01x08 - End Game

[bunniefuu]

narrator: Previously on "The Making of the Mob: New York"...

Charles "Lucky" Luciano has transformed himself from a low-level thug to become the most powerful mob boss in the American Mafia.

Deported to Italy by the U.S. government, Luciano still finds a way to assert his power in the United States.

We're gonna be bringing a lot more heroin into the country.

narrator: And with the money pouring in, he invests heavily in Bugsy Siegel's vision of Las Vegas.

Siegel: I see people, hotels, casinos and money.

Lots of money.

narrator: But the plan backfires.

Luciano: Meyer, this isn't good.

There's a lot of money unaccounted for.

narrator: And Siegel pays the ultimate price.

(g*nshots)

With one of his original crew dead, another thr*at emerges from Luciano's inner circle.

Genovese: You're holding me down, Charlie.

How's it feel to know you're never going back to New York?

(grunting)

narrator: As disgraced mobster Vito Genovese fights to regain power, breaking ties with Luciano and joining forces with the rising underboss...

So, what are you waiting for?

The right opportunity.

narrator: to take control of the Mafia.

♪

man: ♪ This ain't no time ♪
♪ To feel sorry for myself ♪
♪ I can't help it ♪
♪ 'Cause there's nobody else ♪
♪ And I walk these streets ♪
♪ With your name on my tongue ♪
♪ But I dare not speak ♪
♪ Only there it belongs ♪
♪ There's got to be a better way ♪
♪ Better way ♪

(engine idling)

Mangano: No! No! Don't do this!

Don't do this!

Start walking.

No!

Keep walking, Listen to me!

(g*nsh*t)

(g*nshots)

narrator: In April of 1951, Vincent Mangano, the head of one of the five New York families, is m*rder*d.

For the first time since the Commission was formed 20 years earlier by Charles "Lucky" Luciano, a mob boss has been violently removed from power.

The hit on Mangano was ordered by his underboss, Albert Anastasia, so he could take control of the family.

The Commission, this was really to protect each family, so that they had a certain type of respect and control.

And for a while, it worked.

man: Hey, get in here.

Sal Polisi: But, I mean, everybody wanted to move up.

narrator: 4,000 miles away, Lucky Luciano was in exile in Italy, and is forced to watch his criminal empire turn to chaos as gangsters begin vying for power.

With no hope of returning to America, Luciano must rely on his advisor, Meyer Lansky, and acting boss of the Luciano crime family, Frank Costello, to keep his operation intact.

I want what I said, specifically what I said, on the official record.

narrator: But after Costello's disastrous testimony to the U.S. Senate, the other families start to see him as weak.

And Vito Genovese has teamed up with Carlo Gambino to try to reclaim his position at the head of the Luciano family.

Selwyn Raab: Vito Genovese comes back to America, he's very envious.

There's a lot of evidence, he felt that he had been shortchanged, and he isn't getting a fair share from Costello, and he just figures he deserves the job.

narrator: With Genovese gunning for his position, Frank Costello begins to cr*ck under the pressure.

♪

(heartbeat pounding)

(car backfiring)

Sal Polisi: The worst part of the mob was always the thr*at of being k*lled by your own kind.

So, you have this weight that you're carrying around with you.

You can only put so much weight on a table, and eventually, it's gonna break.

Costello: Can't talk to anybody.

I'm not even supposed to be talking to you.

Go on.

I gotta wake up every morning and look over my shoulder, Doc.

Why do you have to look over your shoulder?

Doc, I'm gonna be walking down the street one day, I'm gonna get a b*llet in my head.

What am I supposed to do?

Tell me what to do.

Sal Polisi: Going to a psychiatrist would have been perceived as weakness.

Who would believe a mobster would go to a psychiatrist?

It sounds like he's setting himself up to be k*lled.

narrator: But Costello isn't able to keep his visits a secret for long.

It's been a rough couple of months, Frank.

I know that.

We're busting our asses out there.

So am I, trust me.

That's not how we hear it.

Look, Frank, nobody has challenged your authority.

But a shrink?

You guys are blowing this whole thing way out of proportion.

I was just doing what I need to do to lead this family.

Listen, Frank, you do what you gotta do.

But remember, we will, too.

(phone ringing)

Hello?

I need muscle. I need Moretti.

What... Frank, but what's going on?

Moretti always had Lucky's back, and he's never backed down from anybody.

You gotta tell me what's going on, Frank.

I don't know.

But I'm not gonna sit around to find out.

I'll make the call.

narrator: To keep himself safe, Costello's enlisted the protection of Willie Moretti, a ruthless mobster from New Jersey with deep ties to Luciano and his crime family.

♪

With an army of 60 thugs, Moretti and his crew protect Costello around the clock... guaranteeing that a hit on the acting head of the Luciano family will be next to impossible.

Vito Genovese and his new ally, Mangano family underboss, Carlo Gambino, meet secretly to strategize.

Salute. Salute.

narrator: To get to Costello, the gangsters will have to eliminate his protection.

Why does Moretti have an army protecting Frank Costello all of a sudden?

Me.

You know, Carlo, if we wanna be legitimate bosses, we gotta get the Commission to give its okay.

And Frank's on the damn Commission.

It's still the Luciano family.

So, what, Lucky's gonna listen to me?

No, he won't.

But he might listen to me.

narrator: Gambino realizes to order a hit on Moretti, he'll have to convince Luciano that the mob is better off without him, and he thinks he has an angle.

For months, Moretti has been exhibiting strange behavior and speaking too freely about mob activity.

Many believe his brain may be deteriorating due to the effects of advanced syphilis.

(bell tolls)

We gotta talk about Moretti.

So, talk.

The man's not well.

He's been sh**ting his mouth off to the cops, politicians.

He's lost his mind.

If he's sick, you take him to a doctor.

It's too late for that.

It'd be a mercy k*lling.

k*lling?

You don't k*ll Moretti. He's a good friend of mine.

A decent man.

If he dies from the clap, that's one thing.

Someone's gotta make a tough decision here.

Between Moretti and Costello, the hearings and the press, our business is going to hell.

And Frank's not doing a damn thing about it.

You got a problem with Costello now?

It's not just me. It's everyone.

It's the whole damn Commission.

Carlo, I am the Commission.

Charlie, look...

No.

The answer's no.

narrator: In 1951, Carlo Gambino and Vito Genovese are determined to seize power in the underworld.

To move up in the mob, they know their next step is taking out Willie Moretti, a hit that's been refused by Lucky Luciano.

Now, the gangsters must decide whether to make a dangerous move, going directly against Luciano's orders and eliminating the protector of his acting boss, Frank Costello.

♪

(g*nshots)

(door closes)

(woman screaming)

narrator: After Gambino and Genovese defy Luciano and take out Moretti, Luciano's advisor, Meyer Lansky, fears the future of the Luciano crime family is at stake, and calls a meeting with influential Commission member, Joe Bonanno.

The Mangano hit blindsided us as much as it did you.

I had no idea.

And what about Willie Moretti?

You knew he was protecting Frank.

You knew that Charlie said no.

You knew that everyone knew.

Moretti was losing his mind to syphilis.

You knew that.

He was a risk to all of us.

So... you're taking sides with Vito, then.

Vito's just doing whatever he needs to do.

As for Frank, now, a lot of guys think he's not capable to lead anymore.

Then, what about Charlie?

Hmm?

What about the man who made you a boss?

The man who let you live?

You forget about that?

He vetoed the Moretti hit himself.

He's in Italy, Meyer.

And he's never coming back.

Rich Cohen: One of the reasons why Meyer Lansky was successful is because as counterintuitive as it sounds, he was honest.

He was an honest criminal.

(phone ringing)

Hello?

Look, it's not good, Charlie, it's not good.

Bonanno is backing Vito.

The rest of 'em are, too.

They think it's inevitable and they don't wanna be the guy to stand in his way.

I'm sorry, Charlie. I don't know what else to do.

♪

narrator: With Luciano's influence waning in New York, Gambino believes the time has come to take on Frank Costello.

But first, he'll need to convince Genovese that this is the moment they've been waiting for.

Genovese: What's going on with Frank?

The guy's losing his mind over here, all right, Carlo?

Gambino: We're gonna have to move on this sooner or later.

We're gonna deal with Costello.

Frank's falling apart. We got no choice.

narrator: For Genovese, following through with Gambino's plan means taking out a man he's known for decades...

Hey, Frank. Vito.

I want you to meet my associate, Charlie Luciano.

Nice to meet you. Likewise.

narrator: and a member of his original crew.

On May 2nd, 1957, Genovese orders notorious hitman Vinny "The Chin" Gigante to k*ll Frank Costello.

♪

(g*n cocking)

(g*nsh*t)

(g*nsh*t)

narrator: In May of 1957, Frank Costello was sh*t in the head and left to die.

Despite taking a .38 caliber b*llet at near point-blank range, Costello miraculously survives.

Hi, Frank.

You come to finish what you started?

(door closes)

(sighs)

Doesn't have to be this way.

You could retire.

No one's gonna come after you.

I'll make sure of it.

I'm not gonna run out on Charlie.

You're no good to him anymore.

The Commission's done with you.

It's just the way it happened.

(sighs)

Sorry about this...

Shut up, Vito.

narrator: Although wounded and vulnerable, Frank Costello refuses to back down. After recovering from the assassination attempt, he reaches out to the one boss of the New York crime families that he thinks will still be loyal to him, Albert Anastasia.

Vito won't quit till I'm dead and he's boss.

I need to know you have my back.

I got your back.

As long as you got mine.

Anastasia doesn't like the idea that Genovese tried to k*ll Costello.

So, they have a mutual agreement.

narrator: While Costello and Anastasia form an alliance to protect the Luciano crime family...

Anastasia's ambitious underboss, Carlo Gambino, and Vito Genovese step up their own plan.

He's gotta be scared to death.

I mean, the guy's heart wasn't in it before.

What about Charlie?

Oh, screw Charlie.

No one gives a rat's ass what he has to say anymore.

He's got some loyal men.

He's got Anastasia.

Charlie gives Albert the green light.

(sighs)

The old generation believed in loyalty and not turning on their friends.

And the new generation that came in, um... they'd do a hit in a minute.

Yeah, that's beautiful.

Good. Can I get your cap for you?

There you go, thank you.

(clears throat)

All right.

(groans)

How's the family?

Good, good. They're not annoying me too much, which is always good.

I understand. Married myself.

All right.

Just relax and let me do my job.

Excuse me, sir, I need to go in the back for a moment.

All right. Don't be too long.

♪

(g*nshots)

(chair squeaking)

(phone ringing)

All right.

We're not gonna have to worry about Anastasia anymore.

narrator: In partnership with Vito Genovese, Carlo Gambino has successfully eliminated the head of his family, Albert Anastasia.

It's one of the most brazen murders in Mafia history.

A boss of one of the five New York families has been gunned down in broad daylight.

Albert Anastasia goes to get a shave and a haircut, and he gets k*lled in a barber chair.

And it's very much out in public.

It's not a mob hit where they've taken you in the woods.

It's happened right there in the middle of New York city.

That's one of the reasons it's iconic.

It's so visible.

narrator: Gambino's bold plan has paid off.

By taking out Anastasia, he's gone from mid-level gangster to the head of his own crime family.

Congratulations.

narrator: And the Gambino family is born.

Selwyn Raab: Carlo Gambino is a prime mover.

Genovese and Gambino were close.

They decide they have to hit Anastasia.

It clears the way for both of 'em.

narrator: After an attempt on his life and the m*rder of his only ally on the Commission, Frank Costello does the unthinkable.

With Lucky Luciano's approval, Costello ends his 20-year reign as the head of the family.

Rudy Giuliani: Frank goes and visits the Commission, and says, "Look, I wanna retire.

I will have nothing to do with this ever again."

Frank Costello retired from the Mafia as an elder statesman.

Only one that I can think of, at least in those days, that was ever allowed to retire.

And the reason they trusted him was, he didn't give up the guy who tried to... Tried to knock him off.

♪

narrator: Two decades after losing his position as acting boss, Vito Genovese forcefully takes his seat at the head of the Luciano crime family.

Genovese: Take this away. Bring me another one.

narrator: And with Luciano in Italy and Costello out of the picture, Genovese calls a secret meeting to announce the creation of the Genovese crime family.

In the fall of 1957, Genovese invites mobsters from around the country to upstate New York.

Selwyn Raab: Vito Genovese decided there would be an emergency meeting of the major crime bosses from coast to coast, in a deserted farm area called Apalachin, New York.

There was no real law enforcement, and they thought they would be very safe.

Hey, Tommy, how are ya? Get over here.

How are you?

What do you think of the place? Nice, huh?

It's like being on vacation, right?

(laughs)

Congratulations, Vito.

Thank you.

Genovese: He did pass away. he did pass away.

Hey, there he is. How you doing, pal?

How you been, all right? Good to see you again.

Michael Green: The mob gets together to divvy up, in a sense, what Anastasia had left behind, and what Luciano isn't able to control so well, now that he's back in Italy.

Cheers to that, guys.

Get a drink, get a drink. Have a good time.

We're here to have a good time, celebrate.

Thanks for coming up, appreciate it.

Gay Talese: Those who were heads of families, they had a... an ego, a real sense of self.

They saw themselves as an alpha male, a leader, and they had that... that belief in self.

Hey, how are you, pal?

What are you doing? (laughing)

narrator: Genovese's lavish party in honor of himself draws more than 100 major crime figures.

But the big get-together draws the attention of more than just the mob.

And what started as a celebration is about to become a disaster.

♪

narrator: In the fall of 1957, Vito Genovese calls the most powerful mobsters in America to a meeting at a secluded farmhouse in upstate New York... to confirm his status as the head of the Mafia.

How's it going?

Thanks for coming up, appreciate it.

narrator: But the gathering doesn't go unnoticed.

Selwyn Raab: What happened was, a state trooper noticed there was a lot of strange people checking into a motel, and a lot of big limousines were pulling into this town and all heading for this farm.

And he decided this was worth some... some inspection.

And he called for backup from the state police to surround this farmhouse.

(overlapping chatter)

man: Cops! Cops! Get out of here!

Get out of here, there's cops! Go, go, go!

(...)!

♪

Freeze! Ahh!

(handcuffs clicking)

Selwyn Raab: There were major crime bosses and their minions.

About 70 people in there started scattering.

Some of them were rounded up, and it led to some indictment.

It put the Mafia, really on page one.

This was terrible.

narrator: 20 gangsters are arrested and charged with obstruction of justice, making headlines around the country.

And while the charges are later dropped, the meeting that was meant to announce his dominance of the Mafia has turned into a major embarrassment for Genovese.

Michael Green: Mobsters do make mistakes.

The question is whether they can overcome the mistake.

Vito Genovese made the mistake of getting noticed, and it is going to go a long way toward reducing Genovese's impact and influence.

narrator: For Luciano, the botched Mafia summit is just another blemish on Genovese's list of failures.

And the unpredictable mob boss is threatening to destroy everything Luciano has built.

Richard Hammer: Luciano felt that Genovese had brought disrepute to the mob.

He wanted Genovese done, finished.

narrator: But Luciano is about to get the help he needs from an unexpected visitor...

The man who's been Genovese's closest ally, Carlo Gambino.

After the Apalachin debacle, Gambino sees an opportunity to use Genovese's failure to his advantage.

We need to make some changes.

What do you wanna do, Carlo?

Send him away for life.

Put him behind some bars in a cage where he belongs.

narrator: Luciano realizes he's working with a master strategist.

He's watched Gambino rise through the ranks of the New York Mafia by any means necessary, the same way Luciano did decades earlier.

And now, the gangster is about to make his final play.

Luciano has every reason to get rid of Vito Genovese.

But he knows if he does, he's effectively giving Gambino control of the American Mafia.

narrator: Lucky Luciano must decide whether getting rid of Vito Genovese for good is worth giving up the power of the New York Mafia to Carlo Gambino.

For years, Carlo Gambino has been Luciano's bitter rival.

Having arranged the murders of two of his allies, Willie Moretti and Albert Anastasia, and ordering the failed hit on one of Luciano's closest friends, Frank Costello.

But Luciano respects the gangster's fearless tactics.

Costello may have been smart, and Genovese may have been cutthroat.

But Gambino was both, just like Luciano.

Genovese's reign as boss is about to come to an end.

Gambino and Luciano create a plan to get Vito Genovese out of the picture for good.

International call, New York.

♪

Rich Cohen: Lucky Luciano conspired to put Vito Genovese in prison by sort of dropping a dime on him... making an anonymous call about he was dealing heroin in America.

narrator: Vito Genovese is found guilty of smuggling and distributing narcotics, and is sentenced to 15 years in prison.

In one swift move, Luciano has gotten rid of his biggest rival and placed the organization he created into the hands of Carlo Gambino, the man he believes is most able to lead the Mafia into the future.

With Luciano's blessing, Carlo Gambino becomes the new head of the Commission... ushering in a new era of the American Mafia.

While he's given up his power, Luciano remains influential in the underworld, and settles into a lasting relationship...

Good morning.

narrator: with Italian dancer Igea Lissoni.

Richard Hammer: Luciano never married.

In fact, he didn't really have a long-standing relationship until he was in Italy with Igea.

(speaking Italian)

Richard Hammer: I think Lucky's involvement with Igea may be the one really close attachment he had ever formed.

This was someone he cared about deeply.

narrator: On January 26th, 1962, three years after Igea passes... and having lived a life unlike any other, Charles "Lucky" Luciano dies suddenly of a heart att*ck in Naples at the age of 64.

News of the criminal kingpin's death spreads quickly.

Hundreds line the streets of Naples to pay their respects to the man responsible for creating the modern Mafia.

And nearly 16 years after being deported, Luciano finally gets his wish of returning to America one last time.

Gambino: I'd like to say a few words about a great man and a dear friend.

Salvatore Lucania.

Charlie Luciano.

Lucky.

I've known many people in my days, but there was only one time when I knew I was in the presence of greatness.

And that's when I stood in a room with Lucky Luciano.

Lucky Luciano worked his way up from the bottom.

And when he became the boss, he had the respect of everybody, from all the families, because of how he worked his way up and was able to, one, make money for everybody, keep everybody alive, take care of everybody's family.

narrator: The death of Luciano signals the end of an era, as one by one, his original crew begins to fade into history.

Vito Genovese spends the rest of his life in prison, where he'll continue to run his crime family until he dies in 1969.

He's buried just 100 feet from his boss and greatest rival, Luciano.

Rudy Giuliani: Vito Genovese probably thought that he was the closest thing to another Lucky Luciano.

I don't think Vito rose to that level.

narrator: Frank Costello lives out his retirement in peace, remaining an influential figure in the New York Mafia.

To understand Frank Costello, you have to understand that he craved respect.

He had one foot in the underworld, one foot in the legitimate world.

And as a result, Frank Costello becomes known as the "Prime Minister of the Underworld."

narrator: In 1973, Costello passes away in his Manhattan apartment.

Meyer Lansky retires to Miami Beach, where he lives well into his old age.

If I were president, I would have named Meyer Lansky Secretary of State and Secretary of the Treasury.

Never mind that he can't have both jobs.

The Treasury, he would have gotten the budget balanced.

State, we could have sent him to the Middle East, he would have solved it.

I'm not going to say that I would have agreed with everything Meyer Lansky did, but I would say that I wouldn't have minded having him on my side.

narrator: Lansky dies in 1983 with only $37,000 to his name, although the FBI believes he stashed away more than 300 million in secret bank accounts.

In just over a half a century, Lucky Luciano, Frank Costello, Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegel, and Vito Genovese worked together to become the most successful criminals the world has ever known, organizing crime into a multimillion-dollar industry and leaving behind a legacy that forever changes America.

H.W. Brands: The Mafia became an avenue to success.

And in its own way, it was a recapitulation of the American dream.

You come to America, you work hard, you work smart, and in time, success rewards your endeavors.

There is a certain ruthlessness.

There's a certain willingness to do whatever it takes.

And they're surviving on their wits.

They're surviving on their guile.

And these were the charismatic mobsters.

Rich Cohen: The funny thing about the Mafia is there's all this mythology around it about Sicily and the old world.

Really, the Mafia that we know is as American as jazz.

It's about this mixed group of guys.

They turned crime into big business.

(g*nf*re)

Rudy Giuliani: This street level group of thugs organized into a very sophisticated organization.

It infiltrated the unions, it infiltrated politics.

It infiltrated Hollywood.

I can't think of another example of an organized crime group that had the grip the Mafia had on America.

Totally criminal, totally amoral, totally horrible, but totally brilliant.