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<\/a>Mr. Verona took offense to the fellow\u2019s comment. The two exchanged words. Others chimed in. Someone at the bar took a swing at Mr. Verona but missed. A friend of the \u201cboss\u201d then smashed the wise-cracking patron in the face, knocking him unconscious. The fight was on. Mr. Verona, powerfully built, handled himself pretty well. Then he collapsed to the floor.<\/p>\n
Constable \u201cJimmy\u201d Lovuola, a big, strapping guy, rushed to Mr. Verona\u2019s side \u2014 he wasn\u2019t looking too good. \u201cGet a doctor, get a doctor!\u201d Lovuola shouted.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no use calling a doctor,\u201d a club porter said. \u201c He\u2019s dead.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Lovuola knelt by Mr. Verona\u2019s side and wept. He owed a lot to his friend. A few weeks earlier, Mr. Verona had secured him a $4,500 gig as a city assessor.<\/p>\n
——-<\/p>\n
Newspapers differed on what took place inside the club on Jan. 12, 1937. The Pittsburgh Press reported the fight in detail but after the story was out, those involved thought it more seemly to have Mr. Verona die in a peaceful manner. In later newspaper editions, the fight became a mere argument that didn\u2019t amount to much. Even if there was a fight, police ruled, it had no bearing on Mr. Verona\u2019s death. At age 44, the man had a heart attack.<\/p>\n
<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> Truthfully, John J. Verona died as he had lived \u2014 brawling. Pittsburgh politics was a rough sport in the 1920s and \u201830s, and Mr. Verona was one of its most artful practitioners. He never backed down from a fight. He\u2019d take on anybody, including the city\u2019s crooked mayor, Charles Kline.<\/p>\n
Officially, Mr. Verona held several posts \u2014 he was an alderman, which was sort of like a city court judge in the old days, a police magistrate and Republican party chairman. But his most valuable skill was his ability to deliver votes, particularly in the Hill District, with its sizable Italian community. He took the task seriously. In one election, his district turned in two votes for an opponent. Incensed, Mr. Verona conducted a personal investigation to identify the apostates. God help those who crossed him.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy grandfather wasn\u2019t a saint,\u201d says John G. Verona, 68, of Lexington, South Carolina. \u201cI realize that. But he sure was interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Grandson John remembers playing with childhood friends on Illinois Avenue in Dormont one day in the 1960s. A playmate called out his name, \u201cHey, Verona.\u201d An old man rose from his seat on a nearby porch, leaned against a rail and hollered, \u201cWhich one\u2019s Verona?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s me,\u201d the younger John replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cVerona from the Hill?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The old man\u2019s eyes sparkled. He remembered a benevolent advocate for an often beleaguered community. Other people had different memories. One day in the 1970s, grandson John and a few buddies were drinking in a bar on West Liberty Avenue in Brookline when a crusty ex-boxer named Lefty learned that one of the nearby patrons was named \u201cVerona.\u201d Lefty was Irish and was old enough to remember the good and bad of the old Hill District boss, then more than 30 years dead. Lefty just waved his hand in the air and said, \u201cI ain\u2019t sayin\u2019 nothin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
The elder Mr. Verona consorted with politicians, judges, rich and poor folks, and criminals, including the infamous Volpe brothers, three of whom were shot dead at lunchtime, one block from Mr. Verona’s home on Wylie Avenue in 1932. Like the Volpes, Mr. Verona served as a protector, particularly in the Italian community. If you lived in the Hill and needed groceries or a job or got jammed up with police, you went to Mr. Verona for help.<\/p>\n His funeral on Friday, Jan. 15, 1937, was one of the most spectacular send-offs in the city\u2019s history. Pictures and newspaper clippings documenting the event, preserved by members of the Verona family, depict both a neighborhood and a way of life now long gone. A crowd estimated at 10,000 packed Fernando Street in front of St. Peter\u2019s Church. Hundreds of automobiles, ranging from broken down clunkers to sleek town cars, lined Hill District streets, waiting to join the procession to Calvary Cemetery in Hazelwood.<\/p>\n One image gives us a rare view of St. Peter\u2019s interior, with Mr. Verona\u2019s shining bronze casket near what must have been a stunning altar \u2014 its true glory is difficult to discern in a black-and-white photograph. Other pictures grandson John shared show his grandfather collecting money for the \u201cOld Newsboys\u201d and attending a celebration inside the Amerita Club, a favorite hangout for the city\u2019s politicians.<\/p>\n Mr. Verona left behind a wife, Ida, and two sons, Daniel, 22, and John Jr., John G. Verona\u2019s father, who was 13 when his father died.<\/p>\n Grandson John left Pittsburgh as a young man to attend the University of South Carolina, then spent a career in the banking industry in that state. He\u2019s developed a nuanced understanding of his grandfather\u2019s story. It\u2019s not that different from many other Pittsburgh stories \u2014 a mix of determination and hard work and a bit of old dirt. Therein lies its beauty. \u201cThis was just another immigrant family trying to make its way,\u201d John G. Verona said.<\/p>\n — Steve Mellon<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a>