The Godfather’s Legacy: The Rise and Fall of Don Costello

Hey, youse guys wanna hear about Frank Costello, the boss of the Luciano Crime family? Yeah, he took over when Charlie Lucky got pinched on some bogus prostitution rap in ’36, and Vito Genovese hightailed it outta the country ’cause of some murder beef. Smart and cool-headed, Costello knew that real power was in the payoffs, not just threats of violence. Ya see, friends will do anything for ya, but it’s gotta be worth their while, capisce?

Costello, with that raspy voice from a messed-up throat job, had politicians, judges, mayors, and cops eatin’ outta his hand like he was a kid with a stack of baseball cards – and that collection was right in his back pocket, you know what I’m sayin’? It’s all about connections in this life, huh?

After they sent Lucky back to Italy in ’46, Costello became “The Don,” runnin’ the show. But trouble was never far behind. LaGuardia smashed up his jukeboxes back in ’34, but that didn’t faze him ’cause Governor Huey Long was happy to take ’em in New Orleans. His casino interests came and went in different places like Havana, Hallandale Beach, Saratoga, New Orleans, and Vegas, but the damn IRS wouldn’t stop hasslin’ him about taxes, just like they did with Capone. Yeah, he did some time for that tax evasion nonsense.

And then there was that Senate hearing, where he just walked out sayin’, “I ain’t answering no more questions.” Classic, right? The government wanted to deport him like they did with Lucky, but he had some powerful lawyer makin’ sure that didn’t happen. But then Genovese showed up again, miraculously, the witness against him keeled over in jail or somethin’, and he demanded his old position as “Don” back.

Costello wasn’t about to hand over the reins, so Genovese sent a message with a bullet that grazed his head. That got the message across, and Costello stepped down like a good fella. All those people he had in his pocket, all that influence he wielded, it vanished once he stepped aside. That’s how it goes in this life, you cross the wrong people, and things don’t end too well for ya.

So, remember, in the world of wise guys, respect means everything. Mess with the wrong guy, and you might just end up sleepin’ with the fishes. Capisce?

Share this post: on Twitter on Facebook on Google+