There came a time around 1970 when both LaRocca and Genovese “pulled him up on the carpet.” They instructed Verilla, in no uncertain terms, that the revenue he was producing for the Family was insufficient and that he had better do whatever he needed to in order to bolster racket revenues to a satisfactory amount. If not, his position as leader in Altoona would be assigned to another hoodlum.
The city of Altoona, within Blair County in Pennsylvania, is an area just shy of 10 square miles situated deep within the Allegheny Mountains. During its first development and expansion in the early decades of the 20th century, it reached an all-time high population of 82,000 residents back in 1930.
