Giuseppe Morello
| Giuseppe Morello | |
|---|---|
Morello in 1902
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| Born |
May 2, 1867 Corleone, Sicily, Italy |
| Died | August 15, 1930 (aged 63) New York City, New York, United States |
| Other names | Joseph Morello, Peter Morello, The Clutch Hand and The Old Fox |
| Criminal penalty | 30 years |
| Allegiance | Morello crime family |
| Conviction(s) | Counterfeiting |
Giuseppe "the Clutch Hand" Morello (May 2, 1867 – August 15, 1930), also known as "The Old Fox", was the first boss of the Morello crime family and later top adviser to Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria. He was known as Piddu (Sicilian diminutive form of Giuseppe) and his rivals the Castellammarese knew him as Peter Morello. He was famous for having a one-fingered deformed right hand that resembled a claw.
In the 1890s, Giuseppe founded a gang known as the 107th Street Mob, which would later evolve into the Morello crime family. Today the Morello crime family is known as the Genovese crime family and is the oldest of the Five Families in New York City.
Giuseppe Morello was born in Corleone, Sicily on May 2, 1867. His father Calogero Morello died in 1872 and his mother Angelina Piazza remarried one year later to Bernardo Terranova, who was a member of the Corleone Mafia. Bernardo and Angelina had three sons: Vincenzo (born 1886), Ciro (born 1888) and Nicolò (born 1890); and two daughters, Lucia (born 1877) and Salvatrice Terranova (born 1880). Critchley mentions Maria Morello-Lima (born 1869) as Morello's sister from the Morello-Piazza marriage and a possible third half-sister, Rosalia Terranova-Lomonte (born 1892-died October 14, 1915). The Morello and Terranova children grew up together and Bernardo may have facilitated Giuseppe's early induction into the local cosca, or Mafia clan. Crichley notes that Morello also had an uncle, Giuseppe Battaglia, who was a leader in the Corleonesi Mafia and who may have assisted in his nephew's passage. Giuseppe Morello married Maria Rosa Marvalisi (1867-1898); the couple had one son, Calogero "Charles" Morello (born November 1892 in Corleone-died 1912).
The exact year of Morello's emigration to the United States is not certain. Dash writes that Morello emigrated in 1892 after becoming a suspect in a murder in Corleone and after his counterfeiting ring had been compromised. Despite his departure the Italian government brought a case to court and found him guilty of money counterfeiting. On September 14, 1894, he was sentenced to 6 years and 45 days imprisonment plus a fine and deprived of the right to hold public office. It is possible that the sentence was handed down in absentia; according to Critchley it appears that Morello left Sicily for New York around this time.
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