Vincent Gigante

In 1957, the “Chin” went to trial for the attempted murder of mafia fixer Frank Costello. Gigante was acquitted when any and all witnesses suddenly forgot the events of the crime. Costello himself refused to identify the would be assassin. After the trial, Gigante rejoined the Genovese forces while the New York Mafia split up into two camps. On one side stood Genovese and his supporters seeking control of the city’s most powerful crime family, and on the other side, the aging Costello. In 1959, the Chin along with others received a long prison term of seven years for his involvement in a bribe job gone bad. He resurfaced in the 1970s. Around this time is when he was reported to begin suffering from a mental ailment and frequently regressed to childhood. Other reports claimed that he had actually risen to the rank of consigliere in the family. Gigante was said to have risen to the position of acting boss on the late ‘80s. Despite the fact that he began to roam the streets of Little Italy in his bathrobe while mumbling to himself, he still retained his power while avoiding conviction by pleading insanity. But in 1997, a federal jury in Brooklyn found Gigante guilty of racketeering. And in December of 1997 he was sentenced to 12 years in prison.