Carmine “Lillo” Galante FBI Files

Description

Carmine Galante: Rise and Fall of a Crime Boss

• 1926: Carmine “Lillo” Galante’s first recorded arrest, marking the beginning of his extensive criminal record.
• 1930s-1940s: Galante operates as a top enforcer for crime boss Vito Genovese, engaging in numerous murder contracts.
• 1943: Galante is reputed to have carried out the killing of Carlo Tresca, an anti-fascist newspaper editor.
• Undetermined Date (prior to 1960): Galante becomes an underboss of Joseph C. Bonanno and runs an international narcotics ring.
• 1958: The FBI initiates an anti-racketeering investigation into Carmine Galante.
• 1960: Galante is convicted of drug trafficking.
• 1974: Galante is released from prison after his drug trafficking conviction. Following his release, he ascends to become New York’s organized crime top boss.
• 1974 – July 1979: Galante’s aggressive actions to gain and maintain power lead other mob leaders to issue a contract on his life.
• July 12, 1979: Carmine “Lillo” Galante, along with a cousin and an associate, is shot and killed at Joe and Mary’s restaurant in Brooklyn. His murder is widely publicized, with iconic news photos showing him with a cigar still clenched in his teeth.
• 1979: The FBI’s anti-racketeering investigation into Galante concludes, concurrent with his death.

Cast of Characters

• Carmine “Lillo” Galante (“The Cigar”): The central figure of the source. A notorious gangster with an extensive criminal record dating back to 1926, including arrests for assault, robbery, murder, grand larceny, alcohol tax violation, and narcotics. He was a top enforcer for Vito Genovese in the 1930s-40s, reputed to have carried out many murder contracts, notably Carlo Tresca’s. He became an underboss to Joseph C. Bonanno, leading an international narcotics ring for which he was convicted in 1960. After his 1974 release, he became New York’s top organized crime boss, a position he held until his assassination on July 12, 1979, ordered by other mob leaders due to his aggressive power consolidation. He was rarely seen without a cigar.
• Vito Genovese: A crime boss for whom Carmine Galante worked as a top enforcer during the 1930s and 1940s.
• Carlo Tresca: An anti-fascist newspaper editor whose murder in 1943 is reputed to have been carried out by Carmine Galante.
• Joseph C. Bonanno: A crime boss under whom Carmine Galante served as an underboss, running an international narcotics ring.
• Galante’s Cousin: An unnamed individual who was shot and killed alongside Carmine Galante on July 12, 1979, at Joe and Mary’s restaurant.
• Galante’s Associate: An unnamed individual who was shot and killed alongside Carmine Galante on July 12, 1979, at Joe and Mary’s restaurant.
• FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation): The government agency that conducted an anti-racketeering investigation of Carmine Galante from 1958 through 1979.

Carmine “Lillo” Galante FBI Files

1283 pages of files copied from FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C., covering Carmine “Lillo” Galante. Galante was known as “Lillo” or “The Cigar,” he was seldom seen without his trademark cigar between his lips. The FBI conducted an anti-racketeering investigation of Carmine Galante from 1958 through 1979. The infamous gangster was well known for his connections with organized crime and had an extensive arrest record dating back to 1926 for assault, robbery, murder, grand larceny, alcohol tax violation, and narcotics.

In the 1930’s & 1940’s, he was a top enforcer for crime boss Vito Genovese. He is reputed to have carried out numerous murder contracts, including the 1943 killing of Carlo Tresca, an anti-fascist newspaper editor. Galante became an underboss of Joseph C. Bonanno and ran an international narcotics ring. In 1960 he was convicted of drug trafficking. After his release in 1974, Galante became New York’s organized crime top boss. His actions to gain and hold power caused mob leaders to issue a contract on him. On July 12, 1979 Galante, along with a cousin and an associate, were shot and killed at Joe and Mary’s restaurant in Brooklyn. The murder is memorialized by news photos of him with an after-dinner cigar still clenched in his teeth.

Files contain approximately 600 discernable informational pages covering Galante’s personal history and background, criminal record, associates, and criminal activities.