Genovese crime family

Origins The Genovese crime family originated from the Morello gang of East Harlem, the first Mafia family in New York City. In 1892, Giuseppe Morello arrived in New York from the village of Corleone, Sicily, Italy. Morello's half-brothers Nicholas, Vincenzo, Ciro, and the rest of his family joined him in New York the following year. The Morello brothers formed the 107th Street Mob and began dominating the Italian neighborhood of East Harlem, parts of Manhattan, and the Bronx. One of Giuseppe Morello's strongest allies was Ignazio "the Wolf" Lupo, a mobster who controlled Manhattan's Little Italy. In 1903, Lupo married Morello's half-sister, uniting both organizations. The Morello-Lupo alliance continued to prosper in 1903, when the group began a major counterfeiting ring with powerful Sicilian mafioso Vito Cascioferro, printing $5 bills in Sicily and smuggling them into the US. New York police detective Joseph Petrosino, later assassinated while in Sicily seeking evidence to permit the deportation of Morello and other mafiosi, began investigating the Morello family's counterfeiting operation, the barrel murders, and the black hand extortion letters. On November 15, 1909, Morello, Lupo, and others were arrested on counterfeiting charges. In February 1910, Morello and Lupo were sentenced to twenty-five and thirty years in prison, respectively. In 1910 the Lomonte Brothers, cousins of Morello, ran East Harlem until 1915. Fortunato Lomonte was shot and killed in 1914 on East 108th st. Tomasso Lomonte and cousin Rose Lomonte were both shot and killed in 1915 on East 116th st. Mafia-Camorra War As the Morello family increased in power and influence, bloody territorial conflicts arose with other Italian gangs in New York. The Morellos had an alliance with Giosue Gallucci, a prominent East Harlem businessman and Camorrista with local political connections. On May 17, 1915, Gallucci was murdered in a power struggle between the Morellos and the Neapolitan Camorra organization, which consisted of two Brooklyn gangs run by Pellegrino Morano and Alessandro Vollero. The fight over Gallucci's rackets became known as the Mafia-Camorra War. After months of fighting, Morano offered a truce. A meeting was arranged at a Navy Street cafe owned by Vollero. On September 7, 1916, Nicholas Morello and his bodyguard Charles Ubriaco were ambushed and killed upon arrival by five members of the Camorra gang. In 1917, Morano was charged with Morello's murder after Camorrista Ralph Daniello implicated him in the murder. By 1918, law enforcement had sent many Camorra members to prison, decimating the Camorra in New York and ending the war. Many of the remaining Camorra members joined the Morello family. The Morellos now faced stronger rivals than the Camorra. With the passage of Prohibition in 1920 and the ban of alcohol sales, the family regrouped and built a lucrative bootlegging operation in Manhattan. In 1920, both Morello and Lupo were released from prison and Brooklyn Mafia boss Salvatore D'Aquila ordered their murders. This is when Giuseppe "Joe" Masseria and Umberto Valenti, an enforcer working for Salvatore D'Aquila, began to fight for control of the Morello family. On December 29, 1920, Masseria's men murdered Valenti's ally, Salvatore Mauro. Then, on May 8, 1922, the Valenti gang murdered Vincenzo Terranova. Masseria's gang retaliated killing Morello member Silva Tagliagamba. On August 11, 1922, Masseria's men murdered Valenti, ending the conflict, as Masseria took over the Morello family. Salvatore D'Aquila relocated to the Bronx until Masseria had him killed in 1928. The Castellammarese era During the mid-1920s, Masseria continued to expand his bootlegging, extortion, loansharking, and illegal gambling rackets throughout New York. To operate and protect these rackets, he recruited many ambitious young mobsters, including future heavyweights Charles "Lucky" Luciano, Frank Costello, Joseph "Joey A" Adonis, Vito Genovese, and Albert Anastasia. Luciano soon became a top aide in Masseria's organization. By the late 1920s, Masseria's main rival was boss Salvatore Maranzano, who had come from Sicily to run the Castellammarese clan. Their rivalry eventually escalated into the bloody Castellammarese War. As the war turned against Masseria, Luciano, seeing an opportunity to switch allegiance, decided to eliminate him in 1931. In a secret deal with Maranzano, Luciano agreed to engineer Masseria's death in return for taking over his rackets and becoming Maranzano's second-in-command. Adonis had joined the Masseria faction, and when Masseria heard about Luciano's betrayal, he approached Adonis about killing Luciano. However, Adonis instead warned Luciano about the murder plot. On April 15, 1931, Masseria was killed at Nuova Villa Tammaro, a Coney Island restaurant, while playing cards with Luciano, who allegedly excused himself to use the bathroom, when four gunmen (Anastasia, Genovese, Adonis, and Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel) shot Masseria to death, then escaping in a car driven by Ciro "The Artichoke King" Terranova. It was reported that Terranova was too nervous to drive, so Siegel took the driver's seat and drove the car out of the crime scene. With Maranzano's blessing, Luciano became his lieutenant and took over Masseria's gang, ending the Castellammarese War. Although Maranzano was slightly more forward-thinking than Masseria, Luciano had come to believe that Maranzano was even more greedy, power-hungry and hidebound than Masseria had been. He sent to Maranzano's office four Jewish gangsters, secured with the aid of Siegel and Meyer Lansky, whose faces were unknown to Maranzano's people. Disguised as government agents, two of the gangsters disarmed Maranzano's bodyguards. The other two, aided by Lucchese, stabbed Maranzano multiple times before shooting him. Luciano and the Commission 's mugshot After Maranzano's murder, Luciano called a meeting in Chicago with various bosses, where he proposed a Commission to serve as the governing body for organized crime. Designed to settle all disputes and decide which families controlled which territories, the Commission has been called Luciano's greatest innovation. Anastasia, now the leader of Murder, Inc., approached Luciano with information that Schultz had asked him to stake out Dewey's apartment building on Fifth Avenue. Upon hearing the news, the Commission held a discreet meeting to discuss the matter. After six hours of deliberations, the Commission ordered Lepke Buchalter to eliminate Schultz. On October 23, 1935, before he could kill Dewey, Schultz was shot in a tavern in Newark, New Jersey, and succumbed to his injuries the following day. On May 13, 1936, Luciano's pandering trial began. Dewey prosecuted the case that Eunice Carter had built against Luciano, accusing him of being part of a massive prostitution ring known as "the Combination". All three witnesses subsequently recanted their testimony. On June 7, 1936, Luciano was convicted on 62 counts of compulsory prostitution. On June 18, he was sentenced to thirty to fifty years in state prison, along with David Betillo and others. Luciano continued to run his crime family from prison, relaying his orders through Genovese, his acting boss. However, in 1937, Genovese fled to Naples to avoid an impending indictment for murder in New York. Luciano appointed Costello, his consigliere, as the new acting boss and overseer of Luciano's interests. During World War II, federal agents came to Luciano for help in preventing enemy sabotage on the New York waterfront and other activities. Luciano agreed to help, in return for a pardon from the State of New York, made contingent on Luciano's deportation to Italy. The Prime Minister at the Kefauver hearings From May 1950 to May 1951, the U.S. Senate conducted a large-scale investigation of organized crime, commonly known as the Kefauver Hearings, chaired by Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee. Costello was convicted of contempt of the Senate and sentenced to eighteen months in prison. Kefauver concluded that New York politician Carmine DeSapio was assisting the activities of Costello, and that Costello had become influential in decisions made by the Tammany Hall political machine. DeSapio admitted to having met Costello several times, but insisted that "politics was never discussed". In 1952, the federal government began proceedings to strip Costello of his U.S. citizenship and he was indicted for evasion of $73,417 in income taxes between 1946 and 1949. He was sentenced to five years in prison and fined $20,000. Free of legal entanglements, he started plotting against Costello with the assistance of Mangano family underboss Carlo Gambino. On May 2, 1957, Luciano mobster Vincent "the Chin" Gigante shot Costello in the side of the head as Costello returned to his apartment. Gigante's aim proved errant, however, and Costello survived the attack with no more than a flesh wound. Costello claimed he could not identify his attacker; Gigante was later acquitted when prosecuted for the shooting. Months later, Anastasia, the boss of the Mangano family and a powerful ally of Costello's, was murdered by Gambino's gunmen at the Park Central Hotel in Manhattan. With Anastasia's death, Carlo Gambino seized control of the Mangano family. Fearing for his life and isolated after the shootings, Costello quietly retired and surrendered control of the Luciano family to Genovese. 's mugshot Having taken control of what was renamed the Genovese crime family in 1957, Genovese decided to organize a Mafia conference to legitimize his new position. Held at mobster Joseph "Joe the Barber" Barbara's estate in Apalachin, New York, the Apalachin meeting attracted over 100 mobsters from around the nation. However, local law enforcement stumbled upon the meeting and quickly surrounded the estate. As the meeting broke up, the police stopped a car driven by Russell Bufalino, whose passengers included Genovese and three other men, at a roadblock as they left the estate. Mafia leaders were chagrined by the public exposure and bad publicity from the Apalachin meeting, and generally blamed Genovese for the fiasco. All those apprehended were fined, up to $10,000 each, and given prison sentences ranging from three to five years, but all the convictions were overturned on appeal in 1960. Genovese, who was the most powerful boss in New York, had been effectively eliminated as a rival by Gambino. The Valachi Hearings during the McClellan hearings, 1963 chart of the Genovese family hierarchy in 1963 Genovese soldier Joe Valachi was convicted of narcotics violations in 1959, and sentenced to fifteen years in prison. While serving his sentence for heroin trafficking, Valachi came to fear that Genovese, also serving a sentence on the same charge, had ordered his murder. On June 22, 1962, using a pipe left near some construction work, Valachi bludgeoned an inmate to death whom he had mistaken for Joseph DiPalermo, a Mafia member he believed had been contracted to kill him. A $100,000 bounty for Valachi's death had been placed by Genovese. Soon after, Valachi decided to cooperate with the U.S. Justice Department. In October 1963, he testified before Arkansas Senator John L. McClellan's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the US Senate Committee on Government Operations, known as the Valachi hearings, stating that the Italian-American Mafia actually existed, the first time a member had acknowledged its existence in public. Valachi's testimony was the first major violation of omertà, breaking his blood oath. He is credited with popularization of the term cosa nostra. Although Valachi's disclosures never led directly to the prosecution of any Mafia leaders, he provided many details of history of the Mafia, operations, and rituals, aided in the solving of several unsolved murders, and named many Mafia members, as well as the names of the major crime families themselves. The trial exposed American organized crime to the world through Valachi's televised testimony. Front bosses and the ruling panels After Genovese was sent to prison in 1959, the family leadership secretly established a "Ruling Panel" to run the family in his absence. This first panel included acting boss Thomas "Tommy Ryan" Eboli, underboss Gerardo "Jerry" Catena, and Catena's protégé Philip "Benny Squint" Lombardo. After Genovese died in 1969, Lombardo was named his successor. However, the family appointed a series of "front bosses" to masquerade as the official family boss. The aim of these deceptions was to protect Lombardo by confusing law enforcement as to who the true leader of the family was. In the late 1960s, Gambino lent $4 million to Eboli for a drug scheme in an attempt to gain control of the Genovese family. When Eboli failed to pay back his debt, Gambino, with Commission approval, had him murdered in 1972. After Eboli's death, Genovese capo and Gambino ally Frank "Funzi" Tieri was appointed as the new front boss. In reality, the Genovese family created a new ruling panel to run the organization. This second panel consisted of Catena, Lombardo, and Michele "Big Mike" Miranda. In 1981, Tieri became the first Mafia boss to be convicted under the new RICO Act and died in prison later that year. After Tieri's imprisonment, the family reshuffled its leadership. The capo of the Manhattan faction, Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno, became the new front boss. Lombardo, the de facto boss of the family, soon retired and Gigante, the triggerman on the failed Costello hit, took actual control of the family. In 1985, Salerno was convicted in the Mafia Commission Trial and sentenced to 100 years in federal prison. In 1986, shortly after Salerno's conviction, his longtime right-hand man, Vincent "The Fish" Cafaro, turned informant, and told the FBI that Salerno had been the front boss for Gigante. Cafaro also revealed that the Genovese family had been keeping up this ruse since 1969. After the 1980 murder of Philadelphia boss Angelo "Gentle Don" Bruno, Gigante and Lombardo began manipulating the rival factions in the war-torn Philadelphia family. They finally gave their support to Philadelphia mobster Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo, who in return gave the Genovese mobsters permission to operate in Atlantic City in 1982. The Oddfather in his bathrobe Gigante built a vast network of bookmaking and loansharking rings, and from extortion of garbage, shipping, trucking, and construction companies seeking labor peace or contracts from carpenters', Teamsters, and laborers' unions, including those at the Javits Center, as well as protection payoffs from merchants at the Fulton Fish Market. Gigante was reclusive, and almost impossible to capture on wiretaps, speaking softly, eschewing the phone, and even at times whistling into the receiver. On May 30, 1990, Gigante was indicted along with other members of four of the Five Families for conspiring to rig bids and extort payoffs from contractors on multimillion-dollar contracts with the New York City Housing Authority to install windows. Gigante attended his arraignment in pajamas and a bathrobe, and due to his defense stating that he was mentally and physically impaired, legal battles ensued for seven years over his competence to stand trial. and Alphonse "Little Al" D'Arco, former acting boss of the Lucchese family, testified that Gigante was lucid at top-level Mafia meetings and that he had told other gangsters that his eccentric behavior was a pretense. On July 25, after almost three days of deliberations, the jury convicted Gigante of conspiring in plots to kill other mobsters and of running rackets as head of the Genovese family, but acquitted him of seven counts of murder. Prosecutors stated that the verdict finally established that Gigante was not mentally ill as his lawyers and relatives had long maintained. While in prison, Gigante maintained his role as boss of the Genovese family, while other mobsters were entrusted to run its day-to-day activities. Longtime capo Matthew "Matty the Horse" Ianniello became acting boss of the family. Gigante relayed orders to the family through his son, Andrew, who visited him in prison. Several days later, Andrew was released on $2.5 million bail. On April 7, 2003, the day the trial began, Prosecutor Roslynn R. Mauskopf had planned to play tapes showing Gigante "fully coherent, careful, and intelligent", running criminal operations from prison, but when Gigante pled guilty to obstruction of justice, Judge I. Leo Glasser sentenced him to an additional three years in prison. Mauskopf stated, "The jig is up ... Vincent Gigante was a cunning faker, and those of us in law enforcement always knew that this was an act ... The act ran for decades, but today it's over." On July 27, 2005, Matthew Ianniello was indicted on charges of racketeering related to extortion and loansharking. On June 10, 2006, Ianniello was indicted once again for racketeering charges related to Genovese control of waste management businesses in Southwestern Connecticut. Gigante died on December 19, 2005, at the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri. After Gigante's death After Gigante's death, the leadership of the Genovese family went to capo Daniel "Danny the Lion" Leo, who was apparently running the day-to-day activities of the family by 2006. That same year, Cirillo was reportedly promoted to consigliere behind bars and Mangano was released from prison. By 2008, the family administration was believed to be whole again. In March of that year, Leo was sentenced to five years in prison for loansharking and extortion. Former acting consigliere Lawrence "Little Larry" Dentico was leading the New Jersey faction of the family until convicted of racketeering in 2006; he was released from prison in 2009. In December 2008, Liborio Bellomo was paroled after serving twelve years; what role he plays in the Genovese hierarchy is open to speculation, but he likely has had a major say in the running of the family since his tight parole restrictions expired. The family continued to maintain influence in New York, New Jersey, Atlantic City and Florida and is recognized as the most powerful Mafia family in the U.S., a distinction brought about by their continued devotion to secrecy. The 46 defendants were leaders, members, and associates of the Genovese, Gambino, Luchese, Bonanno, and Philadelphia crime families. Cooperating witnesses who worked for Parrello began working with Joseph Merlino, the boss of the Philadelphia crime family, and Eugene "Rooster" O'Nofrio, a Genovese family acting capo with crews operating in Little Italy in New York as well as Springfield, Massachusetts. Other members of his reputed crew pleaded guilty to extortion and other crimes. Gerald Daniele, an associate, was sentenced to two years in prison in March 2018. On April 10, 2018, Ralph Santaniello, suspected of being a Genovese acting capo, was sentenced to five years in prison for extorting $20,000 from Craig Morel, the owner of one of the biggest towing and scrap-metal companies in Massachusetts, including threatening his life and assaulting him. Morel managed to negotiate the extortion price from $100,000 to $20,000. Associate Giovanni "Johnny" Calabrese was sentenced to 3 years in prison. In October 2017, thirteen Genovese and Gambino associates and soldiers were sentenced after being indicted following an NYPD operation in December 2016. Dubbed "Shark Bait", the investigation focused on a large-scale illegal gambling and loansharking ring. Prosecutors claimed 76-year-old Genovese soldier Salvatore DeMeo was in charge of the operation and had generated several million dollars from the enterprise. Soldier Alex Conigliaro was sentenced to four months in jail and four months house arrest in late October 2017, with a fine of $5,000, after admitting that he supervised and financed a $14,000-per-week illegal bookmaking and sports betting operation between 2011 and 2014. Genovese associates Gennaro Geritano and Mario Leonardi were allegedly partners in selling untaxed cigarettes in New York, selling over 30,000 packs. Current position and leadership According to the FBI, the Genovese family had not had an official boss since Gigante's death and the leadership was in a state of limbo for some time. Law enforcement considers Leo to be the acting boss, Mangano the underboss, and Cirillo the consigliere. The family is known for placing top capos in leadership positions to help the administration run day-to-day activities. At present, capos Bellomo, Muscarella, Cirillo, and Dentico hold the greatest influence within the family and play major roles in its administration. The Manhattan and Bronx factions, the traditional powers in the family, still exercise that control today. By 2016 however the FBI considers Liborio Bellomo to most likely be the official boss of the Genovese family. On January 10, 2018, five members and associates, including Gigante's son Vincent Esposito, were arrested and charged with racketeering, conspiracy, and several counts of related offenses by the NYPD and FBI. The charges include extortion, labor racketeering conspiracy, fraud and bribery. Genovese associate and Brooklyn-based United Food and Commercial Workers officer Frank Cognetta was also charged. Union official and associate Vincent D'Acunto Jr. was also involved and allegedly acted on behalf of Esposito to pass along threat messages and to also collect extortion money from the union, in particular from Vincent Fyfe, the president of a wine liquor and distillery union in Brooklyn. Fyfe was forced to pay $10,000 per year to keep his $300,000-a-year union job, which he obtained through the influence of the Genovese family. The labor union infiltration was alleged to have taken place for at least sixteen years. Esposito allegedly extorted several other union officials and an insurance agent. At his home during a warranted search, authorities recovered an unregistered handgun, $3.8 million in cash, brass knuckledusters, and a handwritten list of American Mafia members. Vincent Esposito was granted bail for almost $10 million in April 2018, and pled not guilty. In April 2019, Esposito pled guilty to conspiring to commit racketeering offenses with members and associates of the Genovese family. Vincent Esposito was sentenced to 24 months in prison and forfeiture of $3.8 million for racketeering conspiracy. On August 13, 2020, an indictment charged soldier Christopher Chierchio along with Colombo family associate Frangesco "Frankie" Russo (the grandson of Colombo family boss Andrew Russo), attorney Jason "Jay" Kurland and securities broker Frank Smookler with conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering. The indictment accused the "lottery attorney" Kurland along with Russo, Chierchio and Smookler with swindling $80 million from jackpot winners in an illegal scheme of siphoning money from the jackpot winners' investments. Balsamo was previously arrested on April 12, and Calisi was detained in Boca Raton, Florida, and presented before a U.S. magistrate judge in the Southern District of Florida. According to the indictment, the defendants operated a criminal racketeering enterprise since at least 2011. On February 9, 2023, it was announced that all six defendants in the case had pleaded guilty to the racketeering charges. On May 3, 2022, exactly a week after the Calisi and Balsamo indictments, another indictment was served that charged capo Anthony "Rom" Romanello, soldier Joseph Celso, and small-time actor and family associate Luan Bexheti with extortion and obstruction of justice. Romanello, who authorities state controls the family's Queens crew, oversaw the extortion and intimidation of a Brooklyn restaurant owner, which was carried out by Celso and Bexheti On January 18, 2023, Genovese family soldier Christopher "Jerry" Chierchio was indicted along with Gambino family capo Frank "Calypso" Camuso, Gambino soldier Louis Astuto, Gambino associate Robert "Rusty" Baselice and 19 other defendants including 26 companies for a kickback scheme allegedly operated by Baselice, the vice president of the Grimaldi Group, a firm which allegedly received $4.2 million from contractors. In 2019, Chierchio along with Baselice stole over $300,000 from developer, the indictment states that Baselice allegedly used his position from April 2013 to July 2021, to steal from his firm's developer clients by providing inside information about competitors' bids to subcontractors, among other offenses. == Historical leadership ==

Boss (official and acting) • c. 1890s–1909 — Giuseppe "the Clutch Hand" Morello — imprisoned • 1909–1916 — Nicholas "Nick Morello" Terranova — murdered on September 7, 1916 • 1916–1920 — Vincenzo "Vincent" Terranova — stepped down becoming underboss • 1920–1922 — Giuseppe "the Clutch Hand" Morello — stepped down becoming underboss to Masseria • 1922–1931 — Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria — murdered on April 15, 1931 • 1931–1946 — Charles "Lucky" Luciano — imprisoned in 1936, deported to Italy in 1946 • Acting 1936–1937 — Vito Genovese — fled to Italy in 1937 to avoid murder charge • Acting 1937–1946 — Frank "The Prime Minister" Costello — became official boss after Luciano's deportation • 1946–1957 — Frank "The Prime Minister" Costello — resigned in 1957 after Genovese-Gigante assassination attempt • 1957–1969 — Vito "Don Vito" Genovese — imprisoned in 1959, died in prison in 1969 • Acting 1959–1962 — Anthony "Tony Bender" Strollo — disappeared in 1962 • Acting 1962–1965 — Thomas "Tommy Ryan" Eboli — became front boss • Acting 1965–1969 — Philip "Benny Squint" Lombardo — became the official boss • 1969–1981 — Philip "Benny Squint" Lombardo — retired in 1981, died of natural causes in 1987 • 1981–2005 — Vincent "Chin" Gigante • Acting 1989–1996 — Liborio "Barney" Bellomo — imprisoned • Acting 1997–1998 — Dominick "Quiet Dom" Cirillo — suffered a heart attack and stepped down • Acting 1998–2005 — Matthew "Matty the Horse" Ianniello — resigned when indicted in July 2005 • Acting 2005 — Daniel "Danny the Lion" Leo — imprisoned 2008–2013 • 2006–present — Liborio "Barney" Bellomo — released from prison on December 1, 2008. • Acting 2006–2008 — Daniel "Danny the Lion" Leo Street boss (front boss) The position of "front boss" was created by boss Philip Lombardo in efforts to divert law enforcement attention from himself. The family maintained this "front boss" deception for the next 20 years. Even after government witness Vincent Cafaro exposed this scam in 1988, the Genovese family still found this way of dividing authority useful. In 1992, the family revived the front boss post under the title of "street boss". This person served as day-to-day head of the family's operations under Gigante's remote direction. • 1965–1972 — Thomas "Tommy Ryan" Eboli — murdered in 1972 in 2002 died of cancer • 2001–2002 — Ernest Muscarella — indicted in 2002 — stepped down • 2021–2025 — Daniel Pagano — became acting boss Underboss (official and acting) • 1903–1909 — Ignazio "The Wolf" Lupo — imprisoned • 1910–1916 — Vincenzo "Vincent" Terranova — became boss • 1916–1920 — Ciro "The Artichoke King" Terranova — stepped down • 1920–1922 — Vincenzo "Vincent" Terranova — murdered on May 8, 1922 • 1922–1930 — Giuseppe "Peter the Clutch Hand" Morello — murdered on August 15, 1930 • 1930–1931 — Joseph Catania — murdered on February 3, 1931 • 1931 — Charles "Lucky" Luciano — became boss April 1931 • 1931–1936 — Vito Genovese — promoted to acting boss in 1936, fled to Italy in 1937 • Acting 1936–1937 – Anthony "Tony Bender" Strollo – demoted • 1937–1951 — Guarino "Willie" Moretti — murdered in 1951 • 1951–1957 — Vito Genovese — second time as underboss • 1957–1970 — Gerardo "Jerry" Catena — also boss of the New Jersey faction; jailed from 1970 to 1975 • 1970–1972 — Thomas "Tommy Ryan" Eboli — also served as front boss, murdered in 1972 • Acting 1997–2003 — Joseph Zito • Acting 2003–2005 — John "Johnny Sausage" Barbato — imprisoned from 2005 to 2008 • 2017–2025 — Ernest "Ernie" Muscarella Consigliere (official and acting) • 1931–1937 — Frank Costello — promoted to acting boss in 1937 • 1937–1957 — Alessandro "Sandino" Pandolfo — mysterious figure mentioned once by Valachi • 1957–1972 — Michele "Mike" Miranda — retired in 1972 • 1972–1975 — Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno — promoted to underboss in 1975 • 1980–1981 — Vincent "Chin" Gigante — promoted to boss • 1981–1990 — Louis "Bobby" Manna • 2022–present – Pasquale "Patsy" Parrello • 1997–2002 — Andrew V. Gigante — the son of Vincent Gigante, indicted 2002 • 2002–2005 — Mario Gigante Administrative capos If the official boss dies, goes to prison, or is incapacitated, the family may assemble a ruling committee of capos to help the acting boss, street boss, underboss, and consigliere run the family, and to divert attention from law enforcement. • 1996–1997 — (five-man committee) — Dominick "Quiet Dom" Cirillo, Lawrence "Larry Fab" Dentico, Alan "Baldie" Longo, Mario Gigante and John "Johnny Sausage" Barbato — in 1997, Cirillo became acting boss • 1997–1998 — (five-man committee) — Lawrence Dentico, Frank "Punchy" Illiano, Alan Longo, Mario Gigante and John Barbato • 1998–2001 — (five-man committee) — Dominick Cirillo, Consigliere Lawrence Dentico, Alan Longo, Mario Gigante, and John Barbato — in 2001, Longo was imprisoned. • 2001–2002 — (four-man committee) — Lawrence Dentico, Mario Gigante, John Barbato, and Ernie Muscarella — in 2001, Muscarella became Street Boss and in 2002, Muscarella was indicted. • 2002–2003 — (four-man committee) — Lawrence Dentico, Mario Gigante, John Barbato, and Arthur "Artie" Nigro — in 2002, Nigro became Street Boss. • 2002–2005 — (four-man committee) — Lawrence Dentico, Mario Gigante, John Barbato, and Daniel "Danny the Lion" Leo — in April and August 2005, Dentico was indicted. In July 2004 and April 2005, Barbato was indicted. • 2005–2007 — (three-man committee) — Dominick "Quiet Dom" Cirillo, Ernie Muscarella, and Daniel Leo — in 2005, Leo became acting boss • 2007–2010 — (three-man committee) — Tino "The Greek" Fiumara (died 2010) Dominick "Quiet Dom" Cirillo, and Ernie Muscarella ==Current members==

Administration • Boss — Liborio "Barney" Bellomo — born January 8, 1957. He served in the 116th Street Crew of Saverio "Sammy Black" Santora and was initiated in 1977. His father was a soldier and close to Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno. In 1990, Kenneth McCabe, then-organized crime investigator for the United States attorney's office in Manhattan, identified Bellomo as "acting boss" of the crime family following the indictment of Vincent Gigante in the "Windows case". In June 1996, Bellomo was indicted on charges of extortion, labor racketeering and for ordering the deaths of Ralph DeSimone in 1991 and Anthony "Hickey" DiLorenzo in 1988; DeSimone was found shot five times in the trunk of his car at LaGuardia Airport and DiLorenzo was shot and killed in the backyard of his home. Since around 2016, Bellomo was recognized, most likely, to be the official boss of the Genovese family. As of 2024, Bellomo's inner circle includes Underboss Ernie Muscarella, Street boss Danny Pagano, Consigliere Pasquale Parello, captain Pasquale Falcetti, acting underboss Micheal Ragusa, captain Ralph Balsamo and captain Anthony Palumbo. On July 10, 2015, Pagano was sentenced to 27 months in prison on racketeering conspiracy charges. • Street boss — Michael "Hippy" Zanfardino — current street boss of family for Danny Pagano. Zanfardino was released from prison on May 6, 2016. • Underboss — Ralph "The Undertaker" Balsamo — current underboss of the family. Balsamo was held in detention until trial. Balsamo was arrested on April 12, 2022, on racketeering charges. According to an indictment unsealed on April 26, 2022, Balsamo and five other codefendants, including capo Nicholas Calisi, operated a criminal racketeering enterprise since at least 2011. Balsamo pled guilty to racketeering on February 9, 2023. In August 2016, Parrello was indicted along with Genovese family capo Conrad Ianniello and Genovese family acting capo Eugene O'Norfio and Philadelphia family boss Joseph Merlino and forty two other mobsters on gambling and extortion charges. In May 2017, he pled guilty to three counts of conspiracy to commit extortion and was sentenced to seven years in federal prison in September 2017. Prosecutors at his trial alleged that in June 2011 he ordered two of his soldiers to break the kneecaps of a man who annoyed female patrons at his restaurant. Caporegimes The Bronx faction • Nicholas "Nicky Slash" Calisi — capo of a Bronx crew, while operating in Florida. • Pasquale "Uncle Patty" Falcetti — capo of the 116th Street Crew with operations in the Bronx and Manhattan. In September 2014, Falcetti was sentenced to 30 months in prison for loansharking. During Falcetti's trial former Genovese family associate Anthony Zoccolillo testified against Falcetti and claimed that Falcetti gave him a $34,000 loan for a marijuana trafficking operation. Manhattan faction • John "Johnny Hollywood" Brescio — capo operating in Manhattan. Brescio owns "Lombardi's", a Manhattan-based pizzeria, which he runs with his step-son, Michael Giammarino. Brescio and Giammarino were denied a request to open a Lombardi's location inside of Parx Casino in Bensalem Township in Pennsylvania. In 2017, Brescio was identified a capo in the Genovese family during the investigation of Angelo Ruggiero's ALJ waterfront application. • Thomas "Figgy" Ficarotta — capo operating from Manhattan and Brooklyn. In 1983, Ficarotta was indicted for operating a national burglary ring, the indictment stated that Ficarotta was a made member of the Genovese family and paid tribute to Genovese member Thomas Greco. In 1985, Ficarotta served five years in prison for extortion. In 1986, Ficarotta was convicted of RICO offense involving Local 814. In 1995, his son Tom Ficarotta was identified along with other in the Javits Center carpenters racketeering investigation of Anthony Fiorino. • Conrad Ianniello — capo operating in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Connecticut, Long Island, New Jersey, Springfield and Florida. On April 18, 2012, Ianniello was indicted along with members of his crew and was charged with illegal gambling and conspiracy. The conspiracy charge dates back to 2008, when Ianniello along with Robert Scalza and Ryan Ellis tried to extort vendors at the annual Feast of San Gennaro in Little Italy. In August 2016 Ianniello was indicted along with Genovese family capo Pasquale Parrello and Genovese family acting capo Eugene O'Norfio and Philadelphia family boss Joseph Merlino and forty two other mobsters on gambling and extortion charges. On October 2, 2017, Iannieloo was released from prison. Brooklyn faction • Rocco "Rocky" DiPietro — capo operating from Brooklyn. His brother Frank DiPietro is Genovese family soldier. DiPietro's father was Genovese family capo Carlo "Collie" DiPietro who was murdered in 1981, by Genovese soldier Joseph Galizia. In August 1983, DiPietro during an argument shot and killed Billy Jenks at the Red Barn Tavern in Brooklyn. • Barry Joseph "Nickels" Nichilo; also known as "Bartolomeo Nichola" — capo operating from Brooklyn. Nichilo began his criminal career as an associate to Genovese family capo Salvatore "Sally Dogs" Lombardi. In July 1992, Nichilo was indicted along with DeCavalcante crime family soldier Virgil Alessi, boss John Riggi and underboss John D'Amato for plotting to murder the DeCavalcante family's acting boss Gaetano "Corky" Vastola. Queens faction • Anthony "Rom" Romanello — Romanello became capo of the Queens-based "Federici crew", which operates from Corona Avenue in Corona, Queens, replacing Anthony "Tough Tony" Federici during the 2010s as Federici was suffering from health ailments. Federici died in November 2022. In December 2023, Romanello was convicted of assaulting a restaurant owner, over a debt of $90,000, and was sentenced to 2 years in prison, he was released from prison in April 2025 after serving 11 months in prison. Staten Island faction • James "Jimmy T" Tenaglia — capo overseeing operations in Staten Island, Brooklyn and New Jersey. Tenaglia was initially affiliated with the Brooklyn faction of the Bonanno family, the Motion Lounge crew, which was formerly headed by Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano, and was transferred to the Genovese family, where he was placed into the crew of Anthony "Tony D" Palumbo, around this time Tenaglia specialised in the numbers racket, illegal gambling and loansharking. Tenaglia served time in prison in 1978 for racketeering, loan sharking, and fencing stolen goods, he was released in 1981. His captain and sponsor, Anthony Palumbo and Genovese heavyweight Danny Pagano were having disagreements over a defense strategy in court involving a racketeering case naming both Pagano and Palumbo at the time, resulting in the denial of Tenaglia's induction and other members of Palumbo's crew. With the help of then consigliere Dominick Cirillo, issues were resolved, and Tenaglia was inducted soon after. Now reported to be close with Pagano, the current acting boss and acts as his top lieutenant or right-hand man. Westchester County faction • Salvatore Gigante — capo of the "Westchester-Gigante crew", and the son of former capo Mario "The Shadow" Gigante. In June 1996, Gigante was indicted along with his father Mario and five others on charges of using violence to keep control of the garbage collection businesses in Westchester, Orange, Rockland, Ulster and Dutchess Counties in New York, southwestern Connecticut and Mahwah and Edison in New Jersey. On July 2, 1999, Gigante was released from prison. New Jersey faction • Stephen Depiro — capo of the "Fiumara crew" controlling illegal operations from the New Jersey Newark/Elizabeth Seaport. During 2010, Depiro was overseeing the illegal operations in the New Jersey Newark/Elizabeth Seaport — capo controlling the Newark area for the Genovese family. DeVita is Sicilian born mobster operating in Essex County. In 1951, DeVita was convicted of first-degree murder during and robbery, he received a death sentence, until his conviction was reversed on appeal. At DeVita's new trail in 1958, he was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison but released on parole during the 1970s. Palumbo previously served as acting boss of the New Jersey faction, a position given to him by close ally and then acting boss Daniel Leo. In 2009, Palumbo was arrested and charged with racketeering and murder along Daniel Leo and others. In August 2010, Palumbo pled guilty to conspiracy murder charges. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and was released on November 22, 2019. Palumbo is a member of Bellomo's inner circle and is a powerful capo with operation in New Jersey and Staten Island with significant influence on the waterfront. Onofrio continues using Ralph and Amedeo Santaniello run the daily operations in Springfield. • Steven "DD" Alfisi — soldier; born in September 1964. In February 2010, Alfisi was indicted for racketeering, illegal gambling, racketeering conspiracy, and extortion. • Anthony "Tico" Antico – former capo who was involved in labor and construction racketeering in Brooklyn and Manhattan. In 2005, Antico along with capos John Barbato and Lawrence Dentico were convicted of extortion charges. In 2007, he was released from prison. On March 6, 2010, Antico was charged with racketeering in connection with the 2008, robbery and murder of Staten Island jeweler Louis Antonelli. • Steven "Mad Dog" Arena — soldier; born in October 1957. In January 2018, Arena was indicted for extortion and racketeering conspiracy. In May 2019, Arena was sentenced to a year in prison, with three years of supervised release, for extortion within the United Food and Commercial Worker Locals in a scheme which lasted from between 2001 and 2017. • Salvatore "Hot Dogs" Battaglia — soldier; born in October 1946. Battaglia served as the President of Local 1181 of the Amalgamated Transit Workers Union from between 2002 and 2006, a local which the Genovese family had a stronghold on since the early 1970s. In June 2008, Battaglia was sentenced to over four and a half years in prison after he had pled guilty to racketeering and extortion in January 2008. • Liborio T. "Benny" Bellomo — reputed "made" member and first cousin of family boss, Liborio "Barney" Bellomo. • James "Jamie" Bernardone — soldier; born in May 1967. Bernardone served as the Secretary Treasurer of the Local 124 of the International Union of Journeymen and Allied Trades. In April 2012, Bernardone was indicted for racketeering conspiracy and extortion. It is believed Bernardone had participated in several extortion schemes targeted at construction sites in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn since at least the early 2000s. • John Campanella — soldier. On April 26, 2022, Campanella and five other codefendants, including capos Ralph Balsamo and Nicholas Calisi, soldier Michael Messina, and associates Michael Poli and Thomas Poli were indicted for operating a criminal racketeering enterprise of illegal gambling and extortion since at least 2011. • Joseph Celso — soldier. On May 3, 2022, Celso was indicted with capo Anthony Romanello and associate Luan Bexheti and charged with extorting the owner of a Brooklyn Italian restaurant, and was formerly acquitted of murdering a 19-year-old man in 1993. • Alex Conigliaro — soldier; born in July 1960. In August 2016, Conigliaro was one of 46 defendants linked to the Genovese, Gambino, Lucchese, Bonanno and Philadelphia families indicted for multiple racketeering offenses. Conigliaro himself was arrested for extortion and illegal gambling. • Michael "Mikey Cigars" Coppola — soldier; born in May 1946. Having been a fugitive since 1996, Coppola was arrested by the FBI in March 2007 for the April 1977 murder of Giovanni Larducci, who was allegedly shot five times by Coppola. In December 2009, Coppola was sentenced by former U.S. District Judge John Gleeson to 16 years in prison for extortion within the ILA Local 1235 in New Jersey since the 1970s. • Matthew "Matt" Daddino — soldier; born in April 1982. In October 2025, Daddino was indicted as part of "Operation Royal Flush" which oversaw the arrest of 34 defendants accused of being affiliates with the Genovese, Gambino, Bonanno and Lucchese families. Daddino was alleged to have controlled illegal gambling operations in Manhattan. • Carmine "Little Carm" Dellacava — soldier. In the late 2000s, Dellacava was involved in a lawsuit involving his company, Cava Construction, in which workers fought for fair wages. • Pasquale "Scop" DeLuca — soldier; born in 1931. In early 1960, DeLuca was indicted on narcotics charges, including the sale of heroin in July 1957, receiving, concealing, and facilitating of heroin, and he was handed a five-year prison sentence. In May 2007, DeLuca pled guilty to conspiring to murder Ralph Coppola in September 1998, and in September 2007, DeLuca was sentenced to five years in prison. • Salvatore "Sallie D" DeMeo — soldier; born in January 1940. DeMeo served a five-year prison sentence and was released in 2006, after he was found guilty of bank robbery in 1996, netting approximately $400,000. In December 2016, DeMeo was arrested on charges of operating a loanshark and illegal gambling operation. In October 2017, DeMeo was indicted for tax evasion after he had failed to report over $2 million in taxes. • Joseph "Joe D" Denti Jr. (sometimes spelled Dente) — former capo operating in the Bronx and New Jersey. On December 5, 2001, Denti Jr. along with capo Rosario Gangi, capo Pasquale Parrello and 70 other associates were indicted in Manhattan on racketeering charges. The charges were brought against Denti Jr. and the others after it had been revealed that an undercover NYPD detective had infiltrated Parrello's Arthur Avenue crew. On March 16, 2016, Denti Jr. along with Joseph Giardina, Ralph Perricelli Jr., and Heidi Francavilla were indicted and charged with defrauding investors in medical ventures out of $350,000. • Louis DiNapoli — soldier with his brother Vincent DiNapoli's "116th Street Crew". • Vincent "Vinny" Esposito — soldier; born in July 1967. In July 2019, Esposito was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero to two years in prison for racketeering, including fraud, bribery and extortion, with three years of supervised release, $3.8 million in forfeiture and a $20,000 fine. • Anthony Fazio Sr. — soldier; born in September 1945. Fazio Sr. had once served as the President of Local 348 of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union from between 1976 and January 2010. In September 2012, Fazio Sr. was sentenced to over twelve years in prison with three years of supervised release and a fine of $1.5 million, after he was convicted of money laundering and witness tampering. • Albert "Kid Blast" Gallo — former capo operating in the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Carroll Gardens, Red Hook, and Cobble Hill and parts of Staten Island. In the mid-1970s, Gallo and Frank Illiano transferred from the Gallo crew of the Colombo crime family to the Genovese family. Gallo's co-capo Illiano died of natural causes in 2014. • Rosario "Ross" Gangi — former capo operating in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and New Jersey. Gangi was involved in extortion activities at the Fulton Fish Market. • Andrew "Andy Wilson" Gargiulo — soldier; born in 1939. In December 1993, Gargiulo was indicted for operating a sports betting ring reputedly worth $86 million annually in cooperation with the Gambino, Colombo and Lucchese families. According to the FBI and the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office, Gargiulo was the most successful bookmaker on the East Coast during the early 1990s. In 1994, Gargiulo was sentenced to serve a one-to-three year prison sentence with $1.5 million in restitution. In July 2006, Gargiulo was sentenced to 20 years in prison for stabbing to death Preston Geritano in April 2004. • Andrew Gigante — soldier; born in September 1956. Gigante is the son of Vincent Gigante, the former boss of the Genovese family. In July 2003, Gigante was sentenced to two years in prison for racketeering and extortion with a $2 million fine. • John "Little John" Giglio (born April 11, 1958) – also known as "Johnny Bull" is a soldier involved in loansharking. • Frank J. "Frankie G" Giovinco — soldier; born in March 1967. In December 2019, Giovinco was convicted of extortion. According to the indictment, Giovinco had operated infiltration of the waste carting industry in New York on behalf of the Genovese family since at least the early 1990s until 2017. Giovinco was also accused of committing extortion, fraud and bribery whilst serving his tenure at 2 different labor unions, including the extortion of a union president and demanding over $10,000, and in June 2020, Giovinco was sentenced to 4 years in prison with 3 years of supervised release. • Peter "Lodi Pete" Leconte — soldier; born in 1970. In November 2013, Leconte pled guilty to extortion regarding control over the commercial waste-hauling industry in New York and New Jersey, along with the Lucchese and Gambino families. • Daniel "Danny the Lion" Leo — a former acting boss and member of the Purple Gang of East Harlem in the 1970s. In the late 1990s, Leo joined Vincent Gigante's circle of trusted capos. With Gigante's death in 2005, Leo became "acting boss". In 2008, Leo was sentenced to five years in prison on loansharking and extortion charges. In March 2010, Leo received an additional 18 months in prison on racketeering charges and was fined $1.3 million. He was released on January 25, 2013. • Alan "Baldie" Longo — former capo of a Brooklyn crew who formerly served under "Allie Shades" Malangone and ran rackets out of a social club that he owned in Brooklyn. Longo was involved in stock fraud and white-collar crimes in Manhattan and Brooklyn. On April 25, 2001, Longo was indicted on racketeering charges, along with Colombo acting boss Alphonse Persico, based on the work of undercover informant Michael D'Urso. Longo was convicted and sentenced to 11 years. He was released on November 24, 2010. • Joseph "Joe Fish" Macario — soldier. Macario was indicted on August 16, 2002, along with several members of the Genovese and Bonnano families, including Genovese acting capo Carmelo Polito and Bonanno capo Anthony Pipitone. • James "Jimmy from 8th Street" Messera — former capo of the "Little Italy Crew" operating in Manhattan and Brooklyn. In the 1990s, Messera was involved in extorting the Mason Tenders union and was imprisoned on racketeering charges. • Michael "Mike" Messina — soldier; born in May 1953. On April 26, 2022, Messina and five other codefendants, including capos Ralph Balsamo and Nicholas Calisi, soldier John Campanella, and associates Michael Poli and Thomas Poli, were indicted for operating a criminal racketeering enterprise of illegal gambling and extortion since at least 2011. Messina pled guilty to racketeering on February 9, 2023. • Robert "The Chef" Milano — soldier; born in 1949. In March 1973, Milano was arrested for drug charges, along with Daniel Pagano. • Ernest Montevecchi — soldier; born in 1945. In January 2018, Montevecchi was indicted for racketeering conspiracy, and in February 2019, Montevecchi pled guilty to extortion, he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison in May 2019. • Ernest "Ernie" Muscarella — former underboss of the family before retiring in 2025. He was convicted of perjury. In June 2011, Olivieri was sentenced to one and a half years for perjury, after lying while under oath revolving his association with the Genovese family and for denying any knowledge of the Genovese family infiltration within the carpenter union in New York. • Anthony "Tony D" Palumbo — soldier; born in 1949. According to law enforcement, Palumbo had once served as an acting capo for the Genovese family, active primarily in Brooklyn and New Jersey. Palumbo had been an associate of Daniel Pagano since at least the early 1990s. In August 2010, Palumbo was indicted for conspiracy to commit murder in aid of a racketeering. In May 2011, Palumbo was sentenced by former U.S. District Judge Richard J. Holwell to 10 years in prison with 3 years of supervised release in a plot of conspiracy to murder an individual associated with the Russian Mafia. • Steven Pastore — soldier; born in September 1959. In May 2016, Pastore was indicted for illegal gambling and racketeering conspiracy, Pastore had allegedly headed the illegal gambling operation from between 2008 and 2016, Pastore pled guilty to racketeering conspiracy in February 2018, and in August 2018, Pastore was sentenced to 2 years in prison with 2 years of supervised release and $125,000 in forfeiture. • Carmelo "Carmine Pizza" Polito — former acting capo of the "Brescio crew" operating in Manhattan and Queens. In June 2005, Polito along with Mario Fortunato were arrested for the murder of Genovese mafia associate Sabatino Lombardi in November 1994, during a card game. On August 16, 2022, Polito was indicted along with Genovese family soldier Joseph Macario, Genovese family associates Salvatore Rubino and Joseph Rutigliano, Bonnano family capo Anthony "Little Anthony" Pipitone, Bonanno family soldier Vito Pipitone, Bonanno family associate Agostino Gabriele and Nassau County Police Detective Hector Rosario. The indictment charged the group with racketeering, money laundering, illegal gambling, conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and other charges. • Joseph Queli — soldier; born in September 1946. In October 2010, Queli was indicted for loansharking, theft by extortion and money laundering, and in February 2012, Queli was sentenced to five years in prison with a fine over $57,000. • Michael "Mickey" Ragusa — former acting underboss, reports directly to acting boss Danny Pagano. Ragusa is a member of Bellomo's inner circle and is possible successor to the underboss position. • Carmine "Baby Carmine" Russo — soldier. Russo was charged in November 2022, along with soldier Elio Albanese for their involvement in a scheme that involved obtaining oxycodone pills from a Midtown Manhattan doctor and having their associates sell the oxycodone on Staten Island. In December 2020, Tortora pled guilty to obstruction of justice and illegal gambling, and he was sentenced to four years in prison in January 2022. • Ernest Varacalli — soldier; born in March 1943. In 1971, Varacalli was arrested for operating a $2 million-per-year auto theft ring, after he was accused of participating in the theft of over 1,500 vehicles. In December 2002, Varacalli was sentenced to ten years in prison with three years of probation and $1 million in restitution for operating a car theft ring estimated worth up to $5 million from a four-year period. • Frank Vasfailo — soldier; born in August 1949. In June 2003, Vasfailo was indicted for loansharking, illegal gambling and racketeering, allegedly having operated an illegal gambling and loanshark operation between January 1993 and October 2002. • Salvester Zarzana — soldier; born in April 1964. In April 2012, Zarzana was indicted for racketeering. He pled guilty in November 2013 to extortion conspiracy in relation to racketeering of the construction industry, and was sentenced to three years of probation. New Jersey faction • Michael "Mikey Cigars" Coppola — former capo of the "Fiumara-Coppola crew", He served a prison sentence at the United States Penitentiary, Atlanta for two counts of racketeering, with a projected release date of March 4, 2024. He was released from federal custody on October 20, 2022. • Lawrence "Little Larry" Dentico — former capo operating in South Jersey and Philadelphia. Dentico was consigliere in the late 1990s through the 2000s, when he was imprisoned on extortion, loansharking and racketeering charges. • Rocco Petrozza — soldier; born in 1959. In February 2009, Petrozza was indicted for racketeering, racketeering conspiracy, extortion and conspiracy of extortion. It is believed Petrozza was heavily active with the New Jersey faction of the Genovese family and was closely associated with Daniel Leo, who had once served as the acting boss of the family. Imprisoned members • Frank DiPietro — soldier. Born in July 1957. In June 2023, DiPietro and associates of the Lucchese and Gambino families, Michael Sellick, Vincent Spagnuolo, Vincent Cerchio, and Samuel Sore, were arrested for stealing $2 million worth of jewellery, targeting Manhattan jewellery stores, between January and May 2023. He was charged with conspiracy, robbery and brandishing a firearm. DiPietro along with, Cerchio, Spagnuolo and Sellick had allegedly stolen at least three diamond pieces, including a 73-carat necklace, a six-carat ring and a 17-carat pair of earrings. DiPietro has had 12 prior arrests, including racketeering, and in September 1998, he was indicted for participating in the murder of George "Booty" Van Name in November 1990, along with Lucchese family soldier Anthony "Tony Bones" Loffredo, DiPietro was sentenced to 19 years in prison, and he was released in August 2016. DiPietro has a release date of August 24, 2031. • Emilio Fusco — soldier. Born in October 1968. Law enforcement allege Fusco was initiated into the Genovese family during the 1990s. Fusco was accused of extorting a business owner from the early 2000s to 2008 and received around $12,000 per month. In 2006, he was released from prison after serving almost 3 years, for racketeering, extortion and money laundering. In May 2012, Fusco was convicted of extorting several restaurants and strip clubs within the Springfield, Massachusetts area, and one count of interstate travel in aid of racketeering. In October 2012, Fusco was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment for racketeering, marijuana distribution conspiracy and extortion. At sentencing Fusco was accused of participating in the November 2003 murders of Adolfo Bruno and Gary Westerman. • James "The Little Guy" Ida — born in July 1940. According to government and law enforcement agencies, it is believed Ida was initiated into the Genovese family during the 1970s, as a soldier he allegedly reported to then-capo Matthew Ianniello, and allegedly took over the crew in 1988 following Ianniello's conviction of racketeering. Prosecutors alleged Ida helped oversee the collection of rent from vendors during the Mulberry Street fair earning around $4,000 per booth. Ida was accused of participating in 3 murders during 1988, 1991 and 1995. Around 1994 and 1995, Ida was involved in the extortion of La Toya Jackson, the sister of Michael Jackson; it is believed her husband paid Ida approximately $1,000 per month for the protection of the Genovese family, in particular for the use of Genovese family soldier John Schenone as a bodyguard. In June 1996, Ida was indicted for racketeering, he was offered a plea deal and sentence of 15-year imprisonment but refused. In October 1997, Ida was sentenced to life imprisonment and a $1 million forfeiture. • Joseph "Joe Fish" Macario — soldier. Born in August 1954. In April 2024, Macario pleaded guilty to racketeering and was accused of operating several illegal gambling parlours with Genovese family soldier, Carmelo "Carmine" Polito, who was sentenced to over 2 years in prison in December 2024, and since at least May 2012, he was the head of a lucrative illegal gambling operation in Lynbrook, New York in association with the Bonanno family, with capo Anthony "Little Anthony" Pipitone on behalf of the Bonanno family. Associates • Frank "Frankie Ariana" DiMattina — an associate convicted January 6, 2014, on extortion and a firearms charge and sentenced to 6 years in prison. • Michael Poli — family associate, on April 26, 2022, Poli and five other codefendants, including capos Ralph Balsamo and Nicholas Calisi, soldiers Michael Messina and John Campanella, and associate Thomas Poli were indicted for operating a criminal racketeering enterprise of illegal gambling and extortion since at least 2011. Poli pled guilty to racketeering on February 8, 2023. • Thomas Poli — family associate, on April 26, 2022, Poli and five other codefendants, including capos Ralph Balsamo and Nicholas Calisi, soldiers Michael Messina and John Campanella, and associate Michael Poli were indicted for operating a criminal racketeering enterprise of illegal gambling and extortion since at least 2011. Poli pled guilty to racketeering on September 29, 2022. ==Former members==

• Dominick "Fat Dom" Alongi — former member of Vincent Gigante's "Greenwich Village Crew". • Salvatore "Sammy Meatballs" Aparo — a former acting capo. His son Vincent is also a "made" member of the Genovese family. In 2000, Aparo, his son Vincent, and Genovese associate Michael D'Urso met with Abraham Weider, the owner of an apartment complex in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Weider wanted to get rid of the custodians union (SEIU Local 32B-J) and was willing to pay Aparo $600,000, but Aparo's associate D'Urso was an FBI informant and had recorded the meeting. In October 2002, Aparo was sentenced to five years in federal prison for racketeering. • John "Johnny Sausage" Barbato — former capo and former driver of Venero Mangano, he was involved in labor and construction racketeering with capos from the Brooklyn faction. Barbato was imprisoned in 2005 on racketeering and extortion charges, and released in 2008. Barbato died May 11, 2025. • Michael A. "Tona" Borelli — was a New Jersey mobster and former acting co-capo of Tino Fiumara's crew, along with Lawrence Ricci. Borelli controlled construction and illegal gambling rackets in NJ, and formerly oversaw the family's activities in the Teamsters. On March 21, 2020, Borelli died. • Ludwig "Ninni" Bruschi — former capo operating in South Jersey Counties of Ocean, Monmouth, Middlesex, and North Jersey Counties of Hudson, Essex, Passaic and Union. Bruschi was indicted in June 2003 and paroled in April 2010. On April 19, 2020, Bruschi died. • Dominick "Quiet Dom" Cirillo — former capo and former trusted aide to boss Vincent Gigante. Cirillo belonged to the "West Side Crew" and was known as one of the Four Doms; capos Dominick "Baldy Dom" Canterino, Dominick "The Sailor" DiQuarto and Dominick "Fat Dom" Alongi. Cirillo served as acting boss from 1997 to 1998, but resigned due to heart problems. In 2003, Cirillo became acting boss, resigned in 2006 due to his imprisonment on loansharking charges. In August 2008, Cirillo was released from prison, upon which he served as family consigliere. Cirillo died on January 14, 2024. • Vincent "Vinny" DiNapoli — soldier and former capo with the "116th Street Crew". DiNapoli was heavily involved in labor racketeering and had reportedly earned millions of dollars from extortion, bid rigging and loansharking rackets. DiNapoli dominated the N.Y.C. District Council of Carpenters and used them to extort other contractors in New York. DiNapoli's brother, Joseph DiNapoli, is the former consigliere of the Lucchese crime family. • Dominick "Dom The Sailor" DiQuarto — former member of Vincent Gigante's "Greenwich Village Crew". In November 1913, Fanaro was murdered by members of the Lomonte and Alfred Mineo's gangs. • Anthony "Tough Tony" Federici — was a former capo of the "Queens crew". Federici was the owner of a restaurant in Corona, Queens. In 2004, Federici was honored by Queens Borough President Helen Marshall for his community service. While an active capo, Federici installed Anthony Romanello as acting capo to help control the illicit mob activities. Federici the family's consigliere died on November 9, 2022. • Joseph N. "Pepe" LaScala — former New Jersey faction capo operating from Hudson County waterfronts cities of Bayonne and Jersey City. LaScala had been Angelo Prisco's acting capo before he took over the crew. LaScala died on February 3, 2019, at the age of 87. • Rosario "Saro" Mogavero — A hitman by the age of 15, Mogavero was a powerful capo and close ally of Vito Genovese. He was the vice president of the International Longshoreman's Association until his arrest for extortion and drug dealing in 1953. Mogavero controlled gambling, loan sharking and drug smuggling along the Lower East Side of Manhattan waterfront in the 1950s and 1960s along with Tommy "Ryan" Eboli, Michael Clemente and Carmine "The Snake" Persico. • Arthur "Artie" Nigro — former member who served as the family's "street boss" from 2002 to 2006, Nigro was sentenced to life in prison in 2011 for ordering the 2003 murder of Adolfo Bruno. Nigro died on April 24, 2019, at the age of 74 • Ciro Perrone — a former capo. In 1998, Perrone was promoted to captain taking over Matthew Ianniello's old crew. In July 2005, Perrone along with Ianniello and other members of his crew were indicted on extortion, loansharking, labor racketeering and illegal gambling. Perrone ran his crew from a social club and Don Peppe's restaurant in Ozone Park, Queens. In 2009, Perrone lost his retrial and was sentenced to five years for racketeering and loan sharking. • John "Zackie" Savino — born in 1898 in Bari, Puglia, in southern Italy. He immigrated to the United States in 1912 and settled in Harlem, Upper Manhattan. He later moved to the Bronx area. Savino reportedly served under Genovese capo Jimmy Angelina. He died in the late 1970s or 1980s. • Frank "Farby" Serpico — born in 1916 in Corona, Queens. Serpico was a member of the "116th Street Crew" of the Genovese family. He was promoted to acting boss or street boss by Vincent Gigante from 1998 to 2001 He died in 2002. • Charles "Chuckie" Tuzzo — capo operating in New Jersey, Brooklyn and Manhattan. In 2002, Tuzzo was indicted with Liborio Bellomo, Ernest Muscarella and others for infiltrating the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) local in order to extort waterfront companies operating from New York, New Jersey, and Florida. On October 21, 2014, Tuzzo along with soldier Vito Alberti were indicted in New Jersey on loansharking, gambling and money laundering charges. • Eugene "Charles" Ubriaco — was a member of the Morello family, who lived on East 114th Street. • Joseph Zito — soldier in the Manhattan faction (the "West Side Crew") under capo Rosario Gangi. Zito was involved in bookmaking and loansharking business. Law enforcement labeled Zito as acting underboss from 1997 through 2003, but he was probably just a top lieutenant under official underboss Venero Mangano. In the mid-1990s, Zito frequently visited Mangano in prison after his conviction in the Windows Case. Zito relayed messages from Mangano to the rest of the family leadership. On April 7, 2020, Joseph Zito died at the age of 83. ==Government informants and witnesses==

• Joseph "Joe Cargo" Valachi — he exposed the inner workings of the American Mafia in 1963. Valachi was active since the Castellammarese War during the early 1930s, as an associate of the Lucchese crime family; however; after the murder of Salvatore Maranzano in 1931, he joined the Genovese family. Valachi was a soldier in the crew of Anthony Strollo. In 1959, Valachi was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment for narcotics involvement. He feared that crime family boss and namesake, Vito Genovese, ordered a murder-contract on him in 1962. Valachi and Genovese were both serving prison sentences for heroin trafficking. On June 22, 1962, he murdered another prisoner in the yard, whom he mistook for Joseph DiPalermo, a Mafia member he believed was tasked to kill him. Facing the death penalty, Valachi testified before the United States Senate Committee in 1963. He died in 1971 of a heart attack while imprisoned at FCI La Tuna. • Vincent "Fish" Cafaro — former capo and close associate of Tony Salerno. Cafaro was a heroin dealer before joining the Genovese family. He was a protégé of Genovese high-ranking member Anthony Salerno. Cafaro was inducted into the Genovese crime family in 1974. He was assigned to Salerno's crew and operated out of East Harlem. For over a decade, Cafaro had influence within the N.Y.C. District Council of Carpenters. Along with Genovese and Gambino members, he received kickback payments. After fellow conspirator and Genovese capo Vincent DiNapoli was sentenced to prison, Cafaro became even more powerful and wealthy; however, he was eventually forced to give DiNapoli some custom within the Carpenter Council. After his 1986 indictment, he wore a wire for five months for the FBI. In 1990, he testified against Gambino boss John Gotti, who ordered the shooting of a Carpenter Council official in 1986. • George Barone — He was allegedly a founding member of the real-life Jets street gang. In February 1954 while working as a longshoreman recruiter, Barone and a few friends caught and cornered William Torres, who was dissatisfied that he was not hired. Barone repeatedly hit Torres with a metal bar. Police charged him with felonious assault; however, it was later dropped to disorderly conduct. At a meeting with the Gambino crime family in the late 1960s, it was agreed upon that the Gambino family would own the Brooklyn and Staten Island waterfronts, and the Genovese family would control the Manhattan and New Jersey waterfronts. By the early 1970s, Barone was the official Genovese representative for the Genovese-owned waterfronts and was a soldier for the family. By the late 1970s, he controlled the Florida waterfront. In 1979, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for racketeering; however, he only served seven years behind bars. Shortly after his 2001 indictment for extortion and racketeering, Barone decided to cooperate in April 2001 after being "put on the shelf" by the Genovese hierarchy. He testified against Gambino captain Anthony Ciccone in 2003. He had participated in nearly 20 murders. In 2009, he testified against Genovese capo Mikey Coppola. Barone died in December 2010 at the age of 86. • Louis Moscatiello Sr. — former acting capo and soldier active in the Bronx. He was in charge of the Genovese infiltration of the drywall and construction industry. In 1991, he was convicted of bribing a labor official. He took a plea deal in 2004 and cooperated with the government. He was set to testify against Joseph Olivieri, a Genovese family soldier; however, he died in February 2009. • John "JB" Bologna — former associate. He began cooperating in 1996 as a tipster for the FBI. He was primarily active in the Springfield, Massachusetts, area and served as an associate to Genovese capo Adolfo Bruno. Bologna was sentenced to eight years in prison; some of his charges included murder conspiracy, illegal gambling, extortion and racketeering. He died in prison on January 17, 2017. • '''Michael "Cookie" D'Urso''' — former associate involved in loansharking, fraud, loansharking and murder. He wore a Rolex with a recording wire from 1998 to 2001 after he was arrested for driving the getaway car and supplying the gun in the 1996 murder of John Borelli. By 2007, his testimony has led to over 70 convictions. In March 2007, he was sentenced to 5 years probation and a $200 fine for the murder. D'Urso reportedly informed on the Genovese family after he was shot in the head over a gambling debt and his cousin Tino Lombardi was shot dead. • Renaldi Ruggiero — former capo who headed the South Florida crew. It is noted that in 2003, he gave the approval to extort $1.5 million from a South Florida businessman, who was held for ransom in the office of Genovese associate, Francis J. O'Donnell, and a gun was held to his head, in October 2003. The South Florida businessman was beaten up and had all of his fingers broken; one of his hands were severely damaged and he was then threatened to pay the money by the following week, implying that he would be murdered if he failed to follow through. It was also noted that Ruggiero was active in loan sharking, and was charging 40 of his customers between 52 and 156 percent interest. He was arrested in 2006 alongside six other Genovese members and associates, including Albert Facchiano who was aged 96 at the time, for several crimes, including extortion, armed robbery and money laundering. He faced 120 years in prison, if convicted. Ruggiero cooperated with the government in February 2007 and broke his omerta by admitting his involvement with the American Mafia and that he served as a capo for the Genovese family, as part of his plea deal. In February 2012, he was sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment; however, prosecutors recommended that Ruggiero should serve half of the sentence because of his cooperation, which the judge accepted. • Felix Tranghese — former capo and soldier. Tranghese was proposed for membership into the Genovese family in 1982 by Adolfo Bruno. He cooperated with the government in 2010, as a result of being "shelved" in the year of 2006. He admitted to receiving the message of the murder contract on Western Massachusetts capo Adolfo Bruno from high-ranking members of the Genovese family in New York, and to delivering the message to Bruno's crew. He also admitted to carrying out extortion and several shootings on behalf of former Genovese street boss, Arthur Nigro. In 2011 and 2012, he returned to New York to testify in 2 separate murder trials, alongside Anthony Arillotta. • Anthony "Bingy" Arillotta — former soldier who became a government witness in 2010, alongside Felix Tranghese, a fellow "Springfield crew" member. He admitted to his involvement in the 2003 murders of capo Adolfo Bruno and Gary Westerman, his brother-in-law. He also pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of a New York union boss, which also occurred in 2003. Like Tranghese, he was sentenced to 4 years' imprisonment and both had relocated to Springfield after their release. • Anthony Zoccolillo — former associate of the Genovese and Bonanno families, Zoccolillo was arrested in 2013 and charged with running an illegal gambling scheme and distributing marijuana and oxycodone. • Anthony "Tony Lodi" Cardinalle — former associate. In 2013, he was one out of 32 mob members and associates in a crackdown over commercial waste hauling in New York and New Jersey. Cardinalle pleaded guilty in December to the two counts in which he was charged with racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to commit extortion, admitting his role in a plot to shake down a cooperating witness who owned a waste hauling company. == Factions and territories ==

The Genovese family operates primarily in the New York City area; their main rackets are illegal gambling and labor racketeering. • New York City — The Genovese family operates in all five boroughs of New York as well as in Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, and Orange Counties in the New York suburbs. The family controls many businesses in the construction, trucking and waste hauling industries. It also operates numerous illegal gambling, loansharking, extortion, and insurance rackets. Small Genovese crews or individuals have operated in Albany, Delaware County, and Utica. The Buffalo, Rochester and Utica crime families or factions traditionally controlled these areas. The family also controls gambling in Saratoga Springs. • Connecticut — The New Jersey faction of the Genovese family became the dominate criminal force in New Haven during the 1930s. The Springfield faction of the family later expanded south into Hartford. The Genovese family has long operated trucking and waste hauling rackets in New Haven. In 1981, Gustave "Gus" Curcio and his brother were indicted for the murder of Frank Piccolo, a member of the Gambino crime family. In 2006, Genovese acting boss Matthew "Matty the Horse" Ianniello was indicted for trash hauling rackets in New Haven and Westchester County, New York. • Massachusetts — Springfield, Massachusetts has been a Genovese territory since the family's earliest days. The most influential Genovese leaders from Springfield were Salvatore "Big Nose Sam" Curfari, Francesco "Frankie Skyball" Scibelli, Adolfo "Big Al" Bruno, and Anthony Arillotta (turned informant 2009). In Worcester, Massachusetts, the most influential capos were Frank Iaconi and Carlo Mastrototaro. In Boston, Massachusetts, the New England or Patriarca crime family from Providence, Rhode Island, has long dominated the North End of Boston, but has been aligned with the Genovese family since the Prohibition era. In 2010, the FBI convinced Genovese mobsters Anthony Arillotta and Felix L. Tranghese to become government witnesses. They represent only the fourth and fifth Genovese made men to have cooperated with law enforcement. • Florida — The family is active in South Florida Crews • 116th Street Crew — led by Pasquale "Uncle Patty" Falcetti (operates in the East Bronx) • Broadway Mob — operated in Manhattan • Greenwich Village Crew — former crew of Vincent Gigante (operates in Greenwich Village, Lower Manhattan) • New Jersey faction — operates in New Jersey • Springfield faction — operates in Springfield, Massachusetts == List of murders committed by the Genovese crime family ==

The Genovese crime family has a long history of portrayal in Hollywood as the subject of film and television. Television • Boardwalk Empire (2010-2014) • Godfather of Harlem (2019) Film • Mobsters (1991) • The Alto Knights (2025) ==References==