The Life of "The Oddfather," Vincent Gigante Required fields are marked *. Gigante broadened the familys operations in loan sharking, extortion, bookmaking, and bid-rigging for infrastructure projects in New York City. It's also the construction union. Not a bad movie, but even Hollywood doesnt go that far, Louis quipped to the Post in 1997. The Times described Gigante as "gaunt" and staring into space as he sat in a wheelchair. His older brothers went on to become mobsters, with Vinnie rising through the ranks of the Genovese crime family to lead the organization for decades. One would think hed naturally pick Genovese as his replacement due to their history. His position as a capo now meant he had been bumped higher on law enforcements priority list he had now become a bigger fish in a smaller pond. According to the Baltimore Sun, Brafman said, "Anyone who has gotten to know this individual and who is completely honest will tell you that the issue of competency is one thing, the issue of whether someone is or is not mentally ill is an entirely separate issue.". After his release, he was deported to Italy. The 77-year-old boss of the Genovese . Vincent Gigante Daughter Stella Gigante - thefamilynation.com Only one brother, Louis, stayed out of the crime family, instead becoming a Catholic priest. Vincenzo is the Italian version of Vincent. Louis Gigante, the youngest of the five brothers raised in Greenwich Village by Italian immigrant parents, stood by his older sibling Vincent when the Mafia chief was accused and eventually. Gigante ended up serving five years in prison after a 1960 narcotics conspiracy charge stuck, the New York Times reported. Phil Stanziola/Library of CongressVito Genovese in 1959. The homes that Gigante's parishioners live in senior citizen projects, one- and two-family houses, large and small apartment buildings have been built, to a large extent, by companies owned by or affiliated with top-ranking members of the Genovese organized crime family.". "I go in between. At his 1997 trial, Judge Jack B. Weinstein of Federal District Court in Brooklyn sentenced Gigante to less than half of the time he was eligible to receive for the racketeering crimes he was convicted of, and he was acquitted of three "gangland slayings," per the New York Times. [31][32] Judge I. Leo Glasser sentenced him to an additional three years in prison. Though named for him, Vito Genovese wasnt the founder of the Genovese crime family. Apic/Getty ImagesVincent Chin Gigante in custody after his failed assassination attempt on Genovese crime family leader, Frank Costello. The New York Times reported that his cause of death was not listed by the prison, but sources said he had heart disease when he died on Dec. 19, 2005. Gigante was said to continue to run the Genovese family from prison until 2003. As Costello entered the vestibule of the building, a shot rang out. The April 2019 guilty plea spared Fyfe from taking the stand against his relative. [1], In June 1993, Gigante was under indictment again, charged with sanctioning the murders of six mobsters and conspiring to kill three others, including Gambino boss John Gotti. [2] According to his brother Louis, his nickname, "The Chin", stemmed from their mother affectionately calling him Chinzeeno as a boy, derived from the name Vincenzo, the Italian form of Vincent. By 2003, however, while serving a 12-year racketeering sentence, Gigante told a judge during a plea bargain to avoid a long trial for more racketeering charges that he faked mental illness while being examined by doctors throughout the 1990s to avoid prosecution, according to the Baltimore Sun. From the long streak of petty and ruthless crimes committed, it was apparent he was passionate about his mob apprenticeship. Rita is a lesbian woman and her love story during that time would be controversial for the mob family. In Martin Scorseses hit movie Goodfellas, Gigante is portrayed by actor Frank Vincent, who provides an unforgettable performance. Instead, he had amassed enough notoriety to earn himself a place as an enforcer in the family. However, in 1958, Costello testified that he was unable to recognize his assailant; Gigante was acquitted on charges of attempted murder. Gigante started out as a professional boxer who fought in 25 matches between 1944 and 1947. Louis Gigante defended his brother during his trial at which the mob boss would often appear confused telling reporters that The Chin had suffered from a degenerative brain condition since the 70s. Gigante was one of five brothers; three of them, Mario, Pasquale, and Ralph, followed him into the Mafia. A few days later, the doorman picked out Gigante in a line-up, confirming the detectives initial suspicion. [3] Gigante graduated from Public School 3 in West Village, Manhattan and later attended Textile High School, but dropped out. According to National Crime Syndicate, in 1957 he made his big move when he tried to shoot and kill mob boss Frank Costello, but only grazed Costello's head. [15] He almost never left his home unoccupied because he knew FBI agents would sneak in and plant a bug. | April 26, 2023 10:59 AM. Costello, being a principled gangster, refused to squeal, and Gigante got more street cred. Staggering into the lobby, Costello collapsed onto a leather couch while a gunman ran out the door and jumped into the waiting Cadillac, which immediately sped away. In the midst of all this, Gigante also had a wife, a mistress and eight children between them. Vincent Esposito, 50, was identified by prosecutors Wednesday as "a person of influence" in the Genovese crime family once headed by his father, who was dubbed the "Oddfather" for wandering. Vincent Gigante in court following the shooting of mob boss Frank Costello. Somehow, he managed to avoid facing serious charges during this period. But before he became the boss of the Genovese crime family in 1981, Gigante was under the wing of mentor . When a Mafia turncoat told the feds that Louis Gigante himself was a made man testimony the informant later denied at trial the priest was dismissive. If you look at the police unions, they have a lot of people that follow in that position too Firemen do the same thing.". Presiding over his brothers funeral Mass, Louis Gigante said Vinnie lived a Christian life and was a good man.. Shortly thereafter, he appointed Frank Costello to head up the Genovese family to the chagrin of Genovese, who had hoped to lead the family himself. 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Those charges were followed up in 1993 with an indictment that charged him with ordering the murders of several mobsters as well as conspiracy to commit murder in three other cases. Vincent Gigante was born in 1928 in the Lower East Side of New York. The mumbling, pajama-wearing, Greenwich Village-walking don died in prison in 2005 after his conviction on charges of racketeering and conspiracy to kill rival mob boss John Gotti. Godfather daughter Stella and Teddy ( Source : youtube ). His mysterious and intimidating persona has been featured in some of the most famous works of popular culture. [1], In August 1996, senior judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Eugene Nickerson, ruled that Gigante was mentally competent to stand trial; he pleaded not guilty and had been free for years on $1 million bail. [10], In January 1987, Salerno was sentenced to 100 years in prison for racketeering, along with top members of the other New York families, as part of the Mafia Commission Trial. His father was a watchmaker and his mother worked as a seamstress, but organized crime permeated the Manhattan neighborhood where his family lived. "[14], Gigante was reclusive, and almost impossible to capture on wiretaps, speaking softly, eschewing the phone and even at times whistling into the receiver. The Rev. New York Daily News/Getty ImagesVincent Gigante in court following the shooting of mob boss Frank Costello. That year, Gigante finally copped to faking his insanity in a plea deal on obstruction charges stemming from the 1990 and 1993 charges. His namesake grandfather, who died in 2005, ruled atop the might Genovese family for nearly two decades before his 1997 racketeering conviction and a subsequent federal guilty plea in 2003. His father, Salvatore Gigante, and mother, Yolanda Gigante, were Italian immigrants. Vincent Gigante. The FBI was out to prove it, and in the end they would. [12][13] FBI bugs had captured a conversation in which Salerno and capo Matthew "Matty the Horse" Ianniello were reviewing a list of prospective candidates to be made in another family. Although many events and storyline in the series is based on a true story, the character of Stella is made up by the director by a composite of several similar personalities. Powerful Mafia boss Vito Genovese soon took a liking to the young Gigante and became his mentor. Eventually, Gigante quit high school when he turned 16 to start a career as a boxer. Priest Louis swore that Gigante had used multiple medications to cure his crippling ailments since 1968. Gigante was very thorough with his ruse. Upon his early 1960s release from a ten-year jail sentence, Bumpy discovered his neighborhood in ruins and must take on the Genovese crime family to regain control. However, it was not easy to make it grounded and natural. When police interrogated Costello about his assailants, he insisted he never saw the would-be assassins and even denied hearing the gunfire. If you need to flag this entry as abusive. In the end, It didnt matter. Fyfes mother is Rita Gigantes sister, Yolanda, and Rita offered fond recollections of her nephew. Son of infamous crime boss charged with racketeering - New York Post Frustrated that the nicknames of the wannabes had not been included, Salerno shrugged and said, "I'll leave this up to the boss. Also Knows As: Chin, The Oddfather Born: Thursday March 29, 1928 Died: Monday December 19, 2005 Age: 77 Cause of Death: Heart Disease Crime Family Association: Genovese Crime Family About Vincent Gigante. Jacobs, James B., Coleen Friel and Robert Radick. Despite avoiding incarceration two years prior in 1957, Gigante and his mentor, Genevese, were later convicted in 1959. A friend in the family: Daughter of legendary mob boss Vincent 'Chin Mob boss Vincent "The Chin" Gigante, 77, the powerful Mafioso who avoided jail for decades by feigning mental illness, died Monday at the federal prison in Springfield, Mo. Gigante attended Catholic school and was a good student. Born in New York City in 1928, Vincent Gigante was one of five sons of Salvatore and Yolanda Gigante, both first-generation immigrants from the Italian city of Naples. In reality, he was a powerful mob boss, the head of one of the citys most notorious crime families. Young Gigante became involved with Vito Genovese, a reputable mafia boss, and later became the latters protge. She also warns them that if they stay a couple, it would be hard for not only them but their kids in future. Gigantes lawyer said after the plea, I think you get to a point in life I think everyone does where you become too old and too sick and too tired to fight.. Meanwhile, Gigante built the Genovese crime family into the largest Mafia family in the country. Mob boss admits insanity an act, pleads guilty / Mafia - SFGATE He was willing to go all out in his effort to thwart culpability as the leader of a crime family. Vincent "Chin" Gigante Biography - National Crime Syndicate