57 and 59 Great Jones Street
Status: Standing
There weren’t many places in old New York where a goon could order up a beer, eat a plate of spaghetti, and kick back and watch a bare-knuckle boxing match, except, for the Little Naples Café and New Brighton Athletic Club located at 57 and 59 Great Jones Street.
These two squat interconnected buildings once headquartered the Paul A. Kelly Association, an organized hoard of repeat voters, ex-pugilists, pimps, and gangland heavies otherwise known as The Five Points Gang. The mostly Irish and Italian Five Pointers controlled every hustle west of the Bowery and were the sworn enemies of Monk Eastman’s Jewish mob that dominated everything east of the Bowery.
Paul Kelly’s New Brighton Athletic Club (right) and the Little Naples Cafe (left) today. Jean Michel Basquiat would later die of an overdose in the loft that was above the New Brighton.
Paul Kelly Gangland Dandy
Their leader, Paul Kelly, proprietor of the combination eatery and boxing arena, was a bucket-load of contradictions. The name he went by was Irish; yet the gangster was an Italian whose real name was Paolo Antonio Vaccarelli. Well
quaffed and well spoken, Kelly played the part of the gangland dandy who could bang with the best of them.
According to Richard Harding Davis, Kelly was,
“exquisitely scented, wearing silk socks, silk ties to his tan shoes, with rings on his well-kept fingers…”
But Kelly’s manicured digits didn’t fool anyone in the know. A former flyweight boxer and catch-as-can wrestler of much renown, the leader of the Five Points Gang was always willing to throw down. Like the time Kelly floored Jake Shimsky, a 6 foot, 230 pound Eastman Lieutenant, with a left hook that put the giant’s brain to sleep.
Spoke Five Languages
To have said that Kelley was smart would have been an understatement. In addition to English, he spoke Spanish, French and Italian. To take advantage of a loophole, which legalized boxing matches in privately chartered athletic clubs, he opened the New Brighton Athletic Club in 1904 in a Civil War era stable located at 59 Great Jones.
A Gangland Nexus Is Born:
The New Brighton Athletic Club and Little Naples Cafe
Now free to hold bare-knuckle bouts without police interference, the customers flooded in. To feed his hardboiled clientele, Kelly opened up the Little Naples Cafe next door, and a gangland nexus was born. On any night, a hoodlum could find Chick Tricker, Louie the Lump, Kid Griffo, Rough House Hogan, 14th Street Biff Ellison, and the wrestler Leo Pardillo lounging around the bar.
The Little Naples Cafe, 59 Great Jones St., was the headquarters of Paul Kelly’s Five Points Gang
Eat ‘Em Up Jack McManus
To keep the peace, Kelly brought in his best gorilla, the famed bar-room bouncer, Eat ‘Em Up Jack McManus, but even McManus couldn’t keep the peace, and the gunplay was regular.
In less than a year, Kelly’s bare fisted spaghetti kingdom began to unravel. Led by Chick Tricker, Jimmy Kelly, Jack Sirocco, and Biff Ellison, the mutinous troop of Five Pointers loaded up their gats and plotted to knockoff the boss.
Paul Kelly (right) poses with bar-room bouncer Eat ’em Up Jack McManus.
Five Points Lightning
The slugs started to fly just before dawn on May 26, 1905 when words between McManus and Tricker escalated into a full blown pistol duel in font of the Little Naples.
Dodging and weaving from stoop to stoop, McManus blasted a few slugs into Tricker’s calf and left him for dead in the gutter, but Eat ‘Em Up Jack Should have finished the job. Days later Kelly lost his greatest strong armer, when McManus was killed by a Tricker Assassin armed with a lead pipe.
Jack Sirocco and Chick Tricker’s Revenge
Months later Jack Sirocco came looking for revenge for Tricker’s shooting, and earned a bullet in his arm. With their leadership full of lead, the Tricker Sirocco gang sent another team of torpedoes to the Little Naples the following Thursday.
With barking pistols in their hands, Biff Ellison and Razor Riley stormed into the Little Naples spewing bullets. The attackers caught Kelly and his bodyguard Bill Harrington completely by surprise. A shot pierced Harrington’s lung killing him instantly. Another shot knocked Kelly’s hat from his head, and bullet sliced through the sleeve of his coat.
As the shots rang out, showgirls dove for cover, and the lights were doused. For five minuets Kelly and his attackers traded gunfire in the darkened bar. The Little Naples and New Brighton Athletic club were closed by the police shortly thereafter. With his clubhouse padlocked, Kelly changed his name back to Vacarelli, moved uptown, and remade himself as a labor racketeer.
Infamous New York 
[…] He became best friends with Johnny Torrio, whose father ran an illegal moonshine still across the street from Vannella’s home, and together they founded The James Street Gang, an East River auxiliary for Paul Kelly’s Five Pointers. […]
I thought Johnny Torrio’s father died before his mother brought him to new york
Yes, good catch. I should have said stepfather. I’m planning a much more detailed post on Torrio’s James Street Gang in the future.
Paul Kelly was my great uncle. My grandfather Joseph Romeo Vaccarelli was his brother. I have much family memorabilia
Very cool, if you are willing to share send them to infamousnewyork1@gmail (dot) com . I have a picture of the Paul Kelly’s mansion in the Bronx (and I mean it’s a mansion). I hope to do a story on it at some point in the future.
My grandmother was Angelina Calabrese and her mother was Maria Vaccarelli who died during childbirth. Paul Vaccarelli raised her and her older brother Daniel until she refused to marry who Paul wanted her to and ended up marrying my grandfather. Minnie Gorham was Paul’s wife who was unkind to my grandmother and upon Paul’s death took all the money and left the country. I have been doing my family tree fon and off for 27 years. I only know of Maria and Nicolisi as siblings and was interested when I saw your post about Joseph
Thanks for the excellent story Paul! I have an image of Kelly’s mansion in the Bronx if you want me to send it to you. It formerly belonged to Big Tim Sullivan of Tammany Hall.
Hi Victoria, I spoke to one of my Aunts who is more familiar with this side of the family and she remembers Joseph as well as Francis and a few other siblings Paul had. I’ve been trying to get more information on this side.
Paul
Hi Victoria,
Maria Vacarelli was my great grandmother, and Paul Vaccarelli took my grandmother Angelina in when Maria passed away soon after giving birth to her. I do all the family genealogy and have been running into walls going back to italy without a lot of luck and information and I’m hoping you can help!
Paul Guarino
Was Neapolitan or Sicilian Family?
Paul was born in Pietrapertosa. The civil records are fragmented, they only have certain years births, marriages & deaths. His father was Michael, and mother was Angela. I found their wedding, as well as their parents weddings and Michael & Angela’s birth certificates. But on line, they stop at 1865 so I can’t find any newer information like Paul and his Siblings births. I have all the records saved. I also found my great uncle Francesco Calabrese who married Maria Vaccarelli, Paul’s sister, birth certificate. She died in February of 1903 a few months after giving birth to my grandmother Angelina. I have her death certificate from the city of New York.
[…] New YorkThe New Brighton Athletic Club was opened by Paul Kelly in 1904. Not only was it home to a dance hall, a saloon, and one of the […]
I would love a picture of Pual’s Mansion. My grandmother told me about it and the privledged life she lived with him, exspensive dresses and dolls. Even a family car driven for them by a chauffeur! But my grandmother was a simple person and met and fell in love with my grandfather who just came back from WW1 and were married a year later. I was curious about the Post from Victoria because she mentioned a Joseph Vaccarelli who I have no records of as a brother to paul and I even have court documents because my grandmother was legally a vaccarelli but Paul’s wife had the papers all changed leaving my grandmother out which never seemed to bother her. Was poor her whole life but happy!
Paul, email me at infamousnewyork1 (at) gmail.com and I will send it to you with a watermark (just need some time to scan it)
according to family lore paul was either be my grandfather or granduncle my grandmothers name was Lacava and my uncles names were joseph,john,bob,
my father michael, vinnie, frank, and louis most worked for Paul as strike breakers and the sort.so I have a connection one way or the other.have many other details
[…] past is so storied that I can just link to a number of well-researched and well-written articles, if you’re interested. Let me see if I can offer a Cliffs Notes […]
Something interesting I never knew the first time I saw the movie The Sting. When Robert Redford gets into the chauffer driven car for Lonnegan, Lonnegan asks Redford whats your name? He responds Paul Kelly, Five Points, New York! I never caught that the first time!
Nice! A TV version of the book, the Alienist, is also being made. Paul Kelly is a character in it. Here is the book https://www.amazon.com/Alienist-Caleb-Carr/dp/0812976142
I have photo of Paul’s mansion showing Paul and his family, including his brother Joseph’s son, my father, also Joseph Romeo Vaccarelli. I have birth certificates, marriage certificates, bank books, etc. The name Lacava is on some of this material. I have a birth certificate for Paul as well as my grandfather, Joseph. I believe I have the marriage certificate of their parents.
Paul’s brother Joseph, was my grandfather and he was the chief clerk for the Italian Consultant in New York City. He died very young, leaving my grandmother with two small children to raise. My dad’s Uncle Paul, by this time probably long retired from his thuggery, was a big presence in my father’s life.
My dad was brought up in a three story brownstone at 1961 Davidson Ave in the Bronx. He and his mother and sister were on one floor, his mother’s brother, last name Cappucci, and his wife and their two children, lived on another floor and her sister, Angelina Cappucci Pignuolo and their two children lived on the other floor. Angelina’s son was Francis. All six children were approximately the same age, each family had a boy and a girl. All three girls were named Marie and two of the boys were Joseph.
Thanks for the info!
Hi Victoria, it was great to see your post. I have done the family geanealogy since the middle 90’s always hearing about Paul. He raised my grandmother Angelina and her brother Rocco (Danny) after Paul’s sister Maria passed away in February of 1903. I only have some of the information you do and that was mainly obtained as death records from the NYC Archives but anys of the information you have on their births and marriages would be great to have. I was able to find Michael Vaccarelli & Angela Lacava’s marriage certificate and their birth records from Pietrapertosa but they only have about 50 years of records on line with nothing past 1865 so I could never find the birth records of the chidren of Michael and Angelina. Maria Vaccarelli was married to my great grandfather Francesco Calabrese who was born in 1865 in Pietrapertosa and married Maria there but could not find the records since they stopped at 1865. Michael’s father’s name was Francis and his mother Maria Dema and Francis’s father was Joseph and his wife Maria DaPella. I have more info I can share and on a few picturres from this side of my family. My father as a little kid (he was born in 1930) was able to visit Paul’s Eastchester home a few times. My email is topdrawernorth@gmail.com if you want to share any info.
My grandmother name Mary Vacarelli born in pietrapertosa married John defino from castelmezzano. My father Joseph defino, my name John defino.
My grandmothers brother mark vacarelli from Danbury Connecticut. I was told that Paul Vacarelli aka Paul Kelly was related to my family perhaps my grandmothers older brother or uncle??
My father in law Paul Morea is the son of Catherine Vaccarelli (Morea) who was Paul Kelly’s cousin we believe. We have just started to research the history of the Vaccarelli families would you be willing to contact my father in law?
So much history it is amazing.
Michele M
I have family trees that go back about three/four generations
My Great grandmother Marianantonia Vaccarelli is the brother to Francesco Vaccarelli the grandfather of your father in-law Paul Morea .
Amazing. do you show Catherine Vaccarelli she married Danny Morea?
My former wife’s family are Vaccariellos. Her father, Carmine, is Brooklyn born and bred. Could there be a connection between the Vaccarellis and the Vaccariellos? Carmine Vaccariello’s parents were originally from Avellino, near Naples. My wife has always denied any mob connections but he recently confided in my two teenage sons that they were related to the Gambino crime family. I would be grateful for any information. FYI – I used to work on Bond St., btw Lafayette and Bowery, just one block from Gt.Jones St. and the Little Naples Cafe!https://infamousnewyork.com/2013/07/25/bare-knuckles-and-spaghetti-paul-kellys-little-naples-cafe-and-new-brighton-athletic-club/
That makes for the info
Hi Paul…or any blood relaitives of Paul Vaccarelli. Been working on my husband’s Vaccarelli line for years. Ive finally just had a small break through…maybe you are still active out there and could help me… The story goes, Pasquale Girardi married Mary Louise Vaccarelli. They married after her husband (Vacarelli) died. Then immigrated to the US with her two children Bartholomew 1905 and Rose 1903. Not mush is true. The census shows these children came from italy in1905. and the Girardi’s were already here. East 106/110th street. I recently also found that Pasquale had a first wife who he immigrated with. I finally found Pasquale’s family on the 1900 census east 106th street, with his “first” wife Angela. Living with them age 22. Agracio Vaccarella. Just 5 years later Rose and Bartholomew “Lee” arive. Agracio is nowhere I can find and all searches just pull the A. as an initial and Vaccarelli. I cannot find any immigration records for the kids, And Rose lived all her life scared of being found… which was Weird as Pasquale’s other child with Angela was Na…so unsure what made Rose and Lee different. When the family asks the eldest living relatives about Rose’s family, they say some secrets need to remain hidden? so Years back, there was a rumor that Paul Kelly “hid” these Vacarelli kids with the Girardi family just after Lee was born in 1905..I’ve never given it much thought…but have exhausted other avenues. Rose and Lee grew up as Girardi’s, but she married maiden name Vaccarelli and Lee took it also once he became an adult. Rose named her first son Michael after her Husbands father, and her second son Francis after her father Francesco Vaccerelli, the father she never knew?
The 1900 census Ive seen placing Paolo is in the Valicasse family. Is this an accurate census record for Paolo A. Vaccarelli? Does anyone here have a DNA test with Ancetsry or Gedmatch to at least prove or disprove a relation????
Thanks for the comment