The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1952-01-25

to go to Manhattan to see the
Committee, convened q special
grand jury to investigate the Sara
toga conditions.
In Bergen County, New Jersey,
just across the Hudson River from
New York City, gambling had be-
come so notorious that there final
" had been a partial breakdown.
At the time of our hearings,
only Anthony Guarini, who seemed
to have been the front man for
the ring, had been sent to jail.
After our hearings, however, gam
bling indictments were returned
against Joe Adonis, Salvatore (Solly
Moore) Moretti, Arthur LonganO
and James (Piggy) Lynch.
We questioned a Newark IN. j.
certified public accountant, George
Goldstein, who seemed to perform
the same functions for East coast
mobsters that attorney Eugene
Bernstein performed for the Chi
cago-Capone syndicate. He acknowl-
edged that for some years he has
handled tax returns for ''the New
Jersey gambling partnerships"
Profits from these various COM
panies were shared by Guarini,
James Rutlzin, Adonis, Gerals Ca
tena, Salvatore Moretti, and Lynch.
Actually, there is no way Of tell
ing exactly how much they took in,
as Goldstein admitted he made out
tax returns from figures which
were not based on any real audit.
But one gambling company alone
admitted to gross receipts Of $685..
500 in its 1945-46 tax return.
Still another business-like facet
Of the gamblers was their method
Of converting into cash the stable
checks taken from their victims.
Max Stark-since sent to jail-was
"check cashier" for the mob. Daily,
he would bring to the small Mer-
chants Bank of New York City some
so to 20 checks signed by losers at
the casinos. Over six months, the
checks came to about $4,000, 600.
Stark. conveniently, had become q
stakeholder in the bank; he owned
10 per cent Of the banks stock.
Another New Jersey operator ex-
amined by the Committee was
Willie Moretti. The 56-year-old old
er brother Of Salvatore Moretti was
and is-a big-time gambler, and.
more lately, part-owner of a big
laundry and linen supply company.
Willie let slip a great many scraps
Of information about the East coast
mob.
Willie's talkativeness, apparently,
was not an isolated phenomenon.
When rackets boss Frank Costello
was testifying months later, Ru-
dolph Haley quoted transcripts Of
telephone wire taps, legally OBJ
tanned, which showed that Moretti
called Costello "chief," and that
Costello told him Is. Rest and
don't call me so much" Don't
talk too much; you know :"
Costello insisted he was just giving
a little friendly health advice to q
sick friend.
We took Willie through a list Of
leading gangsters. and with only a
few exceptions. he knew them all.
HALEY: Aren't these people
what you would call rackets boys?
Moretti: Jeez. everything is a
racket today.
HALEY: These people come
from great many different cities
around the country X. How do you
get to meet all of these people :?
Moretti: Well, you 60 to race
tracks and you 60 to Florida, and
you meet them; and the man that
is well known meets everybody:
you know that.
HALEY asked him II he belonged
to any political clubs. II don't
belong to any. ! am bipartisan, ="
Moretti answered. The incredible
gambler went on to boast that he
didn't Operate politically"-that.
II he did. he might have become a
member Of Congress-''maybe sit
ting where you are"
What about some old charges
filed by an established competitor.