Vincent Gigante

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Lore & Background

Vincent Gigante was born in New York City on March 29, 1928, to Salvatore Gigante, a watchmaker, and Yolanda Gigante (née Scotto), a seamstress, both Italian immigrants from Naples. He had four brothers: Mario, Pasquale and Ralph, who followed him into organized crime; and Louis, who became a Catholic priest. Gigante was a professional light heavyweight boxer between 1944 and 1947, fighting under the moniker "Chin" Gigante. He fought twenty-five matches and lost four, boxing 117 rounds. His first professional boxing match was against Vic Chambers on July 18, 1944, in Union City, New Jersey, which he lost. He defeated Chambers again on June 29, 1945, at Madison Square Garden. His last match was against Jimmy Slade on May 17, 1947, at Ridgewood Grove Arena, Brooklyn, which he lost by technical knockout. In 1957, Gigante was the gunman in the failed assassination of longtime Luciano boss Frank Costello. On May 2, 1957, Gigante shot and wounded Costello outside his apartment building. A doorman identified Gigante as the gunman. In 1958, Costello testified that he was unable to recognize his assailant. Gigante was acquitted on charges of attempted murder. In 1959, Gigante was convicted, with Vito Genovese, of heroin trafficking and sentenced to seven years in prison. Gigante was paroled after five years. Not long afterward, he was promoted from soldier to captain, running the Greenwich Village Crew. By 1980, Gigante was promoted to consigliere of the Genovese family. In 1981, with the support of retiring boss Philip "Benny Squint" Lombardo, Gigante became boss of the Genovese family. Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno was made front boss of the family to fool law enforcement. For almost thirty years, Gigante feigned insanity in an effort to thwart law enforcement. Dubbed "the Oddfather" and "the Enigma in the Bathrobe" by the media, he often wandered the streets of Greenwich Village in his bathrobe and slippers, mumbling incoherently to himself. In 1969, Gigante was indicted in New Jersey for conspiracy to bribe the five-member Old Tappan police force. The charge was dropped after Gigante's lawyers presented reports from psychiatrists that he was mentally unfit to stand trial. Gigante was indicted on federal racketeering charges in 1990 but was determined to be mentally unfit to stand trial. In 1997 he was tried and convicted of racketeering and conspiracy and was sentenced to twelve years in prison. Facing obstruction of justice charges in 2003, Gigante pleaded guilty and admitted that his supposed insanity was an elaborate effort to avoid prosecution, as he was sentenced to an additional three years in prison. Gigante died in the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners on December 19, 2005.

Reader's Guide

Vincent Gigante's significance lies in his long tenure as boss of the Genovese crime family and his elaborate, decades-long feigning of insanity to evade prosecution. Dubbed "the Oddfather" and "the Enigma in the Bathrobe" by the media, his strategy delayed trials and confounded law enforcement until his 1997 conviction. His rise from boxer to Mafia enforcer to boss illustrates the hierarchical structure of organized crime, while his use of a front boss and his role in ordering the failed murder attempt of Gambino family boss John Gotti in 1986 highlight the internal rivalries among New York's Five Families. Gigante's eventual admission that his insanity was a ruse underscored the lengths to which crime bosses would go to maintain power. His legacy is a cautionary tale of criminal ingenuity and the eventual limits of deception.

Did You Know?

• Gigante fought twenty-five professional boxing matches between 1944 and 1947, losing only four.
• Three of Gigante's four brothers followed him into the Mafia; one brother, Louis, became a Catholic priest.
• Gigante was the gunman in the failed assassination of longtime Luciano boss Frank Costello on May 2, 1957.
• In 2003, Gigante pleaded guilty and admitted that his supposed insanity was an elaborate effort to avoid prosecution.
• Gigante died in the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners on December 19, 2005.