Vincent Louis Gigante –
Other names: “Chin”, “The Oddfather”, “The Enigma in the Bathrobe”, “The Robe”, “The Real Boss of New York” and Vinny Gigante.
Born: March 29, 1928 Manhattan, New York
Died: December 19, 2005 (aged 77) Springfield, Missouri
Nationality: Italian American
Arrest: Receiving stolen goods, possession of an unlicensed
handgun, auto theft, arson and bookmaking.
Criminal penalty: 10 years, Criminal status: Died in prison.
Italian-American mobster in the American Mafia who was boss of the Genovese crime family from 1981 to 2005. Gigante earned his Mafia credentials as an enforcer in the 1950s. He worked in the Greenwich Village Crew, a group of mobsters in Greenwich Village that was overseen by Vito Genovese and later Anthony Strollo. Gigante was a protégé of Genovese. Between age 17 and 25, Gigante was arrested seven times on charges of receiving stolen goods, possession of an unlicensed handgun, auto theft, arson and bookmaking. He only served one jail sentence, 60 days for an illegal gambling conviction.
The rest were dismissed or resolved with fines.