Runorata Family

The Runorata Family was a Mafia family based in Newark, New Jersey and New York. It was founded in the first half of the twentieth century by Bartolo Runorata, an Italian immigrant from the same town as Molsa Martillo, don of the Martillo family. In 1931, the organization had over a thousand members and connections with the police, the press, and select government officials, making it one of the most influential East Coast mafia organizations at the time.

The Runorata family had a mutually beneficial relationship with the Genoard family for a period of time; the Genoards oversaw the manufacture of drugs (including cocaine and marijuana) which the Runoratas would distribute for them, an arrangement which proved profitable for both sides. However, the death of the the first-generation head of the Genoard family marked the beginning of the end of their alliance. His replacements, Raymond Genoard (his son) and Jeffrey Genoard (his grandson), had different ideas about money, and Runorata-Genoard relations deteriorated while both sides tried and failed to come to a new agreement.

Tensions reached their peak in December of 1931. The Runorata family orchestrated and covered up the deaths of both Raymond and Jeffrey, the bodies of whom were found in a car at the bottom of New York Bay. With the two heads out of the picture, the Runorata family quickly took over the Genoard family's factory and cover businesses (textiles), silencing witnesses through threats or murder.

Despite having influence in New York, the Runoratas had no power in Manhattan, the control of which was split between the Five Families. Gustavo Bagetta, tasked with obtaining a foothold in Manhattan, oversaw the surreptitious distribution of Runorata drugs in the already occupied territories, including the Gandor Family and the Martillo Family (despite Bartolo ruling them off-limits due to his and Molsa's shared heritage).

The Gandor Family had always been on bad terms with the Runoratas, due to their anti-drug policy (stemming from Keith Gandor, who despised drugs).