Prohibition era Early members of the New Jersey faction were under the control of
New York City's
Masseria family boss Joe Masseria. In January 1920,
Prohibition began and the United States government prohibited the sale of alcoholic beverages. With large illegal profits to gain many members became
bootleggers and were involved in smuggling large amounts of
alcohol into New York's
speakeasies. On April 15, 1931, Masseria was murdered and replaced as boss by
Charles "Lucky" Luciano who ended the war with Maranzano. The members of the Masseria New Jersey faction continued working for Luciano as bootleggers. After a few months on September 10, 1931, Salvatore Maranzano was murdered and Luciano became the most powerful mobster in America. Luciano decided to restructure all the American Mafia families by establishing
The Commission instead of having a
Capo dei capi or "boss of all bosses". In early 1937, Newark family boss
Gaspare D'Amico fled the U.S. after a foiled hit ordered by
Joseph Profaci. The Mafia Commission divided up D'Amico's territory among the Luciano (Boiardo crew),
Gagliano (
Jersey crew),
Mangano,
Bonanno,
Badami family,
Profaci and
Philadelphia (North Jersey crew) families. The New Jersey alliance was weakened but continued to operate between Zwillman and Boiardo. The murder of Moretti became a key factor in weakening Frank Costello's leadership position within the Luciano family, as his only major remaining supporter was Mangano family boss
Albert Anastasia. A few years earlier in 1946, Costello's strongest ally and powerful mobster Lucky Luciano was
deported in to Italy. Costello promoted
Vito Genovese to underboss, but Genovese believed the family belonged to him and plotted to take control from Costello. After his promotion to Underboss Genovese gained the support of Lucchese boss
Gaetano "Tommy" Lucchese and Mangano underboss
Carlo Gambino. In May 1957, Genovese and his allies ordered the assassination of Costello but failed and only wounded him. The attack made Costello aware that Genovese would never stop and Costello retired leaving Genovese as the new boss. Most of Zwillman's illegal gambling rackets were taken over by members of the Jersey faction. According to the Valachi hearings, the upper administration of the Genovese family included acting boss
Thomas "Tommy Ryan" Eboli, Underboss Jerry Catena and
consigliere Michele "Mike" Miranda. Throughout the 1960s, Catena continued to work with the upper administration. In 1970, he was
subpoenaed to testify in Newark, but refused to answer any questions and was held in
contempt. Catena was sentenced to five years in prison; after his 1975 release, he retired to
Florida. Provenzano served as vice president of the IBT's
Union City branch during the 1950s. In that office, Provenzano was able to
embezzle money from the union's
pension fund, receive
kickbacks from construction companies to work on sites, and use his title as a legitimate source of income. Both Provenzano and Hoffa were imprisoned in the mid-1960s for their part in the corruption of the union. In the early 1970s, both men were out from prison. The negotiations proceeded without incident until the murder of Gambino boss
Paul "Big Paul" Castellano in late 1985. Manna was displeased over
John Gotti's unsanctioned hit of Castellano and his accession as new boss, but he continued discussing the takeover of Bruno's operations. It was revealed during the trail that between August 1987 and January 1988, the Federal Bureau of Investigation recorded 12 conversations in which Manna and other Genovese mobsters discussed murdering John Gotti, Gene Gotti, and New York contractor
Irwin Schiff. On August 8, 1987, Schiff was shot in the head while dining in a Manhattan restaurant. On September 26, 1989
Judge Trump-Barry sentenced Manna to eighty years imprisonment. Manna is currently imprisoned in the Federal Correctional Institution in
Fairton, New Jersey, with a projected release date of February 20, 2056. In December 2020, Manna requested a
compassionate release, but was denied.
Fiumara and Coppola In the mid-1970s,
Tino "the Greek" Fiumara began representing many of the Genovese family's interests in the New Jersey waterfront, after years of working under caporegime Peter LaPlaca. Fiumara worked closely with Genovese family street boss
Frank "Funzi" Tieri, who controlled all of the family's Northern New Jersey waterfront rackets. When Fiumara was released from prison in 1994, he was one of the most powerful capos in New Jersey. In 1996, his close ally Mike Coppola was arrested on murder charges and fled becoming a fugitive. Fiumara began taking over of all the most lucrative rackets in New Jersey, including the New Jersey docks. However, in 2000, he was imprisoned for violating his
parole. He promoted
Lawrence Ricci and Michael A. Borelli as co-acting capos to secure his rackets and protect his power. Ricci oversaw the crew's
waste removal,
trucking and waterfront rackets while Borelli controlled the illegal gambling, Teamster's Union and construction rackets. Ricci went missing October 2005, and his body was found inside the trunk of a car outside a New Jersey diner the following month. On March 9, 2007, Coppola was arrested after eleven years on the run as a fugitive. The FBI offered him a deal to become an
informant in their case against Fiumara for Ricci's murder. Coppola refused to testify and was sentenced on December 18, 2009, to 16 years. On September 16, 2010, Fiumara died of natural causes.
New Jersey Commission report of May 2004 According to the 2004, New Jersey organized crime report, the Genovese family maintained five crews headquartered in New Jersey, each overseen by a
Capo and at least four New York-based crews with operations in New Jersey. On September 16, 2010, Fiumara died of natural causes. In 2008, Prisco was tried and convicted for the Sangiuolo murder and received life sentence. In May 2012, Joseph LaScala was arrested and charged with illegal gambling. On June 21, 2017, Angelo Prisco died in prison while serving a life sentence at the
United States Penitentiary in
Coleman, Florida. On February 3, 2019, LaScala died.
Gatto crew This crew was led by capo Peter LaPlaca until the mid-1970s, until Louis "Streaky" Gatto took over the crew. Gatto became the boss of Bergen county with the help of his son Joseph "The Eagle" Gatto, and son in law and top enforcer Alan "Little Al" Grecco controlling a large illegal gambling, loansharking and
bookmaking operations in Bergen and
Passaic counties. The trio used murder, violence, and fear to collect on these rackets, ensuring rivals would not take advantage of their activities. In 1989, Louis Gatto Sr. and Alan Grecco were indicted on two murder counts for the murders of Arthur Belli and Vincent Mistretta they were also alleged to be behind the murders of Jack "Handsome Jack" Ciaramella, Johnny Lombardi, and Peter Adamo. In 1991, both Louis Gatto Sr. and Alan Grecco were sentenced 65 years, while Joseph Gatto was indicted on racketeering charges and received 30 months. The sports bar allegedly grossed $300,000-$500,000 in profit per week. The conviction was overturned in 2005, but prosecutors tried again in 2008. Joseph Gatto died in April 2010 of natural causes, without being jailed.
The DeVita crew After capo Andrew Gerardo retired in the 1990s, this crew was taken over by
Sicilian-born Silvio P. DeVita. Bruschi was paroled in April 2010 from New Jersey State prison. On April 19, 2020, Bruschi died.
Current position In December 2004, Bergen County Prosecutor arrested dozens of mobsters including Joseph "The Eagle" Gatto for operating illegal sports betting with ties to offshore wire rooms in Costa Rica. The indictment identified Joseph "The Eagle" Gatto as a soldier in the Genovese family, who was in control of father Louis "Streaky" Gatto's old number rackets. According to the New Jersey authorities the Genovese crime family operates in New Jersey with three captains. Authorities identified the three captains who operated from Northern and Central Jersey as Angelo M. Prisco, Ludwig Bruschi and Silvio Devita. It was also stated by New Jersey authorities that the Genovese family was the most powerful and most active Mafia family in the State. Since the 2004 report, the Genovese NJ faction has had numerous important members die, including Prisco crew capo Joseph LaScala, who died in 2019, as well as capo Ludwig Bruschi and acting capo Michael "Tona" Borelli, who both died in 2020. In 2009, acting capo Anthony "Tony D." Palumbo was arrested charged with murder, racketeering in Brooklyn and New Jersey along with associate Felice Masullo and soldier Rocco Petrozza. The murder charge dated back to 1992, for the murder of Angelo Sangiuolo, an associate of the Genovese, information revealed that Palumbo complained to family boss Vincent Gigante about Sangiuolo and captain Angelo Prisco arranged the murder. In August 2010, Palumbo pled guilty to conspiracy murder charges and was sentenced on May 5, 2011, to 10 years in prison. In 2024, Palumbo was identified as a member of Genovese family boss
Bellomo's inner circle and a powerful capo with operation in New Jersey and Staten Island with significant influence on the waterfront. ==Current members==