12 Facts About Giuseppe Morello

Giuseppe Morello was known as Piddu and his rivals the Castellammarese knew him as Peter Morello.

Giuseppe Morello was famous for having a one-fingered deformed right hand that resembled a claw.

Giuseppe Morello was born in Corleone, Sicily on May 2,1867.

Giuseppe Morello's father Calogero Morello died in 1872 and his mother Angelina Piazza remarried one year later to Bernardo Terranova, who was a member of the Terranova Mafia clan of Corleone.

Author Mike Dash writes that Giuseppe Morello emigrated in 1892 after becoming a suspect in a murder in Corleone and after his counterfeiting ring had been compromised.

Giuseppe Morello tried his hand in different business ventures, including failed investments in a saloon and a date factory.

In December 1903, Giuseppe Morello married Nicolina "Lena" Salemi, who stayed with him for the rest of his life.

Giuseppe Morello built his empire based on his merciless ordering of death sentences against everyone who dared to face him.

Giuseppe Morello was found guilty of counterfeiting again in 1910 and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Giuseppe Morello's remaining two half brothers Vincenzo Terranova and Ciro Terranova, took over as boss and underboss and ran the family until Giuseppe Morello's release from prison.

Giuseppe Morello, sensing his time to rule had passed and the power of Masseria was on the rise, became consigliere to Masseria and prospered under him throughout the Prohibition years of the 1920s.

One of the first victims of the war, Giuseppe Morello was killed along with associate Joseph Perriano on August 15,1930, while collecting cash receipts in his East Harlem office.