- William Tocco
William "Black Bill" Tocco (
February 12 ,1897 -May 28 ,1972 ) was anItalian-American mobster fromGrosse Pointe Park, Michigan and a founding member of theDetroit Partnership ofLa Cosa Nostra .Early years
William Tocco was born Guglielmo Vito Tocco in
Terrasini ,Sicily on February 12, 1897. He was one of seven children born to Giacomo Tocco and Niccolina Morceri. In 1910 the Tocco family immgrated toDetroit, Michigan , and William became anaturalized citizen after serving in theUnited States Army duringWorld War I .Criminal career
After returning to Detroit, Tocco joined his cousin
Giuseppe Zerilli and Angelo Meli in backing the Giannola Brothers' bootlegging operations. OnAugust 11 ,1920 , he was arrested for the murder of Antonio Badalamenti, a Vitale Gang leader killed in retaliation for an attack on Giuseppe Manzello and Angelo Polizzi. The charges were dropped two days later. With Manzello dead, Meli took over the Giannola Gang, renaming it the Eastside Mob, and appointing Tocco and Zerilli as his top aides.After Giovanni Vitale's death on October 2, 1920,
Salvatore Catalanotte dominated the Sicilian crime syndicate and organized the Pascuzzi Combine - a liquor syndicate consisting of the remaining gangs. With profits made by Tocco and Zerilli's in the Pascuzzi Combine, they purchased the Pheiffer Brewing Co. Pheiffer's assets were then taken over by States Products Co. [The incorporators were listed as; Guglielmo Vito Tocco, Giuseppe Zerilli Alfred Epstein, Herman Weil and Anthony Lambrecht.] The company continued producingmalt products and did well for around five years, then it was changed to the Pheiffer Products Co. On February 5, 1932, Tocco was arrested for conspiracy to violate theNational Prohibition Act . Eight days after the raid, a federal injunction closed Pheiffer Products and Meyer Products for allegedwort production. Not long after this Zerilli and Tocco were barred from participating in the legal beer business by theMichigan State Liquor Control Commission and ordered to sell their interest in the Pheiffer Brewing.Family life
In 1928, Tocco married Rosalie Zerilli and purchased land in Grosse Pointe Park where they raised their seven children. Tocco's success earned him respect from
Mafia families nationwide. He was a major factor in aligning the Partnership with several crime families, including theProfaci crime family in New York. In 1952, his son Anthony Tocco married Carmella Profaci, daughter ofJoe Profaci . In 1953, Tocco’s daughter married Cala Licata the son of an ousted member of the Detroit Family who was adopted by theLos Angeles crime family headed byJack Dragna .The Hazel Park Race Track
The Outfit's involvement with
Hazel Park began in 1948 following the visit of a local auto dealer, Waldo Andrews to the law office of James Bellanca. Andrews had secured a 30-day option letter to purchase the Hazel Park Stadium Company (HPSC). Andrews then went on to fill Bellanca in with the details of the company plans, which centered around the proposed construction of an automobile orharness racing track inHazel Park, Michigan . Bellanca started soliciting for investors, who happened to be Tocco and Joe Zerilli, through this they formed a second corporation, named Hazel Park Racing Association. The track was finished after Bellanca attained money from the syndicate leaders. Hazel Parks success led to a dispute between HPSC's original incorporators and Bellanca's Hazel Park Racing Association. Tocco, Zerilli and Bellanca expanded their interest inhorse racing on June 27, 1957, by purchasing the Wheeling Downs Race Track inWheeling, West Virginia .Death
Tocco spent most of the last nine years of his life in
Miami, FL . On May 28, 1972, he died in Bon Secours Hospital in Grosse Pointe Park. He was 75 years old and he left behind his wife Rosalie, seven children, and 28 grand children. The funeral was held in the Church of the Holy Family. His body were buried in Mt Carmel Cemetery inDetroit .Notes
ee also
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Jack Tocco
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