night Marino was shot and killed (September 27, 1930)in his home after his own son accidently shot him after stumbling while carrying his fathers pistol. Rubino was detained briefly as a witness in this case but was released following a confession by Marino's young son. Inspite of his youth at the time of Marino's shooting, Michael Rubino had already begun participating in underworld activities and had been arrested on 5 seperated occassions prior to the Marino shooting. While living in Marino's home, Rubino became acquainted with important underworld figures such as Leo Cellura, Pete Licavoli, Joe Bommarito and many others. Following Marino's death, the 18 year old Rubino became a member of the River Gang headed by the aforementioned Pete Licavoli.
The Shooting of Inspector Henry J. Garvin
Prior to coming over to the Licavoli operation on a fulltime basis, Rubino had been suspected of taking part in one of the most brazen acts of rebellion by an underworld group since the 1917 assasination of Detective Emmanuel Rogers by the Gianolla gang. The brazen January 2nd attack of Inspector Henry J. Garven head of the Detroit Police Department's Black Hand Squad raised the ire of Detroit's citizens and law enforcement officials alike. Garven was attacked as he drove to work by a black sedan containing four men. Garvin gave statements that he heard the driver honk the cars horn and he preceded to pull to the side of the road in an attemp to allow the car to pass. As the car pulled along side of Garvin, the inspector noticed the rear shades on the Model A were drawn just as a gunmen opened fire on his car with a .45 caliber pistol and a shotgun. During the attack, Garven was shot in the head and shoulder and a stray bullet found the mark hitting Lois Bartlett an eleven year old girl walking to school. Lois and the inspector both recovered but were unable to offer any information as to the identity of the perpetraitors of the attack. After an inquiry was conducted, Michael Rubino became the focus of the investigation when unidentified sources named him as one of the shooters. Rubino was picked up and charged with assault with intent to kill on January 8th but was quickly released when the charges were dismissed by the court.
Building A Reputation
Michael Rubino would come into contact a total of 15 times between July 28, 1927 and January 13, 1934 when he began serving his first prison sentence. Many of these arrest were in connection with serious offenses involving the use of firearms. 1933 was not a banner year for Rubino who garnered the first if three convictions leading to prison sentences when he was convicted of Violation of U.S. Code on June 7th in connection with a counterfeitting operation. This conviction earned Rubino a 7 year stretch in Leavenworth and a fine of $1,000. In August of the same year, Mike was arrested a second time on Violation of U.S. Code charges and was turned over to the secret service. Able to obtain his freedom, Rubino would be arrested once more on an armed robbery charge (October 28th) which was discharged on writ. A little more than a month later, Rubino would appear in court to receive his punishment for the second U.S. code arrest and begin serving his 7 year sentence imposed earlier. Michael stood before the judge and accepted a second sentence of 4 years in Leavenworth. Facing a total of 11 years in Federal Prison, Rubino was shipped off to the Federal Prison at Kooskie, Idaho to sere his time. Mike Rubino was granted a conditional release from federal prison in Kooskie, Idaho on September 7, 1937 and promptly transfrred to the federal prison at Leavenworth, Kansas for completion of his second sentence. Mike would emerge from Leavenworth 5 years and 1 month later when he was granted a conditional release. This time free to return the life of crime he had been away from for almost a half dozen years, Michael Rubino wasted no time in getting back into the swing of things as a member of the Licavoli faction of the Detroit outfit. Rubino would add only one entry into his criminal ledger upon his 1939 release but he moved into the narcotics business a field which had previously been dominated by Angelo Meli and the faction known as the Partinico group. Rubino's involvement in the junk business earned him another 18 months in federal prison following his January '41 arrest and subsequent conviction. Rubino began serving this sentence on June 14, 1941 and earned his conditional release with 18 days off for industrial good time on December 9, 1942. Rubino nearly allowed 2 1/2 years to pass before his name would be prominently mentioned in connection with gangland activities in print but the August 16, 1944 murder of Edward Sarkesian insured no one would forget the name of the partners most active gunman.
The Murder of Edward Sarkesian
Edward Sarkesian was at age 29 a minor hoodlum who specialized in holding up bookmakers. Sarkesian was said to have signed his own death warrant when he held up a series of bookmakers connected with Licavoli and then double the mistake by attempting to shakedown one of the most powerful racketeers in the nation. Unimpressed with the nerve and irritated by the lack of respect shown, Licavoli gave the contract to Rubino who vowed to personally handle the situation. Sarkesian was shot 5 times in the head by two men as he walked along Cadillac south of Charlevoix on August 16, 1944. Authorities familiar with the deeds of Sarkesian quickly picked up Mike Rubino and Morris Raider a former member of the infamous Purple Gang. The duo remaind in custody charged with investigation of Murder untill September 5th when charges were dismissed after witnesses refused to testify in the case. Several years later mob turncoat Christ Scoy attributed the Sarkesian murder to Rubino after his brother and cousin had been murdered for offenses similar to those committed by Sarkesian.
Rubino's involvement in Labor Unions
Authorities looking into the infiltration of Detroit's labor unions by members of organized crime uncovered a plot by Rubino, Eugene Murasco "a former member of the Wayne County CIO council," Perly McManus "former secretary-treasurer of UAW-CIO Briggs local #212" and Paul Tendiglia "owner of a local gas station," to extore $80,000 in a scam relating to black market gas rationing stamps. The operation which began in 1943 and carried on into August of 1944 "it was uncovered in 1947," invoved the securing of the job of cheif clerk of the rationing board on behalf of Alberto Mushro who had served on the Briggs Transportation Committee. Mushro admitted to securing $80,000 in proceeds from illegal gas sales and then turned over $15,000 to to Alberto McManus for securing the job on his behalf and giving another $45,000 to Rubino, Murasco and Tendiglia. Mushro claimed he cooperated with the foursome because he feared for his life. According to Mushro, Rubino told him "pay up or get what Sarkesian got." The trial record was removed from the court docket after the trial resulted in a hung jury for Tendiglia, McManus and Murasco. Rubino was never arrested for his part in the case was dismissed.
Rubino and the Kefauver Hearings
Michael Rubino was called to testify before the Kefauver Senate Crime Investigating Committee and was introduced as one of the toughest hoodlums in the city of Detroit. Rubino took the stand but refused to anserw all questions posed to him including "have you ever earned an honest dollar in your life?" Rubino was hit with contempt of Congress charges following his appearance but had the case against him dismissed by judge Arthur A. Koscinski who ruled he had the right to refuse to anserw any question which might incriminate him.
More Trouble As The '50s March On
As Rubino's stature grew in the Detroit outfit, so to did the interest the government had in his activities. This was demonstrated when on March 17, 1955 Michael Rubino was ordered to appear in Federal court in Detroit on charges that he defrauded the government out of $21,524 for the tax years 1944-46. With penalties and intrest compounded, the government was seeking to recover a total of $44,997.44. The governments case consisted of income taxes filed for 1944 and 1945 when Rubino listed his income as $26,256.00, and 1946 when he declared a mere $8,870 earned when the government contends he should have claimed $41,306.00. Rubino refuted the charges as an over-estimation of his earned income. A tax lein was filed against Rubino which was later satisfied. Investigators later sought to implicate Rubino as a key figure in a gambling syndicate which sought to pay off local authorities for the right to operate free of local law enforcement interference. Inspite of grand jury testimony which listed him as the superior of known gambling figure Maxie Stern, Rubino was never indicted for his participation. The job of payoff man was later given to Anthony Giacalone an up and coming member of the outfit who was known to be aligned with the Zerilli's. Rubino would emerged as the director of the day to day opeartions of the Licavoli faction of the partnership following Pete's encarceration in the late '50s on charges of income tax evasion.
Rubino vs. Tony Giacalone
In an incident which threatened to escalate into an all out battle, Michael Rubino squared up against Tony Jack Giacalone in what can only be described as a case of mutual disrespect. While Mike Rubino had been involved in the Detroit underworld for more than 30 years, Anthony Joseph Giacalone was an up and coming power aligned with the son of Joseph Zerilli one of the senior members of the chair (aka the ruling council of Detroit dons). Rubino backed by Pete Licavoli had angered Tony Jack when he shot and wounded one of Giacalone's associates for running his mouth about an extrmarital relationship he was having. Giacalone approached Licavoli for more information regarding who provided the information Rubino acted on. When Licavoli refused to provide Giacalone with the name of the person who gave Rubino his information, tensions mounted to the point where the matter was brought to the attention of Tony Zerilli. Zerilli in a conversation caught on tape by an FBI serveillance team complained about the shooting and the lack of resepect shown him by Pete Licavoli whom he described as an outsider. Zerilli listened placating an angry Giacalone with promises of taking the matter before his father and Papa John Priziola the only men with the authority in the Detroit underworld to hear a grievance brougth against Licavoli and Rubino. The outcome of the hearing is not known but Rubino and Licavoli continued to operate unimpeded for several years following this incident.
Johnny A's a Rat
Rubino was one of the first figures in the Detroit outfit forced to deal with the defection of one of his own. Rubino had met Eugene "Johnny A" Ayotte in the '50s when Johnny was trying to turn a buck while hanging around places like Connie's Bar on Woodward or The Town Pump located Downtown Detroit. Rubino warmed to the versatile conman who began conducting scams on behalf of Rubino shortly after being paroled from a stint in Jackson State Prison after defrauding a Detroit bank out of $94,000. Impressed with the sophistication of Ayotte's scheme's, Rubino bankrolled and protected Johnny while he setup torch jobs, counterfeitted cash, concert tickets and welfare stamps. On occasion Johnny dealt in stolen checks, high jacked trucks and committed bankruptcy fraud. Johnny A became a Rubino favorite who was capable of producing huge sums of cash in a short period. So found of Johhny A was Rubino that he personally handed the conman $13,500 in cash for investing. Ayotte opened a bank account with the cash and went about establishing the Palm Furniture Company. Palm didn't move pieces of furniture during normal business hours but late at night, investigators and mob watchers found the place crawling with as many as 30 connected figures at a time. The FBI had field day copying down the license plate numbers of the various Cadillacs whose owners swarmed to the place at night. Johnny's financial savy allowed him to obtain a Dun and Bradstreet rating which made it simple for him to order as much as $300,000 worth of murchandise on credit. Ayotte would later tell authorities that some of his patrons left token payments for him but never anywhere near the appropriate value of the items taken. Palm Furniture Company remained open for about 3 months untill the place finally ran out of furniture and had to close it's doors. Amoung Ayotte's customers were a Michigan prison warden who according to Johnny A "purchased a short wave radio and a tape recorder as a gift for his daughter." In his case Rubino made sure his order was delivered personally to the prison by his bodyguard Sammy Giordano. Ayotte also made statements that police inspector Paul Sheridan "just about furnished his entire home with goods taken from the Palm." No shortage of high ranking racketeers who picked up items from the Palm, amoung them Angelo Meli, Joseph Triglia, Anthony Cimini, Papa John Priziola, Black Bill Tocco and Joseph Zerilli. Even Jack Tocco was tied to the Palm in a case brought fourth by the government in the early '70s which garnered alot of media coverage but eventually fizzled out in court. The federal goverment attempted to nab Rubino in connection with the Palm indicting him along with Sammy Giordano and Johnny A on October 3, 1962 on 3 counts of bankruptcy fraud. Johnny who got in trouble in a seperate case about the same "involving extortion and kidnapping," was forced to plead guilty in both cases by Rubino. The Palm case ended with Rubino being dismissed and Giordano drawing a 18 month sentence. Ayotte the front and fall man drew a 7 year prison term. Ayotte began singing a tune shortly after he turned himself in to prison officials on January 2nd, 1968. By this time the feds had Rubino locked away serving a ten year sentence on a tax rap.
Legitimate Investments
While Michael Rubino participated in more than his share of schemes and scams, he also took the time to invest the proceeds of his illicit activities in places like Hart Center Incorporated. This business was a joint venture he shared with Pete Licavoli and Scarface Joe Bommarito. The trio reportedly sold this business to Irving Seigel of New York for a profit of $450,000 which was cut up 3 ways between them. Rubino joined Michael Santo Polizzi in a partnership which listed them as owners of Torosian Oil Co, "Joseph Bommarito and George Massu were also interested in this business," as well as Valley Die Cast Co. Rubino owned property in Chicago, Marine City, Michigan, the Navahoe Building located at 12528-35 E. Jefferson Avenue in addition to 3 lots located in the rear of his home which were listed in the name of his wife Marie. Mike was reported to have owned at least 100 shares of stock in Hazel Park Race Track along with several other outfit members. Rubino was also known to have owned at one time a horse breeding farm "The Double D." Rubino was also represented in ownership of National Anode Company by his niece Laura Sellers who was the sole owner of the firm.
Family Ties
In addition to his father and two brothers, Rubino was related to Julian, Dominic and Peter Cavataio who were Mike's 1st cousins on his mothers side. Angelo Lombardi known as barrels, was a nephew of Rubino's while Danny Bruno and Michael Bartalotta were the sons of Mikes sister Anna.
End of The Line
The battle tested and torn Michael Rubino breathed his last in August of 1972 at the age 61 after suffering a heart attack.
