Free Republic

Long before the murder, the girls and a role in “The Godfather,” Gianni Russo was a 13-year-old with a bum arm. Freshly sprung from Bellevue’s polio ward, he ditched his neglectful parents to sleep on flour sacks in the back of a Little Italy bakery and sell pens in front of the Waldorf-Astoria. It was 1956 and one of his regular customers was mob boss Frank Costello. The don would throw Russo a fiver and rub the boy’s withered shoulder for luck. After a few months of that, Russo objected to being touched. Costello respected the kid’s gumption — and...

- He formed alliances with crime bosses in major markets, among them Boston, New York, Chicago, and New Orleans. These would come in handy years later when his son was running for national office. Among his mob associates was Frank Costello, former boss of the Luciano crime family, who bragged, "I helped Joe Kennedy get rich." Sam Giancana, who would later figure prominently in Jack's presidency, called Joe "one of the biggest crooks who ever lived."

Judge Mystery Tammany Hall-Era Figure Disappeared 75 Years Ago, Prompting Decades of Speculation — ABC News has learned New York City detectives have obtained the first new evidence in 73 years in the disappearance of a New York State Supreme Court judge once dubbed "the most missingest man in America" by the city's tabloid newspapers. On Aug. 6, 1930, Judge Joseph F. Crater stepped off a midtown Manhattan curb and into a cab after seeing a Broadway play with his showgirl girlfriend. He was never heard from again. It was long suspected — but never proven — that he was...