Michele Miranda

Michele "Big Mike" Miranda (July 6, 1896 – July 16, 1973) was a longtime member and eventual consigliere of the Genovese crime family and one of the most powerful New York gangsters in the 1950s and 1960s.

Born in San Giuseppe Vesuviano, Province of Naples, Miranda immigrated with his family to the United States in 1905 and settled in New York. In later years, Miranda's official residence was in Forest Hills, Queens on Long Island. Becoming involved in crime as a teenager, his first arrest was for petty theft and assault in 1915. During Prohibition, Miranda became an associate of Gaetano "Tommy Brown" Lucchese and was affiliated with the Reina crime family of the Bronx. In 1931, following the end of the Castellammarese War, he became close to Luciano crime family underboss, Vito Genovese and became a made man, or full member, of that crime family.

Miranda frequently acted as enforcer for Charles "Lucky" Luciano and Genovese along with the occasional hit for the crime family. As the decade progressed, Miranda kept rising through the family ranks. In the 1940s, Miranda used his former ties with Luchese as a stepping stone in becoming the Luciano family's overseer of their activities in Manhattan's Garment District. After the execution of Louis "Lepke" Buchalter in 1944, Lucchese took control of Buchalter's garment industry rackets for the Lucchese crime family.

Miranda soon became one of the top Capos in the family, a highly respected and feared gangster. Miranda had criminal interests in illegal gambling, loansharking, and labor racketeering. Throughout this period, Miranda kept close ties to his mentor and one of the top bosses in the family, Genovese. On May 2, 1957, Genovese ordered the assassination of Luciano crime family boss, Frank Costello. Even though the hit failed, Costello soon retired from the family, leaving Genovese in control. Genovese named Miranda as consigliere, making him the number three man after Genovese and underboss Gerardo "Jerry" Catena.

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