Introduction
Arthur “Gyp” Del Duca was the son of Ottavio Del Duca. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1893, records vary as to whether it was in January, April, or November of that year. He was one of 14 children, six to Ottavio’s first wife, Carmella, and after her passing, eight to his second wife Pasquelina Gaudelli. The Del Ducas apparently left Philadelphia before World War I.
On June 5, 1917 Arthur Del Duca registered for the draft. He was then single, living in Landisville, near Vineland, New Jersey, and worked as a bartender. He served in the United States Army during World War I.
Brother Garfield Del Duca had come to Camden by 1917. The City Directory for that year shows him operating a pool hall at 701 South 3rd Street. By 1920 Pasqualina Del Duca had moved to Camden, settling in at 309 Stevens Street. Arthur Del Duca first appears in Camden City Directories in 1923. He was by then married, and operating a restaurant at 201 Stevens Street. Despite Prohibition being in force, it is highly probable that he was serving alcohol as well.
Arthur Del Duca does not appear in the 1924 City Directory. It is possible that he and his wife Jennie were making their home in Gloucester City by this time. City Directories from the 1920s show that Garfield Del Duca at 674 Fairview Street, not far from the New York Shipbuilding Corporation shipyards with brothers Anthony, Louis and Richard, and news accounts of the time indicate that they were running a speakeasy and that Arthur was heavily involved. Throughout the 1920s and into the 1930s this branch of the large Del Duca clan were having issues with the law.
The 1930 Census shows Arthur and Jennie Del Duca living in Gloucester City on 12th Avenue with their daughter Jennie. In June of 1932 Arthur Del Duca was sentenced to two years in the New Jersey State Penitentiary after being convicted of running a disorderly house. After getting out of prison he relocated to Salem, New Jersey. Unfortunately he did once again run afoul of the law. The 1940 Census shows Arthur Del Duca, by now a widower, as an inmate at the Federal penitentiary at Atlanta, Georgia. His cellmate apparently was Felix Bocchicchio, a notorious crime figure in Camden who gained far greater fame after his release as the manager of world heavyweight boxing champion Jersey Joe Walcott.
By the spring of 1942 Arthur Del Duca had moved to Salem, New Jersey where he apparently spent the rest of his days. Arthur Del Duca died on November 18, 1969 and was buried at Woodstown in Salem County, New Jersey.
World War I Draft Card
World War I Draft Card for Arthur Del Duca
Del Duca on Trial in House Raid Case
Camden Courier-Post —
DEL DUCA ON TRIAL IN HOUSE RAID CASE
Cops to Testify Prisoner Was Proprietor of Fairview Street Place
Arthur “Gyp” Del Duca went on trial yesterday before a jury of 12 men in Criminal Court before Judge Austin H. Swackhamer on an indictment charging him with operating a disorderly house. The trial will be continued today.
The house, at 674 Fairview Street, was raided twice in 24 hours last June 29, once by armed bandits, who robbed two sailors of $26, and once by the police.
Del Duca was not in the house when it was raided after the sailors notified the police they had been robbed. A warrant was issued for his arrest, but he surrendered the next day.
The first two witnesses yesterday were Richard Powers, 17, and David Hickman, 21, inmates of the Rahway Reformatory. They were sentenced by Judge Swackhamer in Gloucester County Criminal Court last April 15 after they had admitted participating in robberies in Camden, Gloucester and Burlington counties.
They were brought here by a guard and testified that on several occasions they had gone to the house and had seen Del Duca there.
Anthony Fields, a vacuum cleaner salesman, said he had gone to the house to sell a sweeper and was there when the police raided the place.
Prosecutor Clifford A. Baldwin introduced as evidence a certified copy of a deed in which Del Duca is shown to be the proprietor.
More than 20 Camden policemen are expected to testify for the state. All of them took part in the raid. The first one called was John Kowal, police detective, who testified that six men and three girls were arrested in the place.
Major Charles W. Dickinson, deputy director of public safety, and Lieut. George Frost will be among the witnesses today.
Del Duca Guilty as Operator of Disorderly House
Camden Courier-Post —
DEL DUCA GUILTY AS OPERATOR OF DISORDERLY HOUSE
All Male Jury Convicts ‘Gyp’ After Deliberating 45 Minutes
GIRL TELLS EXPERIENCES
An all-male criminal court jury yesterday found Arthur “Gyp” Del Duca guilty of operating a disorderly house.
The jury deliberated only 45 minutes before reaching the verdict. Judge Austin H. Swackhamer set bail at $5000 pending sentence, and when Del Duca was unable to post the amount, remanded him to jail.
The state rested at 12:30 p.m. Del Duca then went on the stand in his own defense and made a sweeping denial of the charges. He admitted owning the house, but said he rented it to two men known only as O’Neill and O’Brien.
The state produced a surprise witness who testified she was an inmate of the establishment and that Del Duca was her boss.
The girl, Josephine Comatis, 25, of Philadelphia, described in lurid detail her life in the house at 674 Fairview Street, which was raided by the police June 29 after two sailors reported they had been robbed in the place by bandits.
Cross examination by James Russell Carrow, attorney for Del Duca, served to show the young woman’s story.
Walter Smith and Harry Kyler, city detectives who assisted in the raid, told the court how they found a man and a woman as Dorothy Davis in a second-story bedroom.
Del Duca was not in the house when it was raided, but a warrant was issued for his arrest and he surrendered the next day.
3 Women Scream as Former Boxer Gets 5-Year Term
Camden Courier-Post —
‘Gyp’ Del Duca and ‘Charlie Mack’ Doomed to Hard Labor at State Prison
3 WOMEN SCREAM AS FORMER BOXER GETS 5-YEAR TERM
Fannelli Near Collapse, Other Man Smiles, as Penalties Are Pronounced
LENIENCY PLEAS FUTILE
Stiff prison sentences were meted out in Camden Criminal Court yesterday by Judge Austin H. Swackhamer, of Gloucester county, to Arthur “Gyp” Del Duca, and Charles Fannelli, both of whom were convicted last week.
Del Duca is well known to police. Fannelli, who lives at 319 Penn Street is a former policeman and boxer, who fought under the name of Charlie Mack. Del Duca, convicted of maintaining a disorderly house, was sentenced to two years at hard labor in state’s prison, and a 5-year term was meted to Fannelli, on charges of highway robbery.
Del Duca turned around and smiled at his attorneys after hearing sentence pronounced. But Mack’s knees buckled, his face turned ashen and he seemed on the verge of collapse when he heard his sentence.
Three women in mysteries believed to be relatives of Mack, became hysterical and were led from the courtroom.
Del Duca was convicted by a jury of operating a disorderly house at 674 Fairview Street. When he was called to the bar by Prosecutor Clifford A. Baldwin, David Visor, one of his attorneys, moved for an arrest of judgment, contending the indictment was faulty. Judge Swackhamer refused the motion.
“This man,” Baldwin began his address to the court, “as proprietor of a resort had been warned, raided, fined and raided again without effect.
“His was the most notorious place of its kind in Camden, and the reason he never was caught before was that he never was there when it was raided. But in connection with the resort is common knowledge and despite raids he continued to be a flagrant violator of the social and criminal laws.”
Defense Appeals for Leniency
At this point James Russell Carrow, another of Del Duca’s lawyers, made a plea for a minimum sentence, pointing to the defendant’s army record and that he had never been convicted of a criminal offense before.
“In 1924,” Baldwin replied, “he was arrested for violating the Hobart state prohibition act and fined. He was arrested again for the same offense in the same year and sentenced to 30 days.”
“This is a serious case,” said Judge Swackhamer, “and a disorderly house keeper is a serious menace to the community. I am going to make it a punishment commensurate with the crime. Del Duca, have nothing to say for yourself?”
Takes ‘Rap’ With Smile
“Your honor this is the first time I was ever here on such a charge,” the prisoner said.
Sentence was then pronounced. Del Duca smiled broadly at Carrow and Visor and was led away by attaches. Carrow notified the court he would appeal.
Fannelli then was called to the bar. He is convicted of holding up and taking $51 from Joseph Weska, of Philadelphia, whom he met in a speakeasy near Broadway and Kaighn Avenue last November 10.
“Fannelli, or Mack, gambled with fate and decided on a jury trial in an attempt to beat the rap,” said Assistant Prosecutor Rocco Palese. Gene Mariano, Mack’s attorney, objected to the word “gambled,” and added that if the prisoner were sent to prison for a long term he would come out a hardened criminal.
“On the contrary,” Judge Swackhamer declared, “he might have a chance for reformation because I am going to give him a sentence under which he will have plenty of time to reflect and meditate upon his past conduct and make up his mind to do better when he comes out. I sentence you to five years.”
Apparently surprised at the sentence, Mack grabbed his chair for support. He finally regained his composure, however, just as three women in the back of the court began screaming and weeping. Battling Mack, the prisoner’s brother, led them away, but before they left one of them shouted, “I hope you’re satisfied, now!”
At this point, seven state troopers, witnesses in another case, entered the room and order was restored.
World War II Draft Card
World War II Draft Card for Arthur Del Duca
Family History
My great grandfather was Ottavio DelDuca. He was married to Camella who bore him 6 children. After Camella’s death my great grandmother Pasquelina Gaudelli and Ottavio had 8 more children, one being my grandmother Mary DelDuca Mungioli. My grandmother had a brother Garfield who also had a son Garfield. The Garfield Del Duca that died in Bridgeton in 1968 is the son. He died on the witness stand during the trial of the robber that held him up at gunpoint and shot him. They never could remove the bullet which traveled to his heart while he was testifying, killing him immediately. I was 14 when “little” Gar passed. Some of the other Del Duca’s were Eddie, Arthur, Agostino, Luigi, Richard, Daisy, and Tony. Since Ottavio had 2 families and because I wasn’t born yet I don’t know all their names.