Nick Gentile
| Nicola Gentile | |
|---|---|
Nick Gentile's FBI file
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| Born |
June 12, 1885 Siculiana, Italy |
| Died | 6 November 1966 (aged 81) Siculiana, Italy |
| Other names | Zu Cola |
| Known for | Writing memoirs about his time in the Mafia |
| Allegiance | Sicilian Mafia |
Nicola Gentile (June 12, 1885 – November 6, 1966), also known as Nick Gentile, was a Sicilian mafioso and an organized crime figure in New York City during the 1920s and 1930s. He was also known for publishing his memoirs which, violating the mafiosi code known as omerta, revealed many details of the Sicilian and American underworld. Gentile was born in Siculiana, a small village on the south coast of Sicily in the province of Agrigento. He immigrated to the United States arriving in New York at age 18, in 1903. Gentile fled the country in 1937 while out on $15,000 bail after an arrest for heroin trafficking and returned to Sicily to become a boss in the Sicilian Cosa Nostra. In the US, he was known as "Nick" and in Sicily as "Zu Cola" (Uncle Cola).
After Nick Gentile arrived in the United States from Sicily in 1903, he quickly associated with the Black Hand during the early 20th century, Gentile would become a leader in America's early mafia and would later serve as a confidant for New York mobsters throughout the early part of the 20th century up until the Castellammarese War and the subsequent formation of New York's Five Families under Charles "Lucky" Luciano in 1931. Gentile traveled the country as a troubleshooter and negotiator, known as the messaggero or substituto, relaying messages between crime families and mediating disputes and became part of New York Mafia Family led by Vincent Mangano and Joe Biondo, which later became known as the Gambino Family.
During Prohibition, Gentile was briefly involved in bootlegging as head of criminal syndicates in Kansas City, Cleveland and Pittsburgh. In 1920, there was an attempt made on his life by his rival in Cleveland, mafia boss Joseph "Big Joe" Lonardo. Gentile left for Sicily, but not before he met with his New York allies. He decided to align himself with New York mafia bosses Rocco Valenti and Salvatore Mauro against Salvatore "Totò" D'Aquila and Joe Lonardo, who backed mafia boss, Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria in his bid to gain control of the Morello crime family in which Rocco Valenti and Joe Masseria were both high level members.
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