The ascension of Jack Tocco through the ranks of the Detroit Outfit struck many outsiders as a case of the son of a powerful, well respected man advancing on the reputation of his dad but as time would tell nothing was farhter from the truth. Tocco's rise was neither rapid nor undeserved as we shall see. Born in October of 1926 to notorious bootlegger Vito William Tocco "aka Black Bill," and Josephine Zerilli, Jack was named for his grandfather Giacamo Tocco. Jack spent his childhood nestled amoung a host of cousins and other relatives in the upscale community of Grosse Pointe Park Michigan. By all accounts, Jack's intelligence caused him to stand out from the other children his age including his cousin Anthony J. Zerilli. Early on Jack displayed a passion for business establishing a Christmas tree lot on Gratiot as a youth. Described by longtime associtates as smart, prudent, thoughtful, reserved, hardworking and a no-nonsense type of guy, Jack's personality is more in line with that of his uncle Joe Zerilli than with his own father who's flashy, fiery, quick temper contributed greatly to his rise in the underworld. Jack unlike the sons of his fathers counterparts "the Corrado's, Vitale's and uncle Joe," showed no interest in following in the foot steps of his father instead choosing to attend the University of Detroit. Jack worked his way through college selling cars at Lafayette Motors, a Chrysler Dealership owned by his father in conjunction with Joe Zerilli and Pete Corrado. Graduating with a degree in business in 1949, Jack seemed poised for a life outside of the underworld with the exception that during his sophomore year at the University of Detroit, Jack and his cousin Anthony Zerilli allegedly gained entrance into the world of their fathers with the 1947 murder of Gust Andromalis in a basement in Detroit. The murder which allegedly involved both men taking turns using a rope to strangle Andromalis was committed after Gust committed some unspecified offense against members of the partnership. Following the completion of his college education, Tocco became the central figure in the legitimate enterprises of his father. In a move which further entangled the leaders of the Detroit Outfit, Jack married Antoinette Meli, the daughter of Angelo Meli, the former head of the Eastside Mob and a high ranking member of the Partnership in 1952. Together they would produce 8 children "all successful legitimate professional people in the Detroit area."
Hazel Park Racing Association
Following the completion of his college studies, Jack would emerge as the vice-president of the Hazel Park Racing Association which had fallen under the control of the partnership in 1949. Many prominent members of the Outfit were involved in Hazel Park including both Black Bill and Joseph Zerilli "who's son Tony served as the Association President," Mike Rubino "an up and comer at this time," Pietro Corrado "director of the partners gambling operations in Toledo Ohio and the brother-in-law of Joe Zerilli," as well as a host of other lesser ranking figures who appeared as officers or board members in the Association. By all accounts Hazel Park became a huge success due mainly to the business acumen of Jack Tocco. Hazel Park would go on to become a publicly traded company enjoying a gross income of $15,000,000 and a profit of $1,500,000 in 1970 while selling for $8.50 a share on the stock exchange. According to records used in a 1970 Senate hearing looking into the involvement of organized crime in gambling this translated into an investment of $780,000 from 92,634 shares for Tony Zerilli, $300,000 from 34,430 shares for Jack Tocco, and Tony Tocco "Jack's younger brother," made $225,000 from his 26,681 shares. With the enormous success of Horse Racing in Michigan the investers in Hazel Park began work on expansion plans which included the construction of Hazel Park South a second track along the lines of their Michigan cash cow which was to have been constructed in the Miami area. The plan had to be scrapped when the government probe into the partners gambling operation forced coupled with allegations aimed at Anthony Zerilli and Michael Polizzi charging them with skimming the proceeds of the casino at the Frontier in Las Vegas. The Vegas troubles of Tony Zerilli would ultimately force the partners to divest themselves of their interest in Hazel Park "at least officially," leaving only 280 acres of land purchased at a cost of $2,500,000 for the developement of Hazel Park South.
Melrose Linen
The cornerstone of the Tocco families business empire for more than 45 years was Melrose Linen Service Inc., a laundry service founded in 1953 by Jack and Anthony Tocco. Melrose Linen has provided the Tocco's with a solid return on the initial investment to a tune of $1,100,000 million a year since it's inception. Located at 6401 E. Davison Street in an area just north of Hamtramck, Melrose occupies a small portion of the 157,000 square foot building which is surrounded by a razor wire topped fence. Melrose holds the laundry contracts for several companies located throughout metro Detroit. It is estimated that Melrose cleans in excess of 13,000 lbs of dirty laundry a day. The company once headed headed by Anthony Tocco is now run by Vito "one of Jack's sons," and Anthony Tocco Jr. Over the years Melrose has carried a reputaion that is sparkling in the Detroit business community suffering very few public scraps with competitors. On the few occassions that allegations of improprieties have surfaced they have been quickly confronted and disposed of with minimal damage. 6401 E. Davison has also been the home of more than a dozen other Tocco enterprises which have included Cadillac Overalls Supply Co., a spin off of the highly successful Melrose Linen Service, Carmella Foods "a food distribution firm named for the wife of Anthony Tocco Sr., the former Carmella Profaci," Gibson Investment, a commercial real estate and rental company. Founded in 1964, Cadillac was still operating 21 years after it's inception and had a net worth of approximately $160,000. Gibson Leasing is another business that has used 6401 as it's address. Gibson Leasing is the firm established to handle the renting of vehicles for the other Tocco owned firms. Overall the value of the land and building which holds Melrose and other Tocco owned firms is valued at $360,000 dollars and appeared on a list of seizures sought by the government in connection with the 1996 indictment which will be covered later.
The Rise
The McClellan Senate hearings of 1963 also referred to as the Valachi hearings placed the entire outfit in Detroit in the eye of the media storm for the entire week of October 9th thru the 16th. Never before had the inner workings of the shadowy network of partnerships and inner family relations been so completely exposed for all to see. During this period the criminal, financial, and family histories of men like Peter Licavoli, Joe Zerilli, Black Bill Tocco and Papa John Priziola were laid bare before a riveted nation. Many second generation members and associates of the partnership were exposed during the proceedings hampering there ability in many instances to openly carry on their normal activities. One of the few who would escape with barely a mention was Jackie Tocco. It would be another 5 years before Tocco's name would be mentioned as a full fledged member of the Outfit and even then their was some doubt as to his importance. During yet another Senate hearing, Jack Tocco would be mentioned as a Lieutenant in the Detroit chapter of La Cosa Nostra as second only to Tony Zerilli amoung the young up and comers of the Outfit. In the hearing records, Jack was listed as the caretaker of a multi-million dollar gambling empire put together by his father who's status was unclear in light of an alleged illness. In fact Vito William Tocco was ill, he had appointed his oldest son caretaker of not only his rackets but also a business empire which included Elias Big Boy in Ann Arbor Michigan, T&M Construction, Deer Valley Citrus Assocciation in Glendale Arizona, as well as several joint ventures with Joe Zerilli such as, Jarson Zerilli Co., an office building at 16115 Harper in Detroit, South Branch Ranch in Roscommon Michigan, Detroit Italian Bakery, Lakeshore Coach Lines, Pfeiffer Macomb Distributors, Muller Foods, a grocery store located at 710 jos campau, several lots of undeveloped land and the aforementioned Melrose Linen Service. Later in life Jack would complain to friends and associates of the tremendous amounts of time he was required to devote to his business interests, this demonstrates in part what he was talking about. By the time Jack's father succumbed to a heart attack after a long battle with cancer on May 28,1972 at the age of 75, the Detroit outfit had already undergone a change of leadership. At the helm of the smooth sailing ship was Tony Zerilli and his close friend Michael Polizzi, "a son-in-law of Papa John Priziola," who were fighting for their freedom after their stake in the Frontier Hotel and Casino had been exposed by Maurice Friedman former owner and Detroit frontman of the property. Tony Zerilli's legal troubles in Las Vegas caused some of the older members of the Partnership to begin to question his leadership ability and thus the return of his father to the top spot once his son had lost all appeals and was ordered to report to prison where he and Polizzi would remain for 2 1/2 years. All of these occurances contributed to the emergence of Jackie Tocco as the dominant force in the Detroit Outfit. By all accounts, Jack still ranked no higher than 6th amoung the partners behind the imprisoned Tony Zerilli and Michael Polizzi, the partially retired Joe Zerilli, the aging Papa John Priziola and another old timer in Pete Licavoli who was fighting theft charges out in Arizona.
The Boss
The age of Tocco was ushered in on October 30,1978 when his uncle Joseph Zerilli passed away at the age of 79. Zerilli had been expected to hold on to the top slot untill his only surviving son Tony got out of prison the following year and reclaimed his position as the leader of men amoung the partners. Upon the death of Joe Zerilli and the absence of Tony Zerilli, those who received mention in the local press as possible replacements were Anthony Giacalone, Peter Vitale and Jimmy Quasarano "all eliminated from consideration due to the intense attention all were receiving as a result of the disappearance of Teamster Jimmy Hoffa," Papa John Priziola "who probably had the most say in who would head the family," and Pete Licavoli "who was living in Arizona, aging, and was facing a possible return to prison." all were passed on for various reasons leaving Jack Tocco as the most sensible choice to stand in untill Tony Z got out. Jack really was the most capable man available at the time, his business acumen had been proven long ago and he was low profile like his uncle Joe and understood the changing times which meant keeping his face and name out of the papers. Jack had no criminal record to speak of save for a 1965 conviction for attending a cock fight in Macomb county. He like murdered New York mob boss Joe Columbo had also organized and attended a Columbus day rally in 1970 in which he and several others protested the treatment of Italian Americains by law enforcement and the media in front of the federal building in downtown Detroit. Unlike Columbo Jack's rally was done as a strategic plan to combat a recent indictment in which he was accused of overseeing a bankruptcy scheme involving a furniture store. This charge he managed to have dismissed before it became a hassle. He was also called to testify before the grand jury asking questions about the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa in 1975. This reportedly left Jack seeing stars and was thought to have been a source of discontent between Tocco and Tony Zerilli. During this time rumors of ill feelings between the cousins began to circulate. Another event which was the wind that stoked the flames of animosity between Jack and cousin Anthony was Tony's Las Vegas troubles which cost the outfit controll of the Hazel Park Racing Association and Track derailing their grand expansion plans for Florida. All of these incidents worked to undermine Zerilli's hold over the outfit. While Tony served his prison sentence Jack was named the acting boss of the family, quite a leap from his previous rank amoung the partners. This decision was probably supported and enforced by Papa John and Pete Licavoli who realized the need for a low key leader in this a most precarious time with all of the investigations and legal problems faced by key members. Initially there was some reservation about having Jack take over and lead the family but he would in less than 6 months convence all of doubters as to his worthiness. In a ceremony held on June 11, 1979 at the Timberland Game Ranch in Dexter Township owned by an Antonio Rugirello a convicted member of the Outfit who would later serve time for attemped murder. Jack's official annoiting as the undisputed leader of the Outfit was a blow to the encarcerated Zerilli who fully expected to be restored to his place atop the partnership upon the completion of his sentence. By the time Zerilli emerged from his prison stint Jack had begun to put his stamp on the operation and it was clearly apparent that Tony Zerilli's reign was over.
A New Era
Jack took over a family which was in turmoil with several key members facing jail terms. Jack was also forced to deal with the death of Papa John Priziola, one of the last of the original ruling dons from the inception of the partnership in 1931. Papa John had been a key supporter and now he was gone and Cousin Tony had just been released from prison. Many mob watchers expected trouble but the anticipation building would soon die when legal troubles struck Tony Zerilli again. Zerilli would be caught bragging to an FBI informant about his days in Las Vegas. This would spark an investigation into the Detroit families involvement their costing them once again a stake in the Aladdin Hotel and Casino which was being run by Michigan businessman and convicted bank robber James Tamer. The fallout from this case would get even worse when Myer Lanskys righthand man Alvin Malnik was caught on tape trying to broker a deal for the sale of the Aladdin on behalf of the partners. No charges were ever brought against Lansky, Zerilli or Malnik but it would cost the outfit the services of Tamer for 3 years while he served time in federal prison. Many have said that Jack warned Zerilli about getting involved in Las Vegas but the warning went unheeded and as predicted it turned out to be more trouble than it was worth. Jack's reign would continue from this point on without a major threat to him personally for a number of years, he was now free to live the good life.
The Fruits of Labor
Family is very important to Jack Tocco, he and his wife of 48 years have produced 8 children resulting in 17 grand children. Friends and neighbors remember both of the Tocco brothers as being doting fathers who were active participants in their children's activities like Little League and school functions. Tocco has managed to accumulate an impressive portfolio of real estate holdings which he and brother Tony have managed on many occassions to turn into yet another profitable Tocco business venture. Amoung the most successful of these are a 32 acre spread of land purchased by the Tocco's in 1973 at a cost of $112,000. The land located at 2940 Buell Road was owned by the Tocco brohters and their wives. The land was occupied for at least 15 years by Anne and Jim Wood who raised goats, minature horses, pigs, chickens and a host of other farm animals there. The property once housed an old 7 room house and barn built in 1875. The property borders the Royal View Estates a large housing developement started by the Tocco brothers in the early '90s. Located southwest of Orion Lake in Oakland Township, Royal Oaks netted Jack and his brother several million dollars in profit as a result of the creation of this upper class community. The original plans called for the creation of 15 luxuriously designed custom homes located on a 40 acre tract of hilly land with large lawns and plenty of trees. According to land records the Tocco's paid the cost of having the utility connections put in and then sold the the lots to home buyers and contractors who then built the homes themselves. The Royal View project sprung the creation of the Royal View Estates Condominium Association in October of 1989. The founders of this association were Jack and Anthony Tocco and Vito and William Badamo. The Tocco's then planned on using another of their companies Royal Construction Company to develop condominiums and houses in the range of 3,000 sqaure feet apiece. 3 months after the project got under way Tocco and Tocco was replaced as the contractor by Royal Construction. Royal Construction had been founded back in 1964 by Sam Barone and Carlo Licata who had at one time been married to one of Jack's sister's and later to a daughter of Santo Perrone. The company had a rather strange record of operation and in 1995 was reportedly worth only $7,000 and lost $586.00 under the direction of Vito Tocco one of Jack's sons. Shortly afterward Royal Construction relinquished it's contract to construct the homes to a builder totally unrelated to the Tocco brothers. The initial completed lots sold for an average of $400,000. As of 1996 the Tocco brohters still owned at least 1 undeveloped lot in Royal View while total revenue from the sale of the homes exceeeded $6 million dollars. Jack has also amassed several vacation spots including a 1,600 spuare foot, 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath condo in Boca Raton Florida purchased in 1993 for $128,000. The condo is situated in a fortress like setting with high security and plenty of shrubbery to ensure the privacy of it's occupants. Jack's holdings also include 3 commercial buildings valued in excess of half a million dollars in the 23000 block of Roseberry Avenue in Warren, $ 1 million dollars worth of commercial land in the 24,000 block of Gibson Avenue also in Warren, as well as several other undisclosed properties held in the names of various relatives. Jack also owned the Warren Tennis Club which he got rid of in the early '80s after complaining that the business consumed to much of his time as well as the rise in popularity of racketball had deminished the profits from the tennis club. The Hillcrest Country Club in Macomb county was also rumored to have been another of Jack's properties in which he used fronts James Tamer and later Simon Thomas to front as owners over the years in an effort to ensure the clubs liquor license was not revoked.
Hillcrest Country Club
The Hillcrest Country Club has long been a fixture in the state of Michigan. Once owned by legendary Chrysler dealer Woodrow Woody of Hamtramck, Hillcrest has ermerged from a cow pasture into a multi-million dollar facilitiy which list some of Michigans most influential people as members. Purchased by Woody in 1949, Hillcrest is a place of opulance and splendor with it's hall floors lined with imported Italian marble and it's elegant ballroom chandeliers. The facilities at Hillcrest include 7 ballrooms with capacities ranging from 110 to 1250, a wedding chapel, restaurant, bar and grill, 4 private apartments, a health club, tennis and hand ball courts and an Olympic sized swimming pool. The construction of a 150,000 square foot banquet and convention center in the '70s almost led to the financial ruin of Woody who sold the property to the partners frontman James Tamer in 1980. Tamer his wife Kathleen and his brother's widow Mae Ellen George paid $6.5 million for the property assuming control of Hillcrest as Tamer completed a 3 year prison term for obtaining a hidden interest in the Aladdin Hotel and Casino. Tamer was forced to sell the property in 1984 to Simon Thomas a young nighclub and banquet owner who shared a Lebanese heritage with the two privious owners. Thomas was known for his connections to the entertainment industry and had brought stars like Frank Sinatra, Paul Anka and Wayne Newton to Detroit to perfom in his establishments. Thomas's plans called for a return of those big name acts while having them stay at Hillcrest in an effort to boost the membership of the club from an estimated number below 400 "as of 1986." A Hillcrest membership cost at the time only about $5,000 a year per member. One of the most watched members of Hillcrest was Jack Tocco who would arrive at the club in his late model cadillac "this was the mid '80s," and headed to the restaurant before taking in a round of golf or heading over to the tennis courts which helped him keep his body trim and athletic "he carried 185 lbs on his 5' 10" frame well into his '50s." Over the years Jack has also made frequent trips to the Safety Harbor Health Spa in Clearwater Florida and the famous Mayo Clinic in Minnesota where he undergoes physical exams while enjoying his winter vacations from the bitter Michigan cold. The dedication to physical athletics has left Tocco in fairly decent shape for a man his age but he would be forced to fight for his life and freedom in the mid '90s as the government launched an unprecedented attack on Jack and his associates in the Partnership.
Indicted
Throughout his reign atop the Outfit, Jack Tocco had sat back and watched as the government had brought case after case against countless members of the partnership. More often than not the casees were dismissed or the indicted pled out to lesser charges in exchange for a few years behind bars. Jack himself had even fought a few court when battles when he sued several publications, a credit reporting firm, and insurance company and a state investigator for what he deemed prejudice and bias against his Italian heritage. After spending 17 years as the lead partner in the Detroit partnership, the government struck for the first time against Jack and 16 other members and or alleged associates of organized crime in the state of Michigan on March 15, 1996. At the age of 69 Jack Tocco was thrust into the public eye with his face plastered on the front page of news papers and television screnes across the country. Jack and his brohter Tony were arrested at their condo's in Florida and brought back to Michigan where they were charged with participating in a criminal conspiracy dating back 30 years. The Government quickly made a move to seize the assets of the indicted charging they were the result of illegal activity but were unsuccessful in winning this battle. A blow was also dealt to the prosecutors when Tony's Zerilli and Giacalone were successful in having their trials put off indefinately due to illness. Yet another defendant Vito Giacalone pled guilty in January of 1998 in exchange for a 6 year prison sentence. This left only a hand full of low ranking members, Anthony Corrado a fairly well known member of the outfit and the respected Tocco brothers who between them had never been arrested for anything more serious than attending and illegal cock fight in 1965. Once the trial started the 17 man indictment had been reduced to just 5 men facing charges ranging from extortion to conspiracy to extort and attempted murder. The government claimed to have hours and hours of tapes that would prove Jack Tocco was the head of the Detroit Mafia and ordered bombings extortion attempts and demanded payment for establishing illegal gambling halls by independent operators. After two years of preparation for the big event 4 of the 5 were convicted with Anthony Tocco being found not guilty of all charges levelled at him. Jack would be found guilty of 2 counts of racketeering eventhough his voice never was heard on the audio tapes taken from government listening devices planted in the cars of Paul Corrado and Nove Tocco "a distant cousin to the Tocco brothers." During the sentencing hearings Jack would be supported by a host of high profile community figures like former Tigers manager Sparkey Anderson, ex-Warren Mayor Ronald Bonkowski, Republican fund-raiser and businessman Frank Stella, Tigers ad agent Gary Vitto, Grosse Point City Councilman Patrick Petz and a host of restaurant owners, retired judges, doctors, surgeons, lawyers and priests.
Sentencing Controversy
Jack's original sentence recommended by Judge John Corbett O'Meara called for Jack to serve a year or less at a Michigan halfway house with the stipulation that he be allowed to work in his family businesses everyday before returning to the facility at night. This sentence proposed on November 13, 1998 was shot down by prosecuters in December of the same year with the demand that Tocco serve his time in prison. On December 23, 1998 Jack Tocco was resentenced to serve a year and oneday at the Federal Medical Facility in Rochester Minnesota where he would be allowed to get treatment for some very unique medical conditions according to the sentencing report. Jack had untill January 5, to surrender to the authorities and begin his sentence. Jack Tocco served nearly 11 months of his sentece before returning home just before Thanksgving day in 1999. He had managed to have a month shaved from his sentence by staying out of trouble. This is where the story gets strange. Following the completion of his original sentence, prosecutors decided they were not happy with the amount of time Tocco spent in jail and appealed O'Meara's sentence claiming it was below the minimum sentencin requirements allowed by law. On January 5th 1 year after he had begun serving his time in Minnesota's Medical facility, a federal appeals court ordered Tocco's sentence to be lengthened. Prosecutors prepared to go after Jack Tocco pulling out all stops even going so far as to offer a deal to his cousin Nove who was serving a 19 year sentence for extortion. Tocco who had once been strongly repremanded by the Tocco brothers for not showing enough respect jumped at the chance to take his revenge and agreed to testify against Tocc as long as he would not have to testify against his uncle Tony Zerilli whom he viewed as his mentor. One problem existed for prosecutors with Nove's testimony he was forced to admit that he had never received any direct orders from Jack Tocco allowing him to engage in the extortionate activities which led to his jailing. In fact Nove had to admit that his shaking down of bookmakers was what had gotten him into trouble with the Tocco brothes in the first place. Facing a potentially disasterous situation, the prosecutors agreed to resentence Jack Tocco to a term of 34 months with credit for 1 year and 1 day served. This deal would make Tocco eligible for release to a half way house in Detroit as early as August of this year "2000," and his release would come once again by Thanksgiving. In all the conviction against Tocco could hardly be called a success in light of all of the troubles that have come from it.
The Present
Presently Jack Tocco is completing his term at the Rochester Federal Medical Facility in Minnesota and should be returned to a half way house near his Grosse Pointe home. Exactly what Tocco's role in the Outfit will be upon his release is a mystery and only time can tell. What is known is that the Jack Tocco story is a remarkable one with a life time of success acheived through hard work and an desire to clean a family name. Jack Tocco is now 73 years old.
