Angelo Marino (1924-1983)

Angelo Marino was a capo and later the boss of the San Jose Family. Marino was born in Pittsburgh, PA. His parents came to the United States from Italy in 1918. He was the son of Pittsburgh capo, Salvatore Marino. Angelo Marino moved to San Jose in 1949 to operate a cheese factory owned by his father. At one point Marino's company controlled 85% of California's mozzarella and ricotta business. Marino was married for a time to Precious Maggio, daughter of Michael Maggio, who was reportedly a capo in the Philadelphia Family for many years. Maggio was the owner of M. Maggio Cheese Co. in Philadelphia. On December 5, 1962, Marino was given a contract from Joseph Cerrito to murder Giuseppe Polimeni, who managed a pizza place in Vacaville, CA, known as Pietro's Pizza. This man murdered a member of the Sicilian Mafia in 1953. Polimeni moved from place to place in the United States, and finally was located in California, working under the name John Ripepi. He would have continued to be in hiding if he didn't become friendly with a salesman from Marino's cheese company. Unaware that the company was operated by a mafioso, Polimeni told the salesman more than he should have about his past, but he was deported to Italy before the mob could kill him. Look Magazine ran a story in 1969 linking San Francisco's Mayor Joseph Alioto to Marino and five other mafia figures. Mr. Alioto responded with a $450,000 libel suit that he eventually won.

In October 1977 Marino was indicted, along with his son, for the murder of father and son, Orlando and Peter Catelli. The order for their murder had been given by Marino while he sat behind his desk in the trailer office of the cheese factory. Marino had told Orlando to take a knife off his desk and kill his son, Peter, who had tried to extort $100,000 from Marino. When he refused, saying he could not kill his own blood, Marino, who was called Don Marino by the others, told Orlando that he could kill Peter and go home and eat his dinner. The five mobsters took a vote and decided to kill them. Orlando was shot in the back of his head while he was kneeling beside the body of his dead son. He decided to play dead. Weighing 270, it took three men to lift him into the trunk of a car. A few minutes later his son's body was dumped on top of him. The driver abandoned the car in San Francisco and Orlando banged on the trunk lid with a hammer and was rescued. Marino was convicted in 1980, but the conviction was overturned. He became the boss of the San Jose mafia organization after the death of Joseph Cerrito. On February 9, 1983, Marino died of a fatal heart attack at age 58.