Strongest crew from 60-90's

[johnny_scootch]

The Moretti regime remained intact until the early 1960s, with Jerry Catena between 1951 and 1957 and Boiardo between 1957 and 1961/62. It was probably the strongest under Moretti after 1944 until his death in 1951 and during Catena's reign. I haven't seen a members list, but it was suspected to have had over three dozen members.

For some reason I had it in my head that after Moretti died the crew got spilt up, thanks for clearing up for me. Do you happen to know when that actually took place? When it went from one huge crew to a handful of smaller crews?

[Extortion]

I’ve always thought Genoveses were strongest in manhattan and jersey

Manhattan was their traditional powerbase and that eventually extended to the Bronx. They've had the biggest presence in New Jersey since forever but the Jersey crews, like those from any other NY family, were always answerable to New York. So I don't see any from that state being in the running for "strongest crew."

I’m gonna disagree because it is not like the Decavalanted where they are a smaller family answering to the Gambinos, they are literally made members of the same family. You could be right about strength wise but logically if they are in the same family, it shouldn’t matter if you’re only a couple miles away since many of them grew up in the city.

[eboli]

The Moretti regime remained intact until the early 1960s, with Jerry Catena between 1951 and 1957 and Boiardo between 1957 and 1961/62. It was probably the strongest under Moretti after 1944 until his death in 1951 and during Catena's reign. I haven't seen a members list, but it was suspected to have had over three dozen members.

For some reason I had it in my head that after Moretti died the crew got spilt up, thanks for clearing up for me. Do you happen to know when that actually took place? When it went from one huge crew to a handful of smaller crews?

I wrote about it in detail in my recent Catena write-up. In short: Jerry Catena broke up the crew in late 1961 or early 1962 after he became acting boss. He wanted to give his brother Eugene more authority and curb Boiardo's influence, who by that point was running the former Moretti/Catena regime with the help of his son Tony Boy. It's a bit murky, but it seems it wasn't an outright three-way split between Gene Catena, Boiardo, and Gyp DeCarlo. DeCarlo might've been under Gene Catena for a few months before he was bumped up to captain too.

[johnny_scootch]

The Moretti regime remained intact until the early 1960s, with Jerry Catena between 1951 and 1957 and Boiardo between 1957 and 1961/62. It was probably the strongest under Moretti after 1944 until his death in 1951 and during Catena's reign. I haven't seen a members list, but it was suspected to have had over three dozen members.

For some reason I had it in my head that after Moretti died the crew got spilt up, thanks for clearing up for me. Do you happen to know when that actually took place? When it went from one huge crew to a handful of smaller crews?

I wrote about it in detail in my recent Catena write-up. In short: Jerry Catena broke up the crew in late 1961 or early 1962 after he became acting boss. He wanted to give his brother Eugene more authority and curb Boiardo's influence, who by that point was running the former Moretti/Catena regime with the help of his son Tony Boy. It's a bit murky, but it seems it wasn't an outright three-way split between Gene Catena, Boiardo, and Gyp DeCarlo. DeCarlo might've been under Gene Catena for a few months before he was bumped up to captain too.

I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t finished reading the Catena write up yet. I got halfway thru before getting distracted and haven’t gotten back to it. Looking forward to reading the rest but I have one more question and I apologize if this is also in the write up but is Jerry or Gene related to Ray Catena of the Ray Catena auto group? I’ve always wondered this and more so after it was mentioned by Pennisi recently. Thanks in advance!

[Wiseguy]

I’m gonna disagree because it is not like the Decavalanted where they are a smaller family answering to the Gambinos, they are literally made members of the same family. You could be right about strength wise but logically if they are in the same family, it shouldn’t matter if you’re only a couple miles away since many of them grew up in the city.

It does matter if the main powerbase for the family isn't, has never been, in New Jersey. That goes for all the NY families.

[eboli]

I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t finished reading the Catena write up yet. I got halfway thru before getting distracted and haven’t gotten back to it. Looking forward to reading the rest but I have one more question and I apologize if this is also in the write up but is Jerry or Gene related to Ray Catena of the Ray Catena auto group? I’ve always wondered this and more so after it was mentioned by Pennisi recently. Thanks in advance!

Maybe. There's a possibility that Ray's father was Jerry Catena's younger brother Anthony, but I couldn't confirm it or rule it out completely. Ray's brother Richard shares a name with Jerry Catena's son, too. It could be just a name coincidence. There were unrelated Catenas living in New Jersey at the time. According to the records I found, Ray was born in Newark. The family lived in Jersey City before moving to Kearny. There Ray opened his first dealership at 319 Kearny Avenue.