Gerardo (Jerry) Catena

Jerry Catena served over five years in a prison cell for having taken the Fifth Amendment over 114 times in refusing to answer questions before a grand jury. He served his bid in Yardville State Prison in New Jersey.

Jerry Catena - Early Life

Gerardo Vito (Jerry) Catena - aka “Jerry Allen” - was born in 1902 in Newark, New Jersey.

He resided for many years at 21 Overhill Road in South Orange, New Jersey. This home was valued in 1962 at $50,000, a very significant sum for that era.

Jerry Catena

Jerry got married at age 34. He and his wife would raise their five children in this home.

Jerry Catena also had a brother active in the mob by the name of Eugene (Gene) Catena (FBI # 241463,) a capable New Jersey-based “Capo” and his close lifelong right-hand man.

Catena had a medium build standing at 5-foot 7-inches tall and weighing 180-pounds with a light complexion with blue eyes and brown-grey hair. He was so fair-skinned that he almost had an Irish look to him.

Jerry was well-known as an avid golfer, He was often seen at the Boca Raton Hotel & Club. He also kept a winter retreat down in South Florida for decades.

FBI # 144036, NJPD # 9636, INS # A11086977

A Trusted Follower of Vito Genovese

Catena attended the infamous ill-fated Apalachin convention in 1957 and was cited for it.

He received a lot of ink in the papers over that case, but his conviction for obstructing justice would be overturned as would all the convictions on constitutional grounds. Nobody ever served a day!

Catena started his hoodlum career out of the Newark, New Jersey area during the Prohibition era.

He worked closely with Abner (Longy) Zwillman serving as his bodyguard and chauffeur. Zwillman, of Jewish extraction, was one of the top underworld powers in his day in the northern New Jersey area.

Abner Zwillman

Eventually, Catena would ally with northern New Jersey-based Italians and join a fledgling newly formed Cosa Nostra as a soldier. In later years, he would rise to capo status.

Ultimately, by the mid-1960s, the “acting boss/underboss” position as a trusted follower of Vito Genovese. As such, he became a sitting member of The Commission representing his Family’s interests for years as Vito’s proxy.

Jerry was known as an extremely wealthy member, and a millionaire many, many times over. He was arguably one of the most low-key and wealthy members of the Genovese Family, indeed all of Cosa Nostra.

Pivotal Control

Early on in his career, Jerry Catena utilized strong-arm methods to gain pivotal control of the vending machine industry in northern New Jersey and metropolitan New York City.

He held nationwide investments that included automobile carriers from Detroit, bars, nightclubs, restaurants, and extensive real estate, including:

- Significant ownership “points” (the skim) in various Las Vegas Casino operations including The Sands, Fremont, and the Horseshoe Hotel & Casino being among them.

- Bally Corp. He was a major stockholder. This was one of the largest jukebox, pinball, and slot machine manufacturers in the world.

- Runyon Vending Sales Co., 221 Frelinghuysen Avenue in Newark, NJ. One of the largest vending machine distributors in the New York-New Jersey area.

- Advance Vending Co. Jukeboxes and cigarette machines.

- People’s Express Co. A trucking firm.

- Kool-Vent Awning Corp.

...... all the above firms were based in Newark, New Jersey (always his base of operations).

Criminal Record and Associates

His arrest record started in 1923 and included arrests for armed robber, hijacking, bribing a federal juror*, and suspicion of murder.

* Note: This 1934 bribery case had to do with “reaching” a juror sitting on the panel hearing a murder case against future NJ boss Nicholas (Nicky Dell) Delmore. He was accused of shooting a prohibition agent during a still raid.

Jerry Catena Mugshot

Catena knew and was an intimate of nearly the entire Italian and Jewish underworld coast-to-coast in his time, including:

• Vito Genovese • Charles (Lucky) Luciano • Giuseppe (Joe Adonis) Doto • Frank Costello • Anthony (Tony Bender) Strollo • Settimo (Big Sam) Accardi • Thomas (Tommy Ryan) Eboli • Michael (Mike) Miranda • Angelo (Gyp) DeCarlo • Ruggiero (Richie the Boot) Boiardo • Santo Trafficante, Jr. • Meyer Lansky • Charles (Charlie the Blade) Tourine

Personal Crew

• His brother Gene - A top “Capo” of a large regime and Jerry’s closest aide and supporter. Gene controlled their joint crew while his brother ran the administration of the Family.

• Thomas (Tommy Murphy) Pecora (FBI # 1038 202) - A regime soldier. He was the “organizer” of Local # 575 - Automatic Sales, Servicemen & Allied Workers Union, International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) - a union local that represented workers in the vending machine industry.

• Joseph (Joe Peck) Pecora (FBI # 1028 202) - A soldier in the Catena regime and secretary/treasurer of Local # 863 - International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT).

• Edward (Eddie Peck) Pecora - A third brother, president of Local #575 - Teamsters union, a Family associate, and Catena minion.

• John (Johnny Coca-Cola) Lardiere - A longtime soldier in Catena’s regime who years later would be killed.

• Joseph Biancardi - A union official of IBT Locals 97 and 575.

• Anthony (Tony Pro) Provenzano - An infamous Family soldier, notorious top labor racketeer, and prime suspect in the murder of Jimmy Hoffa. Tony would end up dying in federal prison while serving an unrelated term for a racketeering conviction.

• Salvatore (Sammy Pro) Provenzano - Tony’s brother and disciple. He was president of their NJ-based Teamsters Local. Sammy was also a convicted counterfeiter.

• James (Skeets) Verzaleno (FBI # 512909) - He ran a junkyard and operated a bookmaking-policy bank under the Catenas' control.

• Ralph Aquino - President of Local # 1950 - International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).

A Dubious Record

Jerry Catena holds the dubious record of having served more time in prison than anybody else in U.S. history for a contempt of court conviction.

He served over five years in a prison cell for having taken the Fifth Amendment over 114 times in refusing to answer questions before a grand jury. He served his bid in Yardville State Prison in New Jersey.

At that time, many other top hoods were alumni of Yardville. Angelo Bruno , Antonio (Tony Bananas) Caponigro, Ralph (Blackie) Napoli, and Louis (Bobby) Manna were just a few of many jailed for contempt.

With Vito Genovese’s jailing for 15 years in 1959 on a heroin conviction that would eventually see him die behind bars in Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, he had tapped Catena, Tommy Eboli, and Mike Miranda as acting boss, acting underboss, and acting consigliere respectively.

An older Jerry Catena.

The A&P Scandal

In a classic case of underworld penetration of legitimate business and what became a major scandal leading to an intense FBI investigation during the late-1960s, Jerry and Gene Catena and a company they had hidden ownership in called Best Sales, Inc. came under deep scrutiny for their promotion of a spray detergent product named Poly-Clean.

The brothers were attempting to get the product on the shelves of several major supermarket chains in the tri-state area. Specifically, the A&P Supermarket chain, which was the main target of their efforts.

When the chain store hesitated to stock their product after determining that it was faulty and possibly even a carcinogen to the environment, the Catenas and their henchmen went on a terror campaign against A&P.

Multiple supermarket locations were subjected to a series of massive arsons and several store managers were threatened and assaulted. Two store managers were shot to death.

Eugene Catena

The Catena brothers, Gene, in particular, were incensed by A&P’s refusal to acquiesce to the mob’s demands. He was actually recorded on a hidden microphone promising to “knock A&P’s brains out!”

Only after law enforcement brought an unprecedented amount of “heat” did they relinquish their quest and cease and desist their terrorist attack. I do not believe anyone was ever brought to justice during this investigation.

Skyrocketing Sales

During a protracted investigation by authorities, it was determined that company sales skyrocketed from $3,000,000 to over $8,000,000 in only a few years Best Sales was the exclusive agent promoting Poly-Clean.

Once the FBI enlightened the product's manufacturer as to whom they’d gone to bed with and the sales tactics used to promote their product, the maker looked to break business ties with the Catena brothers

They were coerced into a 13-year contract that was drawn and signed stipulating a guaranteed payment of almost $26,000 a year to Jerry Catena and his Best Sales brokerage firm to stop their solicitation efforts on behalf of Poly-Clean.

Such was the way business was done in New Jersey of the 1960s era.

Jerry chose to move down to Boca Raton permanently in his later years, living a quiet life after a career chock full of murder and intrigue.

He died in 2000 at the ripe old age of 98 years old.

And although he did suffer a bit with that bullshit bid he did in Yardsville, all in all, he lived a pretty charmed life and stayed out of the fray for the most part, dying a near zillionaire.

A very smart and shrewd man that Gerardo!

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

Gerardo (Jerry) Catena

You May Also Enjoy

Racketeer Snapshot: Connecticut’s Frank (The Cigar) Piccolo

The Anthony Strollo Regime of NY/NJ

The Day Charlie (the Bug) Workman Saved a Horse

Welcome Back!

Create New Account!

Retrieve your password

Are you sure want to unlock this post?

Are you sure want to cancel subscription?

Gerardo (Jerry) Catena

Unlock This Door to the Underworld

Take the Journey!

You May Also Enjoy

Racketeer Snapshot: Connecticut’s Frank (The Cigar) Piccolo

The Anthony Strollo Regime of NY/NJ

The Day Charlie (the Bug) Workman Saved a Horse

Welcome Back!

Create New Account!

Retrieve your password

Are you sure want to unlock this post?

Are you sure want to cancel subscription?