The Altoona Mafia: 1979 - The year Altoona bled.

See my real (non AI) video creations about this topic here: https://www.youtube.com/@runningintohistory1979 was a deadly year in Altoona PA. A small crew operating under the LaRocka mafia family out of Pittsburgh decided to clamp down on loose ends within their organization. On January 23rd of that year, drug dealer John Henry Clark's body would be found burning in his car in an isolated section of Cambria County. He was killed with an axe. On November 26th, a hunter would see Dennis Hileman's body floating in the Tipton Reservoir. Hileman was bound with chains attached to cinder blocks. He was stabbed several times in the neck and chest. The next day, hunters would find the body of Francis Misitano in Game Lands north west of Altoona with a single gunshot to his head. A month later, approximately 3 miles south of where Misitano's body was found, crew associate, Preston Ryan would shoot a man at the Buckhorn Inn in front of a packed bar watching a band play. Misitano's murder is the only case that was not solved but I have some theories. In this episode, I explore the history of John Verilla’s crew and his predecessor in Altoona, visiting key locations as I explore the rise and fall of the organized crime group that controlled the city from the 1950s through the 1990s. Maybe even still to this day?