Willie Moretti
Guarino Moretti | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 24, 1894 Mobster, businessman |
| Known for | Frank Costello's right-hand man |
| Allegiance | Genovese crime family |
| Criminal charge | Robbery |
| Penalty | 1 year in prison |
Guarino "Willie" Moretti (February 24, 1894 – October 4, 1951), also known as Willie Moore, was an
Criminal career
Born Guarino Moretti in Bari, Apulia, southern Italy, Moretti immigrated to the United States with his family to live in New Jersey.
On January 12, 1913, after being convicted of robbery in New York City, Moretti was sentenced to one year in state prison in Elmira, New York. He was released after several months.[1]
From 1933 to 1951, Moretti, in association with
Hollywood connections
Moretti was the godfather of then-unknown singer Frank Sinatra. Sinatra's first wife, Nancy Barbato, was a paternal cousin of John Barbato, a Moretti associate. Moretti helped Sinatra get bookings in New Jersey clubs in return for kickbacks. Finally, in 1939, Sinatra signed a recording contract with band leader Tommy Dorsey. However, by the early 1940s, Sinatra had achieved national popularity and wanted to sign a more lucrative recording contract, but Dorsey refused to release him from their existing contract. A rumour claimed that Sinatra asked Moretti for help, and it was alleged that Moretti jammed a gun barrel down Dorsey's throat and threatened to kill him if he did not release Sinatra. Dorsey eventually sold the contract to Sinatra for one dollar.[3]
In the late 1940s, Moretti became acquainted with comedians Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis while they were performing at Bill Miller's Riviera nightclub in Fort Lee, New Jersey. In earlier years, Moretti and Abner "Longy" Zwillman were watching the club's cardroom when it was previously owned by Ben Marden. In 1947, Martin, Lewis, Sinatra, and comedian Milton Berle all performed at the wedding reception of Moretti's stepsister.[citation needed]
Testimony before the Kefauver Committee
In 1950, the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Organized Crime started an investigation known as the
Death
As it was being alleged that Moretti's mental condition was possibly deteriorating from advanced-stage syphilis,
It was supposedly a mercy killing because he was sick. Genovese told me, 'The Lord have mercy on his soul, he's losing his mind.'[5]
On October 4, 1951, Moretti was lunching with four other men at
On the day of Moretti's murder, Martin and Lewis had a lunch date scheduled with Moretti. However, earlier that morning, Lewis learned that he had contracted the mumps and both men totally forgot about lunch. Later, while trying to reach Moretti to apologize and explain, they learned from the television news that he was dead.[6]
Moretti's funeral service was conducted at Corpus Christi Church in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey. Moretti was buried at St Michael's Cemetery in South Hackensack, New Jersey. Over 5,000 mourners attended the burial, resulting in a circus-like atmosphere that required police intervention.[7]
He left behind two step sisters, Melissa Moretti(Italy) and Renee Moretti-Ward(Italy) and one niece Kayla Russo-Moretti(New Jersey). The rest of his family is unknown or unclaimed at this time.
In popular culture
- In A Man of Honor: The Autobiography of Joseph Bonanno, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0-671-46747-6, Joseph Bonanno referred to Willie Moretti as Frank Costello's "strength." This would later be compared to the relationship between Mario Puzo's character Luca Brasi and Don Vito Corleone's so-called "strength" in the novel The Godfather.
- In Johnny Fontane from a contract by Luca Brasi and Vito Corleone "making the band leader who held Johnny's contract an offer he couldn't refuse", according to Michael Corleone, telling the story to his girlfriend Kay Adams in The Godfather.
References
- ^ a b Ingraham, Joseph C (October 5, 1951). "Moretti, Gambler, Slain by 4 Gunmen in New Jersey Cafe" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
- ^ Staff. "A Gangster is Buried in the Old-Time Style", Life, October 22, 1951, pp. 36–37. Retrieved March 7, 2011.
- ISBN 0-8160-5694-3.
- ISBN 0-312-97923-1.
- ^ Perlmutter, Emanuel (October 10, 1963). "Syndicate Cities Listed by Valachi" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
- ISBN 0-7679-2086-4.
- ^ Conklin, William R. (October 9, 1951). "Moretti is Buried in Gangster Style" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
Further reading
- Reid, Ed and Demaris, Ovid. The Green Felt Jungle. Montreal: Pocket Books, 1964. 241 pages.
- Bonanno, Joseph. In A Man of Honor: The Autobiography of Joseph Bonanno, Simon & Schuster, 1984. ISBN 0-671-46747-6
External links
- New York Stories – Part I by John William Tuohy
- TIME Magazine Archive Article – Willing Willie – December 25, 1950
- TIME Magazine Archive Article – Willie's Million – February 26, 1951
- Willie Moretti at Find a Grave
