Vincent Gigante

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Vincent Gigante (1957)

Vincent "the Chin" "Gigs" Gigante (born March 29, 1928 in Manhattan , New York , † December 19, 2005 in Springfield , Missouri ) was a high-ranking American mobster and head of the " Genovese family ".

Life

Early years

Gigante was one of five sons of watchmaker Salvatore Gigante and seamstress Yolanda Gigante who immigrated to New York City from Naples .

After the ninth grade, he left the textile college and came under the wing of Vito Genovese . He grew up on the Lower East Side , Manhattan. Between the ages of 17 and 18, he was accused of various offenses (receiving stolen goods , possession of firearms, car theft , arson, etc.) seven times , but only served a sentence of 60 days for illegal gambling .

Gigante called himself a tailor , but he became known as a boxer because he won 21 of 25 fights in the light heavyweight division , which is still recorded in Nat Fleischer's Ring Record Book today. Such fights lasted six rounds and the winner received a small percentage of the ticket sales. One of the managers of his fights was Thomas Eboli , who later became head of the "Genovese family".

Genovese family

In 1946, Gigante quit boxing and got into organized crime . Presumably he was also used as a contract killer and the failed assassination attempt on Frank Costello on May 2, 1957 is attributed to him. No one officially identified him, but the Costello doorman recognized him; Thomas Eboli is said to have been the driver of the getaway car . Costello knew where the wind was blowing from and resigned as head of the section of La Cosa Nostra , which was later classified as the "Genovese family" under his successor Vito Genovese , the mastermind behind the assassination attempt.

He was acquitted of a murder charge in 1958, but had to be behind bars for seven years for heroin trafficking in 1959, but was released on parole after five because he might have been killed. a. had given numerous well-meaning submissions from his Greenwich Village neighborhood .

In 1969 he escaped bribery charges because he had some well-known psychologists certify his insanity ; accordingly he suffered from schizophrenia and dementia, among other things . To underpin this impression, he gave his observers a grotesque spectacle in the following years; so he often walked around his house wearing only pajamas , bathrobe and slippers and mumbling to himself.

In 1985, high-ranking Mafiosi of the five families were indicted in the Mafia Commission Trial , including Anthony Salerno . When he was sentenced to a total of 100 years in prison in 1987, a new head had to be found. However, Salerno was already considered seriously ill before his imprisonment and died five years later; therefore the high-ranking member of the "Genovese family" Vincent "Fish" Cafaro claimed that Gigante had been the actual leader since 1981 and that Salerno was just a straw man .

Condemnation

In 1990, Gigante was arrested for involvement in various brawls and murders , but it was not until 1997 that a trial was brought because his lawyers called up a large number of bribed witnesses who were supposed to confirm Gigante's 'madness' and his incapacity again. Gigante also appeared in court in his pajama outfit and gave the demented and harmless man.

However, in the early 1990s, leading mafia members broke the otherwise mandatory silence (“ omertà ”) for the first time on a broad level and worked together with the government. In particular, Salvatore Gravano , the underboss of the " Gambino family ", testified on two occasions in 1991 that Gigante was always completely clear-headed and sane when the Mafia met. He quoted an alleged statement by his boss John Gotti , who is said to have called Gigante "Crazy like a fox" after a meeting in 1988. Alphonse D'Arco , a former subordinate of the " Lucchese family ", confirmed Gigante's sanity and his participation in high-level mafia meetings, at which he admitted that his eccentric behavior was designed as a deception. Ultimately, he was still burdened by Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso - also a former subordinate of the "Lucchese family" - who had planned the murder of John Gotti, Frank DeCicco and Gene Gotti (all members of the "Gambino family") since the beginning of 1986 to have.

Vincent Gigante was sentenced to 12 years in prison on July 25, 1997 in Springfield, Missouri Prison. He died there on December 19, 2005 at the age of 77.

estate

In particular during Vincent Gigante's imprisonment, his older brother Mario Gigante directed the criminal activities of the family ("acting boss"), but did not succeed him as head of the clan after his brother Vincent's death. This became Dominick Cirillo , who had tried in 2004 to install his son in the Gambino family as leadership. However, Cirillo's son disappeared in May 2004; he was probably murdered. Only when Cirillo himself was convicted and imprisoned in 2005 can it be assumed that the family will be led by Mario Gigante from 2006 onwards. However, there is also the thesis that both Cirillo and Mario Gigante were already under the command of Daniel Leo in 2005 , whose leadership from 2007 can be considered undisputed.

Cultural reception

Web links

Commons : Vincent Gigante  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files
predecessor Office successor
Anthony Salerno Head of the Genovese family of La Cosa Nostra
1987-2005 		Dominick Cirillo
personal data
SURNAME Gigante, Vincent
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gigante, Gigs (nickname); The Chin (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American mafioso
DATE OF BIRTH March 29, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Manhattan , New York
DATE OF DEATH December 19, 2005
Place of death Springfield , Missouri