Vito Genovese
November 21, 1897
A Timeline of Vito and Anna Genovese in Monmouth County
Editor’s note: Vito Genovese was involved in criminal activities from his early years in New York City and continued to run the rackets even after he was finally behind bars for good. His nefarious deeds have been extensively chronicled elsewhere...
September 24, 1912
John Thompson Lovett Sr., the Small Fruit Prince of Little Silver
By John R. Barrows Editor’s note: The author is indebted to Timeline contributor and noted historian Randall Gabrielan, author most recently of Lost Monmouth County (The History Press, 2021), for sharing much of his research into John Thompson Lovett, as...
March 30, 1932
Vito Genovese Takes a New Bride
On March 30, 1932, Vito and Giovaninna "Anna" Petillo (nee Vernotico) were married in New York. Anna ran nightclubs and gay bars in Manhattan during these years, some of which were not on the mafia books. It was the...
June 28, 1935
Vito and Anna Genovese Move to Middletown
On June 28, 1935, Vito Genovese purchased a 35-acre (other accounts set it at 42 and 24 acres) property at 152 Red Hill Road in Middletown from Mrs. Florence Sperling. The estate was originally part of a large farm owned by...
December 13, 1935
Vito Genovese, American Citizen of Good Moral Character
On December 13, 1935, while the family was living in Middletown, Vito filed a petition to become a naturalized U.S. citizen. On November 25, 1936, his petition was granted and Vito became a U.S. citizen in New York City. On...
February 23, 1937
The Genovese Middletown Mansion Burns While Vito is in Exile in Italy
On February 23, 1937, the Middletown mansion that was home to "king of the rackets" Vito Genovese and his wife Anna, and their children, burned down. An oil burner was thought to be at fault, but the exact cause was...
August 27, 1944
Vito Genovese Returns to America, and to Monmouth County
On August 27, 1944, Vito Genovese was placed under arrest in Italy by U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division Agent Orange C. Dickey, who had recognized Vito from wanted posters. With the war nearing an end, Dickey had difficulty finding anyone who...
July 10, 1947
Vito Genovese Asserts Himself on the Monmouth County Docks
On July 10, 1947, Vito Genovese, Andrew Richard, and Louis and Dominic A. Caruso formed a new corporation called the Atlantic Highlands Wharf Company, that “handles freight and passenger transportation at the yacht harbor.” The company acquired the railroad pier...
March 26, 1950
Vito Genovese and His Son Run Into Trouble in Freehold
On March 26, 1950, Philip Genovese, 18, son of Vito and Anna, driving his father's car, crashed into a parked vehicle on Route 9 in Freehold, injuring five people. The initial newspaper report at the time erroneously stated that Vito was...
December 8, 1952
Anna Genovese vs. Vito Genovese
On December 8, 1952, Anna filed a lawsuit against Vito Genovese in Superior Court in Freehold, seeking $300 monthly “separate maintenance” financial support for her and son Philip, and $5,000 in attorney’s costs. In the initial hearing before the Chancery Court...
March 2, 1953
Anna Genovese, A Scorned Mob Wife, Testifies Under Oath in Open Court
On March 2, 1953, Anna Genovese took the stand in her “separate maintenance” case and testified before the judge in Superior Court in Freehold County Courthouse. Anna's attorney was Osie M. Silber, a deputy attorney general. She asked the judge for...
March 3, 1953
On Day Two of the Trial, Vito’s Witnesses Testify
On March 3, 1953, the second day of Anna Genovese's Freehold trial where she sought "separate maintenance" financial support from her estranged husband Vito, 22 witnesses were called who would testify mostly on behalf of Vito. Anna took the...
March 4, 1953
Vito Genovese’s Enemies Prevail In New Jersey Court
On March 4, 1953, just two days after Anna’s explosive open-court testimony, the Caruso Construction Company of Atlantic Highlands won a lawsuit against Vito seeking $32,724 for labor and supplies for the 130 Ocean Blvd. mansion, for which no payment...
November 14, 1957
The Meeting at Apalachin: The Beginning of the End for Vito Genovese
By the late 1950's, it was estimated that there were between 25 and 30 major organized crime families across the United States, with an army of approximately 5,000 “made men,” or formal members. On November 14, 1957, more than 100...
July 7, 1958
“King of the Rackets” Vito Genovese is Arrested and Convicted for Narcotics Crimes
On July 7, 1958, narcotics agents of the U.S. Treasury Department placed Vito Genovese under arrest at his home on Highland Avenue in Atlantic Highlands. Along with his longtime associates, Vincent “The Chin” Gigante, and Carmine Galante, Genovese was named...
June 3, 1959
Mafia Kingpin Carmine Galante Arrested in Holmdel
On June 3, 1959, New Jersey State Police officers arrested the notorious mob leader Carmine Galante after stopping his car on the Garden State Parkway in Holmdel. Camillo Carmine Galante (February 21, 1910 - July 12, 1979) was at that...
February 5, 1963
From the Fort Monmouth Stockade, Genovese Henchman Joe Valachi Breaks the Mafia’s Code of Silence
If we let him out on the street, he'd be dead in a half an hour. Unnamed federal agent, on the need to protect star mob witness Joe Valachi Vito Genovese was among the most feared mobsters in the history...
February 14, 1969
A Monmouth County Funeral for Vito Genovese
On February 14, 1969, Vito Genovese dies of congestive heart failure, at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri; he had been imprisoned at the United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth, Kansas. An attorney for his estate said he...