Giuseppe Morello, known to rivals and police as “Peter Morello” and to the underworld as “The Old Fox,” was a founding figure in New York organized crime. He established the 107th Street mob in the 1890s, which later became the Morello crime family, and in time the Genovese crime family, the oldest of New York’s Five Families. Morello was born on May 2, 1867, in Corleone, Sicily. After his father’s death in 1872, his mother Angelina remarried Bernardo Terranova, a Corleone Mafia member; together they had seven children.
Morello was reportedly introduced to the local Mafia through his stepfather and an uncle, a Corleonese leader who may have helped him escape Sicily. In 1889, Morello married Maria Rosa Marcolisi, with whom he had two children, though both died young. His exact immigration date is uncertain; he likely arrived in the U. S.
around 1892 after becoming a suspect in a murder and after a counterfeiting ring was compromised. He was convicted in absentia in Italy for counterfeiting and sentenced to six years and 45 days plus a fine. By 1893, his family—including his half-brothers and stepfather—had joined him in New York. After a move to Louisiana and then Texas for farming, Morello returned to New York in 1897.
Morello built his criminal reputation in East Harlem, running extortion, loan sharking, robbery, and counterfeiting. He created a system of weekly protection payments that relied on many small collections rather than a few large ones—a method that increased his profits. He also pioneered the “barrel murder” technique, dismembering victims and discarding them in barrels dumped in the sea, alleys, or other cities, with bodies sometimes shipped to fake addresses. His chief enforcer, Ignazio “Lupo the Wolf” Saietta, was linked to over 60 murders in ten years.
By 1905, Morello controlled the most powerful Sicilian crime family in New York and was recognized as “Capo di Tutti Capi,” or boss of bosses, by Mafia leaders across the U. S. In 1903, his rise was solidified when his half-sister married Saietta, and the two controlled East Harlem together. His power, however, drew rivals.
The family was challenged in the early 20th century, and Morello’s rule was marked by extreme violence as he ordered deaths of anyone who challenged him. His grip on power loosened when a power struggle erupted. His half-brother Ciro Terranova took control after Morello was imprisoned, but Morello returned and reasserted leadership. Amid the Castellammarese War, Morello allied with Salvatore Maranzano and his gangster rival, but the conflict led to his downfall.
On August 15, 1930, Morello, along with associate Giuseppe Periano, was killed while collecting cash receipts in his East Harlem office. His killer was identified by Joseph Valachi, the first Mafia member to turn state’s evidence, as a gunman linked to the rival faction. Morello’s death marked the end of his empire’s first era. His family, known as the Morello crime family, survived the war and later became the Genovese crime family.
His legacy includes pioneering the barrel murder system and the weekly extortion model that other gangs adopted, but his rule also brought the violence that consumed his family. His widow, Nikolina, remained with him until his death, one of the few constants in a life marked by revenge, deportation, and murder.