Mob Corruption on Staten Island Circa 1969




The Staten Island Advance posted an archive page from a story it published on April 20, 1969.

The story names Paul Castellano as an "underboss" of the Gambino crime family.

"An Advance study shows numerous Staten Island real estate dealings are being investigated to see the potential role taken by various organized crime figures. These include Paul Castellano, underboss of the Gambino Cosa Nostra family, the largest Mafia organization on the East Coast."




The story focuses on "the glittering gold" of Staten Island land due to the "boom" created by the construction of the Verrazano–Narrows Bridge. Usually referred to as simply the Verrazano Bridge, it's a double-decked suspension that connects Staten Island and Brooklyn.

"Shadow figures may have mined million of dollars in broad daylight."

The SI Advance's three-month study revealed the role played by some of the shadowy figures.

High-ranking Mafioso and their associates had made "extensive" investments in Staten Island land since 1959, and had seemingly earned massive profits from these transactions. What interested investigators in these pre-RICO days were the potential unpaid taxes.

An elite IRS group that was part of a Brooklyn-based U.S. Justice Department's Organized Crime Taskforce was investigating the matter. Daniel P. Holman was described as the attorney in charge.

Interestingly, the newspaper used NYPD and Justice Department data (not the FBI) to offer background on the mobsters 

Mob figures of interest were identified as Castellano, "reputed underboss" to "brother-in-law" Carlo Gambino, "boss of a 1,000-plus member Cosa Nostra family in Brooklyn." The article describes the Gambinos as "the largest crime family in the East."

Peter "Pumps" Ferrara was the other key mobster named in the story, identified as a Gambino capo. He seems to be worth further investigation.


Is this Peter Ferarra Peter Pumps?


Salvatore Perritore, identified as a Colombo soldier, was described as a "low-ranking but nevertheless important Mafia figure also involved."

Joseph Rae also is named. His original name, which he'd changed in 1949, was Joseph Rosenberg. In 1969, according to law enforcement sources, he ran a vending machine and jukebox business in Brooklyn and Queens, which put him in daily contact with a number of mobsters, including the Gallo brothers, the story noted.


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