Emilio Barzini
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Don Emilio Barzini is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather and the film based on it. In the film, Barzini was portrayed by Richard Conte.
Barzini presided as head of one of New York's Five Families, and wielded power matched only by Vito Corleone. He was respected by his fellow Don enough to be invited to the wedding of Connie Corleone. However, when his counterpart refused to participate in the heroin trade, Barzini secretly conspired with the other families to make war with the Corleones, forcing them to make peace and open up their territory to drug trafficking. To this end, he approached Carlo Rizzi with a ploy to draw Sonny Corleone out to the tollbooth where he was ambushed and killed. Don Corleone, realising this too late, agreed to lend his political protection to the enterprise and to never be the one to break the peace.
Not satisfied with the submission of the Corleones, Barzini began chipping away at their territory in New York City, and approached Corleone caporegime Salvatore Tessio to organize another peace summit where Vito's heir Michael Corleone would be ambushed. However, by this time the Don and his son had long anticipated Barzini's move and, on the day of the summit, he was assassinated along with the other conspirators. Corleone enforcer Al Neri, disguised as a policeman, shot the Don and his bodyguard on the steps of a New York courthouse.
In the 2006 video game, Barzini is the one who kills the protagonist's father "Johnny" causing the playable protagonist to seek revenge.
It is said that Emilio Barzini is loosely based on real-life mob boss Vito Genovese.
