What do We Know about Willie Moretti?

[JoelTurner]

Official employment: U.S Linen Supply Business (113-137 N 1st, Paterson, NJ)

His partners were Ben & Mark Golden, John “Midgie” Welsh, and Robert Neilley

The Golden bros, led by Ben, were Jew mobsters and had the only policy bank in Passaic County. Known as Gold Bank, they were arrested for this alongside the Moretti bros, Pete LaPlaca, Etc.

Other than numbers, Ben Golden co-owned the Sand and Surf Cabana Club (717 Ocean Ave, Long Branch, NJ) with the Moretti bros and was also involved in political corruption. He was close to NJ Attorney General Theodore Parsons.

Robert Neilley was the Passaic County water commissioner. Additionally, he was a top member of its Democratic Party and involved in doling out patronage jobs. He arranged for US Linen to buy an entire city block for $10K.

The firm’s rival was Noxall Linen Supply. Its president Abraham Frumker had claimed that Moretti’s group was using strong-arm tactics before he “fell of a horse” and died. Noxall merged with US Linen subsequently.

[JoelTurner]

Joe Valachi wasn’t close to Willie Moretti but did share some interesting information about him.

In 1924, Valachi’s gang, that he calls the Irish Mob, was in a conflict with the East Harlem crew. Discussing a peace summit, he names him as a mafia member:

VALACHI: I found out through the years, later on, he [MORETTI] was one of the Cosa Nostra members, but at that time we didn't know.

[…]

CHAIRMAN: You didn't know anything about Cosa Nostra?

VALACHI: No; this was 1924.

Moretti was hosting the summit at his Pompeii Restaurant. From the rest of Valachi says, it’s fairly clear that he was a part of the East Harlem crew.

————————-

Valachi’s says something pretty intriguing about Lucky Luciano’s status at the time too, explicitly naming him as a soldier:

All the big shots went over at this restaurant. By big shots I mean Ciro Terranova, Dutch Schultz, and all kind of big shots from out of town, Charlie Lucky used to go there too, even though he was nothing but a soldier. I didn't know anything about soldiers at this time but I found out later.

He’s referring to the end of 1924. I had previously assumed that Luciano was made captain in the early ‘20s though I didn’t know the exact year. Dominick “Terry Burns” DiDato was discussed earlier in this thread; he seems like a good candidate for his capo.

[JoelTurner]

During Willie Moretti’s early years in NJ, his chauffeur was Gero D’Auria

D’Auria was born on Mar 12 1902 in New Haven, CT and boxed in the area under the moniker of Dick Wallace. He was in NJ by ~1931.

Now going by the alias Richard Wallace; he was part of a trio of bodyguards known as The Shadows, alongside Pete LaPlaca and Tony Saita. They got their nickname because they were always right behind Moretti.

Per his wife’s obituary, he returned to New Haven in 1956. A July 1963 report states that he, along with Frank Rulli & Donald Montano, were under Alfred "Pogey" Toriello.



The next April, he was mentioned as a possible replacement for Colombo member Ralph “Whitey” Tropiano:



Rulli & Montano were New Haven gambling figures so it isn’t too likely that they had been with Moretti. However, D’Auria could have been on the record with him switching to Toriello post-1951.

He passed away on June 30 1969

——————-

Sidenote: His wife Rose Cali (Born to Vincenzo Cali & Maria-Grazia Drago) was from Aidone, Enna, Sicily. Her father was a miner. They initially lived in Koehler, Colfax County, New Mexico before crossing state lines into Las Animas County Colorado. They bounced around the incredibly tiny/abandoned towns of Valdez & Terico before moving to Passaic in 1929.

The Colorado family had people in that area, in nearby Trinidad CO

[Antiliar]

Joe Valachi wasn’t close to Willie Moretti but did share some interesting information about him.

In 1924, Valachi’s gang, that he calls the Irish Mob, was in a conflict with the East Harlem crew. Discussing a peace summit, he names him as a mafia member:

VALACHI: I found out through the years, later on, he [MORETTI] was one of the Cosa Nostra members, but at that time we didn't know.

[…]

CHAIRMAN: You didn't know anything about Cosa Nostra?

VALACHI: No; this was 1924.

Moretti was hosting the summit at his Pompeii Restaurant. From the rest of Valachi says, it’s fairly clear that he was a part of the East Harlem crew.

————————-

Valachi’s says something pretty intriguing about Lucky Luciano’s status at the time too, explicitly naming him as a soldier:

All the big shots went over at this restaurant. By big shots I mean Ciro Terranova, Dutch Schultz, and all kind of big shots from out of town, Charlie Lucky used to go there too, even though he was nothing but a soldier. I didn't know anything about soldiers at this time but I found out later.

He’s referring to the end of 1924. I had previously assumed that Luciano was made captain in the early ‘20s though I didn’t know the exact year. Dominick “Terry Burns” DiDato was discussed earlier in this thread; he seems like a good candidate for his capo.

1924 might be a little early for Dutch Schultz to have been friends with Ciro Terranova. At the time, Schultz was a thug working for Joey Noe and was probably an unknown. I'm wondering if Valachi may have compressed events, recalling them forty years later. If this is the case, his 1924 recollection might be 1924 plus or minus 2 or 3 years.

I wondered myself about Dominick Didato being an early capo. Perhaps he was connected to Giovanni Dioguardi, who also came from Baucina. Both of them may have been in Salvatore Mauro's crew (he appears to have been a big shot and was the oldest member from Baucina, so I strongly suspect that he was a capodecina). One article claimed that Umberto Valenti was Mauro's shooter, but that is unproven. Ironically, Luciano was supposedly one of the men who killed Valenti.

[Antiliar]

Joe Valachi wasn’t close to Willie Moretti but did share some interesting information about him.

In 1924, Valachi’s gang, that he calls the Irish Mob, was in a conflict with the East Harlem crew. Discussing a peace summit, he names him as a mafia member:

VALACHI: I found out through the years, later on, he [MORETTI] was one of the Cosa Nostra members, but at that time we didn't know.

[…]

CHAIRMAN: You didn't know anything about Cosa Nostra?

VALACHI: No; this was 1924.

Moretti was hosting the summit at his Pompeii Restaurant. From the rest of Valachi says, it’s fairly clear that he was a part of the East Harlem crew.

————————-

Valachi’s says something pretty intriguing about Lucky Luciano’s status at the time too, explicitly naming him as a soldier:

All the big shots went over at this restaurant. By big shots I mean Ciro Terranova, Dutch Schultz, and all kind of big shots from out of town, Charlie Lucky used to go there too, even though he was nothing but a soldier. I didn't know anything about soldiers at this time but I found out later.

He’s referring to the end of 1924. I had previously assumed that Luciano was made captain in the early ‘20s though I didn’t know the exact year. Dominick “Terry Burns” DiDato was discussed earlier in this thread; he seems like a good candidate for his capo.

1924 might be a little early for Dutch Schultz to have been friends with Ciro Terranova. At the time, Schultz was a thug working for Joey Noe and was probably an unknown. I'm wondering if Valachi may have compressed events, recalling them forty years later. If this is the case, his 1924 recollection might be 1924 plus or minus 2 or 3 years.

I wondered myself about Dominick Didato being an early capo. Perhaps he was connected to Giovanni Dioguardi, who also came from Baucina. Both of them may have been in Salvatore Mauro's crew (he appears to have been a big shot and was the oldest member from Baucina, so I strongly suspect that he was a capodecina). One article claimed that Umberto Valenti was Mauro's shooter, but that is unproven. Ironically, Luciano was supposedly one of the men who killed Valenti.

Edit: Salvatore Mauro was allegedly a partner of Umberto Valenti. Bartolo Fontana said that the Good Killers were responsible for his death.

[FrankWhiteIs9P]

Valachi was still less than a nobody in 1924.

[JoelTurner]

Joe Valachi wasn’t close to Willie Moretti but did share some interesting information about him.

In 1924, Valachi’s gang, that he calls the Irish Mob, was in a conflict with the East Harlem crew. Discussing a peace summit, he names him as a mafia member:

VALACHI: I found out through the years, later on, he [MORETTI] was one of the Cosa Nostra members, but at that time we didn't know.

[…]

CHAIRMAN: You didn't know anything about Cosa Nostra?

VALACHI: No; this was 1924.

Moretti was hosting the summit at his Pompeii Restaurant. From the rest of Valachi says, it’s fairly clear that he was a part of the East Harlem crew.

————————-

Valachi’s says something pretty intriguing about Lucky Luciano’s status at the time too, explicitly naming him as a soldier:

All the big shots went over at this restaurant. By big shots I mean Ciro Terranova, Dutch Schultz, and all kind of big shots from out of town, Charlie Lucky used to go there too, even though he was nothing but a soldier. I didn't know anything about soldiers at this time but I found out later.

He’s referring to the end of 1924. I had previously assumed that Luciano was made captain in the early ‘20s though I didn’t know the exact year. Dominick “Terry Burns” DiDato was discussed earlier in this thread; he seems like a good candidate for his capo.

1924 might be a little early for Dutch Schultz to have been friends with Ciro Terranova. At the time, Schultz was a thug working for Joey Noe and was probably an unknown. I'm wondering if Valachi may have compressed events, recalling them forty years later. If this is the case, his 1924 recollection might be 1924 plus or minus 2 or 3 years.

I wondered myself about Dominick Didato being an early capo. Perhaps he was connected to Giovanni Dioguardi, who also came from Baucina. Both of them may have been in Salvatore Mauro's crew (he appears to have been a big shot and was the oldest member from Baucina, so I strongly suspect that he was a capodecina). One article claimed that Umberto Valenti was Mauro's shooter, but that is unproven. Ironically, Luciano was supposedly one of the men who killed Valenti.

Edit: Salvatore Mauro was allegedly a partner of Umberto Valenti. Bartolo Fontana said that the Good Killers were responsible for his death.

Wasn’t Valenti killed by Masseria? How did the Good Killers get involved in this mess?

[JoelTurner]

Valachi was still less than a nobody in 1924.

The timeline works a lot better if Valachi misremembered the year; Willie Moore was likely still in Buffalo in 1924

[Don_Peppino]

Dutch Schultz really started to be a major player around 1928, from what I've seen, it seems Schultz wouldn't have been operating in Harlem (in a substantial way) before 1927. As Antillar stated, Schultz was still working for/splitting from Joey Noe in 1924. He was still predominately in the Bronx at the time.

[Antiliar]

Wasn’t Valenti killed by Masseria? How did the Good Killers get involved in this mess?

The Masseria side is believed to have killed Valenti. Allegedly, Luciano was the shooter. In the Informer article, I put out the theory that the Good Killers carried out a number of hits for Giuseppe Morello when he was trying to retake his old position.