Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $9.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Store
    The Store
    The Store
    Ebook126 pages1 hour

    The Store

    By Neil DeFillippo

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    A true story about an immigrant woman who arrived from Italy in 1904 at the age of sixteen and who created a financial empire, Cristina Covino was able to accumulate her wealth by grit, hard work, and dealings with the underworld starting during Prohibition, continuing through the Depression and the good financial post years of World War II. This all took place during the times that were always considered to be “a man’s world.”

    Her wealth was achieved, in a great part, by making and selling illegal liquor during Prohibition in 1927 and taking illegal numbers starting in 1931. She was an extremely large player in both ventures, being the largest woman bootlegger to make and sell alcohol in Westchester County, New York, then being her own “bank” while taking numbers in Mount Vernon, New York.

    The story follows a cast of characters who had direct connections to the Covino Family. It tells of a close-knit family, friends, and oh-so-loyal customers who admired and loved her. This continued until her tragic death with the sinking of the Andrea Doria in 1956.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPage Publishing, Inc.
    Release dateJun 16, 2021
    ISBN9781662431258
    The Store

    Related to The Store

    Related ebooks

    Women's Biographies For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Christine’s novel life THE WOMAN BEHIND THE BLOCKBUSTERS

      Mar 27, 2022

      Her books are loved by movie makers with one being adapted into the Taika Waititi film JoJo Rabbit and her latest, In Amber’s Wake, being adapted by the producer of Thelma & Louise. The Weekly chats to Christine Leunens about what makes a story great

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Language of LOVE

      Aug 11, 2020

      The Language of LOVE
      5 min read

    • Article

      A Love Supreme

      Oct 9, 2021

      A Love Supreme
      5 min read

    • Article

      A Shot At Happiness

      Oct 17, 2021

      A Shot At Happiness
      6 min read

    • Article

      “I Wore The Daily Mail Down By Still Being Here”

      Apr 25, 2021

      Broadcaster and presenter Sandi Toksvig might be the closest thing we have to lesbian royalty in the UK. As host of shows like QI and The Great British Bake Off, the 62-year-old has become a beloved household name, adored by millions. How different t

      7 min read

    • Article

      A Likely Story

      Feb 9, 2020

      A Likely Story
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Ones We Sent Away

      Aug 7, 2023

      The Ones We Sent Away
      47 min read

    • Article

      SMALL Ponds

      Aug 5, 2019

      SMALL Ponds
      17 min read

    • Article

      Dead Dad Book

      Apr 7, 2020

      Dead Dad Book
      8 min read

    • Article

      The Joy Of Going

      May 20, 2024

      The Joy Of Going
      5 min read

    • Article

      What Love We THIS MONTH

      May 25, 2020

      I know some people will be horrified by this, but I really don’t like crispy or crunchy biscuits. Sorry, I just can’t stand the thought of chipping a tooth during teatime! After tinkering with this recipe for a bit, it now produces the best, chewiest

      4 min read

    • Article

      Join The Weekly Conversation

      Sep 25, 2023

      Join The Weekly Conversation
      3 min read

    • Article

      Michael Caine

      Nov 28, 2024

      Michael Caine
      7 min read

    • Article

      HIGH TEA WITH Sarah Ferguson

      Oct 5, 2022

      HIGH TEA WITH Sarah Ferguson
      8 min read

    • Article

      Join The Weekly Conversation

      Nov 13, 2023

      Join The Weekly Conversation
      5 min read

    • Article

      Anita Rani

      Jul 25, 2022

      Anita Rani
      5 min read

    • Article

      Winning Letter

      Feb 23, 2024

      EACH week our team comes together to discuss and plan the magazine – from choosing which stories will go into the issue to sourcing images for each page and seeing everything through to the layout process. And week after week, story after story, the

      5 min read

    • Article

      Kay Mellor

      Mar 1, 2021

      Kay Mellor
      5 min read

    • Article

      Letters to Kevin

      Apr 25, 2021

      Letters to Kevin
      3 min read

    • Article

      Breaking The Colour Code

      Mar 3, 2019

      Breaking The Colour Code
      9 min read

    • Article

      In America

      Aug 8, 2019

      In America
      11 min read

    • Article

      How It Was

      Jun 10, 2022

      How It Was
      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Store

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      The Store - Neil DeFillippo

      Chapter 1

      Who Was She? Where Was She Going?

      Cristina DiPalo was born in the town of Fragoli outside Naples, Italy, in 1888, a town that was dominated by petty thieves who took advantage of the local people plus anyone passing through. If your bike was left alone for any amount of time, you would return to find it missing. In some instances, the thieves would offer to sell it back to you. Cristina would never ride to town and instead would walk almost two miles from her home and back to avoid giving up anything that belonged to her. This attitude continued throughout her life, not being afraid to work hard to protect what belonged to her whether it was her children or the business she had created—the store.

      Her brother John had left for America in 1902 at the age of eighteen. Their father, Donato, was a barber and a dentist for the town. John learned to be a barber at an early age. He had gone to America after his mother died giving birth and his dad remarried. The children didn’t get along with their stepmother, who didn’t treat the six of them well. This hastened John’s departure.

      Cristina was amazed by the many things John wrote her about the new country. When her father decided to immigrate to America, Cristina was thrilled. However, he and his new wife took along only Cristina and her sister Emily (Molly), leaving behind his son Ferdinando (Fred) and two daughters, Julia and Luisa, who were put into a home for children without parents. Fred and his sisters were treated terribly as were most of the other children in the home. Fred was abused both physically and mentally because he would act out when he felt injustice was occurring.

      The trip across the Atlantic was harsh. Steerage was where most of the Italian immigrants, including the DiPalo family, were lodged as this was the least expensive accommodation. The first few days were pleasant as the sun shined brightly, bringing people up onto the deck from below where the stench was almost more than Cristina could take. People were packed in with very little hygiene available. Toilets were limited; and the crew did little, if anything, to improve the conditions. It then started to rain and continued for a week. The situation below became worse than before because the heavy rains and winds kept the people from going up on the deck. Dysentery became a huge problem, and some of the infants below died.

      When the weather finally got better, the people in steerage went up on the deck and stayed there until the ship docked in New York at Ellis Island, refusing to go back below despite the order to do so by the captain. When they departed from the ship, Cristina was exhausted both physically and mentally. She followed her father around like a trained seal, following him as he went from station to station, being disrespected by the customs officers who made crude remarks and had no empathy for these new immigrants who arrived mostly from Southern Italy.

      SS Perugia Manifest of Alien Passengers, when The DiPalo Family sailed to America—1904

      Chapter 2

      New Country, New Wonders, New Beginning

      One of Cristina’s cousins was waiting for them as they cleared customs. He brought them to an apartment he had rented for them in Lower Manhattan at 118 Mulberry Street, an area known as Little Italy as it’s still called today. Though much has changed since they moved there in 1904. Cristina was amazed by the amount of people living in such a small area. The pushcarts lining the streets selling anything you could possibly need from underwear, fruits, vegetables, fish, meats, Italian delicacies, pots, pans, and the most valuable item—ice. Ice was carried up to the apartments by the icemen with tongs or on their shoulders. The ice was placed in an icebox which was put out the window of the apartment to keep the perishable items from going bad. You name it, you could get it on Mulberry Street. Even an organ-grinder with a monkey holding a tin cup to receive money as the man played the accordion. What amazing sights for a girl who was sixteen years old.

      The area was then, and to some degree still is, controlled by the Mafia. You had to pay them to operate just about any business. They kept the people living their intimidated by their ruthlessness. The area has made much progress since Cristina lived there. It has become well-known for the finest Italian restaurants, imported foods from Italy, cookware, statues, and desserts. It was also well-known for where many of the Mafia could be seen at restaurants, on the streets, or in espresso cafés. No business could operate without consent from the Mob. You either paid them for the privilege or made them a partner. In other instances, they would open a business in someone else’s name. The Feast of San Gennaro had started and became well-known throughout America. People flocked there every summer to get a taste of Italy. A small portion of the feast money went to the local church with the rest of the proceeds going to the wise guys that operated it. In the last few years, the feast has lost a great deal of its pizzas. Many of the blocks inhabited by Italian Americans is now inhabited by Chinese American immigrants.

      Cristina’s brother John was living in Brooklyn, New York, and was aware that the family had arrived from Italy. Even though his relationship with his father and stepmother was strained, he would go to Mulberry Street on Sundays to see his sisters. That was his only day off from being a barber. Having learned the trade in Italy, he had become a master barber with a good following. After saving enough money, he opened his own shop. His shop did very well not only from his expert workmanship but from John’s outgoing personality. Many of his young friends that had arrived in America in the late 1800s or early 1900s as he did were hard workers and enjoyed going to his shop on Saturdays when they were off from work to get a shave and shoot the breeze. Some of his friends were up-and-coming members of the Mafia in Brooklyn which, later in Cristina’s life, became a key element in her success. John was a meticulous dresser with a very fair complexion and light hair. Each week that he went to their apartment, his sisters would tell him of the terrible ways the stepmother was mistreating them. He talked to his father about this several times, but nothing was ever done to improve the situation. Finally, one Sunday, he got into a heated argument with his father about how things were. With this, John told the girls to pack their bags, which was one suitcase each with their belongings. Their father could not stop him as John was a very strong young man, and according to Cristina, the father didn’t seem to care if they left.

      There was a cousin who, along with his wife, had a boardinghouse in Yonkers, New York, a suburb of New York City. They were in need of help to keep the place in good condition. Yonkers at the time was coming into its own as an industrial city. This was because a large part of it was on the Hudson River, allowing it to easily ship goods to most of the East Coast. It brought immigrants there since it was in need of workers—some skilled and others were laborers. The workers there were primarily Polish and Italian. A boardinghouse was very much in demand as those people, mostly men, needed a place to stay. The two sisters, Cristina and Molly, were responsible for cleaning the rooms and helping to prepare a light breakfast in the morning and dinner which was served at 6:00 p.m. sharp. The boarders had to have a job as rent was due every Sunday. No rent money, no room on Monday. There were plenty of men waiting to rent.

      One of the boarders was Emilio Covino, a good-looking, smooth-talking young man. He was a blacksmith by trade but had also become

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1