Pietro (Pete) Galletta

Pete Galletta was a soldier in the DeCavalcante Family who was active in the Family's gambling operations with the New York regime.

Pietro (Pete) Galletta - aka Petrino and Pete Gallo - was born on April 24,1896 in Ribera, Sicily. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1926 with his wife Leonarda (nee Amari.) The couple eventually resided at 2432 23rd St. in Long Island City, Queens. Later, he and his wife moved to 41 West Farms Lane in Commack in Suffolk County, Long Island. Towards the end of his life, Galletta was residing in Linden, New Jersey.

In 1963, he was identified by the FBI as a DeCavalcante Family “soldier.” A hidden “bug” in boss Sam DeCavalcante’s office overheard Sam and others discussing Galletta and describing him as a Family member.

Galletta was believed to have several relatives back in Sicily, including a brother named Frank, who authorities alleged was the mayor of Ribera. They said Galletta had traveled with DeCavalcante to Ribera in 1965 to visit the St. Joseph's Catholic Orphanage there.

In another conversation, Galletta had warned DeCavalcante that they needed to be careful with any charitable funds they received from selling tickets for a dinner/dance fundraiser they were having on behalf of the orphanage that year. The event was an annual affair sponsored by the DeCavalcante Family's Ribera Social Club in Elizabeth.

Pete Galletta had another brother named Giuseppe, also a soldier in this Family.

Galletta's associates included Emanuel Riggi, Salvatore Caternicchio, Joseph Sferra, and Dominick Rizzo.

He was said to be actively engaged in the Family's gambling operations with the New York regime. Additionally, he was a member of Laborer’s Union Local #394 of Elizabeth, NJ, a union that the DeCavalcante Family dominated and was initially headed by Emanuel Riggi until his son John took the helm.

Pete Galletta was what is called a “sleeper.” He operated for many years as a virtual unknown to law enforcement, a “zip” who kept a low profile and, yet, was, in fact, a “made” Mafioso.

In 1983, at the age of 87, he was listed in that year's U.S. Senate Hearings on organized crime before the judiciary as a current and active soldier.

And Pete Galletta kept on ticking for several years afterward. He died at the ripe old age of 102 on December 12, 1998, in Linden, NJ.

Until next time..."The Other Guy!"

Pietro (Pete) Galletta

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Pietro (Pete) Galletta

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Little-Known DeCavalcante Family Soldier Dominick Rizzo

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