Mobsters were rarely inconvenienced in New Jersey, and the state became increas ingly a haven for gangsters. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Rutgers University and a graduate of the Cornell Law School (where he was editor of the Law Review), a lieutenant com mander in the Navy, a former city councilman in Glen Ridge, Lacey had moved at a furious pace to the top of his profes sion and was considered an expert on cases involving aerial and medical law. Some of the tips obviously come from crackpots, but there have been, nevertheless, what would regard as a startling number of good leads., This is encouraging. The People v. the Mob; Or, Who Rules New Jersey? In the DeCaval cante tapes, the real story of Richie the Boot, still active at 80, began to emerge. He kind of carried himself with a little bit of sophistication if you look at the way he dressed. The answer is mixed. The Boiardo castle, isolated behind a thick screen of trees at the end of the drive, is an errie place; and, according to the F.B.I. Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement updated 7/1/2022). Russo: That's what I'm try ing to tell you! Of course, back in 1939 the police did not have F.B.I. Cernadas, referred to on surveillance tapes as "The Bull," was accused last month of shaking down his members under threats of violence in what was described as a long-running racketeering operation tied to the Genovese crime family. Top 5 Jersey Cosa Nostra Mob Hits. He takes the attitude that the only way the public can be made acute ly aware of the reality of the criminal menace is by pub lication of the recorded words of the mobsters themselves. Vincent Craparotta was beaten to death with golf clubs at a car dealership in Toms River after he tried to protect his nephews from a mob extortion scheme. When Richie recovered, he was sent to prison for 2 years because he had been car rying a gun himself when he was put upon on Broad Street. Some mobsters came in and killed him right there in the middle of the restaurant. Frederick Lacey does not need such a prop for his notes; his case is in his head. All rights reserved (About Us). He was eventually arrested in Miami, Florida. He was in Havana, Cuba, so he had his hands in a lot of different pots. It consisted of Joe Adonis, Frank Cos tello's partner, as chairman of the board; Albert Anas tasia, the enforcer; the Moretti brothers, Willie and Solly, and Anthony (Tony Bender) Strol lo, the right arm of Vito Geno vese. As of April 2012, Michael Taccetta was imprisoned in New Jersey's South Woods State Prison in Bridgeton, New Jersey. Gyp DeCarlo operated mainly out of Hudson County/Hoboken area and he was known as a loan shark and bookmaker. They have 4 children, including Carlo Taccetta, who allegedly is a made member of the Lucchese crime family. He died in prison in 1995. After Zwillman committed suicide in 1959, Catena rose in power and is now reputed to be the ruler of the Jersey wing of the Genovese family. Second, it corrupts unions and makes a mockery of the collective bargaining concept. As father and husband, he attended the Holy Family Parish with his family. Genovese family soldier John DiGilio had just beaten a federal racketeering rap but was facing sentencing in a state loansharking case when he dropped off the face of the earth in May 1988. As he rose in power, so did a rival, Ruggiero (Richie the Boot) Boiardo. Charlie "Bug" Workman was convicted of the fatal shooting in 1941 on what the Trenton Evening Times reported was largely the testimony of two former mob enforcers. His free use of muscle and a native organizational genius made Zwillman the most important bootlegger on the East Coast. As Lacey speaks, there reposes in the courtroom behind the prosecu tion table what can only be described as a time bomb. I'm also fascinated by Ruggiero Richie The Boot Boiardo. Four Lucchese family members ultimately were charged with racketeering offenses related to Craparotta's killing. Fed eral prosecutors, he believes, can set standards, can goad and stimulate, but in the final analysis the bulk of the burden must be borne by local and state agencies. The Lilley commission's report in February, 1968, was a shocker. Heres what he had to say. When he reaches an especially dra matic point, he rests his right elbow on a corner of the lectern, his lower arm and pointed finger stabbing at the jury. It was a pretty spectacular hit. In our schools and col leges, he said, we teach po litical science in terms of defining the powers of vari ous offices and officeholders, the requirements to vote and so forthand all of this is largely irrelevant. He was packed off to Trenton State Prison in March, 1931. So the vital question raised by the current Newark probe is this: Will the public be stirred from its decadeslong apathy by the flood of indict ments and the insidethemob revelations? Women started reporting that they were being followed by a strange looking man. In a 53-count superseding indictment, Cernadas, 75, of Union Township; Nunzio LaGrasso, 60, of Florham Park, the Vice President of ILA Local 1478; and Richard Dehmer, 75, of Springfield, were charged with conspiring to extort ILA members on the New Jersey piers, bookmaking, and loansharking. The arrests marked the largest federal mob takedown in history. Schultz had taken up residence at the Robert Treat Hotel in Newark in an attempt to avoid Dewey's scrutiny, and wanted the prosecutor out of his way. But I had never encountered the broad evidence of corrup tion of public bodies, business and labor unions. 's transcripts, some shudderingly sinister things have happened there. I was making big money, really big money at the time, he says, and he didn't see how he could take the $29,000a year U. S. Attorney's post. Who was he and why was he whacked? As for the future, he says flatly: I do not entertain any political ambitions. Though he stood mute in open court as the DeCarlo defense fought public disclosure, he is known to have strongly favored full publicity. EVEN Lacey concedes that the reaction to his probe falls short of the universal cry of outrage he might have wish ed. It found that an important underlying cause of the 1967 riot was a perva sive feeling of corruption in Newark, and declared: A former state official, a former city official and an incumbent city official all used the same phrase: There is a price on everything at City Hall.. From the beginning, police questioned robbery as a motive for Edward Potcher's killing. Thirty nine years later, no one has been charged in Russo's killing. He was definitely one of the more influential and powerful racketeers in New Jersey. He aint working no more for a while," said Dehmer, according to a transcript of one wiretapped call. Reality, of course, bore no resemblance to these official pronouncements. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. After decades of scandals, after the sputtering of innumerable exposs that have fizzled like pieces of punk in a cloudburst, Newark has once more been propelled into the spotlight as a graphic study in mob rule and politi cal corruption. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. In a series of trials just beginning, jury after jury will be asked to decide cases which, in their cumulative effect, are ex pected to provide the most graphic study in American criminal annals of the complete subversion of a city and, indeed, of much of a state by the money and muscle of the underworld. (The Star-Ledger). The Jersey Journal prominently displayed Associated Press coverage of Willie Moretti's slaying in its Oct. 4, 1951 edition. Here are some of the most notorious instances where organized crime has been blamed for bloodshed in the Garden State: The killing of mobster Dutch Schultz in Newark captured headlines across the country in 1935. And everything that I have seen so far in this office reinforces that conviC tion., WHEN he decided to ac cept the U.S. Attorney's post, Lacey says, he had a firm understanding with Attorney General Mitchell. ", Press release and list of defendants (PDF), Indictment filed in Newark federal court (PDF). [3], In 1986, prosecutions which resulted in the Mafia Commission Trial were set up in New York, to try Anthony Corallo and the entire administration of the Lucchese crime family. Vic Amuso and Anthony Casso, a man of great fear and reportedly with dozens of murders on his hands, announced his order, "Whack Jersey". You mentioned Simone Sam the Plumber Decalvacante. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. They followed their father and uncle into organized crime. The great question: Will the Newark probes stir the public from decades long apathy? She described Michael to the media upon winning the lottery as an "oil company consultant. Richard J. Hughes appointed a commission headed by Robert D. Lilley, executive vice president of American Telephone and Tele graph. Taccetta, also known as "Mike T," was born in the Vailsburg neighborhood of Newark, New Jersey on September 16, 1947. In 1993, the state Attorney Generals Office obtained an indictment against Louis Auricchio, a Genovese family member, accusing him of killing DiGilio to increase his own stature in the organization. Mob leaders feared Dewey's killing would make them all targets and decided to remove Schultz from the picture instead. More than 2,000 guests turned out, and among them were Mayor Ralph Vil lani, now president of the City Council; Hugh J. Addonizio, then a Congressman, now the indicted Mayor of Newark, and Rep. Peter W. Rodino, still a Democratic Congress man from the 10th District. Before you go up there DECARLO: The big iron grate. Nine yearslater, four bullets ensured Russo then the target of a state grand jury probe would never say a word to anyone. In Garden State Gangland: The Rise of the Mob in New Jersey, out next month from Rowman & Littlefield, Mafia historian Scott M. Deitchewho we talked to about the bonds between cocktails and organized crime in 2015provides a comprehensive survey of the mob in the state. VICE: Why explore the rise of the mob in New Jersey? 09/05/14 04:31 PM. The charge was that the AdonisMoretti combine had paid Harold John Adonis, a clerk in Gov. Where do you come down? When Zwillman wasn't pres ent, his proxy was voted by Gerardo (Jerry) Catena. He speaks in a deep, resonant voice, clearly and distinctly, leaning casual ly across the lectern toward the jury. In that event, City Councilman An thony Imperiale, the karate in structor and white militant in the heavily Italian North Ward, is seen as the probable white candidate against Ken neth A. Gibson, the Negro former city engineer. When his case was called for trial in Newark, DiFrisco pleaded guilty to murder and opted to face the judge alone rather than a jury for the penalty phase of his capital case. 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