Vito Genovese

Vito Genovese was born on November 21, 1897, in a small village near Naples, Italy, and died in prison on February 14, 1969. He was an Italian-born American mafioso who became the boss of the crime family that now bears his name. Growing up in New York’s Little Italy after immigrating at age 15, he started his criminal life stealing from street vendors and running errands for mobsters. By his late teens, he had served a year in prison for carrying an illegal gun. He later worked for Joe Masseria, a powerful Manhattan gang boss, and alongside childhood friend Lucky Luciano and Frank Costello, he launched a bootlegging operation funded by gambler Arnold Rothstein.

During the Castellammarese War, Genovese helped Luciano shape the Mafia’s rise. In 1931, he was reportedly one of the gunmen who killed Masseria in a Coney Island restaurant, after which Luciano took over the family and made Genovese his underboss. Later that year, Genovese and Luciano planned the murder of rival Salvatore Maranzano, using Jewish gangsters secured by Meyer Lansky and Bugsy Siegel. Luciano then created the Commission to govern organized crime.

Genovese also played a role in expanding the heroin trade internationally. In 1937, he fled to Italy to avoid murder charges in the U.S., and during World War II he briefly supported Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime out of fear of deportation. After returning to the U.S. in 1945, he mentored Vincent Gigante, who would later become boss of the Genovese family.

In 1957, Genovese sought the title of “boss of bosses” by ordering the murder of Albert Anastasia, boss of what is now the Gambino family, and a botched hit on Frank Costello. He then called a Mafia summit to consolidate power, but police raided the meeting. His reign ended in 1959 when he was convicted on drug conspiracy charges and sentenced to 15 years in prison. While incarcerated with underling Joe Valachi, Valachi killed an inmate he mistook for a hitman sent by Genovese, then became a government witness. Genovese died in prison on February 14, 1969.

Earlier in his life, Genovese had purchased a mansion in Middletown Township, New Jersey, with Italian gardens and a rock replica of Mount Vesuvius; the mansion burned down during his exile. After returning, he lived in a modest house in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey. He was married twice: his first wife died of tuberculosis in 1931, and shortly after, the husband of his second wife was found strangled, allowing Genovese to marry her.