Some of the secrets he discovered were that the crew ran an active illegal casino several nights a week next door. They also controlled one of the largest sport-betting networks in the whole state. Russell had gained the trust of Gerardo to the point that he was soon involved in their garbage hauling rackets, toxic-waste dumping, and bookmaking.

Born in Livingston, New Jersey, back in 1930, Gerardo was reared and educated on the gritty streets of Newark, which in that era was a largely immigrant Italian neighborhood teaming with new arrivals from Southern Italy and Sicily.
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