How Vito Genovese Fought His Way To The Top Of The Mob — Twice
Public DomainVito Genovese reigned as one of the most powerful Mafia bosses of his era, but ended his life in prison.
Over the course of his life, Vito Genovese desired one thing above all else: power. And he’d go to great lengths to get it.
Born in Naples on Nov. 21, 1897, Genovese arrived in New York City with his family as a teenager. Before long, Genovese drifted toward a life of crime and began a fateful friendship with Lucky Luciano. Though they were initially aligned with Joe Masseria, Luciano and Genovese eventually helped take him out. The New York Times reports that Genovese is believed to be one of the men who shot Masseria to death as he dined in a Coney Island restaurant in 1931.
As Luciano’s power grew following the assassinations of Masseria and mob boss Salvatore Maranzano, so did Genovese’s. Genovese even became the acting boss of the Luciano Family (which would eventually bear Genovese’s name) after Luciano was convicted of several charges in 1936. But Genovese himself was forced to flee a murder charge the next year. He went to Italy, and handed power to Frank Costello.
But as soon as he was able to come back to the United States, Genovese did so. When he found that Costello refused to relinquish power, he turned to Luciano — then living in Cuba — and tried to convince his old friend to let him become the “boss of all bosses.” But Luciano refused.
Public DomainVito Genovese after his arrest in 1958.
“There is no Boss of Bosses,” Luciano told Genovese. “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.”
Undeterred, Genovese used violent means to consolidate power. In 1957, he backed Carlo Gambino when he wanted to assassinate Albert Anastasia, and ordered a hit on Frank Costello. Though Costello survived, he agreed to hand over power of the family to Genovese.
But Vito Genovese didn’t have much time to savor his victory. In 1959, he was convicted on federal narcotics charges and sent to prison. Though Genovese continued to conduct business as a Mafia boss from behind bars, he’d never taste freedom again. He died of a heart attack on Feb. 14, 1969 at age 71.
