Early Life
Giuseppe Morello was born in Corleone, Sicily on May 2, 1867. His father Calogero Morello died in 1872 and his mother Angelina Piazza remarried one year later to Bernardo Terranova who was a member of the Corleonesi Mafia in Corleone. Bernardo and Angelina had three sons: Vincenzo (born 1886), Ciro (born 1888) and Nicolo (born 1890); and two daughters, Lucia (born 1877) and Salvatrice Terranova (born 1880). Critchley mentions Maria Morello-Lima (born 1869) as Morello's sister from the Morello-Piazza marriage and a possible third half-sister, Rosalia Terranova-Lomonte (born 1892-died October 14, 1915). The Morello and Terranova children grew up together and Bernardo may have facilitated Giuseppe's early induction into the local cosca, or Mafia clan. Crichley notes that Morello also had an uncle, Giuseppe Battaglia, who was a leader in the Corelonesi Mafia and who may have assisted in his nephew's passage. Giuseppe Morello married Maria Rosa Marvalisi (1867-1898) the couple had one son Calogero "Charles" Morello (born November 1892 in Corleone-died 1912).
The exact year of Morello's emigration to the United States is not certain. Dash writes that Morello emigrated in 1892 after becoming a suspect in a murder in Corleone and after his counterfeiting ring had been compromised. Despite his departure the Italian government brought a case to court and found him guilty of money counterfeiting. On September 14, 1894, he was sentenced to 6 years and 45 days imprisonment plus fine and deprived of the right to hold public office. It is possible that the sentence was handed down in absentia; according to Critchley it appears that Morello left Sicily for New York around this time.
Morello's three half brothers Nicolo, Vincenzo and Ciro, his stepfather Bernardo, his mother Angelina, his sister Maria, his half sister Rosalia, his wife Maria Rosa Marvalisi and son Calogero would arrive in New York on March 8, 1893. In the mid-1890s, Giuseppe Morello moved to Louisiana in search for employment and was joined by the other members of the Morello-Terranova family. The following year they moved to Texas and farmed cotton. After contracting malaria they returned to New York about 1897. Morello tried his hand in different business ventures, including failed investments in a saloon and a date factory. In 1898, Morello's wife Maria Rosa Marvalisi died. Sometime in the early 1900s Morello married Nicolina "Lena" Salemi (1884-1967), she stayed with him for the rest of his life. In 1902, he acquired a saloon at 8 Prince Street in Manhattan which was to become a meeting place for members of his gang.
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