What is "The Red Bank"
Immersive Experience
Podcast
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.
.jpg)
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!