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{{Short description|Italian-American mobster (1897–1969)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=
{{Infobox criminal
| name = Vito Genovese
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| conviction_penalty = 15 years imprisonment (1959)
}}
'''Vito Genovese''' ({{IPA-it|ˈviːto dʒenoˈveːze, -eːse|lang}}; November 21, 1897 – February 14, 1969) was an Italian-born American [[mobster]]
Along with Luciano, Genovese helped the expansion of the [[heroin]] trade to an international level. He fled to Italy in 1937, and for a brief period during [[World War II]] he supported [[Benito Mussolini]]'s [[Fascist Italy (1922-1943)|Fascist regime]] for fear of being deported back to the U.S. to face murder charges. After returning to the U.S. in 1945, Genovese served as mentor to [[Vincent Gigante|Vincent "the Chin" Gigante]], the future boss of the Genovese family.<ref>DeVico, Peter J. "The Mafia Made Easy: The Anatomy and Culture of La Cosa Nostra". [https://books.google.com/books?id=vyIXw1oq56YC&dq=michael+genovese+cousin+vito&pg=PA186 (p. 186)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430080629/https://books.google.com/books?id=vyIXw1oq56YC&pg=PA186&dq=michael+genovese+cousin+vito&hl=en&ei=B4_1TPKLIsG88gaXr9mgBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=michael%20genovese%20cousin%20vito&f=false |date=April 30, 2016 }}.</ref>
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Vito Genovese was born on November 21, 1897, in Risigliano, a ''[[frazione]]'' in the ''[[comune]]'' of [[Tufino]], in the [[Province of Naples]], [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xrOoHAAACAAJ&q=1897|publisher=Avon Books|title=Vito Genovese: King of Crime|year=1963|author=Dom Frasca|access-date=September 20, 2020|archive-date=October 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017021805/https://books.google.com/books?id=xrOoHAAACAAJ&q=1897|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ps_04cWxKz4C&q=vito+genovese+November+21%2C+1897&pg=PA233|title=Mafia Summit: J. Edgar Hoover, the Kennedy Brothers, and the Meeting That Unmasked the Mob|author=Gil Reavill|year=2013|publisher=Macmillan |isbn=9781250021106|access-date=November 22, 2020|archive-date=October 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017021805/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ps_04cWxKz4C&q=vito+genovese+November+21%2C+1897&pg=PA233|url-status=live}}</ref> His father was Frances Felice Genovese and his mother Nunziata Aluotto.<!--nee?--> Vito had a sister, Giovanna Jennie (m. Richard Prisco), along with two brothers, Michael and Carmine, who later joined Genovese's crime family. His cousin, [[Michael James Genovese|Michael]], became boss of the [[Pittsburgh crime family]].<ref name="genovese dies" /><ref name ="Mafia, Secret File">Bureau of Narcotics, Sam Giancana, The United States Treasury Department. ''Mafia: The Governments Secret File on Organized Crime''. [https://books.google.com/books?id=e7inUx6QwkgC&q=Carmine+Genovese&pg=PA399 p. 307)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704232436/http://books.google.com/books?id=e7inUx6QwkgC&pg=PA399&lpg=PA399&dq=Ettore+coco&source=bl&ots=ISVgFQI8ba&sig=P7WRDBfz848EjRLxZJJtX-FMWzY&hl=en&ei=pG4rTZqUC4WClAfpvtj2AQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CCIQ6AEwAzgK#v=snippet&q=Carmine%20Genovese&f=false |date=July 4, 2014 }}.</ref>
As a child in Italy, Genovese completed school only to the American equivalent of the fifth grade.<ref name=Maas/> In 1913, when Genovese was aged 15, his family immigrated to the United States onboard the [[SS Taormina (1908)|SS ''Taormina'']]<ref name=Taormina>{{cite web |url= https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2499/images/31301_168396-00450?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&queryId=9fc31976f935147b036b3535e865ad01&usePUB=true&_phsrc=FGp170&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&_ga=2.255213640.1340933630.1638812427-1576792713.1638812427&pId=4298705 |title=New York, U.S., Naturalization Records, 1882-1944 for Vito Genovese, Petition No. 256403 |website=[[Ancestry.com]] |access-date=
Genovese was {{nowrap|{{convert|5|ft|7|in|cm|sigfig=3|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Genovese height">IMDb: Vito Genovese at Internet Movie Database https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1507849/?ref_=nmbio_bio_nm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210322232224/https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1507849/?ref_=nmbio_bio_nm |date=March 22, 2021 }}</ref>}} He and his family lived a quiet life in a house in [[Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey]].<ref>Blackwell, Jon. [https://books.google.com/books?id=97esfP2qQWEC&pg=PA134 ''Notorious New Jersey: 100 True Tales of Murders and Mobsters, Scandals and Scoundrels''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017021807/https://books.google.com/books?id=97esfP2qQWEC&pg=PA134 |date=October 17, 2021 }}, p. [[Rutgers University Press]], 2007. {{ISBN|9780813543994}}. Accessed January 29, 2020. "The mob leader resumed control of his rackets and settled himself again in New Jersey, this time from a plush homestead in the Shore town of Atlantic Highlands. There, Vito and Anna Genovese dined on gold and platinum plates and enjoyed what was hardly a conventional Mafia marriage."</ref>
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=== Castellammarese War ===
In early 1930, the [[Castellammarese War]] broke out between Masseria and Maranzano. In a secret deal with Maranzano, Luciano agreed to engineer the death of his boss, Masseria, in return for receiving Masseria's [[racket (crime)|racket]]s and becoming Maranzano's second-in-command.<ref name="five families book"/> On April 15, 1931, Luciano had lured Masseria to a meeting where he was murdered at a restaurant called Nuova Villa Tammaro on [[Coney Island]].<ref name="slain">{{cite news|title = Racket Chief Slain By Gangster Gunfire. Giuseppe Masseria, Known as Joe the Boss, Shot Mysteriously in Coney Island Cafe. Police Say He Was Leader in Every Kind of Racket. He Escaped Death Many Times. Shooting Still a Mystery|url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1931/04/16/96193033.pdf|quote = It took ten years and a lot of shooting to kill Giuseppe Masseria—he was Joe the Boss to the underworld—but his enemies found him with his back turned yesterday in a little Italian restaurant in Coney Island, and when they walked out into|access-date = November 23, 2011|newspaper = New York Times|date = April 16, 1931|archive-date = May 26, 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200526163201/https://timesmachine/1931/04/16/96193033.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false|url-status = live}}</ref><ref name="five families book">Raab, Selwyn. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=5nAt6N8iQnYC Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130910091333/http://books.google.com/books?id=5nAt6N8iQnYC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0 |date=September 10, 2013 }}''. New York: St. Martin Press, 2005. {{ISBN|0-312-30094-8}}</ref> While they played cards, Luciano allegedly excused himself to the bathroom, with the gunmen reportedly being Genovese, [[Albert Anastasia]], [[Joe Adonis]], and [[Bugsy Siegel|Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel]];<ref>{{cite news|last=Pollak|first=Michael|title=Coney Island's Big Hit|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/nyregion/answer-to-a-question-about-a-mobsters-death-in-coney-island.html?_r=0|access-date=
In September 1931, Luciano and Genovese planned the murder of Salvatore Maranzano. Luciano had received word that Maranzano was planning to kill him and Genovese, and prepared a hit team to kill Maranzano first. On September 10, 1931, when Maranzano summoned Luciano, Genovese, and [[Frank Costello]] to a meeting at his office, they knew Maranzano would kill them there. Instead, Luciano sent to Maranzano's office four Jewish gangsters whose faces were unknown to Maranzano's people. They had been secured with the aid of [[Meyer Lansky]] and Siegel.<ref name="Dec. 7, 1998">"Lucky Luciano: Criminal Mastermind," ''Time'', [http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,989779,00.html Dec. 7, 1998] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131227034055/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,989779,00.html |date=December 27, 2013 }}</ref><ref name=Cohen>{{cite book|last=Cohen|first=Rich|title=Tough Jews|year=1999|publisher=Vintage Books|location=New York|isbn=0-375-70547-3|pages=65–66|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Oj1P520aEcoC&q=Genovese+maranzano&pg=PA65|edition=1st Vintage Books|access-date=November 22, 2020|archive-date=October 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017021808/https://books.google.com/books?id=Oj1P520aEcoC&q=Genovese+maranzano&pg=PA65|url-status=live}}</ref> Luciano subsequently created [[The Commission (mafia)|The Commission]] to serve as the governing body for organized crime.<ref name=origins>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/20/nyregion/the-commission-s-origins.html|title=The Commission's Origins|date=1986|work=The New York Times|access-date=
In 1931, Genovese's first wife, Donata Ragone, died of [[tuberculosis]] and he quickly announced his intention to marry Anna Petillo, who was already married to Gerard Vernotico.<ref name=Maas/><ref name=abadinsky>{{cite book|last=Abadinsky|first=Howard|title=Organized crime|year=2010|publisher=Wadsworth/Cengage Learning|location=Belmont, Calif.|isbn=978-0-495-59966-1|pages=97|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UcrWRVykMgEC&q=%22Genovese+married%22&pg=PA97|edition=9th|access-date=November 22, 2020|archive-date=October 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017021806/https://books.google.com/books?id=UcrWRVykMgEC&q=%22Genovese+married%22&pg=PA97|url-status=live}}</ref>
On March 16, 1932, Vernotico was found strangled to death on a Manhattan rooftop, and on March 28, 1932, Genovese married his widow, Anna, who was Genovese's cousin via her mother, Concetta y Cassini Genovese.<ref name=Maas>{{cite book|last=Maas|first=Peter|title=The Valachi papers|year=2003|publisher=Perennial|location=New York|isbn=0-06-050742-X|pages=130|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mn_uRpQsfrsC&q=%22Genovese+married%22&pg=PA129|edition=1st Perennial|access-date=November 22, 2020|archive-date=October 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017021807/https://books.google.com/books?id=mn_uRpQsfrsC&q=%22Genovese+married%22&pg=PA129|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/inside-jersey/2012/04/the_gangsters_garden.html|title=The Gangster's Garden|first=Valerie|last=Sudol|date=April 23, 2012|website=nj|access-date=October 23, 2019|archive-date=October 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191023180035/https://www.nj.com/inside-jersey/2012/04/the_gangsters_garden.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
=== Boccia murder and flight to Italy ===
In 1934, Genovese allegedly ordered the murder of mobster [[Ferdinand Boccia]]. Genovese and Boccia had conspired to cheat a wealthy gambler out of $150,000 in a high-stakes card game. After the game, Boccia demanded a share of $35,000 because he had introduced the victim to Genovese. Rather than pay Boccia anything, Genovese decided to have him murdered. On September 19, 1934, Genovese and five associates allegedly shot and killed Boccia in a coffee shop in Brooklyn.<ref name="fugitive miranda">{{cite news|title=Fugitive Miranda Gives Up|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1946/09/17/102267077.pdf|access-date=
On June 18, 1936, Luciano was sentenced to 30 to 50 years in prison as a result of his conviction on [[Procuring (prostitution)|pandering]].<ref name="l_trial">{{cite web | url = http://www.lucianotrial1936.com/codef.html | title = Luciano Trial Website | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090131202519/http://www.lucianotrial1936.com/codef.html | archive-date = January 31, 2009 | df = mdy-all }}</ref><ref name="luciano sentence">{{cite news|title=Lucania Sentenced to 30 to 50 Years; Court Warns Ring|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1936/06/19/93521980.pdf|access-date=June 17, 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 19, 1936}}</ref> With Luciano's imprisonment, Genovese became acting boss of the Luciano crime family.<ref name="lucania sentenced">{{cite news|title=Lucania Sentenced to 30 to 50 Years; Court Warns Ring|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1936/06/19/93521980.pdf|access-date=
On November 25, 1936, Genovese became a naturalized United States citizen in New York City.<ref name ="Mafia, Secret File" /> In 1937, fearing prosecution for the Boccia murder, Genovese fled to [[Italy]] with $750,000 cash and settled in the city of [[Nola]], near [[Naples]].<ref name=Sifakis/> With Genovese's departure, Costello became acting boss.
After bribing some [[fascist]] party members, Genovese became a friend of [[Galeazzo Ciano]], [[Benito Mussolini]]'s son-in-law; it is believed Genovese provided Ciano with [[cocaine]].<ref name="genovese dies" /> Genovese donated nearly $4 million to Mussolini's fascist party by the end of [[World War II]]. He was also awarded the [[Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus]] and made a [[Commander (order)|''commendatore'']], after he participated in helping create a new fascist party headquarters in Nola.<ref>{{cite book|title = Italian Americans: The History and Culture of a People|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=MHJ1DQAAQBAJ&q=vito+genovese+benito+mussolini+donated&pg=PA96|isbn = 9781610699952|last1 = Martone|first1 = Eric|date = December 12, 2016| publisher=Abc-Clio |access-date = November 22, 2020|archive-date = October 17, 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211017021808/https://books.google.com/books?id=MHJ1DQAAQBAJ&q=vito+genovese+benito+mussolini+donated&pg=PA96|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Mafia Summit|publisher=Gil Reavil|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ps_04cWxKz4C&q=italy%27s+highest+civilian+award+vito+genovese&pg=PA51|isbn=9781250021106|date=January 22, 2013|access-date=November 22, 2020|archive-date=October 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017021839/https://books.google.com/books?id=Ps_04cWxKz4C&q=italy%27s+highest+civilian+award+vito+genovese&pg=PA51|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Mafia at Apalachin, 1957|date=2012|publisher=Michael Newton|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JSht36wh7BkC&q=italy%27s+highest+civilian+award+vito+genovese&pg=PA60|access-date=
In 1943, Genovese allegedly ordered the murder of [[Carlo Tresca]], the publisher of an anarchist newspaper in New York and an enemy of Mussolini. Genovese allegedly facilitated the murder as a favor to the Italian government. On January 11, 1943, a gunman shot and killed Tresca outside his newspaper office in Manhattan.<ref name="slays tresca">{{cite news|title=Assassin Slays Tresca, Radical, In Fifth Avenue|newspaper=New York Times|date=January 12, 1943}}</ref> The shooter was later alleged to be [[Carmine Galante]], a member of the [[Bonanno crime family]]. No one was ever charged in the Tresca murder.<ref name="obscure gangster">{{cite news|last=Franks|first=Lucinda|title=Obscure Gangster Emerging as Mafia Chief in New York|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1977/02/20/356484032.pdf|access-date=
=== Return to New York ===
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Genovese established one of the largest black market operations in southern Italy, together with the Italian gangster [[Calogero Vizzini]]. Vizzini sent truck caravans loaded with all the basic food commodities necessary for the Italian diet rolling northward to hungry Naples, where their cargoes were distributed by Genovese's organization. All of the trucks were issued passes and export papers by the AMGOT administration in Naples and Sicily, and some corrupt American army officers even made contributions of gasoline and trucks to the operation.<ref name="McCoy8"/> According to Luke Monzelli, a lieutenant in the [[Carabinieri]] assigned to follow Genovese during his time in Italy: "Truckloads of food supplies were shipped from Vizzini to Genovese — all accompanied by the proper documents which had been certified by men in authority, Mafia members in the service of Vizzini and Genovese."<ref name=newark>[http://americanmafia.com/Feature_Articles_388.html Fighting the Mafia in World War Two] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070708030956/http://www.americanmafia.com/Feature_Articles_388.html |date=July 8, 2007 }}, by Tim Newark, AmericanMafia.com, May 2007 (Retrieved on January 16, 2009)</ref><ref name=newark215>Newark, ''The Mafia at War'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=31OCGbIzTTAC&pg=PA216 p. 216] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224073815/https://books.google.com/books?id=31OCGbIzTTAC&pg=PA216 |date=December 24, 2016 }}</ref>
In the summer of 1944 in New York, Genovese was implicated in the Boccia murder by mobster [[Ernest Rupolo|Ernest "The Hawk" Rupolo]], a former Genovese associate. Facing a murder conviction, Rupolo had decided to become a government witness.<ref name="prisoner story">{{cite news|title=Prisoner's Story Breaks 4 Murders by Brooklyn Ring|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1944/08/09/87461501.pdf|access-date=
On August 27, 1944, U.S. military police arrested Genovese in Italy during an investigation into his running of a black market ring. It was revealed that Genovese had been stealing trucks, flour, and sugar from the Army. When Agent Orange C. Dickey of the [[United States Army Criminal Investigation Division|Criminal Investigation Division]] examined Genovese's background, he discovered that Genovese was a fugitive wanted for the 1934 Boccia killing. However, there was seemingly little interest from the Army or the federal government in pursuing Genovese.<ref name=newark1>[http://crimemagazine.com/hunting-down-vito-genovese-wwii-italy Hunting Down Vito Genovese] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110825074500/http://crimemagazine.com/hunting-down-vito-genovese-wwii-italy |date=August 25, 2011 }} by Tim Newark, June 2007.</ref>
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After months of frustration, Dickey was finally able to make preparations to ship Genovese back to New York to face trial, but came under increasing pressure. Genovese personally offered Dickey a $250,000 bribe to release him, then threatened Dickey when the offer was refused.<ref name="150 times" /> Dickey was even instructed by his superiors in the military chain of command to refrain from pursuing Genovese, but refused to be dissuaded.<ref name=newark1/>
On June 2, 1945, after arriving in New York by ship the day before, Genovese was arraigned on murder charges for the 1934 Boccia killing. He pleaded not guilty.<ref name="denies guilt">{{cite news|title=Genovese Denies Guit.|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1945/06/03/305170302.pdf|access-date=
Without anyone to corroborate Rupolo's testimony, the government's case collapsed, and the charges against Genovese were dismissed on June 10, 1946. In making his decision, Judge Samuel Leibowitz commented:
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<blockquote>There is no Boss of Bosses. I turned it down in front of everybody. If I ever change my mind, I will take the title. But it won't be up to you. Right now you work for me and I ain't in the mood to retire. Don't you ever let me hear this again, or I'll lose my temper.<ref>English, p. 28</ref></blockquote>
Genovese was now a capo of his former [[Greenwich Village Crew]]. However, on October 4, 1951, Moretti was assassinated by order of the [[The Commission (mafia)|Mafia Commission]]; the mob bosses were unhappy with his testimony during the [[Kefauver Hearings]], and were worried, with the [[syphilis]] now affecting his brain, he might start talking to the press. Costello appointed Genovese as the new underboss.<ref name="moretti buried">{{cite news|last=Conklin|first=William R.|title=Moretti is Buried in Gangster Style|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/10/09/87326536.pdf|access-date=
In December 1952, [[Anna Genovese]] sued her husband for financial support, and later divorce in 1953, as well as testifying to Vito's involvement in criminal rackets, an unheard-of action by the wife of a mob figure.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=25988311&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjE0MDEyMTg2NywiaWF0IjoxNTcxODU1NjA2LCJleHAiOjE1NzE5NDIwMDZ9.jUXByDfX773ZMKWSrYEtOS6J2nE3C7udXgO3pkBSyK4|title=1953-Anna Genovese testifies against husband Vito|date=February 23, 1969|pages=131|via=newspapers.com|access-date=October 23, 2019|archive-date=October 23, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023110654/https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=25988311&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjE0MDEyMTg2NywiaWF0IjoxNTcxODU1NjA2LCJleHAiOjE1NzE5NDIwMDZ9.jUXByDfX773ZMKWSrYEtOS6J2nE3C7udXgO3pkBSyK4|url-status=live}}</ref> Two years earlier, she had moved out of the family home in New Jersey.<ref name="wife suing">{{cite news|title=Wife Suing Genovese|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1952/12/10/84376796.pdf|access-date=
During the mid-1950s, Genovese decided to move against Costello. However, Genovese needed to also remove Costello's strong ally on the Commission, [[Albert Anastasia]], the boss of the [[Gambino crime family|Anastasia crime family]]. Genovese was soon conspiring with [[Carlo Gambino]], Anastasia's underboss, to remove Anastasia.<ref>Davis, pp. 78-79</ref><ref name=Fights>{{cite news|last=McHugh|first=Ray|title=Federal Attack, Internal Fights Trouble Crime Clan|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=cjozAAAAIBAJ&pg=6806,4852987&dq=magaddino+blame+apalachin+meeting&hl=en|access-date=
In early 1957, Genovese decided the time to move on Costello had come. Genovese ordered [[Vincent Gigante]] to murder Costello, and on May 2, 1957, Gigante shot and wounded Costello outside his apartment building.<ref name="costello shot">{{cite news|title=Costello is Shot Entering Home; Gunman Escapes Wound|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1957/05/03/317458602.pdf|access-date=
In late 1957, Genovese and Gambino allegedly ordered Anastasia's murder. Genovese had heard rumors that Costello was conspiring with Anastasia to regain power. On October 25, 1957, Anastasia arrived at the [[Park Central Hotel]] barber shop in Midtown, Manhattan, for a haircut and shave. As Anastasia relaxed in the barber chair, two men with their faces covered in scarves shot and killed him. Witnesses were unable to identify any of the gunmen, and competing theories exist today as to their identities.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Anastasia Slain in a Hotel Here; Led Murder, Inc.|work=[[New York Times]] |date=October 26, 1957}}</ref>
=== Apalachin meeting and prison ===
[[File:Vito_Genovese_1958.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=1958 mug shot of Vito Genovese.|Genovese at the time of his arrest August 2, 1958, in New York City]]
[[File:Vito Genovese.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Another one of Genovese's mugshots]]
In November 1957, immediately after the Anastasia murder, after taking control of the [[Luciano crime family]] from Costello, Genovese wanted to legitimize his new power by holding a national Cosa Nostra meeting. Genovese selected [[Buffalo, New York]] boss and Commission member [[Stefano Magaddino|Stefano "The Undertaker" Magaddino]] to organize the meeting; he in turn chose northeastern Pennsylvania crime boss [[Joseph Barbara (mobster)|Joseph Barbara]] and his underboss [[Russell Bufalino]] to oversee all the arrangements for it.<ref name=Niagara>{{cite news|last=Glynn|first=Don|title=Glynn:Area delegates attended mob convention|url=http://niagara-gazette.com/opinion/x681291359/GLYNN-Area-delegates-attended-mob-convention|access-date=
On November 14, 1957, powerful mafiosi from the United States and Italy convened at Barbara's estate in [[Apalachin, New York]].<ref>{{Cite news| pages = 1| last1 = Fitchette| first1 = Woodie| first2 = Steve| last2 = Hambalek| title = Top U.S. Hoods Are Run Out of Area After 'Sick Call' on Barbara| work = Binghamton Press| location = Binghamton, NY| date =
On June 2, 1958, Genovese testified under subpoena in the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] [[McClellan Hearings]] on organized crime. Genovese refused to answer any questions, citing the [[Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution#Self-incrimination|Fifth Amendment rights]] under the [[U.S. Constitution]] 150 separate times.<ref name="150 times">{{cite news|last=Loftus|first=Joseph A.|title=Genovese Invokes the Fifth 150 Times in Mafia Study|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1958/07/03/83416225.pdf|access-date=
Luciano allegedly helped pay part of $100,000 to a [[Puerto Rico|Puerto Rican]] drug dealer to falsely implicate Genovese in a drug deal.<ref>Sifakis, p. 186</ref> On July 7, 1958, Genovese was indicted on charges of conspiring to import and sell narcotics.<ref name="narcotics plot">{{cite news|title=U.S. July Indicts Genovese, Gigante, in Narcotics Plot|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1958/07/08/83417186.pdf |access-date=
In September 1959, Genovese allegedly ordered the murder of mobster [[Anthony Carfano]]. Angered at the murder attempt on Costello, Carfano had skipped the Apalachin meeting in protest. In response, Genovese decided to murder him.<ref name="pisano witnesses">{{cite news|last=Grutzner|first=Charles|title=Pisano Witnesses Changing Stories|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1963/08/24/105226222.pdf|access-date=
In April 1962, Genovese allegedly ordered the murder of [[Anthony Strollo]] after concluding that Strollo was part of the plot that put him in prison. On April 8, Strollo left his house to go for a walk and was never seen again. His body was never recovered.<ref name="sifakis 38">{{cite book|last=Sifkakis|title=The Mafia Encyclopedia|pages=38}}</ref>
In 1962, an alleged murder threat from Genovese propelled mobster [[Joseph Valachi]] into the public spotlight. In June, Genovese supposedly accused Valachi, also imprisoned in Atlanta, of being an informer and gave Valachi the [[Kiss of death (mafia)|kiss of death]].<ref name=Kelly>{{cite news|last=Kelly|first=G. Milton|title=Valachi To Tell Of Gang War For Power|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=U0tfAAAAIBAJ&pg=5954,3500619&dq=the+commission+vito+genovese&hl=en|access-date=
On August 24, 1964, [[Ernest Rupolo]]'s body was recovered from [[Jamaica Bay]], [[Queens]]. His killers had attached two concrete blocks to his legs and tied his hands. It was widely assumed that Genovese had ordered Rupolo's murder for testifying against him in the 1944 Boccia murder trial.<ref name="body informer">{{cite news|title=Body of Informer, Tied to Concrete, Pulled from Bay|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1964/08/25/106982170.pdf|access-date=
==Death==
Genovese died of a [[heart attack]] at the [[United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners]] in [[Springfield, Missouri]], on {{nowrap|February 14, 1969.<ref name=mfkpdwst>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pjVWAAAAIBAJ&pg=6534%2C2735688 |work=Eugene Register-Guard |location=(Oregon) |agency=Associated Press |title=Mafia kingpin dies while serving time |date=February 14, 1969 |page=4A |access-date=September 20, 2020 |archive-date=October 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017021847/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pjVWAAAAIBAJ&pg=6534%2C2735688 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="genovese dies">{{cite news|last=Grutzner|first=Charles|title=Ruled 'Family' of 450. Genovese Dies in Prison at 71. 'Boss of Bosses' of Mafia Here|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/02/15/archives/ruled-family-of-450-genovese-dies-in-prison-at-71-boss-of-bosses-of.html?sq=%2522Vito%2520Genovese%2522&scp=6&st=cse|access-date=
==In popular culture==
* Genovese is portrayed in the 1972 film ''[[The Valachi Papers (film)|The Valachi Papers]]'' by [[Lino Ventura]].<ref name="valachi papers">{{cite web|title=The Valachi Papers|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068341/|work=Internet Movie Database|date=January 6, 1972|access-date=
* Genovese is portrayed in the 1974 film ''[[crazy Joe (film)|Crazy Joe]]'' by [[Eli Wallach]].<ref name="crazy joe">{{cite web|title=Crazy Joe|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071369/|work=Internet Movie Database|date=February 8, 1974|access-date=
* Genovese is portrayed in the 1991 film ''[[Bugsy]]'' by Don Carrara.<ref name="bugsy">{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101516/|title=Bugsy|date=December 20, 1991|via=www.imdb.com|access-date=December 15, 2019|archive-date=January 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200122101134/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101516/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Genovese is portrayed in the 1999 film ''[[Lansky (1999 film)|Lansky]]'' by [[Robert Miano]].<ref name="lansky">{{Cite web|url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0173974/|title=Lansky|date=February 27, 1999|via=www.imdb.com|access-date=December 15, 2019|archive-date=July 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190727205544/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0173974/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Genovese is portrayed in the 1999 television movie ''Bonanno: A Godfather's Story'' by Emidio Michetti.<ref name="bonanno story">{{Cite web|url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0179804/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1|title = Bonanno: A Godfather's Story (TV Movie 1999) - IMDb|website = [[IMDb]]|date = July 25, 1999|access-date = June 27, 2018|archive-date = October 17, 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211017021902/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0179804/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1|url-status = live}}</ref>
* Genovese is portrayed in the 2001 television movie ''[[Boss of Bosses]]'' by [[Steven Bauer]].<ref name="boss bosses">{{cite web|title=Boss of Bosses|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0205782/|work=Internet Movie Database|date=July 19, 2005|access-date=
* Genovese features in the sixth episode of UK television channel [[Yesterday (TV channel)|Yesterday]]'s documentary series ''Mafia's Greatest Hits''.
* Genovese is portrayed in the 2015 television series ''[[The Making of the Mob: New York]]'' by Craig Thomas Rivela.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4484722/|title=The Making of the Mob|date=June 15, 2015|access-date=April 7, 2018|via=www.imdb.com|archive-date=March 31, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180331042911/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4484722/|url-status=live}}</ref>
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