Mob boss Vincent “The Chin” Gigante

Vincent 'The Chin' Gigante dies

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Mob boss Vincent “The Chin” Gigante, the powerful Mafioso who avoided jail for decades by wandering the Greenwich Village streets in a ratty bathrobe and slippers as part of an elaborate feigned mental illness, died Monday in prison, federal officials said. He was 77.

Gigante died at the U.S. Medical Center for federal prisoners in Springfield, Mo., at 5:15 a.m., said prison spokesman Al Quintero. The cause of death was not immediately known, but Quintero added that Gigante had a history of heart disease.

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Costello was also called before the Kefauver Committee, and on March 13, 1951, he reluctantly testified. The ABC television network, which had no daytime programming at this point, broadcast committee sessions to a fascinated public eager to see the faces of the secretive Mafiosi. But Costello's was one face viewers did not see, thanks to the appeals of his attorney. Instead, the camera showed only Costello's hands as he endured a barrage of questioning from the five committee members. Costello, perhaps unwisely, tried to spar with the senators, returning their volleys as hard as they were delivered. In the end he was portrayed as a master manipulator who pulled the strings behind the scenes. His appearance before the committee exposed him for what he was and gradually weakened his effectiveness as a mob leader.

On May 2, 1957, a black Cadillac quietly pulled up to the curb outside Costello's Manhattan apartment building just as he was walking in. A 300-pound man emerged from the car, rushed into the lobby, and hid behind a pillar, a gun in his hand. "This is for you, Frank," the fat man shouted. Costello turned toward the voice just as the gun went off. The fat man ran back to the Cadillac, not realizing that the bullet had only grazed Costello's scalp above his ear. The wound was minor and Costello survived, but the incident convinced him that retirement might be in his best interests. The rotund shooter was alleged to be Vincent "Chin" Gigante who immediately went into hiding and lost a considerable amount of weight before turning himself in. Gigante stood trial for the shooting, but when the prosecutor asked Costello on the stand to identify the man who wounded him, the boss obeyed the rules of omerta, the Mafia vow of secrecy and claimed that he had never set eyes on Gigante. As a result, Gigante was acquitted on all charges.

Costello was the leader of the anti-narcotics faction of the Mafia. As the "specialist" in political and police corruption, he had a better idea what society would tolerate from the mob, including loansharking, extortion , restitution and gambling; and what they would not, i.e drugs. Genovese led the faction that wanted to deal - in a big way.So Costello was scared off, and Albert "The Mad Hatter" Anastasia, an acting boss who supported Costello, was whacked out by Joey Gallo and his brother. This cleared the way for the Mafia to go into heroin trafficking, big time.

Interestingly enough, Costello was probably on the losing side from the git go, because the ONLY boss who really mattered, Charley Lucky, was setting up the distribution and processing pipeline in Europe [having been deported to Italy after the war], and had convictions for narcotics trafficking going back to the 20s [Genovese had been his underboss.

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