Note: There isn’t necessarily anything about Ray Matera that makes him stand out – I could have chosen any of the Kenosha gamblers to represent his circle. Also, this does not copy over information from other pages on this site such as Alfred DeCesaro, so there are pieces missing that should be here.
September 29, 1920: Raymond James “Squeaky” Matera was born in Kenosha to Emilio and Melinda (Santatoro) Matera. He was raised in Kenosha and attended Kenosha public schools.
September 11, 1942, joined the Eighth Air Force and allegedly served in Normandy, England, France, Germany, as well as the Asiatic, African and Middle Eastern theaters. (This seems like a lot of different places to be, but that’s what his obituary claims.) He was discharged October 9, 1945. While on leave in June 1943, he married Minnie Morrell in Kenosha.
March 12, 1949: Police raided the Kenosha Athletic Club, which contained a gambling operation. Operator Frank “Ditchy” Greco received the biggest fine ($500), and four employees received smaller fines ($50 each): Walter Mann, Joseph Pfeiffer, Willis Zierk and John Charles Buttera. 18 were fined $5 each for being in the place. Most are not notable, but three men named Matera were there: Raymond Matera, Marvin F. Matera and Anthony Matera. In fact, 77 were picked up – but fines were only given to people with previous gambling records. (Anthony and Marvin Matera were brothers – there is no clear family link to Raymond.)
March 13, 1953: Police found a knocked-out man and in trying to figure out where he came from, stumbled upon a gambling operation inside an apartment. Carol Scola, Emil Conforti, Raymond Matera and John “Sure Shot” Buttera were in there, among others.
Around 1955, he joined American Motor, where he was the chief loading and receiving steward.
October 6, 1963: Police broke up a poker game with 11 men playing, and they were fined $50 each. Included in this group were Raymond Matera, Peter Scola, Ralph Masaro, John Scripanti, Frank Volpentesta and Herb Brandes.
A Kenosha County sheriff’s deputy advised the FBI on February 8, 1965 that Raymond James Matera was involved in a horse book at American Motors in Kenosha. Matera had formerly been a steward but was now employed in department 842 (receiving).
An informant in Kenosha spoke with Special Agent William Higgins on April 15, 1965. He said Ray Matera had been spending his evening hours on Kenosha’s west side at Louis Greco’s restaurant and (despite being married) had a girlfriend (name redacted). Greco was known to be mixed up with what was commonly called the “West Side Crew.”
An informant told the FBI on June 16, 1965 that Ray Matera’s horse book operations were independent and he had no connection to one specific hoodlum. Any layoff bets he did would be through anyone who would take them and not a specific person (such as John Rizzo).
Ray Matera appeared before Judge Urban Zievers on August 6, charged with gambling stemming from a John Doe probe, and requested a preliminary hearing, which was scheduled for August 16 before Judge Earl Morton.
Raymond Matera had his preliminary hearing on August 16, 1965 for commercial gambling, with Dominic Frinzi appearing as his attorney. Charged along with Matera were Carl Scola and Dante Cardinali. Prosecutor Donald W. Steinmetz called four witnesses who testified that they had played poker for money in Carl “Cookie” Scola’s apartment over Dante’s Tavern. Barber John L. Seggiaro said he started his gambling nights at the Eagles Club, but if he was “hooked” (not winning), he would venture over to the apartment. Seggiaro said the Eagles game would have a $50 pot and they would rotate dealers, whereas the apartment had a $35 pot, but the dealer remained constant. Restaurant operator Frank Tenuta said he would occasionally sit in as a dealer, and when the pot became too big, he would take money from it to buy food for everyone present. He said at no time did anyone make bets directly with the dealer. Herbert Brandes, an American Motors employee, described the game as friendly and said he never lost more than $40 or won more than $50. Matera was identified by Janesville resident Gerald Huber, 29, as the dealer. The hearing was continued to August 24.
At the August 24 hearing, three more witnesses appeared. John Woodbury said he gambled above Dante’s a dozen times, and the dealer rotated. It was a friendly game, with part of the money going to buy sandwiches, drinks and cigarettes. Harvey Schmidt said he was invited but never played – he had been warned that it was a $20 minimum buy-in, so he shouldn’t play unless he brought $100. ($100 in 1965 is comparable to $1,000 in 2024, so it’s a lot more than it sounds.) Vice officer William Lee said he had seen a poker table and chairs and asked Cardinali to remove them, but never actually saw gambling in progress.
Following the preliminary hearing, Matera and Scola were bound over for trial. Cardinali was let go – despite being his tavern, there was little to connect him to the gambling. Dominic Frinzi said, “Because a few fellows from American Motors couldn’t afford to join the Eagles, the Elks, or the country club, they went to this place to play cards and got hit with felony charges. The John Doe tried to get at city hall and wound up getting some poor, broken-down gambling charges.” It was also pointed out that while Matera and Scola were allegedly card dealers on occasion, there was nothing to suggest they were profiting from this or taking a cut. The witnesses against these two had just as much involvement as they did.
Checking into Raymond Matera’s phone records, the FBI found he was in contact with a William Burton Hull of Las Vegas. A check of records on September 7, 1965 disclosed Hull was a “box man” and dealer at the Horseshoe in Vegas. He was 58 and originally from Patterson, Louisiana. His exact connection to Matera is unclear.
January 3, 1966: Matera’s bartender license was up for renewal. Other licenses were renewed without comment, but his passed on a 50/50 vote. (Not sure where he was tending bar… probably Dante’s?)
April 4, 1966: Arraignment was supposed to happen for Matera (keeping a gambling place) and alleged commercial gamblers William Sanek, Frank J. Januzzi, Joseph S. Pfeiffer and Albert Albana. These charges came out of the Kenosha John Doe gambling probe. Judge Eugene Baker rescheduled because the transcript of the preliminary hearing was not ready. Defense attorney Dominic Frinzi entered a series of motions seeking dismissal… they were all denied and trial was set for June 20. Matera switched his plea to guilty and paid a $500 fine.
January 1968: Jim Matera, Raymond’s 19-year old son, was driving an ambulance from An Khe to Pleiku in Vietnam. He was shot in the head, but luckily had his helmet on, which absorbed the impact almost completely. Despite a noticeable dent in the helmet, Jim was knocked out for a moment but took no damage whatsoever. A firefight broke out, killing one American and wounding several others. 37 Vietnamese were killed on the spot.
1975, Raymond Matera retired from American Motors.
October 26, 1993, Matera died at home, at 73 years of age. He was survived by his wife, son James Raymond Matera, and daughter Kathleen Matrise.