STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Corrado "Joe" Manfredi, the owner of Manfredi Auto Group, died Saturday in Florida, a friend and longtime business associate confirmed. He was 77.
Born in Mola di Bari, Italy, Manfredi moved to New York City and trained at Brooklyn Automotive. After working as a mechanic and service manager for six years, he launched the Manfredi Auto Mall in 1962.
Manfredi lived in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Rockland County, before moving to Annadale with his wife, Esther, and their five children in 1982.
Today, Manfredi has 11 car dealership franchises on Staten Island, located up and down Hylan Boulevard.
"This was a legendary, iconic car person - not just on Staten Island, but in New York City," said Al Lambert, an auto industry mainstay on Staten Island who got to know Manfredi in the mid-1970s and currently works as a public relations coordinator and sales executive for Manfredi Auto Group.
"He was so good to his employees, gave so much to charities and organizations that a lot of people didn't know about," Lambert said. "It's a real tragedy."
What made Manfredi so successful, Lambert said, was not only his intelligence and natural business acumen, but also the way he treated his employees.
"He knew and recognized the value of employees -- what they contributed to his business," Lambert said. "He knew they were resources and he treated them very well."
He said Manfredi made such a great boss because, as a self-made man, he could empathize with his workers.
"He started from the bottom and knew all aspects of the business," Lambert said. "It gave him the ability to see it from all levels."
Surrogate Judge Robert Gigante, a friend and admirer of Manfredi's, echoed Lambert.
"Joe Manfredi (was) a credit to all Italian Americans, from humble beginnings to a giant in the auto industry," he said. "A true family man and Staten Islander.
"Lunch at Nino's (a restaurant in Grasmere) with Joe, son Nick and their attorney, Joe Magnotti, was always a trip to Bari without leaving Staten Island," Gigante said.
Manfredi will be waked on Monday and Tuesday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Torregrossa Funeral Home, 1305 79th St. in Brooklyn. His funeral is set for Wednesday at St. Dominic RC Church, 2001 Bay Ridge Parkway in Brooklyn, with burial to follow at Resurrection Cemetery, 361 Sharrott Ave, Pleasant Plains.
Check SILive.com for an updated full obituary later today