Podcast
Rum Runner
Hosted by Setaro House · EN
The Red Bank: Rum Runner - Part 1, Temperance. An epic saga begins. Based on the incredible true events surrounding the life of our great grandfather Giovanni ”Big John” Setaro whose family emigrated to the United States in 1888 and established an Italian Colony at the foot of Cooper’s Bridge in Red Bank, NJ. After his father is murdered by the head of the largest bootlegging ring on the Jersey Shore, Big John operates a safe house for Italian travelers and bootleggers located behind the Central Railroad passenger and freight depot in Red Bank. A trusted associate to many powerful men, he was a complex man trying to support a family of 13 until his death in 1949 at Marlboro Mental Hospital. Our story begins with the Setaro family coming to America from Sassano, Italy in search of a better life. As his father and uncles begin their new lives in Red Bank, they find themselves in prison after someone is murdered down at the Italian Colony. In order to save the family a ”Deal” is cut that sets up the bootlegging routes for what becomes the largest bootlegging ring in the world! Hear this astonishing story and the true story behind Columbus Day and the Pledge of Allegiance as well as the history of bootlegging along the North Jersey Shore including the rise of Highland Beach, Monmouth Park and Red Bank!
5episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Episode 5: Deal with it
Feb 5, 202200:58:56Tap to summarizeJimmy Oliver puts together the largest land deal in the history of the Jersey Shore that sets up the trade routes for the largest bootlegging ring in the world. As part of the deal and as retribution for the lynchings in New Orleans the Italians are given Columbus Day and the Pledge of Allegiance is written. The temperance movement continues their assault against Monmouth Park Racetrack, the Setaro's find themselves quarantined in the colony, and Big John's father is murdered.
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Episode 4: Reckoning
Feb 5, 202200:43:37Tap to summarizeWhen a mysterious murder happens down at the Italian Colony, the Setaro family finds themselves imprisoned! Just months after the lynchings in New Orleans and fearing for their lives, the Setaro's find an ally in an unlikely source and receive help from the Italian American Society of New York City who sends down the Patron Saint of the Bowery James Oliver to help them.
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Episode 3: The Melting Pot Boils
Feb 5, 202200:58:46Tap to summarizeThe Setaro family takes a deal and establishes the Italian colony in Red Bank, NJ. The temperance movement becomes emboldened and a war begins against Sitting Bull and the Ghost Dance Movement, several Italians are murdered in a public lynching in New Orleans, and gambler A.J. Hunt is dragged from his prison cell and murdered in the streets of Walla Walla, Washington.
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Episode 2: Trouble in Paradise
Feb 5, 202200:37:24Tap to summarizeAs the Jersey Shore becomes the crown jewel along the East Coast, attracting powerful and wealthy aristocrats, dignitaries, and even American presidents, the temperance movement begins to rise locally. Local tourist attractions Highland Beach, Monmouth Park Racetrack, and even a small tavern, the Union Hotel in Red Bank become the targets for the rising movement against drinking and gambling.
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Episode 1: The Red Bank
Feb 5, 202200:36:55Tap to summarizeThe Setaro family leaves Sassano, Italy in 1888, their home for the last 400 years in search of a better life in America. With maps and trade routes drawn out by their father Don Vito Setaro, his sons split the family apart to create shipping routes to establish their wine business in the new world. The Setaro family discovers the beautiful shores of the Red Bank in New Jersey to call home.
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