The Genovese crime family is one of the "Five Families" that controls organized crime activities in New York City, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia (or Cosa Nostra). The Genovese crime family has been nicknamed the "Ivy League" and "Rolls Royce" of organized crime. They are rivaled in size by only the Gambino crime family and Chicago Outfit and are unmatched in terms of power. They have generally maintained a varying degree of influence over many of the smaller mob families outside of New York, including ties with the Patriarca, theBuffalo, the Syracuse, the Albany and the Philadelphia crime families.
Finding insidious new ways to make money in the 21st century, the Genovese family took advantage of lax due diligence by banks during the housing spike with a wave of mortgage fraud. Prosecutors say loan shark victims obtained home equity loans to pay off debts to their mob bankers. And the family found ways to use new technology to improve on old reliable illegal gambling, with customers placing bets through offshore sites via the internet. Originally in control of the waterfront on the West Side of Manhattan (including the Fulton Fish Market), the family was run for years by "the Oddfather", Vincent " the Chin" Gigante, who feigned insanity by shuffling unshaven through New York’s Greenwich Village wearing a tattered bath robe and muttering that his lawyer was Jesus.
The Genovese family manipulated members of the Philadelphia crime family into murdering one time Boss Angelo Bruno so that they could gain control of their territory in Atlantic City. Although the leadership of the family seemed to have been in limbo the last few years, specifically since the death of Gigante in 2005, the family still appears to be the most organized family and has remained powerful.[2] The family, now named after Vito Genovese, has endured like no other. They also benefited from members following the code of Omertà. While many mobsters from across the country have testified against their crime families since the 1990s, the Genovese family has only had three members turn state's evidence, Joseph Valachi, Vincent "the Fish" Cafaro, and George Barone.[3]
The Genovese crime family is believed to have been developed in the early 1900s by members of several Sicilian-American street-gangs, who together founded the Morello crime family and the early origins of the organization of what would be the Genovese crime family. Established by brothers Tony, Sean Nicolo, and Giuseppe Morello, and half brothers Vincenzo "Vincent" Terranova and Ciro "The Artichoke King" Terranova following their arrival from Corleone, Sicily in 1892, the crime family became involved with extortion and bootlegging activities during the early 1910s, and reportedly mentored several young children of Italian immigrants into joining their crew in the East Harlem faction ofManhattan. But as this family grew power and influence in the Manhattan area, the rival Brooklynbased Neapolitan Camorra and their prominent leaders Pellegrino Morano and Salvatore "Toto" D'Aquilaclaimed a long and bloody war between the criminal factions, which reportedly went on for a decade. But as prominent Don Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria seized power of the Morello crime family in the early 1920s, Masseria was seen as the most powerful criminal in the entire New York area, as he gained strength of both the Brooklyn Camorra and the Morellos.[4] As Masseria gained power in the early 1920s, he recruited new and young blood into his family, like mobsters Charlie "Lucky" Luciano, Frank Costello, Joseph "Joey A" Adonis, Vito Genovese, Albert Anastasia and Carlo Gambino who all joined Masseria in bootlegging, smuggling of alcohol and liquor, extortion, loansharking and gambling rackets. But as another powerful mobster named Salvatore Maranzano gained support in the Brooklyn section, he became the leader of the Castellammare del Golfo, the prominent organization that dominated the power in Brooklyn and included members such as Joseph Bonanno ("Joe Bananas"), Joseph Profaci, and Stefano Magaddino. By the year of 1928, during Prohibition, an all-out war had been unleashed between the two factions, who desperately tried to gain complete power in New York and all of its lucrative rackets. The war is reportedly named the Castellammarese War, since it was Neapolitan on one side and the Sicilian on the other, however, reportedly more than 60 mobsters on both sides of the families were murdered during the war of the late 1920s.[4] On April 15, 1931, Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria was murdered in a Coney Island restaurant, reportedly by members of Luciano's crew. Luciano had allegedly been eating dinner with Masseria, but then excused himself to the bathroom, before his entourage came in. Although Salvatore Maranzano claimed victory later that year and organized the powerful Five Families of New York, Luciano, now Maranzano's second-in-command, had Maranzano stabbed and shot to death in his Manhattan office about six months later by Jewish gangsters loaned for that purpose by Meyer Lansky after Maranzano was 'fingered' by Luciano ally and Maranzano trustee, Gaetano "Tommy" Lucchese. Luciano was now the most powerful mobster in the United States.[5] Luciano founded the Commission, consisting of the Five Families, the Chicago Outfit and the Buffalo crime family of Upstate New York. Luciano made Vito Genovese the family Underboss, and Frank Costello, Consigliere. In 1935, Luciano was indicted on pandering charges, and sentenced to 30–50 years in prison. The case was a set-up by district attorney Tom Dewey, and the jury went for it. Luciano made a big mistake in taking the witness stand, where he was grilled for 5 hours about how he made his living. Genovese was to take over the Luciano family and run the day-to-day activities; however, Genovese escaped a murder charge and ran off to Italy, leaving Frank Costello as the new acting boss of the Luciano crime family. Luciano was later deported in 1946 after serving ten years in prison. During the reign of Frank Costello, the Luciano family controlled much of the bookmaking, loansharking, illegal gambling and the labor racketeering in New York City. Costello was heavily fond of the financial sides of the Lucianos, and reportedly didn't have much to do with the family "muscle". Nicknamed "The Prime Minister of the Underworld", Costello also controlled many of the docks in New York and was said to have so many political and judicial contacts that no state judge could be appointed in any case without his consent. Costello believed in diplomacy and discipline, and also started the Family's interests in Las Vegas during the early 1940s, by allowing his friends Meyer Lansky and Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel to build the casinos there. However, later Luciano allegedly sanctioned Siegel's murder. Costello ruled for 20 peaceful years until his underboss, Vito Genovese, returned from Italy and was acquitted in his murder trial.[6] While serving as the prominent boss of the Genovese crime family, Costello also, amazingly, saw a psychiatrist due to his depression andpanic attacks during the 1950s, and was told to distance himself from all of his old associates, such as Vito Genovese, and spend time with politicians rather than gangsters. However, it was around this time that Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee began investigating organized crime in New York, and set up trials known as the Kefauver hearings. Costello agreed to testify at the hearings and not take the Fifth Amendment, in contrast to all the previous underworld figures to take the stand. The Special Committee and the TV networks had agreed not to broadcast Frank Costello's face, only his hands. During the questioning, Costello nervously refused to answer certain questions and skirted around others. When asked by the committee, "What have you done for your country Mr. Costello?", his reply was, "Paid my tax!" Costello eventually walked out of the hearings. With the murder of Mangano crime family boss Albert Anastasia in early 1957, Costello lost his most powerful ally in keeping Genovese in line. However, with Anastasia's death, Carlo Gambino seized the control of the Mangano family, and Genovese realized that he was still only the underboss and attempted to have Costello assassinated in 1957, but as he was hit in the side of the head, Costello still survived. (the trigger-man was allegedly Vincente "Chin" Gigante, future boss of the family) However, after the shooting, Costello quietly retired and left the Luciano family to Genovese.[7] Vito Genovese seized control of the family and later attempted to gain control over the Commission in 1957, the same year he reportedly organized and attended the infamous Apalachin Meeting, a convention with over 100 powerful Mafia bosses from every corner of the United States. However, the meeting was raided by New York State Police and Genovese and others ducked into the woods and escaped. Many of the attendees who attempted flight were arrested. Cosa Nostra no longer lingered in the shadows and federal law enforcement agencies could no longer ignore the syndicate. Genovese was sentenced to 15 years in prison for narcotics charges in 1959. Genovese, who saw himself as the most powerful Don in New York, had been effectively eliminated as a rival by Gambino crime family boss Carlo Gambino, who was now the most powerful member of the Commission and reputed "Commission Chairman". Genovese had reportedly been lured into a conspiracy by Gambino, Charlie "Lucky" Luciano, Tommy Lucchese and Frank Costello, in order to prevent any further attempts by Genovese to seize control over the Commission.[8] [9] While incarcerated at a federal prison in Atlanta, Genovese family soldier Joseph "Joe Cargo" Valachi began acting strangely. Valachi's family had a history of mental illness, and he became delusional. On June 22, 1962, Valachi brutally murdered another inmate with a pipe, whom he mistook for Joseph "Joe Beck" DiPalermo, whom he imagined had come to kill him on the orders of Genovese. Valachi became the first member of the Genovese crime family, as well as the Mafia, to announce the existence of the syndicate and influence over various legal enterprises in aid of racketeering and other criminal activities to make huge profit. Valachi also made the name "Cosa Nostra" a household name. After Genovese was sent to prison in 1959, a "Ruling Panel" that included acting boss Thomas "Tommy Ryan" Eboli, Underboss Gerardo "Jerry" Catena and his protege Philip "Benny Squint" Lombardo was set up to rule the Genovese family with complete secrecy. When Genovese died in prison in 1969, various "Front Bosses" were also established for the purpose of distracting US law enforcement and confuse other powerful Mob bosses like Carlo Gambino, who manipulated Eboli to take over the Genovese family completely in the late 1960s; however, when Eboli's $4 million drug debt to Gambino wasn't repaid, Eboli was murdered in 1972, leaving a Genovese captain and Gambino ally, Frank "Funzi" Tieri to become the new official boss, when in reality, the "Panel", consisting of Gerardo "Jerry" Catena, Michele "Big Mike" Mirandaand Philip Lombardo made all the family's decisions. This tactic had great success in fooling law enforcement. Tieri was soon arrested by the authorities and the first Mob boss to be convicted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) in 1981, and died a month after while serving his sentence.[10] With the 1980 murder of Philadelphia crime family boss Angelo "Gentle Don" Bruno, the Genovese crime family members Vincent Gigante and Philip Lombardo began manipulating the rival factions of the war-angered Philadelphia family, and in the end supported Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo, who in return gave them permission to operate in the Atlantic City faction of the Philadelphia crime family, in 1982.[11] When the capo of the Manhattan faction, Anthony Salerno ("Fat Tony"), was made new front boss with Tieri's death, Philip Lombardo continued as the defacto boss. In 1985 front boss Salerno was convicted of being the Genovese crime family boss in the Mafia Commission Trial and sentenced to 100 years in federal prison. Lombardo, who had retired, left the Genovese family to Vincent "Chin" Gigante sometime in the 1981.[11] A more elaborate family "Administration" was introduced upon Vincent Gigante's take-over of the Genovese crime family, which involved the creation of a fourth messagario (messenger) and fifth position, "Street Boss", in the family. Since Gigante rarely spoke only with a few close associates and through his sons, Vincent Esposito and Andrew Gigante, these positions were set up with the intention of insulating the Boss further from law enforcement investigations. As Gigante also found a way to lure US law enforcement, as well as everybody else in believing he was legally insane, Gigante ducked prosecution after prosecution, and always convinced several psychiatrists that his mental illness turned worse. To make everything look more credible, Gigante always wore a robe and mumbled totally inappropriate words when facing an arrest, indictment or just walking on the sidewalk in New York City. By then, he was nicknamed "The Oddfather".[12] While Gigante reportedly operated from the Triangle Social Club in Greenwich Village on Manhattan, as well as allegedly feigning his insanity, most of the day-to-day operations were taken care of by him, his Underboss Venero "Benny Eggs" Mangano who operated out of Brooklyn and ran the family's Windows Case rackets, and Gigante's Consigliere, Louis "Bobby" Manna, who operated out of the New Jersey faction of the family, as well as supervising four captains around that area during the 1980s. However, Gigante was in full charge of the Genovese crime family, as he conspired to murder Gambino crime family Boss John Gotti in 1986, after Gotti had murdered his former boss Paul Castellano in 1985 without the approval of the Commission. A bomb plot to kill Gotti, hatched by Gigante and Lucchese crime family leaders Vittorio "Vic" Amuso and Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso, instead killed Gotti's Underboss Frank DeCicco on April 13, 1986, leaving a large power-vacuum left between three of the Five Families of New York.[12] As a longtime "tension" broke out between these families in the late 1980s, and early 1990s, Gigante kept running the Genovese crime family behind his alleged insanity. During the years of the early 1990s, Gigante reportedly controlled his family with iron fists, and ordered the murders of several Gambino crime family mobsters, before Gotti's Underboss, Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano, decided to confess to 19 murders and testify against Gotti and Consigliere Frank LoCascio in 1992. However, Gravano also began to testify against Gigante, as well as Philadelphia crime family Underboss Phil Leonetti who decided to become an informant as well, and testify that Gigante had ordered the murders of several of his earlier associates during the 1980s. Additionally, Anthony Casso, former Underboss turned informant of the Lucchese crime family, implicated Gigante in the 1986 plan to kill new Gambino leaders John Gotti, Frank DeCicco and Eugene "Gene" Gotti. In 1997, Gigante was convicted on several racketeering and conspiracy charges and sentenced to 12 years in a federal prison. Gigante died from heart disease on December 19, 2005. He was 77 years of age. At his time of death, he was incarcerated at the federal prison in Springfield, Missouri.[12][13] Since the 1990s, infamous mobsters in top positions of all Five Families have become informants and testified against as many as they can name, putting the Boss, Capos and Soldiers away on various criminal charges. This included Bonanno crime family Boss Joseph "Big Joe" Massino, who defected in 2005. Several top Genovese crime family figures like Underboss Venero "Benny Eggs" Mangano, Consigliere Louis "Bobby" Manna, capo James Ida ("Little Jimmy") and street boss Liborio "Barney" Bellomo received lengthy prison sentences on murder, racketeering and conspiracy convictions. During the last decades, US law enforcement systematically broke down the Genovese crime family, as well as other mafia families. Despite these indictments however the Genovese family remains a formidable power with as approximately 250 made men and 14 active crews as of 2005, according to Selwyn Raab. The Genovese family has remained out of the media spotlight. They are still considered to be the most powerful crime family in New York and the country. When Vincent Gigante died in late 2005, the leadership went to Genovese capo Daniel "Danny the Lion" Leo, who was apparently running the day-to-day activities of the Genovese crime family by 2006.[14] In 2006 prominent crime family underboss and former Gigante loyalist, Venero "Benny Eggs" Mangano was released from prison, while another former Gigante loyalist and prominent capo, the incarcerated Dominick Cirillowas allegedly promoted to consigliere, the Genovese family administration was believed to be whole again as of 2008.[13] However, in March 2008, Boss Daniel Leo was sentenced to five years in prison for loansharking and extortion. Underboss Venero Mangano is reportedly one of the top leaders within the Manhattan faction of the Genovese crime family, and acting consigliere, Lawrence Dentico ("Little Larry") was leading the New Jersey faction of the family until convicted of racketeering, loansharking and extortion charges in 2006. He was recently released in 2009. In July 2008 one time street boss for Vincent Gigante Liborio "Barney" Bellomo was paroled from prison after serving 12 years. What role he will play in the Genovese hierarchy is open to speculation, but he is likely to have a major say in the running of the family once his tight parole restrictions are over. Bellomo's main rival for power will be Tino Fiumara, the purported leader of the New Jersey interests of the Genoveses and a long time capo and supporter of Vincent Gigante. A March 2009 article in the New York Post claimed Daniel Leo was still boss despite his incarceration. It also estimated that the family consists of around 270 "made" members.[15] The Genovese family maintains power and influence in several areas of New York, New Jersey, Atlantic City and Florida. It is recognized as the most powerful Mafia family in the United States.[2] Law enforcement considers Danny Leo to be the head the family, although his title is unknown. Benny Mangano and Dominick Cirillo round out the crime family administration as underboss and consigliere. The Genovese crime family is known for placing top caporegimes in leadership positions in order to aide the administration with running the day-to-day activities of the crime family and sometimes while official leaders are incarcerated or prohibited from exercising direct influence over their interests and those of the crime family due to parole restrictions. At present the group leaders or caporegimes within the Manhattan and Bronx factions of the crime family such as Benny Mangano, Dom Cirillo, Danny Leo, Barney Bellomo, Matty Ianniello, John Barbato and Ernie Muscarella hold the greatest amount of influence within the crime family and currently play large roles in the crime family's administration. The Manhattan and Bronx factions have traditionally held the greatest amount of power, and for decades the faction leaders have often held top positions within the crime family's administration as bosses or acting bosses, something that continues to this day. In recent years various New Jersey faction leaders such as Larry Dentico have risen to hold acting leadership positions within the crime family hierarchy indicating that Genovese influence over the Garden State' rackets have remained strong, especially concerning waterfront operations and gambling rackets. At present, formerly incarcerated caporegime Tino Fiumara has allegedly risen to the top of the New Jersey faction, and may play an important role within the Genovese administration, but traditionally the power of this crime family has never been based in Jersey, such is the case with all the New York crime families.History
[edit]Origins
[edit]The Castellammarese era
[edit]Luciano and establishing the commission
[edit]The Prime Minister
[edit]Genovese in control
[edit]Front bosses and the panel
[edit]The Oddfather
[edit]Current status
[edit]Administration
