Frank Costello(1891-1973)
Frank Costello was born Francisco Castiglia in Cosenza, Italy, in 1891.
His family moved to New York, and as a young man he joined the local
Mafia gang. When the "Castellamarese War" between gang bosses
Giuseppe Masseria and
Salvatore Maranzano ended, Costello
was one of the few who were held in high respect. Maranzano feared the
young men who survived the gang bloodbath, however, so he put together
a hit list that included Costello, Al Capone,
Lucky Luciano and many others.
Luciano succeeded in getting rid of Maranzano first, though, and
Costello was put in charge of Luciano's own family along with
Vito Genovese (aka "Don Vitone"). Genovese
and Costello rarely saw eye to eye, and when Genovese went into exile
in Italy to escape serious criminal charges, Costello took over
complete control. Luciano was also arrested and, later, deported. Along
with gangster Meyer Lansky, Costello ran
Luciano's business in America. A few years later Genovese suddenly
returned, and wanted to re-assert complete control over the family.
A man who could have been a valuable Costello ally was his close friend
Albert Anastasia. Anastasia did not get
along with his bosses, brothers Phillip and Vincent Mangano, so he
stuck close to Costello. Costello and Anastasia soon began talking
about killing the Manganos. If Anastasia had an entire family behind
him, he reasoned, he could easily then take down the hated Genovese.
Sure enough, in 1951 the Mangano brothers went missing and were
declared dead. Phillip's body was eventually found with three bullet
holes in the back of his head, and Vincent was never found at all. As
he had counted on, Albert was made boss of the family.
Anastasia was not as helpful to Costello as he could have been,
however. He was one of the most feared men not only in the organized
crime world but in the country due to his incredibly violent nature and
his propensity for killing anyone he felt like, at any time and for any
reason--or for no reason at all. He also affected the speech patterns
of tough-guy actor James Cagney, which
added to his fearsomeness. Costello also was beginning to be plagued
with mental breakdowns, and soon began seeing a psychiatrist regularly.
When Genovese heard about it he decided that Costello could no longer
be trusted to keep the deep, dark secrets about the Mafia that he was
privy to. Genovese then hired contract killer
Vincent Gigante--who would later become
boss of the Genovese family--to kill Costello. In the lobby of a New
York City hotel in 1956, Frank Costello was shot in the head, but
amazingly did not die. He did, however, retire soon afterward, although
he did keep his hands in the "company business".
Over the years, after Anastasia's murder--shot to death while in a
barber's chair--and Genovese's death, Costello became friends with FBI
Director J. Edgar Hoover and would fix
horse races as a favor for his new "friend". As the years passed
Costello's health declined and he died of a heart attack on his estate
on Long Island, New York.
Frank Costello will forever remain one of the biggest Mafia legends in
history.
His family moved to New York, and as a young man he joined the local
Mafia gang. When the "Castellamarese War" between gang bosses
Giuseppe Masseria and
Salvatore Maranzano ended, Costello
was one of the few who were held in high respect. Maranzano feared the
young men who survived the gang bloodbath, however, so he put together
a hit list that included Costello, Al Capone,
Lucky Luciano and many others.
Luciano succeeded in getting rid of Maranzano first, though, and
Costello was put in charge of Luciano's own family along with
Vito Genovese (aka "Don Vitone"). Genovese
and Costello rarely saw eye to eye, and when Genovese went into exile
in Italy to escape serious criminal charges, Costello took over
complete control. Luciano was also arrested and, later, deported. Along
with gangster Meyer Lansky, Costello ran
Luciano's business in America. A few years later Genovese suddenly
returned, and wanted to re-assert complete control over the family.
A man who could have been a valuable Costello ally was his close friend
Albert Anastasia. Anastasia did not get
along with his bosses, brothers Phillip and Vincent Mangano, so he
stuck close to Costello. Costello and Anastasia soon began talking
about killing the Manganos. If Anastasia had an entire family behind
him, he reasoned, he could easily then take down the hated Genovese.
Sure enough, in 1951 the Mangano brothers went missing and were
declared dead. Phillip's body was eventually found with three bullet
holes in the back of his head, and Vincent was never found at all. As
he had counted on, Albert was made boss of the family.
Anastasia was not as helpful to Costello as he could have been,
however. He was one of the most feared men not only in the organized
crime world but in the country due to his incredibly violent nature and
his propensity for killing anyone he felt like, at any time and for any
reason--or for no reason at all. He also affected the speech patterns
of tough-guy actor James Cagney, which
added to his fearsomeness. Costello also was beginning to be plagued
with mental breakdowns, and soon began seeing a psychiatrist regularly.
When Genovese heard about it he decided that Costello could no longer
be trusted to keep the deep, dark secrets about the Mafia that he was
privy to. Genovese then hired contract killer
Vincent Gigante--who would later become
boss of the Genovese family--to kill Costello. In the lobby of a New
York City hotel in 1956, Frank Costello was shot in the head, but
amazingly did not die. He did, however, retire soon afterward, although
he did keep his hands in the "company business".
Over the years, after Anastasia's murder--shot to death while in a
barber's chair--and Genovese's death, Costello became friends with FBI
Director J. Edgar Hoover and would fix
horse races as a favor for his new "friend". As the years passed
Costello's health declined and he died of a heart attack on his estate
on Long Island, New York.
Frank Costello will forever remain one of the biggest Mafia legends in
history.