There were several articles posted to different newspapers in NJ in April 1935. Matthew Alfano was arrested for Bootlegging and sentenced to 18 months in prison and a $700 fine.
He was very lucky he was not caught during prohibition as that ended two years earlier. In the middle of the great depression, you do what you have to do to survive.
Shortly after he was incarcerated, his wife and family moved to Lodi, NJ. On October 9, 1935, his son Matthew age 7 died of Diphtheria. Something in this day and age that is 100% preventable by vaccination.
In the 1940 US Federal Census, the family is living in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ. In column 17, the answer to “residence in 1935” the answer for each of the members of the household is Lodi. This is the first census that Bob’s mom, Marjorie Alfano, is alive for. She is 11 months old.
Things turn around for Matthew. He resides in Hasbrouck Heights, NJ in the1940s. He stays out of the newspaper until 1947, he and his son Anthony open a home appliance business.
In 1950, he and his wife are in the process of moving to a brand new home that they had built when tragedy strikes. During the move, his wife Blanche passes away. They hadn’t even slept in their new home in Wayne.
Matthew was a widower for 20 years. He died on May 19, 1970 in Prospect Park, NJ.
He is buried in St. Nicholas Cemetery in Lodi, NJ with his wife and three sons.
