At the beginning of the 20th century the Gianolla brothers had aligned themselves with Wyandotte area mobster John Vitale who had entered the liquor business with associates Sam Cipriano, Peter Bosco and Joseph Stefano. The Gianolla-Vitale alliance and their "liquor combine" were the main competitors of the Adamo brothers and was the key to the Adamo opposition as neither the Gianolla or Vitale group could take on the wealthy Adamo group on their own. While the Gianollas and their forces fought directly with the Adamos, Vitale and his associates continued to run the affairs of their liquor business in association with the Gianolla brothers.