Gerardo Vito "Jerry" Catena (January 8, 1902 – April 23, 2000) was an American mobster and a top member of the

Genovese crime family The Genovese crime family (), also sometimes referred to as the Westside, is an Italian Americans, Italian American American Mafia, Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City and Ne ...

during the 1950s and 1960s, along with Thomas "Tommy Ryan" Eboli, Philip "Benny Squint" Lombardo and Michael "Big Mike" Miranda. He was ranked as the fourth richest mobster in the United States by ''Fortune'' magazine.

Early life in Jersey

Catena was born on January 8, 1902, in

South Orange, New Jersey South Orange is a historic suburban Village (New Jersey), village located in Essex County, New Jersey. It was formally known as the Township of South Orange Village from October 1978 until April 25, 2024. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

to Francesco and Donata Speziale, and subsequently became familiar with legendary mobsters Guarino "Willie" Moretti, Thomas Greco, Cosmo "Gus" Frasca, and Abner "Longy" Zwillman. He was married to Catherine McNally and was the father to Patricia, Geraldine, Donna, Vicki and Richard. He was the brother of Eugene, Mary Frederico and Sadie Dellasante. He was a vending machine racketeer with interests in People's Express Co., Advance Vending Co, Runyon Vending Sales Co and TrenMetals/Kool-Vent Awning Co. all based in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

. Later, it was confirmed that Catena moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to join the forces of Charlie "Lucky" Luciano and

Meyer Lansky Meyer Lansky (born Maier Suchowljansky; July 4, 1902 – January 15, 1983), known as the "Mob's Accountant", was an American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Lucky Luciano, Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the dev ...

during the early 1920s, when the rise of two

Mafia "Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...

dons named Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria and

Salvatore Maranzano Salvatore Maranzano (; July 31, 1886 – September 10, 1931), nicknamed Little Caesar, was an Italian-American mobster from the town of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, and an early Cosa Nostra boss who led what later would become the Bonanno cr ...

began fighting a bloody internal battle called the

Castellammarese War The Castellammarese War () was a bloody power struggle for control of the American Mafia between partisans of Joe "The Boss" Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano that took place in New York City from February 26, 1930, until April 15, 1931. The feu ...

Joining the Lucianos

Little is known of Catena in his early days of the Luciano crime family, but reportedly he was a

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

in the crew that became the powerful Genovese crew during the late 1920s, headed by later underboss Vito "Don Vito" Genovese. As the time passed, and Charles Luciano went to prison and later deportation in the 1940s, Genovese organized the shooting of the boss of the Luciano crime family,

Frank Costello Frank Costello (; born Francesco Castiglia ; January 26, 1891 – February 18, 1973) was an Italian-American crime boss of the Luciano crime family. Born in Italy, he moved with his family to the United States as a child. As a youth he joined N ...

, in 1957, which forced Costello to retire. Apparently, Catena is to have risen through the ranks, as he was listed as the

underboss Underboss () is a position within the leadership structure of certain organized crime groups, particularly in Sicilian Mafia, Sicilian and Italian-American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the Crime boss, boss. The un ...

in the late 1950s, heading the

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

faction of the Genovese crime family, under the leadership of Vito Genovese.

Attending Apalachin

Catena was attending the so-called Apalachin Meeting in 1957, and was one of the hundred mafiosi who were indicted after the convention, following the arrest of Vito Genovese in 1959. As Genovese and many others of the Genovese crime family were under indictment, Catena began cooperating with longtime captains Anthony "Tony Bender" Strollo, Michele "Big Mike" Miranda and Thomas "Tommy Ryan" Eboli, and were unofficially running the Genovese crime family.

Underboss

After the imprisonment of Genovese in 1959, a "Committee/Ruling Panel" was to run the Genovese crime family, which consisted of Catena, Philip "Benny Squint" Lombardo, Thomas Eboli (who was murdered in 1972) and Michele Miranda. This administration continued to run the family throughout the 1960s and early 1970s.

Imprisonment

Catena was incarcerated at the Yardville State Prison (now the Garden State Youth Correctional Facility) from 1970 to 1975 because he had refused to testify before the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation.

Retirement and death

After his incarceration, Catena was allegedly semi-retired due to illness, and became officially retired after his release in 1975, as he moved to Boca Raton,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

that same year. He died of natural causes on April 23, 2000, at the age of 98.

Involvement with Bally's

Catena was a secret investor in slot machine manufacturer

Bally Manufacturing Bally Manufacturing, later renamed Bally Entertainment, was an American company that began as a pinball and slot machine manufacturer, and later expanded into casinos, video games, health clubs, and theme parks. It was acquired by Hilton Hotels ...

during its early years. This resulted in William T. O'Donnell, the chairman and CEO, resigning from the company in 1979 in order for them to receive a casino permit to operate

Bally's Atlantic City Bally's Atlantic City is a casino hotel on the Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It is owned and operated by Bally's Corporation. The Marlborough-Blenheim Hotel stood on the site before the casino was ...

casino.President of Bally Agrees to Sever Ties as Company Seeks Casino Permit. ''New York Times'' December 4, 197

/ref>

References

Sources *Bernstein, Lee. ''The Greatest Menace: Organized Crime in Cold War America''. Boston: Univ of Massachusetts Press, 2001. *Lamothe, Lee and Antonio Nicaso. ''Bloodlines: The Rise and Fall of the Mafia's Royal Family''. Toronto: HarperCollins Publishers, 2001. *Peterson, Robert W. ''Crime & the American Response''. New York: Facts on File, 1973. *Raab, Selwyn. ''Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires''. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2005. *Reppetto, Thomas. ''American Mafia: A History of Its Rise to Power''. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 2004. *Sterling, Claire. Octopus: The Long Reach of the International Sicilian Mafia. New York: Simon & Schuster (Touchstone Edition), 1991. *United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. ''Profile On Organized Crime Mid-Atlantic Region''. Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O., 1983

*''Pennsylvania Crime Commission: 1984 Report''. St. Davids, Pennsylvania: DIANE Publishing, 1984.

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20081024140730/http://www.politickernj.com/tags/jerry-catena *http://crimemagazine.com/eboli.htm *http://americanmafia.com/Cities/New_York_New_Jersey.html *http://carpenoctem.tv/mafia/genovesef.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Catena, Gerardo 1902 births 2000 deaths People from South Orange, New Jersey American gangsters of Italian descent Genovese crime family