December 30, 1897 in the tiny Sicilian town of Terrasina Anthony Zerilli and his wife Rosalie "Tocco," celebrated the birth of their fourth child "and the only son in 6 births." Joseph Zerilli remained in Italy untill the age of 17 when he immigrated to the US settling in Detroit near his mothers brother reuniting him with childhood playmate Vito William Tocco. Upon his arrival in Detriot, Joe found work in 1914 with the Detroit Gas Company. Zerilli spent the next two years working as a pick and shovel laborer before the passage of the laws prohibiting the sale of acoholic beverages provided him with a chance to make some quick and easy money.
Gang Wars and Bootlegged liquor
Joe joined his cousin Vito William Tocco in offering their service as protection agents to members of the local bootlegging gangs in the city. Shortly after quitting his job at the Detroit Gas Company Joe Zerilli was arrested for the first time for carrying a concealed weapon. The case against Zerilli would be settled with the payment of a $50 dollar fine. Joe's only other conviction would come soon after when he would once again plead guilty to speeding and resolve this case by paying a fine in the amount of $25.
Zerilli and his cousin Vito Tocco continued to operate within the murkey waters of the bootlegging business before a gang war threatened to destroy their potentially lucrative business arrangements. Zerilli found himself caught in the middle of an old war feud between members of the Gianolla and Vitale gangs which between 1919 and 1921 waged a battle for control of Detroit's burgeoning liquor market and smuggling routes. The ensuing battle would claim the lives of more than 100 men. During the Gianolla/Vitale gang war Zerilli would be arrested dozens of times on suspicion of committing such crimes as armed robbery, murder, disorderly conduct and violation of prohibition laws.
Though none of the charges ever stuck, they contributed to his rise in stature in the liquor market. Following the elimination of most of the members of the Gianolla and Vitale gangs leaders, peace was restored and a new liquor organization "The Pascuzzi Combine," set up by Salvatore "Sam" Catalonotte. Catalonotte "the first undisputed leader of the Detroit underworld," became a role model and father figure to many young Detroit bootleggers during his 10 year reign as king of Detroit's Little Sicily.
Family Ties
Catalonotte's strong commitment to family and the establishing of legitimate fronts would come to serve as the model for the construction of the Detroit partnership in later years. During the mid 20's Joseph Zerilli took a major step in his life when he met and married Josephine Finazzo the sister of another Detroit bootlegger and saloon owner "Salvatore "Mr.,Sam Jacobs." Zerilli's cousin and business partner Vito William Tocco "who had earned the ominous moniker of Black Bill during the Gianolla/Vitale war," also settled down and married taking his cousin and Joseph Zerilli's sister Rosalie as his bribe. The foundation of the Detroit partnership would be laid during the mid '20s with several underworld figures intermarrying providing a true family setting in an effort to eliminate the potential for yet another blow up like the Gianolla/Vitale gang war.
Other important alliances formed by marriage would be the marriage of Joe's sister's to several men who would remain by his side for decadess to come. These marriages were Pete Corrado and Petrina, Sam Serra and Rose, Serafina to Angelo Gianoso, Grace and Russel Cutino as well as the aforementioned Rosalie to Black Bill Tocco.
Death of the king and a new threat emerges
The death of Salvatore Catalonotte on the eve of his 36th birthday on February 14, 1930 left the Detroit underworld without it's most influential member. Catalonotte had brokered and enforced a peace pact between the remnants of the Gianolla and Vitale gangs in 1920. Catalonotte's funeral was attended by members of not only Detroit's criminal elite but police spotted delegations from New York, St.Louis and Chicago who had all come in to express their grief for the fallen leader. Amoung the most important local men to attend were Chester LaMare, Joe Morceri, Angelo Meli and two of his key lieutenants Black Bill Tocco and Joseph Zerilli.
Following the grand funeral which was placed as a cost of $20,000 Zerilli, Tocco and Meli combined their Eastside Mob with the Unione Sicilione which had been Catalonotte's front and would be headed by Salvatore's righthand Gaspare Milazzo. Milazzo was upheld as the choice to succeed Catalonotte by the Eastside trio but was opposed by Chester LaMare the leader of the Westside Mob operating out of Hamtramck. The threat of LaMare as a potential threat to the peace in Detroit became painfully clear when he arranged for the murder of Gaspare Milazzo and his top aide Sam Parrino in the Vernor Fish Market on May 31, 1930. This murder demanded an immediate response as Angelo Meli swore revenge dispatching Zerilli, Black Bill and the rest of his gang with orders to eliminate LaMare.
LaMare would meet his end in less than 9 months suffering the humiliating end of being shot in the confines of his own home by two of his most trusted aides on February 6,1931. Zerilli and his cousin Black Bill would both be picked up and held in connection with the death of LaMare but no charges would be filed against either man before they were released.
Zerilli Inc.
Following the elimination of Chester LaMare and the formation of the partnership shortly thereafter, Joseph Zerilli would virtually disappear from view for the next 32 years. During his time out of the limelight, Zerilli built an awesome business portfolio which included several hundred thousand dollars worth of real estate properties in Michigan and Florida, a string of successful businesses either individually or in conjunction with other family members connected with the outfit and an interest in at least two Michigan liquor distribution firms. Of these businesses one of the most profitable and high profile was the Hazel Park Racing Association and Track. Zerilli and other members of the outfit began investing in Hazel Park in the mid '40s and by 1949 had gained complete control of the track and it's association.
Joe's 22 year old son Anthony was installed as the President of Hazel Park with his nephew Jack Tocco filling the Vice-President while making all of the vital business decisions. The Outfit would convert Hazel Park into a financial goldmine eventually extracting a declared million dollar annual profit from the facility. Zerilli would also set up the Detroit Italian Bakery with himself acting in the capacity of company president and his brother-in-law/cousin Black Bill Tocco lending a hand as vice-president. The Bakery would be listed by Zerilli as his primary financial concern.
Zerilli invested funds in Muller Foods "Jersey City NJ, Melrose Linen "along with the Tocco and Corrado families," Lakeshore Coach Lines, Jarson Zerilli Co, South Branch Ranch, Deer Valley Citrus Association, The Living Room Lounge "also owners included Mike Polizzi and the Giacalone brothers," in addition to an office building and several rental properties in and around the city of Detroit.
Joe Valachi and the Disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa
Joesph Zerilli enjoyed 30 plus years of hassel free operation untill 1963 when the a special session of the 88th congress was convened in October of 1963. The proceedings referred to most commonly as the Valachi Hearings hit Detroit in October of 1963. Up untill this time the Detroit outfit had been able to quietly conduct their business without the hassle of interference or extensive national exposure. Not even the 1957 Appalachin fiasco "in which Zerilli allegedly was in route to when he and driver Anthony Giacalone heard of the raid over their car radio and detoured to a safe spot in Binghampton New York where they remained untill it was safe to turn back home," put a damper on their operation.
The Valachi hearings managed to put Zerilli and his cohorts in an uncomfortable position when their financial, criminal and even family connections were entered into the record as evidence of the vast criminal conspiracy which was quietly influencing big business in the state of Michigan. The quiet and reserved Zerilli survived the hearings and returned to the shadows where he would remain for another 12 years untill the disappearance of Teamster legend Jimmy Hoffa once again turned the nations attention to the Detroit area and it's alleged criminal organization headed by Zerilli. Joseph Zerilli was no stranger to Jimmy Hoffa. Hoffa had been an associate of several members of the partnership for more than 30 years.
It has been said that due to his association with these figures he was able to gain control of the International Brotherhoods Presidency following the defeat of Dave Beck in the late '50s. The Zerilli Hoffa connection was much more personal. For all intent and purposes, Hoffa and Zerilli could not have been more unsimilar. With Jimmy a hotheaded braggart who protrayed himself as a gangster and Zerilli the quiet reserved businessman who just so happened to control one of the nations most powerful underworld groups.
Hoffa became indebted to Zerilli when he approached Joe about stopping Tony Cimini "a member of Joe's gambling crew," from seeing his wife Josephine. Zerilli a devoted family man agreed to arrange a sitdown with Cimini and end the affair if Jimmy agreed to make Frankie Fitzsimmons his sucessor. Hoffa agreed and Zerilli sent word to Cimini to stay away from Hoffa's wife. When Cimini refused, Joe punished him for his disobedience by allowing him to take a fall in a stock swindle shortly after.
This agreement set the stage for Jimmy's disappearance a decade later. When Jimmy Hoffa disappeared in 1975, investigators linked his disappearance to members of the Detroit partnership most convincingly to Anthony Giacalone the man recognized as Zerilli's man on the street. Giacalone's purported meeting with Hoffa on the day he disappeared and the spotting of Zerilli's car infront of the home of Giacalone's brother Vito a week before Hoffa's disappearance pointed to a conspiracy. Federal as well as state investigators stated in the press that the only man in Michigan with enough power to order Hoffa's murder was Joe Zerilli.
Zerilli became the subject of an intense man hunt in an effort to subpeona him for a grandjury inquest looking into the disappearance of Hoffa. Zerilli disappeared and never did appear for the proceedings escaping to Florida where he remained untill the heat passed. Although no charges were brought against any one in connection with Hoffa, it did manage to once again bring up Joe Zerilli's checkered past and placed him in an uncomfortable position.
End of the Line
The Hoffa investigation would be the last major event in the long and illustrious career of Joseph Zerilli. Zerilli suffering from a long illness was checked into Secours Hospital in October of 1977. Within two weeks Joseph Zerilli age 79 would die after a long battle with an unconfirmed illness on October 31. Zerilli's funeral pailed in comparison to that of his mentor Salvatore Catalonotte 47 years early in the same church, but he did draw a crowd estimated around 1,000 mourners, curious gawkers and law enforcement officials setting up surveillance of the attendees.
Zerilli who had run the Detroit Outfit and oversaw distribution and investment of it's $150 million annual take from gambling and other nefarious activities, was laid to rest in Mt.Olivet Cemetery where 98 car loads of people gathered to witness the lowering of the copper casket into the earth next to his parents Antonio and Rosalia and four of his children who had died as children.
