Last Rites

by William J. Craig

  Boston American photo of Ed Marino.

  The front page of the Boston American newspaper announcing Ed Marino’s murder.

  Corrine Marino now found herself having to raise a child and bring another into the world without a father or husband to help her along the way. Within a few months, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy, whom she named Vincent. As time went on, Corrine met and eventually married a loving and hardworking man named Donald Portalla. Don was very accepting of Corrine’s situation, and they both decided that it was in the best interest of the boys to have Don raise them as his own and keep the tragic incident of their father’s murder from them. Don and Corrine went on to have three more children, two boys and a girl.

  The family settled in Revere and lived in the housing projects off Broadway. The housing complex was a series of quaint duplexes with front and backyards. Don and Corrine both worked extremely hard to provide a stable, loving and nurturing home for the children. The children attended the Shurtleff School with other neighborhood children. Corrine raised her kids to be polite, courteous, studious and hardworking. Corrine and Don had taken every precaution to ensure that their children would stay on the right path of life. The neighborhood kids might be out on the corner until all hours, but their children had curfews. Eddie, the oldest, worked at Vazzas restaurant as a chef while maintaining an A average and graduating from Revere High School in 1979. The following year, Vincent, who was nicknamed Gigi, also graduated from Revere High School. Gigi had been a standout athlete in football and was voted king of the prom, elected to the student council and had aspirations of becoming a Massachusetts State trooper. Since the age of thirteen, Gigi had worked in a local store slicing deli meats. Both boys had played instruments in the Saint Anthony’s Church marching band. Eddie was accepted and enrolled in Bentley College and studied accounting. Gigi had enrolled at Bunker Hill Community College and began taking legal courses to help him pursue his dream of law enforcement. Don and Corrine Portalla had managed to help their children evade the pitfalls that so many young Revere kids can’t help but trip on during their adolescent years.

  The Portalla homestead in the Revere projects. The apartment next to the one with the window boarded up is where the family lived for almost twenty years.

  Around this time, Corrine’s father became gravely ill. As a last request before his passing, he asked her to promise that she would tell the boys the long-held family secret of their biological father. Reluctantly, she complied with his deathbed wish.

  Once the family secret was revealed, it hit Gigi as strongly as when Paul was converted to Christianity by being stricken blind while on the road to Damascus. Gigi was now confronted with a dilemma: reject Eddie, his birth father, and his criminal behavior; or embrace his true father and inevitably become like him. Incapable of weighing the consequences of this greed gone mad, he had to make a choice that would shape who he was and who he would become. Eddie took the news a bit more in stride. Both boys wanted to know more about their hero father who had been cut down in his prime.

  In 1981, Gigi went to the Angiulo headquarters in the North End of Boston on Prince Street. Jerry Angiulo was more approachable than most underworld figures. He was always willing to talk to the people of the neighborhood. This kind of goodwill helped to keep him insulated from law enforcement. Gigi approached him with the intention of working for him. Angiulo attempted to pacify him by saying that he was busy, but perhaps he could see him another time. Nevertheless, Gigi insisted, saying, “No, no you know my father. My father worked for you. He got killed, but I’m here and I wanna work for you guys, just like my father did.” Still, it was to no avail; his pleas fell on deaf ears. But Gigi left determined to follow in his father’s footsteps. During this same time, he took the Massachusetts State Police exam in hopes of possibly still becoming a trooper and making his mom proud and his dream a reality. He scored a ninety on the exam, which is truly impressive. Unfortunately, the state of Massachusetts had just implemented Proposition 2½, which severely limited spending statewide. This legislation meant that Gigi would not be hired since his test score was not high enough and he did not have veteran’s status, which would raise him on the list of potential new troopers to be hired.

  Eddie Portalla’s yearbook photo from Revere High School, 1979. Courtesy of Revere High School.

  Vazza’s Restaurant, where Eddie worked while in high school as a cook.

  Gigi as a senior and captain of the football team. Courtesy of Revere High School.

  Saint Anthony of Padua Church, where Gigi and Eddie attended Mass and played in the marching band.

  In 1983, he married his girlfriend, Gina Scarpa, and quickly settled into married life. His first arrest came in New Hampshire. He and three friends were parked in front of the Turkey Farm restaurant in Nashua. The Nashua Police noticed that one of the men fit the description of a man they were seeking in an armed robbery case. The officer initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle and proceeded to search the auto and its occupants. The search turned up guns and masks but nothing to link the men to an armed robbery. Gigi took a plea bargain offer and was sentenced to twenty-five months in a New Hampshire state prison on a simple gun charge. The district attorney and the police attempted to offer Gigi a guaranteed position in the Massachusetts State Police force if he would cooperate and help link his friends to the armed robbery. He declined their offer immediately, knowing that age-old adage that a rat is the worst thing anyone could ever be, especially for someone from Revere.

  Gigi was introduced to organized crime almost by convenience. In Revere, wise guys are considered legitimate members of society. The citizens look out for them and protect them just as they would any member of their family. These mobsters had become an integral part of the social fabric, which helped make the city a unique place. These men of honor also bestowed certain benefits on the community, which made muggings, rapes and house break-ins almost nonexistent.

  Revere was originally run by a Jewish gangster named Lou Fox from 1947 until 1962. He was of medium height, well dressed and always very polite and respectable. Fox had an office in an insurance company on Shirley Avenue. He was close friends with Meyer Lansky and Joe Linsey; they had worked together as bootleggers during Prohibition. To the average citizen, he was a real estate speculator and philanthropist. But in reality, business owners paid Fox a percentage of their criminal earnings for the right to operate in Revere and guaranteed police protection. Fox had the essential cops and public officials in his pocket. There was only one rule: you couldn’t commit any robberies, burglaries or anything of that nature in Revere. Salvatore “Flungo” De Angelis was his bagman. Fox’s right-hand man was Morris Lynch, who took care of things when Fox was out of town or busy. Patriarca was a silent partner with Fox. He would pay Patriarca a percentage of the profits, and in return Fox was shown respect and he could go to Patriarca with any problems he may have had. When Fox died, Patriarca took the whole thing over.

  Along Broadway, legitimate businesses were being operated by mid- to high-level factions of the Patriarca family. On the south end of Broadway was the Speakeasy Pub, owned by Charlie Lightbody, whose brother-in-law was Sal De Angelis. Sal was allegedly a bookmaker and loan shark who used to operate out of the pub. Sal was married to Jerry Angiulo’s niece. Just a block or so up the street was Reardons Restaurant and Bar. This facility was owned and operated by the Reardon family. The current chief of Revere Police, Terrence Reardon, had to give up his silent partnership with his brother in the bar due to the bar’s less-than-stellar reputation. The bar was known to have illegal gaming machines and allegations that drug dealing were taking place inside. In fact, the Reardon family was related to Charles Stuart, who was accused of killing his wife and unborn baby and blaming the incident on an African American man. The bar has since been closed and seized by the IRS for back taxes. Farther down the street was Fat Richie, who ran a cab stand and trinket store filled with swag. Richie also used to cash checks for residents of the nei
ghborhood and take 15 percent as his fee. Across from him was City Taxi, which was owned by Tony Defeo. Defeo was a bomber pilot in World War II and a close personal friend of Angiulo since they were kids growing up in the North End. The stand was originally a front for bookmaking, loan sharking and illegal gambling, until the cabs began bringing in more money than the illegal activities. Then there was Roy’s Coin Shop, another front for bookmaking and swag. Even certain members of the Revere Police force used to sell stolen merchandise and purchase it from Roy. Roy’s stepson, Joe Porter, went to school and hung around with Gigi and his family. On the northern end of Broadway was another cab stand owned by Fat Pat, another bookmaker, and farther down from him was the Pick and Save, which was owned and operated by Gigi’s brother Eddie during the 1990s. An unmarked FBI surveillance car would cruise up and down this street all day long snapping pictures of the different factions and their crews. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, anyone wanting to open a cab stand in Revere had to have permission from the Angiulo family to do so.

  The deputy chief of the Revere Police, Phillip Gallo, was the main protector of the mob in Revere. He had been on the pad since the days of Lou Fox, and after Fox died, Gallo was paid by Patriarca loyalist Maxie Baer. Gallo had a plan to take over the entire city of Revere. He set up a meeting with Henry Tameleo. The two of them met in a parking lot in Revere that was monitored by the FBI. Gallo informed Tameleo that he was planning to leave the police department and he could guarantee a wide-open town for the mob. What he needed was the backing of the mob and more money. Tameleo told him that his job was to protect the gambling, loan sharking and nightclub operations. He went on to say that the only way he was going to quit his job was if he died or was too old to work.

  This cab stand was owned by Tony Defeo. It was from this location that they handled illegal gambling and bookmaking operations with the Angiulo brothers, until the cabs started making more money than the illegal activities. The stand is located on Broadway, Revere, between the central fire station and Walgreen’s parking lot.

  Deputy Police Chief Phillip Gallo, who was on the mob payroll for most of his career. Courtesy of Mickey Casoli.

  Off Broadway, there were at least a half dozen made members of organized crime who lived within a mile radius of one another. There was also a social club on Squire Road aptly named the Revere Businessman’s Association, which was owned by Billy Baliro. During the heyday of Revere Beach, there was a supper club, which later became a strip club, named the Surf. This popular club was owned by the DiCarlo family and was used as a front for bookmaking and loan sharking activities. This club was also the site of a botched hit on Joe DiCarlo’s son, which was foiled by off-duty Revere Police detective Mickey Casoli. Directly on the beach near Revere Street was the Ebb Tide, a gathering place for all the local rogues. About two blocks up from the Ebb Tide was the Mickey Mouse, a local bar that was the scene of a horrific double murder that took place right before closing. At the end of the beach is a stately home with a carriage house in the rear. The house was once home to Tommy Cerracola and his family before he was brutally murdered in the kitchen for withholding tribute on a drug deal.

  Another mob hangout in Revere was Arthur’s Farm, a dilapidated roadside stand that was owned by Arthur Ventola, who was a convicted fence, and his brother, Nicholas “Junior” Ventola. The roadside stand was a dumping ground for stolen merchandise; even Life magazine did an article about how New England Patriots players like Gino Cappelletti would shop there. It also mentioned Bob Cousy, who was the top star of the Boston Celtics. Life magazine made a big deal about how Cousy was friends with alleged mobster Francesco Scibelli, aka Frankie Skiball, a member of the Vito Genovese family. Life magazine was trying to imply that Cousy and Cappelletti were giving the mob insider information concerning professional games to make money. Nothing has ever been substantiated, and the mob has denied that any information was ever given to them. The stand was also an inconspicuous place to hold mob conferences. The stand was occasionally raided by the Massachusetts State Police but almost never bothered by the Revere Police.

  Revere Police headquarters.

  The worst scandal in Revere Police history became known as the “Exam Scam.” In 1987, several members of the Revere Police force paid to get the answers to the sergeant’s exam. These corrupt officers took the test and memorized the answers. The test should take a minimum of four hours. The cheating officers all had an average exam time of two hours and several minutes. Once the test was turned in, the officers thought that they may be under suspicion, so they devised a plan. They came up with the bright idea to break in to where the tests were stored and change their answers to some of the questions, thinking that their test results should not be so good as to raise suspicions but only high enough to pass and be promoted. Edward Robinson, a former Revere Police officer, was found guilty of mail fraud in attempting to buy a copy of the sergeant’s exam. Former Revere Police Chief John “Jake” DeLeire was also implicated in the exam fraud and convicted. After the men were caught, prosecuted and convicted, the U.S. Federal Appeals Court held up all the convictions of the seven other men, including the mastermind of the swindle, Gerald Clemente.

  Another event that left a black eye on the Revere Police Department was when several officers responded to an alarm at CVS store and pharmacy on Squire Road. When the officers arrived, they noticed that the store had been burglarized. Some of the officers began filling the trunks of their police cars with merchandise from the CVS store. The corrupt officers were caught on surveillance cameras and prosecuted for their actions.

  A former Revere Police officer tells a story of when he first joined the force, back in the 1950s, and he was walking a beat in Beachmont Square. This officer was filling in for the regular officer, who was on vacation. While patrolling the square, he was to call in to the station from a call box every hour after doing his rounds. When the officer went to call in to the station, he unlocked the call box and discovered a bottle of Irish whiskey inside. As the day progressed, the rookie officer took a sip of whiskey every time he called the station. At the end of the week, the bottle was gone. When the veteran officer came back from vacation, he instructed the rookie to replace the bottle and never let it happen again. This was the way the Revere Police conducted itself for close to fifty years. While these incidents do not speak well of them, the Revere Police officers were still held responsible by the general public to keep the peace. In addition, that meant dealing with the mob as part of their duties.

  In September 1991, Revere Police responded to a call at a home on Mountain Avenue. There they found a pool of blood and brain tissue on the front porch. A short time later, Robert Donati was found in the trunk of his 1980 Cadillac on Savage Street. He had been bludgeoned to death and his throat was slit. Donati was a small-time racketeer who collected money for Vinny “the Animal” Ferrara, who was imprisoned at the time. At first, investigators believed that Donati was about to flip and that was the reason behind his murder. It was later alleged that Donati had been involved with the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Heist. In the early morning hours of March 18, 1990, two men dressed as Boston Police officers approached the museum. The museum security allowed them in but quickly realized that they weren’t really cops. The infiltrators tied up the security guards and proceeded to rob the museum. Within ninety minutes, they had stolen several works of art, including Rembrandt’s only seascape. They cut the works of art out of the frames, leaving only jagged edges. Investigators looked into the possibility that the IRA might have been involved with the help of Whitey Bulger. Then a small-time hood and wannabe singer named Myles Connor became a possible suspect. Although he was serving a fifteen-year sentence in a Rhode Island prison at the time of the robbery, all roads seemed to lead to him as being the mastermind behind the heist. It seems that Myles Connor and his band, the Wild Bunch, had played many clubs at Revere Beach that were frequented by Donati and other mobsters. During this time, Connor cased the Gardner Mus
eum and informed Donati of how he could potentially commit the robbery. This very scenario may be why Donati was killed. From the 1960s until the mid-1990s, if anyone was purchasing a used car in Revere, it was best to check the trunk first.

  Another incident occured at 115 Suffolk Avenue in Revere, a home that was once owned by Samuel Granito, a capo with the Angiulo faction. He was convicted of procuring the services of Frederick Simone to kill Angelo Patrizzi. After Patrizzi was found hogtied and strangled to death in the trunk of his car, FBI wiretaps picked up this conversation between Larry Zannino and Ralph Lamattina.

  Zannino: “They got him. Freddy was scared to death. The kid would have clipped him in two fucking minutes.”

  Lamattina: “He wanted to clip Freddy. The kid wanted to ahhh.”

  Zannino: “Freddy fucked him in the ass.”

  The Patrizzi hit stemmed back to 1978, when Joseph Patrizzi, a loan shark, was shot and killed in Revere. The killer was never found but was believed to be Connie Frizzi, another loan shark who shared the same territory as Patrizzi. The mob feared that Joseph’s brother Angelo, who was incarcerated at the time, would seek revenge upon his release. Angelo had other plans to revenge his brother’s death. Angelo escaped from prison, and law enforcement placed several wiretaps in mob hangouts. They produced several conversations on the subject of how to kill Angelo. There was talk of offering the contract to Whitey Bulger, but Angiulo decided that it would be better to have Frizzi do it. Angelo placed a call to Roy’s Coin Shop in Revere that set up the events that led to his own demise. On March 11, 1981, nine people, including Frizzi, showed up at the Harbour House on the Lynnway in Lynn to tie Angelo up and let him slowly strangle to death in his trunk in the parking lot.