Ernest Rupolo
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Ernest "the Hawk" Rupolo (1908-August 27, 1964) was a New York mobster and hitman for the Genovese crime family who would later testify against Vito Genovese as one of the earliest government informers.
Although a minor figure within the Genovese crime family, Rupolo was used by crime boss Vito Genovese on a number of murder contracts during the 1930s and, in 1934, was ordered to kill gambler Ferdinand "The Shadow" Boccia regarding a financial disagreement over a fixed poker game.
Arrested on several unrelated charges several years later, he confessed to Boccia's murder implicating Genovese's involvement in the gangland slaying. While Rupolo's testimony alone was ruled to be unreliable, it was eventually corroborated by Peter LaTempa and forced Genovese to flee the country in 1937.
Extradited back to the United States shortly after the end of World War II, Genovese was brought back to New York to be tried for Boccia's murder among other offences. However, within a week of his arrival, LaTempa was poisoned in his cell while in police custody. Without LaTempa's testimony, Rupolo's testimony was useless and the prosecution's case fell through resulting in Genovese's acquittal. Despite warnings by authorities advising he remain in custody, Rupolo chose to be released.
No action was taken against Rupolo however, supposedly because Genovese chose to let Rupolo live his life in terror, until his eventual imprisonment in 1959. While Genovese remained in prison, his death was finally ordered, possibly as a response to the recent testimony of government informant Joe Valachi, as his mutilated body was dragged out of Jamaica Bay on August 27, 1964 after disappearing earlier that month.
[edit] References
- Sifakis, Carl. The Mafia Encyclopedia. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. ISBN 0-8160-5694-3
- Sifakis, Carl. The Encyclopedia of American Crime. New York: Facts on File Inc., 2001. ISBN 0-8160-4040-0
