John Riggi and the Christopher Columbus statue in Elizabeth

[B.]

Haven't seen this story talked about on here and it's a pretty light one, in contrast to the usual criminal conspiracies and murder. It could have been a sub-plot on the Sopranos.

- The Christopher Columbus statue had previously been in another part of Elizabeth and it had always bothered John Riggi, who felt it belonged in Peterstown where most of the Italians lived. He made a phone call to longtime Elizabeth mayor Thomas Dunn requesting approval and Dunn said he would get back to him. In the meantime Riggi made arrangements with two men, Dunn's right hand man Carl Barbado, who was influential in city construction projects, and DeCavalcante soldier Carl Corsentino, to choose a location for the statue in Peterstown and begin readying the space.

- The mayor approved the plan and Riggi arranged with the ironworkers union to move the statue. He also reached out to DeCavalcante soldier Simone Palermo, who had a demolition and excavation construction business, to request other resources needed to remove the statue from its concrete base. A number of other men, none of them mafia members or associates, were recruited on a Saturday to bring the statue to Peterstown where it currently stands. It seems everyone involved donated their time at Riggi's request. It shows the level of influence that Riggi had in Elizabeth, to have a city statue moved on a whim because he didn't like where it had been placed.

- It's hard to place the year it occurred because Dunn was mayor for nearly 30 years. If you've read the DeCavalcante tapes, you know Dunn was closely aligned with the DeCavalcante leadership and had Sam DeCavalcante's backing prior to taking office and agreed to throw city contracts in his direction. DeCavalcante member JoJo Ferrara, who was one of many of the Peterstown members heavily involved in civic activities, was also close to Dunn while he was mayor. I suspect the statue was moved when Riggi was running the family but who knows.

- Another interesting note about John Riggi. He is half-Sicilian, with his father DeCavalcante soldier Emanuele Riggi being from Ribera like many other members, but his mother was from Vallata in Campania. A massive number of historic Peterstown residents came from Vallata and like with the Ribera Club, there is also a Vallata Club in Peterstown. Unlike the Ribera Club, the Vallata Club has no known mafia connections, but another DeCavalcante member with Vallatese heritage is Frank Nigro, who was a member of the Vallata Club when he was a young man. Riggi is related to the Nigros from Vallata on his mother's side, but there is a massive amount of Vallatesi Nigros from Peterstown, so the relation to Frank, if any, could be distant. It stands out to me that Riggi's heritage was with two of the most significant Italian populations in the city.

[Chaps]

Very interesting. Thanks B for sharing. And, yes, it does sound like it could be a sub-plot for the Sopranos. When I get e minute later on I'm going to PM you about something.

[Pogo The Clown]

In this house Christopher Columbus is a hero. End of story


Pogo

[Chaps]

In this house Christopher Columbus is a hero. End of story


Pogo

That's right in line with one of my favorites Pogo:

Yeah, but that's where you're wrong. You see out there it's the 1990s but in this house it's 1954. So now and forever, I don't want to hear any more sex talk, OK?

[Pogo The Clown]

See, it's these Indians and the Commie fucks. They wanna paint Columbus as a slave trader instead of an explorer.


Pogo

[Wiseguy]

You had to walk in Columbus' shoes to see what he went through. People thought the world was flat for crying out loud. I mean, he landed on an island with a bunch of naked savages and that took a lotta guts. Remember when we went to Florida? The heat and those bugs?

[dack2001]

You guys are unbelievable, nice job hi-jacking the thread with prejudice and ignorance.

[Wiseguy]

You guys are unbelievable, nice job hi-jacking the thread with prejudice and ignorance.

Am I to assume you have never watched The Sopranos?


https://youtu.be/O4xIjWgBEMU

https://youtu.be/jBD61skoMk8

[dack2001]

I forgot about that episode. I stand corrected.

[SILENT PARTNERZ]

You guys are unbelievable, nice job hi-jacking the thread with prejudice and ignorance.

All dialogue from Sopranos

[Pogo The Clown]

Christopher Columbus was no better than Adolf Hitler.


Pogo

[B.]

If this storyline had been on the Sopranos, I'm sure it would have involved them moving the statue to the wrong place or dropping the statue during transport and knocking its head off on accident.

[newera_212]

Christopher Columbus was no better than Adolf Hitler.


Pogo

whoa...Hitler? you're trivializing the holocaust. frankly, if you have that covert anti-semitism...