Venero Mangano

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Venero Mangano in 1990.

Venero Frank "Benny Eggs" Mangano (born September 7, 1921 in Lower Manhattan , New York City ; † August 18, 2017 in Greenwich Village , New York City) was an Italian-American mobster from the American "Cosa Nostra" and from 1987 the underboss of the " Genovese family " until his death, presumably .

Life

Bourgeois life

Venero Frank Mangano was born on September 7, 1921 in Lower Manhattan , New York City and grew up in Manhattan in the Greenwich Village district . He was nicknamed "Benny Eggs" because of an egg shop his mother owned.

During World War II served as Mangano bomber - gunner in the United States Army Air Corps and participated in 33 bomber missions over Europe attended, including two successful bombing raids over Normandy on D-Day . In recognition of his service, Mangano was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross , an Air Medal and three Battle Stars .

When the war hero returned to Greenwich Village, he devoted himself to the clothing industry and founded the company " M & J Enterprises " which acquired surplus designer jeans and other clothing for resale in domestic and foreign markets. One of his most prominent customers at the time was Calvin Klein . Meanwhile, Mangano also befriended Klein's business partner Barry K. Schwartz . He also ran a social club at 208 Thompson Street, where he enabled elderly gentlemen, most of whom were unrelated to organized crime, to play cards and socialize.

Contacts to crime

Since the mid-1940s, Mangano has been convicted of minor offenses several times:

  • Oct. 7, 1946 - Bookmaker - Fine of $ 50
  • May 15, 1947 - Bookmaker - Fined $ 200
  • Oct. 8, 1950 - Bookmaking - Fine of US $ 200 and 60 days in prison
  • Feb. 21, 1961 - Bookmaking - Fine of $ 250 and 90 days in prison

In later years Mangano joined a crew in Greenwich Village, which was led in the future by Vincent "Chin" Gigante and was part of the " Genovese family " of the American "Cosa Nostra" . At that time, Philip “Benny Squint” Lombardo was considered the head of the Genovese family, who in turn used the high-ranking mafioso Frank Alphonse “Funzi” Tieri on the facade as the “street boss” in the 1970s in order to be less targeted by the investigators . During this time Mangano was a close confidante of Tieri and stood by him in an advisory capacity until his death. Mangano himself ran his business from his social club in Greenwich Village.

Since Mangano had refused to testify in the course of a hearing despite being granted immunity for no good reason, he was sentenced to prison by a US District Court for Pennsylvania on August 6, 1981 , and from August 18, 1981 to April 22, 1981 Imprisoned in 1982. At that time, Mangano's partner Vincent Gigante was the new head of the family, as Philip Lombardo resigned from the position of boss in 1981 for health reasons. According to one in 1983 by the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary written dossier Mangano had at that time the status of a capo regime and is along the New York - New Jersey was involved Waterfront at various illegal operations have obtained from local companies payments and usurious loans for port-related corporate investments. After the regular underboss Saverio "Sammy Black" Santora died of natural causes , Mangano was named the new underboss of the Genovese family by Gigante in 1987 .

Windows case

As early as 1978 to 1990, four of the so-called " Five Families " - " Lucchese ", " Genovese ", " Gambino " and " Colombo " monopolized the awarding of orders for the installation of more than one million windows in New York City and raised an additional one Taxes of approximately $ 1.00 to $ 2.00 on almost every public and private window replacement. The families controlled New York City Housing Authority contracts valued at over $ 150 million and monopolized the industry through Local 580 - a Lucchese family-controlled branch of the International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron workers . The corruption of that union enabled bribes to be demanded, payments to be blackmailed and thus the monopoly to be enforced.

On May 30, 1990, Mangano was indicted along with other members of four of the "Five Families" from New York City and found guilty on October 19, 1991 of extortion and a related conspiracy in the so-called "Windows Case". Prosecutors emphasized that Mangano and Benedetto “Benny” Aloi - consigliere of the Colombo family - held the highest positions of organized crime among all convicts in the complex process before the federal district court in Brooklyn . On March 26, 1993, Mangano was sentenced to 15 years and eight months in prison and fined $ 100,000.

Last years

In 1997, Mangano was called upon to testify as a prosecutor's witness against his boss Gigante and reportedly refused to testify, saying:

"What do you want to do, shoot me? Shoot me, but I'm not going to answer any questions. I'm tired of these charades. You gave me 15 years already. I'm 76. Where am I going? "

He later took a place on the witness stand, but refused to answer questions and invoked his right to exercise the 5th Amendment to the United States Constitution because he could incriminate himself by testifying.

At an advanced age, Mangano suffered from a variety of diseases, including heart disease and macular degeneration , which made him virtually blind. Mangano tried unsuccessfully to get a new hearing several times in order to receive a reduced or milder prison sentence. Despite pain, disabilities and discomfort, Mangano's mental sharpness was as ever and after he had already survived two heart attacks and three emergency operations behind bars, his attitude towards the Federal Bureau of Prisons is the same as it was in 1997 when he was the prosecution mocked. On November 2, 2006, Mangano was released from prison.

Despite the fact that he was partially blind and bound to a wheelchair, according to speculation, Mangano was the underboss of the Genovese family not only during his imprisonment, but also after his release until his death, although there is no evidence of this. However, during this period no other mobster of the Genovese family was associated with the official, but at most with the reigning position of the underboss. For this reason Mangano has been referred to as "longtime underboss" in various articles.

Venero Frank Mangano died of natural causes at his Greenwich Village home on August 18, 2017, at the age of 95, leaving behind his wife Louise, daughter Rosanna and a son named Joseph, who was employed by an insurance company at the time.

Adaptations

Web links

Commons : Venero Mangano  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Organized Crime in America: Hearings Before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Ninety-eighth Congress, First Session, on Organized Crime in America. In: Google Books . 1983, accessed July 10, 2020 .
  2. ^ A b c d Venero (Benny Eggs) Mangano, longtime underboss of Genovese family, dead at 95. In: Daily News . August 18, 2017, accessed July 10, 2020 .
  3. ↑ a b c d Rough Prison Treatment for a Fragile Benny Eggs. In: New York Sun. September 21, 2006, accessed July 10, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Maffiabaas Venero Mangano (95) is not sea. In: Panorama.nl. August 20, 2017, accessed July 10, 2020 .
  5. ^ A b Venero Frank Mangano - Exclusion List. In: State of New Jersey. Retrieved July 10, 2020 .
  6. ^ A b Mobster’s grandson elected mayor of New York village. In: New York Post . April 26, 2015, accessed July 10, 2020 .
  7. ^ The Last Jewish Gangster. In: The Village Voice . June 26, 2019, accessed July 10, 2020 .
  8. ^ Barney's Bravado Gives the Feds Fits. In: New York Sun. May 3, 2007, accessed July 10, 2020 .
  9. ^ A b Windows Jury Finds 3 Guilty And Acquits 5. In: The New York Times . October 19, 1991, accessed July 10, 2020 .
  10. ^ Suspected New York Mob Leaders Are Indicted in Contract Rigging. In: The New York Times. May 31, 1990, accessed July 10, 2020 .
  11. ↑ 2 Men Sentenced In 'Windows Trial'. In: The New York Times. March 28, 1993, accessed July 10, 2020 .
  12. ↑ A Jailed Mobster Refuses To Testify in Mafia Case. In: The New York Times. July 19, 1997, accessed July 10, 2020 .
  13. ↑ Ensuring Public Safety and National Security Under the Rule of Law: A Report to the American People on the work of the FBI, from 1993 to 1998. In: Google Books. 1999, accessed July 10, 2020 .
personal data
SURNAME Mangano, Venero
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mangano, Venero Frank; Benny Eggs (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American mobster
DATE OF BIRTH September 7, 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH Lower Manhattan , New York City
DATE OF DEATH 18th August 2017
Place of death Greenwich Village , New York City