Vincent Gigante

Vincent Gigante
Gigante in 1957
Born	Vincent Louis Gigante (1928-03-29)March 29, 1928 New York City, U.S.
Died	December 19, 2005(2005-12-19) (aged 77) Springfield, Missouri, U.S.
Other names	"The Chin", "The Oddfather", "The Enigma in the Bathrobe", "The Robe", "The Real Boss of New York" and Vinny Gigante
Occupation	Crime boss
Predecessor	Philip Lombardo
Successor	Liborio Bellomo
Spouse	Olympia Grippa ​ (m. 1950)​
Children	8
Parent(s)	Salvatore Gigante Yolonda Gigante
Relatives	Mario, Louis, Pasquale and Ralph Gigante (brothers)
Allegiance	Genovese crime family
Conviction(s)	Drug trafficking (1959) Racketeering and conspiracy (1997) Obstruction of justice (2003)
Criminal penalty	Seven years' imprisonment 12 years' imprisonment and fined $1.25 million Three years' imprisonment
Partner(s)	Olympia Esposito
Boxing career
Nationality	American
Other names	"The Chin" Gigante
Statistics
Weight(s)	Light heavyweight
Boxing record
Total fights	25
Wins	21
Wins by KO	1
Losses	4

Vincent Louis Gigante (/dʒɪˈɡænti/ jig-AN-tee, Italian: [dʒiˈɡante]; March 29, 1928 – December 19, 2005), also known as "The Chin", was an American mobster who was boss of the Genovese crime family in New York City from 1981 to 2005. Gigante started out as a professional boxer who fought in 25 matches between 1944 and 1947. He then started working as a Mafia enforcer for what was then the Luciano crime family, forerunner of the Genovese family. Gigante was one of five brothers. Three of them, Mario, Pasquale, and Ralph, followed him into the Mafia. Only one brother, Louis, stayed out of the crime family, instead becoming a Catholic priest.^[1] Gigante was the shooter in the failed assassination of longtime Luciano boss Frank Costello in 1957. In 1959, he was sentenced to seven years in prison for drug trafficking, and after sharing a prison cell with Costello's rival, Vito Genovese, Gigante became a caporegime overseeing his own crew of Genovese soldiers and associates based in Greenwich Village.

Gigante quickly rose to power during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1981 he became the family's boss, while Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno served as front boss during the first half of the 1980s. He also ordered the failed murder attempt of Gambino crime family boss John Gotti in 1986. With the arrest and conviction of Gotti and various Gambino family members in 1992, Gigante was recognized as the most powerful crime boss in the United States. For about 30 years, Gigante feigned insanity in an effort to throw law enforcement off his trail.

Dubbed "The Oddfather" and "The Enigma in the Bathrobe" by the media, Gigante often wandered the streets of Greenwich Village in his bathrobe and slippers, mumbling incoherently to himself. He was indicted on federal racketeering charges in 1990, but was determined to be mentally unfit to stand trial. In 1997, he was tried and convicted of racketeering and conspiracy, and sentenced to 12 years in prison. Facing obstruction of justice charges in 2003, he pleaded guilty and admitted that his supposed insanity was an elaborate effort to avoid prosecution, as he was sentenced to an additional three years in prison. He died in the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners on December 19, 2005.