The Good Killers

1921’s Glimpse of the Mafia

The Caiozzo murder

Camillo Caiozzo was born to Giuseppe and Maria Pepitone Caiozzo of Castellammare on Nov. 29, 1894. His was a farming family, but his paternal grandfather, also named Camillo, was a minor public figure,26 a possible indicator that the Caiozzos had some political clout.

Caiozzo was deemed responsible for the death of a Magaddino relative back in the old country. This alleged crime appears to have been the unsolved 1916 murder of Stefano Magaddino’s brother Pietro. The Magaddino clan seemed to have initially attributed that murder to the treachery of the Buccellatos, into whose family Pietro had married, and several Buccellato clansmen met their ends in 1916.27

Castellammare

As Caiozzo arrived in Ellis Island aboard the steamer LaSavoie on June 28, 1920,28 likely fleeing Magaddino retribution, word of his offense was sent from Sicily. The Good Killers were assigned to carry out the vendetta.29

Caiozzo initially settled with his mother Maria and siblings on East 12th Street in Manhattan.30 Apparently sensing his danger, he steered clear of Good Killers gang member Francesco Puma, who lived in the same neighborhood. After a year, the Good Killers apparently decided they could get to Caiozzo easiest by using his boyhood friend Fontano to catch him off guard.

Fontano claimed he learned of the murder plot when three of the gang leaders backed him into a hallway, “pressed the muzzles of their pistols into his stomach and told him to swear to commit the crime or they would blow him to pieces.”31

Fontano had seen enough of the Good Killers’ actions in Detroit to know the grave position he was in. He gave in to the pressure and took an oath to murder Caiozzo.

The two old chums became reacquainted in summer of 1921 and might even have moved in together briefly.32 In late July, Fontano proposed a combination business trip and vacation in New Jersey. Caiozzo had recently sold an embroidery business, earning $600 to $700, and Fontano urged him to invest the proceeds in a “disorderly house” (1920s term for a brothel).33 He offered to put his old friend in touch with a New Jersey acquaintance who managed such an establishment near Shark River in Monmouth County. Fontano suggested they spend a few days there and enjoy some hunting in the countryside.

The pair arrived Thursday, July 26, at the Riverview Inn in Neptune City. The inn was managed by Salvatore Cieravo (known locally as Salvatore Rose), who also ran the “disorderly house” located in the next municipality, Asbury Park.34

On Saturday, Caiozzo took a train back to New York City. The purpose of his trip is not known, but while in the city, he visited his family. It was the last time Maria Caiozzo would see her son alive.35

During his absence, Fontano told his host how the Good Killers had demanded he kill Caiozzo. Cieravo knew of the gang and understood that Fontano had no reasonable option other than to murder his friend. The innkeeper offered Fontano the use of a shotgun and recommended that the deed be done in the woods away from the inn.36

Caiozzo returned to Neptune City on Sunday, and he and Fontano went duck hunting the following day. The two men ventured toward an overgrown and marshy area along Shark River. Fontano, holding Cieravo’s shotgun, lagged just a step behind Caiozzo as they hiked. When the men were out of sight of the inn, Fontano put the muzzle of the shotgun against his old friend’s back and jerked the trigger.

The weapon seems to have been loaded for more than birds. Lead slugs ripped a large hole through Caiozzo’s back and side.37

Panicked and stricken with guilt, Fontano rushed back to the inn, leaving Caiozzo where he had fallen. Close to 2:30 p.m., Cieravo saw him and asked if everything was all right. Fontano said it was. Cieravo wanted to know where the killing had taken place, and Fontano indicated, “Right over there,” pointing to a spot not far off.

Cieravo was angered: “I told you to go far away. You’ll spoil my house.”

Leaving murder victims lying around the property wasn’t good for business. Cieravo grabbed a shovel and had Fontano lead him to Caiozzo’s body. When they reached the site, Cieravo tried to have Fontano bury his friend. Fontano refused. Disgusted, Cieravo dragged the body a dozen or so paces away and hid it in some brush.38

The two men then walked toward Cieravo’s home on Embury Avenue, stopping along the way for Cieravo to have a brief discussion with his friend Giuseppe Lombardi, a member of the Good Killers gang. Lombardi immediately departed for New York.39

Before dawn the next morning, Lombardi returned to Neptune City accompanied by Francesco Puma. With help from Fontano and Cieravo, they located Caiozzo’s remains, tied stones to the body and sank it in the water of Shark River. The men then adjourned to a 4 a.m. breakfast at Newton’s Luncheon near the local train station and returned via train to New York.40

As he reached the city, Fontano became concerned for his future. Lombardi and Puma reportedly urged him to visit Brooklyn with them. Fontano imagined himself thrown alive into a Bonventre bakery oven and understandably declined the invitation.41