Michael James Genovese
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Michael James Genovese (April 9, 1919 – October 31, 2006) was an alleged boss of the Pittsburgh crime family. There is no proof that Michael Genovese was related to New York mob boss Vito Genovese.
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[edit] Early years
Genovese was born in East Liberty, Pennsylvania where he once controlled the Numbers Game, according to a report by the defunct Pennsylvania Crime Commission. His climb through the Pittsburgh crime family included stints as caporegime and underboss to John Sebastian LaRocca, who became boss in 1956. In 1957, Genovese accompanied LaRocca to the Apalachin Conference of mob bosses in Apalachin, New York with Gabriel "Kelly" Mannarino. In 1978, facing poor health, LaRocca formed a three-man commission of Genovese, Mannarino, and Joseph "Jo Jo" Pecora to take over day-to-day operations of the family.
[edit] Family boss
Within a year, with the death of Mannarino and the imprisonment of Pecora, Genovese headed the commission. Under Genovese's reign, the Pittsburgh family dominated illegal gambling in Western Pennsylvania, the panhandle of West Virginia, and Eastern Ohio. The family was also involved in major drug trafficking in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania along with loan sharking, scams, and theft. However, the Mafia Commission in New York would not allow Genovese to recruit new members into the family; he could only replace those who died or retired. Three years after Genovese took control, Pecora died at age 68. In 1985, the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1985 described the Pittsburgh family as being one of the lower-ranked national families. However, in a 1995 report, the FBI implied that due to large scale federal prosecutions of New York's Five Families and the Chicago Outfit, the Pittsburgh organization was one of the stronger families in the Eastern United States.
[edit] Prosecutions
Age and federal prosecutors began catching up with organized crime in Pittsburgh by the early 1990s. In March 1990, Anthony "Wimpy" Martrano (Genovese's right-hand man), capo Charles "Chucky" Porter, and capo Louis Raucci Sr., were indicted for distribution of narcotics, extortion, conspiracy to commit murder, robbery, gambling and racketeering. Police stake-outs at L.A. Motor in Verona, Pennsylvania where Genovese worked, revealed him meeting almost daily with Porter, Martrano, and Raucci. However, surveillance equipment never recorded Genovese making any incriminating statements. Genovese was always careful to go outside when talking to his mob subordinates. Though Genovese was not indicted, he was named in this trial, as well as others in Ohio, as head of the Pittsburgh crime family. Porter, Raucci, and Martrano were all convicted.
[edit] Death
In 1990, Genovese was suspected of ordering the takeover of territories of Youngstown and Cleveland, formerly held by the Cleveland crime family. On October 31, 2006,. Genovese died of natural causes at his home in West Deer Township, Pennsylvania.
[edit] Further reading
- Block, Alan A. East Side-West Side: Organizing Crime in New York, 1930-1950. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1983. ISBN 0878559310
- Capeci, Jerry. The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002. ISBN 0-02-864225-2
- Pennsylvania Crime Commission. St. Davids, Pennsylvania: DIANE Publishing, 1984. ISBN 0-8182-0000-6
- United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental Affairs. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Organized Crime and Use of Violence: hearings before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Governmental Affairs. 1980. [1]
- United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field. Investigation of Improper Activities in the Labor Or Management Field: hearings before the Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field. 1959. [2]
