This time we’re going to go over the story of Nick Gentile (sometimes spelled Gentilli). He may have come up before, but now we’ll focus specifically on him for the first and last time.
Nick Gentile was born November 29, 1914 to Joseph and Domenica Bova Gentile. Both parents came from Termini Imerese in Sicily. His elder sister married Joseph DiMaggio (no, not that one), making Nick a brother-in-law of an old school mobster. Joseph’s son Jerry (Nick’s nephew) was also Mafia.
Gentile was arrested in Milwaukee for burglary on September 21, 1931, and was transferred to Shorewood the next day.
Officer John Zilavy and Detective Heinrich were called to the A&P at 914 East Ogden Avenue by manager Lyle Wueir on February 1, 1933 after he had reported the night before to Patrolman John Karazak of three suspicious youths who bought a bottle of milk from him. A quick check revealed the men to be Nick Machi, Nick Gentile and Rocco Maglio, who rented apartment 204 at 912 East Ogden Avenue for the purpose of hanging out with young women.
Four Italians were brought in for questioning at 11:15am on February 8, 1933, regarding the February 6 shooting death of Patrolman Zingler. They were Rocco Maglio, 18, 218 North Jefferson; Nick Machi, 18, 221 North Jefferson; John Vallone, 19, 222 North Milwaukee Street; and Nick Gentile, 18, 2208 East Webster Place. They were not strong suspects but merely brought in because of their recent police contact. Gentile said he was at home sick with venereal disease at the time of the murder, and this was backed up by his mother and brother Mike. The other three said they were at their rented apartment with two young women, and this was confirmed by the apartment manager who said she had warned them between 11:00pm and 11:30pm not to make too much noise.
A warrant was issued on March 19, 1947 for Joseph Ferro, 35, 624 West Wisconsin Avenue, on charges of pandering, sodomy and carnal knowledge. The FBI called Ferro a link in a vice ring transporting girls between Milwaukee and Chicago. He surrendered the next day, was arraigned and was bound over for trial by Judge Harvey L. Neelen. The trial was set for 2:30pm on April 21. Attorney Jack Goldberg was able to get the bond so low by pointing out that Ferro was already under federal bond of $5,000 for transporting two Milwaukee girls to Chicago for prostitution, debauchery and immoral purposes.
The state’s case against Ferro involved an 18-year-old woman who was also involved in the federal charges, as well as a 17-year-old girl who was presently at the state school for girls at Oregon. The 17-year-old was also the accuser of Nicholas Gentile (1207A South 16th Street) and his nephew Charles DiMaggio, 26 (520 East Detroit Street) who were charged with carnal knowledge and abuse on Wednesday.
Joseph Ferro, 35, appeared in federal court on April 14, 1947, where he was sentenced to five years for violating the White Slave Traffic Act. He had given a 17-year-old girl a fur coat and told her he could set her up with modeling jobs, but then brought her to a Chicago brothel. Later the same day, he appeared in municipal court, where he pleaded not guilty to seven charges of pandering, sodomy and carnal knowledge.
On April 18, 1947, Ferro appeared before Judge Herbert Steffes with attorney Jack Goldberg. Ferro remained in the county jail, despite his federal conviction, for the duration of his state charges. Goldberg filed an affidavit of prejudice and requested a change of venue, saying his client could not get a fair trial in Milwaukee County due to all the negative publicity. Steffes accepted the affidavit but said he would not change the venue, as Goldberg had every right to question the fitness of prospective jurors when the time arrived.
On April 21, 1947, Nicholas Gentile, 32 (1323 North Astor Street) and his nephew Charles M. DiMaggio, 26 (531 East Detroit Street) were arraigned on charges of carnal knowledge and abuse after surrendering with their attorneys. Bail was $500 for Gentile because of a prior offense and $250 for DiMaggio. Defense attorneys Henry Wagner and Maurice Spracker said the men could not surrender sooner because they had been in New York meeting with DiMaggio’s brother Jerome, who had returned from military service overseas.
When exactly Gentile married Beverly Jane Kretlow is unclear, but Beverly would turn 20 in 1952, so it seems likely around that time. A Sarah Kretlow had previously married Milwaukee mobster Carlo DiMaggio (brother to Nick’s brother-in-law Joseph DiMaggio). It seems rather coincidental that there are multiple Kretlow-DiMaggio-Gentile links, but I could not confirm any blood connection.
Nick Gentile was in Chattanooga on April 10, 1957 (and both before and after). He registered at the Read House Hotel in Room 1051 and was apparently there for gambling in a large craps game at the Ratten Hotel. However, a known gambler reported him to the police saying he was asking around about who had large sums of money, and the gambler thought Gentile was planning a burglary.
Gentile was at the Calhoun Hotel in Anderson, South Carolina from May 6 to May 8, 1957, for business reasons.
Gentile was interviewed by SA Laurence Giuntoli on November 19, 1957. At this time, Gentile lived at 3328 North Oakland Avenue and was employed as a salesman for Scomar Building Products. He advised his wife Beverly worked at Field’s Women’s Apparel Shop.
August 22, 1962: An informant said Nick Gentile was running a gambling book out of his home at 225 East Henry Clay Street in Whitefish Bay. He was allegedly doing this with August Maniaci and John Aiello. By early September, Gentile was evicted and moved to 3839 West Capitol Drive.
In May 1963, Beverly Gentile sought a license to operate a pancake house at 11426 West Bluemound Road but was denied because her husband had 21 convictions including gambling and “aiding prostitution.” The license instead went to Joseph Gentile, Nick’s brother, who swore his brother would not be involved.
The FBI spoke with Nick Gentile on June 15, 1963, at Fanny’s Pancake House (11426 Bluemound). He told the agents he had been instrumental in getting the restaurant up and running, but the Wauwatosa authorities wouldn’t give him a license because the Milwaukee police are pressuring them not to.
Nick Gentile was arrested March 4, 1964, for tax evasion. Nick Gentile was arrested on August 16, 1964, for issuing worthless checks, but the charge was dismissed. Nick Gentile was arrested October 13, 1964, for failing to file his taxes.
Nick Gentile was arrested on May 10, 1967, in Wauwatosa for issuing worthless checks. The charge was dropped when he agreed to pay restitution.
May 22, 1967: An informant said Nick Gentile operated the Carriage House restaurant on West State, but could be going out of business soon because he drank up all his profits.
In March 1969, Rockford associate Joe Roberts was working for a siding business in Beloit and Nick Gentile, was working for a different company also in Beloit. Roberts phoned Gentile and told him he had a week to get out of town and that he “may have Balistrieri in Milwaukee, but he had more powerful friends in Rockford.” Buscemi, being fully aware of Rockford having just gotten done with a December 1968 gambling and liquor inquiry, did not want this type of attention. He told Charlie Vince and Knobby Gulotta to take care of the problem, which they somehow did.
November 15, 1971: Agent Dennis Condon stopped in the New Yorker Lounge. Owner Nick Gentile was playing dice with two men at the bar and his nephew Jerry DiMaggio was tending bar. When DiMaggio saw Condon, he said something in Italian and the men put the dice and money away. Condon did not care about this and had idle conversation. DiMaggio commented that he did not think prostitution existed in Milwaukee anymore because women are giving it away for free.
Nick Gentile was accepting football bets through his New Yorker Bar at 605 North 5th Street in October and November 1972. He was a relatively low-level bookie, only taking bets as high as $200. He lessened his involvement in November when he caught wind that the “heat” was in town. Although associated with the Milwaukee LCN, he apparently operated his gambling solo and not with the usual suspects.
Special Agent Eugene Murphy went to the New Yorker Bar on October 26, 1972 and observed the clientele. He estimated that 80% of the patrons were black, and so were the female entertainers. Murphy overheard two white men discussing football games, and saw a pool room he suspected of being a gambling area, but recognized no one in the bar.
When special agents entered the New Yorker on December 14, 1972, they saw a “well-known prostitute” in the bar. At 9:04pm, after the prostitute left, an agent identified himself to an off-duty bartender in the bar. The man acknowledged that prostitution goes on there, but said he did not know much about it as he was new, having left the Brothers II tavern only three weeks before. The bartender said the owner, Nick Gentile, only comes in at 1:00am to close up, and that he had recently moved to Shorewood.
Nick Gentile called the police in early February 1973 and turned in two prostitutes that were working out of his tavern. An informant told the FBI that this was a “ruse” and a “high-class girl” was still working for him there.
In July 1973, Nick Gentile helped an associate get his liquor license approved five days early. (Probably August Palmisano for Richie’s on Broadway.) He called a Sergeant (redacted), who worked in the License Bureau on the 7th floor of the Safety Building. The officer took the license and made sure to give it immediate approval.
At 10:30pm on June 20, 1974, an FBI agent went to the New Yorker night club and saw two black strippers there, as well as three Italian men with a notebook (including a 50-year old bartender), and overheard the men say that “this is good gambling”.
Gentile was interviewed by two agents at the New Yorker Bar on July 24, 1974. He said he owned the bar for four years, and hires local girls to work as go-go dancers. The girls rarely stay there longer than a month. He said he does not allow the dancers to proposition customers, but he knows that other prostitutes hang out at the bar but said there was little he could do about that considering his downtown location. Gentile said his vending machines were supplied by the WZ Company, who he said provide excellent service. Prior to his death, he had machines from Arnold Just. He said he grew up in the Third Ward as the son of Sicilian parents with eight children. His father worked in the produce business. One brother, George, had been a police officer for thirty years. He acknowledged knowing Frank Balistrieri and attending weddings, funerals and other social events with known hoodlums, but said he knew nothing of their activities and had simply grown up with them.
Agents interviewed Nick Gentile at the New Yorker Bar (again) on November 26, 1974. He was in very poor health. They showed him a photo of (redacted), and Gentile said he knew the man but had not seen him in over a year. Gentile was recovering from ulcers and alcoholism and no longer stayed up late or had much social interaction with anyone.
On the evening of December 16, 1974, an obese, balding, mustachioed wholesale jeweler was seen talking with Nick Gentile. On the evening of December 17, Vincent Maniaci was in conversation with Nick Gentile and August Palmisano concerning the investigation of Maniaci (for facilitating thefts). Gentile joked, “They can’t hang anything on me.” Around midnight, Gentile became upset (for reasons unknown) and had the music turned off, and asked the patrons and go-go dancers to go home. Shortly after midnight a man arrived with a package for Palmisano, to which he replied, “I’ve been waiting for these.”
In June 1977, the Lib Book Store (601 North 5th Street) came under scrutiny as possibly selling obscene materials. Two clerks had been arrested for selling books with obscene photos two years prior. The building was rented to them by Nick and Beverly (Kretlow) Gentile, who operated Beverly’s Lounge next door at 605 North 5th Street. The Gentiles, in turn, rented out both sections from Ervin and Joseph Beck, the owners of Manitoba Corporation. The Becks also owned the Mitchell Novelty Company, a pinball operation.
An informant told the FBI on September 11, 1977, that he heard a rumor that Nick Gentile was told by Frank Balistrieri a week before the car bomb that Gentile should keep his distance from Vincent Maniaci.
Agents spoke with Nick Gentile on September 22, 1978. He again told them he did not know who killed August Palmisano. The agents told Gentile that they heard a rumor that he might be in danger because of his friendship with Palmisano. Gentile said he was an old man and not afraid of Frank Balistrieri, with no quarrel existing between them. The agents offered to make his car tamper-resistant. He declined, saying he kept it in a locked garage and that was good enough for him.
Gentile passed on September 30, 1979, at only 64 years old.
In January 1980, the property came up again as Marcus talked about buying up property in the neighborhood and revitalizing it. The building holding the Lib Book Store and Beverly’s was at North 5th and West Michigan, adjacent to the Marc Plaza Hotel. At this point, the property was said to be owned by attorney Earl Charlton rather than the Beck brothers. Charlton said Beverly’s lease expires in June 1981, and Charlton was “very enthused about the development west of the Milwaukee River” and would “definitely like to see other uses” for the property than a night club and adult bookstore.