Pellegrino Morano

Morano wanted to expand his business to the lucrative numbers rackets in Italian Harlem under control of Giosuè Gallucci, the 'King of Little Italy'. Gallucci was killed in May 1915. The money for the hit was provided by Morano.^[11] The lucrative numbers rackets left behind by Gallucci were now free for the taking, and they soon became the subject of a bloody fight, known as the Mafia-Camorra War, between Camorra gangs from Brooklyn and the Sicilian Morello gang.^[12]

On June 24, 1916, a meeting took place at Coney Island between the Sicilian Morello gang, the Neapolitan Navy Street gang and the Neapolitan Coney Island gang. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the expansion of gambling in lower Manhattan. After eliminating their common enemies – in particular Joe De Marco, who ran a restaurant and several gambling establishments on Mulberry Street in Lower Manhattan – the Neapolitans went after the Sicilians.

For several months in 1916, Morano ran a numbers game in Harlem, the territory of the Morello gang, but the returns were not sufficient to cover the tribute that the Morellos demanded.^[13][14] Morano paid the Morello's $25 a week for the running the game, but stopped paying and the Morello's withdrew Morano's control over the game, despite mediation by Morello associate Charles Ubriaco. As result, Morano would target the Morello's in revenge.^[14]

The Neopolitans believed they also could take over other Harlem rackets, such as the artichoke monopoly, the coal and ice business, and the lucrative zicchinetta card games, if they could eliminate the Morellos.^[8]

Apparently Morano came up with the idea of killing the Morellos, in which he was encouraged by Vollero.^[13] On September 7, 1916, Morello gang member Nicholas Terranova and Charles Ubriaco were lured in a trap while being invited to a chat with Morano and Navy Street gang boss Lauritano. Terranova and Ubriaco were shot and killed. Subsequently, they went after other East Harlem gang leaders, killing Giuseppe Verrazano, but were unable to reach the Morellos, who stayed close to their house in East 116th Street.^[8][14]

The Neapolitans did not fear police investigations because they paid off police officers and the omertà code of silence prevented witnesses from testifying.^[8] However, in May 1917, Ralph Daniello, aka 'The Barber', a member of the Navy Street gang who had been present at the meetings to decide on the murders, began to tell the police about Morano, the Neapolitan gangs and the recent murders.^[8][14]

On May 15, 1918, Morano was convicted of murder in the second degree in the case of Terranova and Ubriaco and sentenced to twenty years to life at Sing Sing prison.^[15][16] His associate Vollero received a death sentence, which was later reduced to a minimum of 20 years.^[17][18]

The last time Morano came into the limelight was during the trial of his former right-hand man Antonio Paretti in July 1926. Despite being in prison for seven years, he refused to testify against his associate. "I won't talk, I don't know anybody," he told the court before he was returned to his prison cell.^[19]

• Critchley, David (2009). The Origin of Organized Crime in America: The New York City Mafia, 1891-1931, New York: Routledge, ISBN 0-415-99030-0
• Dash, Mike (2009). The First Family: Terror, Extortion, Revenge, Murder, and the Birth of the American Mafia, New York: Random House, ISBN 978-1-4000-6722-0
• Gangrule.com, a database of historic events, family histories and photographs based on research from primary sources including police, federal, court, immigration, business, and prison records, based on Critchley's The Origin of Organized Crime in America: The New York City Mafia, 1891-1931.
• (in Italian) Giovino, Forentino Pietro (2010/2015), Gangster Pratesi a New York, Quotidiano del Sud/Corriere dell'Irpina, Avellino (Academia.edu)
• Nelli, Humbert S. (1981). The Business of Crime. Italians and Syndicate Crime in the United States, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press ISBN 0-226-57132-7 (Originally published in 1976)