Vito Genovese
Vito Genovese was a prominent figure in American organized crime, often regarded as one of its most powerful leaders. Born in Italy in 1897, he immigrated to the United States in 1912, where he became involved with various gangs in New York, particularly during the Prohibition era. Genovese's criminal activities escalated as he transitioned from gang member to key player in organized crime, forming significant alliances with other notorious figures like Lucky Luciano. His rise to power included orchestrating key murders within the Mafia and expanding drug trafficking operations internationally.
Genovese's ambitions culminated in a notorious gathering of Mafia leaders in Apalachin, New York, in 1957, which ended in a police raid that humiliated the organization. Despite facing legal challenges, including a conviction for conspiracy to violate narcotics laws, he continued to exert influence from prison. Genovese passed away in 1969, but his legacy endures, with the Genovese crime family remaining a powerful entity in organized crime, evolving to engage in modern criminal activities such as fraud. His life and operations have had a lasting impact on the landscape of organized crime in America.
Vito Genovese
- Born: November 27, 1897
- Birthplace: Rosiglino, Italy
- Died: February 14, 1969
- Place of death: Springfield, Missouri
Italian American mob boss
Major offense: Conspiracy to violate narcotics laws
Active: 1917-1959
Locale: New York
Sentence: Fifteen years in prison; served ten years
Early Life
Vito Genovese (VEE-toh jihn-oh-VEE-zee), the man described by many as the most powerful organized crime figure in American history, was born in Rosiglino, Italy, in 1897. In 1912, Genovese relocated with his family to the United States and settled in Queens, New York. While his father was busy operating a small contracting firm in Queens, the young Genovese enjoyed the activity and excitement of lower Manhattan. He soon moved to Little Italy to live with relatives and began associating with several multiethnic gangs.
Criminal Career
In 1917, Genovese was arrested for carrying a gun and spent sixty days in jail. During Prohibition, he worked his way up the ranks of organized crime, graduating from street gang member to professional killer. It was during this time that Genovese became acquainted with Lucky Luciano. By 1930, Genovese and Luciano were working closely with Joe Masseria. Many believe that Genovese helped Luciano arrange the murder of Masseria, who, on April 15, 1931, was surprised and gunned down by several unknown assailants after a lengthy dinner with Genovese. With Genovese at his side, Luciano took over Masseria’s operations, eventually expanding them to reach every corner of the country.
In 1937, Genovese fled the United States after being named as a suspect in the murder of a Mafia gangster named Ferdinand “The Shadow” Boccia, a crime that had taken place three years earlier. Genovese settled in Naples, Italy, and quickly established himself as a major narcotics trafficker in the area. When American forces invaded Sicily in 1944 during World War II, Genovese was quick to offer his services as a translator. He also helped American military authorities rid the area of crime and black-market rings for illegal goods. Military authorities did not realize, however, that as drugs and weapons dealers were arrested, Genovese was replacing them with his own men. His plan was thwarted when a military police investigator realized that the helpful Italian was a wanted felon in the United States. Genovese was arrested and sent back to the United States to face charges stemming from the murder of Boccia. He was acquitted, however, when the only witness in the Boccia case was found dead.
After the war, Genovese became heavily involved in drug trafficking and began setting up deals with growers in India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Mafia leaders, including Luciano, urged Genovese to get out of the drug business. Genovese, however, would not give up the activities that produced most of his income. He soon set his sights on taking over the Luciano crime family. Since Genovese had been away, Luciano had been deported and was no longer the true boss of his family. The only person standing in Genovese’s way was the family’s acting boss, Frank Costello.
On May 2, 1957, Genovese sent his soldier, Vincent Gigante, to murder Costello in his home. Miraculously, Costello survived the gunshot wound to the head. (He later retired, leaving the syndicate under Genovese’s control.) Next on Genovese’s list was the removal of Albert Anastasia, boss of the Carlo Gambino crime family. On October 25, 1957, Anastasia was shot and killed by two assailants while sitting in a chair in a Manhattan barbershop.
Legal Action and Outcome
Eager to establish himself as a leader on the national scene and expecting to be named “boss of bosses,” Genovese arranged the ill-fated meeting of U.S. Mafia bosses in Apalachin, New York, on November 17, 1957. The meeting had barely started when several in attendance spotted a police officer outside the home and began to flee. Sixty-three men were apprehended, including Genovese. Charges against the men were later dropped after it was determined that they were taken into custody, detained, and searched without probable cause that a crime had been or was being committed. The Apalachin fiasco, however, was a great embarrassment for the American Mafia and may have cost Genovese his coveted boss-of-bosses title.
On April 17, 1959, Genovese was convicted of conspiracy to violate narcotics laws and was sentenced to fifteen years in prison. However, he continued to control the activities of his crime family through his underlings from his prison cell in Atlanta. Genovese died of a heart attack on February 14, 1969, at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri.
Impact
More so than any other individual, Vito Genovese can be credited with keeping the Mafia in the narcotics business, a move that many other Mafiosi of his time opposed. Genovese is also responsible for organizing the disastrous meeting of Mafia bosses in Apalachin, New York, which propelled American organized crime groups into the national spotlight. Before this meeting and the subsequent arrests, Federal Bureau of Investigation director J. Edgar Hoover had boldly stated that there was no such thing as “organized crime.” In modern times, the Genovese family is considered one of the richest and most powerful crime families in New York, with an estimated membership of more than 250 “soldiers.” It has been reported that, by the twenty-first century, the family had moved into more sophisticated crimes, including computer fraud, stock and securities fraud, and health care fraud.
Bibliography
Dickie, John. Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. Dickie provides a comprehensive history of Italian organized crime in the United States.
Hanna, David. Vito Genovese: The Godfather Series. New York: Belmont Tower Books, 1974. Hanna provides an intimate portrait of one of most powerful organized crime figures in American history.
Raab, Selwyn. Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America’s Most Powerful Mafia Families. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 2005. Provides an in-depth analysis of the Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese crime families.