About The MOB
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Joseph Zerilli
Zerilli is one of several Detroit mob leaders who emigrated from Terrasini, Sicily, a town on the eastern edge of the Gulf of Castellammare.
In the 1960s, Zerilli was named as one of five ruling members of the motor city Mafia. The other members of the ruling council were said to be Pete Licavoli, William Tocco, Angelo Meli and John Priziola. Licavoli and Tocco also trace their roots back to Terrasini. Licavoli and Zerilla were related through marriage.
Zerilli was an active bootlegger during Prohibition. He, Meli and Licavoli managed to outmuscle the primarily Jewish Purple Gang (FBI Files) in the later 1920s.
As the Castellammarese War opened in the nation's Italian-Sicilian underworld, Cesare "Chester" Lamare eliminated Gaspar Milazzo. Milazzo had been the leader of the Castellammarese faction in Brooklyn before moving to Detroit. Some believe the murder of Milazzo was coordinated with New York's Joe Masseria.
Zerilli is credited with avenging Milazzo's death by setting up Lamare's murder. Chester was killed - apparently by some of his own bodyguards - in February of 1931.
Abner Zwillman
"Longie"
Zwillman was a Jewish bootlegger in New Jersey who helped to organize the national crime syndicate.
Zwillman grew up in Newark, NJ. Like many street toughs of the day, Zwillman was employed by local political organizations.
During Prohibition, New York bootlegger Waxey Gordon hired Zwillman as local muscle. Zwillman and Doc Stacher became close partners at that time. As the Seven Group - an organization of east coast bootleggers that preceded the national syndicate - was formed, Zwillman was given a place at the table. Eventually, Zwillman and Mafioso Willie Moretti were the top organized criminals in the Garden State.
Zwillman cooperated with the New York Mafia family of Charlie Luciano during the early 1930s and established a solid relationship with New York's Frank Costello.
Zwillman appears to have influenced a number of important names in the underworld, including Joe Adonis, who took over rackets in Brooklyn and New Jersey; Jerry Catena, a key figure in the Genovese crime family; and John Roselli (FBI Files), who became a major player on the west coast and in Las Vegas.
After Prohibition, Longie moved west and involved himself in show business-related rackets. He was among the mobsters who assessed movie studios a fee to ensure that the studios would suffer no labor difficulties. There are also reports that he was involved with actress Jean Harlow.
Along with other mob leaders, Zwillman invested heavily in the development of Las Vegas casinos. He is believed to have been a part owner of the Sands.
In 1956, Zwillman's longtime associate James "Niggy" Rutkin committed suicide within a Jersey City jail in 1956.
In the wake of the Apalachin NY conference, law enforcement pressure on the underworld greatly increased. The McClellan Committee's investigations in 1959 made matters worse for organized criminals.
Faced with a subpoena to appear before the McClellan panel and charges of jury tampering relating to a 1956 tax evasion trial, the 54-year-old Zwillman apparently decided to follow Rutkin's example. His body was found Feb. 26, 1959, hanging in a basement storage closet of his West Orange, NJ, mansion.
