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Authors: Eric Ferrara
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seeds of his own alcohol and gambling rackets in both New York and New Jersey with partners such as Charlie Luciano. By the end of the 1920s, Genovese had been recruited by the Giuseppe Masseria crime organization and made Luciano’s underboss in the 1931 restructuring of the Mafia.
On June 20, 1930, four men were arrested in a Secret Service–led raid on an alleged Bath Beach, Brooklyn counterfeiting plant (1726 Eighty-sixth Street), where almost $1 million in suspicious currency was “ready to be placed into circulation.” 56 Eight men were indicted on June 30, including suspected ring leader of the operation Vito Genovese, though he was not in police custody at the time of the indictments.
The ring was accused of manufacturing $200,000 in fake $20 notes over a three-month period between April and June 1930 and received a fair amount of press. The curious thing is that Genovese’s name only appears in the first flurry of reports about the incident—but he is never mentioned again. There is no infraction listed on his police report from this time period, so it seems the gangster escaped charges.
Vito Genovese wanted for the murder of Ferdinand Boccia in 1934. NYPD, New York City Municipal Archives .
His first wife, whom he married in 1924, died in 1931. On March 30, 1932, Genovese married Anna Petillo, who was not exactly available —that is, until her husband, Gerard Vernotico, was found strangled to death on the roof of 124 Thompson Street on March 16, only two weeks before her wedding to the mobster. All gangland signs point to Genovese, though the murder remains officially unsolved.
On September 19, 1934, Mafia associate Ferdinand “the Shadow” Boccia was shot to death at the Cristofolo Café, at 533 Metropolitan Avenue in Brooklyn. While he was sitting at a table gambling, two men walked in the front door with guns drawn. Boccia’s uncle, Benny, who managed the place, assumed it was a stickup and offered no resistance. When Benny told the gunmen to take whatever they wanted, one of them stated, “No holdup here gentlemen, we want this rat,” 57 and pointed the barrel of his gun at Ferdinand Boccia. It is said that the Shadow was given enough time to say a brief prayer with Rosary beads pulled from his pocket before being shot six times.
A low-level mob associate turned informant named Ernesto “the Hawk” Rupolo—who earned his nickname after being shot in the eye—eventually confessed to killing Boccia. His testimony led to a murder indictment for six men, 58 including Vito Genovese, whom Rupolo claimed contracted him for the job.
Ernesto “the Hawk” Rubulo mug shot, 1945.
Boccia was murdered while clutching Rosary beads. NYPD, New York City Municipal Archives .
Genovese, who had become acting boss of the Luciano family in 1936, when Charlie Lucky was sent to prison, fled to Italy in 1937 to escape prosecution for the murder of Boccia. In his absence, Frank Costello filled the acting boss position and would go on to rule the organization for the following two decades.
In 1946, U.S. authorities extradited Genovese back to New York City, where he stood trial for the 1934 crime. While appearing in Kings County (Brooklyn) Court on June 7, 1946, Ernest Rupolo, who served eight years for the murder, took the stand against Genovese. He testified to meeting the mob boss through future family consigliere Michele Miranda, whom Rupolo claimed had hired him for contract killings in the past. He stated that he first met Genovese at a Brooklyn restaurant, where Miranda introduced him as don vin done , or “the big man.”
When Rupolo leaned over the witness stand, pointed at Genovese and identified him as the person who hired him to assassinate Boccia, Don Vito shifted in his seat and stared at the apostate killer. Rupolo was reportedly visibly shaken. He loosened his tie, unbuttoned his collar and began to sweat. 59
Mike Miranda wanted for the murder of Ferdinand Boccia in 1934. NYPD, New York
On June 20, 1930, four men were arrested in a Secret Service–led raid on an alleged Bath Beach, Brooklyn counterfeiting plant (1726 Eighty-sixth Street), where almost $1 million in suspicious currency was “ready to be placed into circulation.” 56 Eight men were indicted on June 30, including suspected ring leader of the operation Vito Genovese, though he was not in police custody at the time of the indictments.
The ring was accused of manufacturing $200,000 in fake $20 notes over a three-month period between April and June 1930 and received a fair amount of press. The curious thing is that Genovese’s name only appears in the first flurry of reports about the incident—but he is never mentioned again. There is no infraction listed on his police report from this time period, so it seems the gangster escaped charges.
Vito Genovese wanted for the murder of Ferdinand Boccia in 1934. NYPD, New York City Municipal Archives .
His first wife, whom he married in 1924, died in 1931. On March 30, 1932, Genovese married Anna Petillo, who was not exactly available —that is, until her husband, Gerard Vernotico, was found strangled to death on the roof of 124 Thompson Street on March 16, only two weeks before her wedding to the mobster. All gangland signs point to Genovese, though the murder remains officially unsolved.
On September 19, 1934, Mafia associate Ferdinand “the Shadow” Boccia was shot to death at the Cristofolo Café, at 533 Metropolitan Avenue in Brooklyn. While he was sitting at a table gambling, two men walked in the front door with guns drawn. Boccia’s uncle, Benny, who managed the place, assumed it was a stickup and offered no resistance. When Benny told the gunmen to take whatever they wanted, one of them stated, “No holdup here gentlemen, we want this rat,” 57 and pointed the barrel of his gun at Ferdinand Boccia. It is said that the Shadow was given enough time to say a brief prayer with Rosary beads pulled from his pocket before being shot six times.
A low-level mob associate turned informant named Ernesto “the Hawk” Rupolo—who earned his nickname after being shot in the eye—eventually confessed to killing Boccia. His testimony led to a murder indictment for six men, 58 including Vito Genovese, whom Rupolo claimed contracted him for the job.
Ernesto “the Hawk” Rubulo mug shot, 1945.
Boccia was murdered while clutching Rosary beads. NYPD, New York City Municipal Archives .
Genovese, who had become acting boss of the Luciano family in 1936, when Charlie Lucky was sent to prison, fled to Italy in 1937 to escape prosecution for the murder of Boccia. In his absence, Frank Costello filled the acting boss position and would go on to rule the organization for the following two decades.
In 1946, U.S. authorities extradited Genovese back to New York City, where he stood trial for the 1934 crime. While appearing in Kings County (Brooklyn) Court on June 7, 1946, Ernest Rupolo, who served eight years for the murder, took the stand against Genovese. He testified to meeting the mob boss through future family consigliere Michele Miranda, whom Rupolo claimed had hired him for contract killings in the past. He stated that he first met Genovese at a Brooklyn restaurant, where Miranda introduced him as don vin done , or “the big man.”
When Rupolo leaned over the witness stand, pointed at Genovese and identified him as the person who hired him to assassinate Boccia, Don Vito shifted in his seat and stared at the apostate killer. Rupolo was reportedly visibly shaken. He loosened his tie, unbuttoned his collar and began to sweat. 59
Mike Miranda wanted for the murder of Ferdinand Boccia in 1934. NYPD, New York
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