View source for Frank Costello

{{short description|Italian-American mobster (1891-1973)}}
{{other people}}
{{Infobox criminal
|image = FrankCostello1935.png
|caption = Mugshot of Costello in 1935
|birth_name = Francesco Castiglia
|birth_date = {{Birth date|1891|1|26}}
|birth_place = [[Cassano allo Ionio]], [[Calabria]], Italy
|allegiance = [[Genovese crime family|Luciano crime family]]
|spouse = {{Marriage|Loretta Geigerman|1914}}
|occupation = {{hlist|[[rum-running|Bootlegger]]|[[crime boss]]|[[mobster]]|[[racketeer]]}}
|predecessor = [[Lucky Luciano]]
|successor = [[Vito Genovese]]
|resting_place =[[St. Michael's Cemetery (New York)|Saint Michael's Cemetery]]
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1973|2|18|1891|1|26}}
|death_place = [[New York City]], U.S.
|conviction = [[Contempt of court|Contempt]] (1951)<br>[[Tax evasion]] (1952)
|penalty = 18 months' imprisonment<br>Five years' imprisonment
}}
'''Frank Costello''' ({{IPA|it|koˈstɛllo|lang}}; born '''Francesco Castiglia'''<ref name=name/> {{IPA|it|franˈtʃesko kaˈstiʎʎa|}}; January 26, 1891 – February 18, 1973) was an [[Italian-American]] [[crime boss]] of the [[Luciano crime family]].

Born in Italy, he moved with his family to the United States as a child. As a youth he joined New York City gangs. Working with [[Lucky Luciano|Charlie "Lucky" Luciano]], Costello was involved in bootlegging operations during [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]]. In 1929 they joined the [[National Crime Syndicate]]. From 1937, Costello was acting boss of the Luciano crime family. In the 1950s, he spent several years in prison for tax evasion. Costello retired in 1957 after he had survived an assassination attempt ordered by [[Vito Genovese]].

== Early life ==
Costello was born Francesco Castiglia on January 26, 1891, in Lauropoli, a ''[[frazione]]'' of the town of [[Cassano allo Ionio]] in the province of [[Cosenza]] in the [[Calabria]] region, [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]].<ref name=name>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NzPHkSi4mXEC&q=Francesco+Castiglia+Cassano+allo+Ionio&pg=PA139|title=Into the Heart of the Mafia: A Journey Through the Italian South|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books|author=David Lane|year=2010|isbn=978-1847651990}}</ref> In 1895, he boarded a ship to the [[United States]] with his mother and his brother Edward to join their father, who had moved to [[New York City]]'s [[Spanish Harlem|East Harlem]] several years earlier and opened a small neighborhood Italian grocery store.

While Costello was still a boy, his brother introduced him to gang activities. At 13, he had become a member of a local gang and started using the name Frankie. Costello committed [[petty crime]]s and went to jail for [[assault]] and [[robbery]] in 1908, 1912, and 1917. 

On September 22, 1914, Costello married Loretta "Bobbie" Geigerman, a Jewish woman, whose parents had immigrated from Germany.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Anthony M. DeStefan |title=Top Hoodlum Frank Costello, Prime Minister of the Mafia |date=June 26, 2018 |publisher=Citadel Press |location=Chapter 2: No more guns, thank you |isbn=9780806538716 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Top_Hoodlum/_PU3DwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1 |access-date=15 June 2025}}</ref> That same year, Costello served ten months in jail for [[carrying a concealed weapon]].

== Criminal career ==
=== Alliance with Luciano ===
[[File:Lucky Luciano mugshot.jpg|left|200px|thumb|[[Lucky Luciano|Charles "Lucky" Luciano]]'s mugshot]]
While working for the [[Morello crime family|Morello gang]], Costello met [[Lucky Luciano|Charlie "Lucky" Luciano]], the [[Sicily|Sicilian]] leader of [[Manhattan]]'s [[Lower East Side]] gang. The two Italians immediately became friends and partners. Several older members of Luciano's mob family disapproved of this growing partnership. They were mostly [[Mustache Pete|old-school ''mafiosi'']] who were unwilling to work with anyone who was not Italian, and skeptical at best about working with non-Sicilians. To Luciano's shock, they warned him against working with Costello whom they called "the dirty [[Calabria]]n."<ref name="MafEnc">{{cite book |title=The Mafia Encyclopedia |url=https://archive.org/details/mafiaencyclopedi00sifa |url-access=registration |last=Sifakis |first=Carl |year=1987 |publisher=Facts on File |location=[[New York City]] |isbn=0-8160-1856-1 }}</ref>

Along with Italian American associates [[Vito Genovese]] and [[Tommy Lucchese|Tommy "Three-Finger Brown" Lucchese]], and Jewish associates [[Meyer Lansky]] and [[Bugsy Siegel|Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel]], the gang became involved in robbery, [[theft]], [[extortion]], [[gambling]], and [[narcotics]]. The Luciano-Costello-Lansky-Siegel alliance prospered even further with the passage of [[Volstead Act|Prohibition]] in 1920. The gang went into [[bootleg alcohol|bootlegging]], backed by criminal financier [[Arnold Rothstein|Arnold "the Brain" Rothstein]].<ref name="five families book">{{Cite book | title = The Five Families | date = 13 May 2014 | publisher = MacMillan | isbn = 9781429907989 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=5nAt6N8iQnYC | access-date = 2008-06-22 }}</ref><ref name=Stolberg119>Stolberg, p. 119</ref>

The young Italians' success let them make business deals with the leading [[Jewish-American organized crime|Jewish]] and [[Irish mob|Irish criminal]]s of the era, including [[Dutch Schultz]], [[Owney Madden|Owney "the Killer" Madden]] and [[Bill Dwyer (mobster)|William "Big Bill" Dwyer]]. Rothstein became a mentor to Costello, Luciano, Lansky and Siegel while they conducted bootlegging business with Bronx beer baron Schultz. In 1922, Costello, Luciano, and their closest Italian associates joined the Sicilian crime family led by [[Joe Masseria|Joe "the Boss" Masseria]], a top Italian underworld [[crime boss]]. By 1924, Costello had become a close associate of [[Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan|Hell's Kitchen]]'s Irish crime bosses Dwyer and Madden. He became involved in their [[rum-running]] operations, known as "[[The Combine (group)|The Combine]]"; this might have prompted him to change his last name to the Irish "Costello."

In 1925, Costello became a U.S. citizen.<ref name="costello coronary" />

On November 19, 1926, Costello and Dwyer were indicted on federal bootlegging charges. They were accused of bribing two [[United States Coast Guard|U.S. Coast Guardsmen]], presumably so that they would not disturb the unloading of liquor from boats in [[New York Harbor]]. The largest boat in the Combine fleet could carry 20,000 cases of liquor.<ref name="bootlegging indictment 1926">{{cite news|title=33 MEN ARE INDICATED AS RUM IMPORT RING|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1926/11/19/98407382.html?pageNumber=18|access-date=18 October 2014|newspaper=New York Times|date=November 19, 1926}}</ref> In January 1927, the jury deadlocked on the bootlegging charges for Dwyer and Costello.<ref name="liquor ring trial">{{cite news|title=COSTELLO JURORS CLEAR 8, SPLIT ON 6 IN LIQUOR RING TRIAL|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1927/01/21/118638578.html?pageNumber=1|access-date=18 October 2014|newspaper=New York Times|date=January 21, 1927}}</ref>

In 1926, Dwyer was convicted of bribing a Coast Guard official and sentenced to two years in jail. After Dwyer was imprisoned, Costello and Madden took over the Combine's operations. This caused friction between Madden and a top Dwyer lieutenant, [[Vannie Higgins|Charles "Vannie" Higgins]], who believed he should have been running the Combine instead of Costello. Thus, the "Manhattan Beer Wars" began between Higgins on one side, and Costello, Madden, and Schultz on the other. At this time, Schultz was also having problems with gangsters [[Jack Diamond (gangster)|Jack "Legs" Diamond]] and [[Vincent Coll|Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll]], who had begun to rival Schultz and his partners with Higgins's help. Eventually, the Costello-Madden-Schultz alliance was destroyed by New York's underworld.

In the late 1920s, [[Johnny Torrio]] helped to organize a loose cartel of East Coast bootleggers, the [[The Combined (Group)|Big Seven]], in which a number of prominent gangsters, including Costello, Luciano, [[Longy Zwillman]], [[Joe Adonis]], and [[Meyer Lansky]] played a part. Torrio also supported creation of a national body that would prevent the sort of all-out turf wars between gangs that had broken out in Chicago and New York. His idea was well received,<ref>Howard Abadinsky, ''Organized Crime'', Cengage Learning, 2009, p.115</ref> and a [[Atlantic City Conference|conference was hosted in Atlantic City]] by Torrio, Lansky, Luciano and Costello in May 1929; the [[National Crime Syndicate]] was created.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/press/atlantic_city/years-ago-the-mob-came-to-atlantic-city-for-a/article_3d2aedaa-856e-5e81-8e5a-9db020bed549.html?mode=image&photo=0 | title=80 years ago, the Mob came to Atlantic City for a little strategic planning | date=13 May 2009 | publisher=Press of Atlantic City | access-date=August 6, 2012}}</ref>

=== Castellammarese War ===
In early 1931, the [[Castellammarese War]] broke out between Masseria and [[Salvatore Maranzano]]. In a secret deal with Maranzano, Luciano agreed to engineer the death of his boss, Masseria, in return for receiving Masseria's [[racket (crime)|racket]]s and becoming Maranzano's second-in-command.<ref name="five families book"/> On April 15, 1931, Luciano had lured Masseria to a meeting where he was murdered at a restaurant called Nuova Villa Tammaro on [[Coney Island]].<ref name="slain">{{cite news|title = Racket Chief Slain By Gangster Gunfire. Giuseppe Masseria, Known as Joe the Boss, Shot Mysteriously in Coney Island Cafe. Police Say He Was Leader in Every Kind of Racket. He Escaped Death Many Times. Shooting Still a Mystery|url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1931/04/16/96193033.pdf|quote = It took ten years and a lot of shooting to kill Giuseppe Masseria—he was Joe the Boss to the underworld—but his enemies found him with his back turned yesterday in a little Italian restaurant in Coney Island, and when they walked out into|access-date = November 23, 2011|newspaper = New York Times|date = April 16, 1931}}</ref><ref name="five families book"/> While they played cards, Luciano allegedly excused himself to the bathroom, with the gunmen reportedly being Genovese, [[Albert Anastasia]], [[Joe Adonis]], and [[Bugsy Siegel|Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel]];<ref>{{cite news|last=Pollak|first=Michael|title=Coney Island's Big Hit|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/nyregion/answer-to-a-question-about-a-mobsters-death-in-coney-island.html?_r=0|access-date=31 October 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 29, 2012}}</ref> [[Ciro Terranova|Ciro "The Artichoke King" Terranova]] drove the getaway car, but legend has it that he was too shaken up to drive away and had to be shoved out of the driver's seat by Siegel.<ref>{{harvnb|Sifakis|2005|pages=87–88}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Martin A. Gosch|author2=Richard Hammer|author3=Lucky Luciano|title=The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano|year=1975|publisher=Little, Brown|isbn=978-0-316-32140-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/lasttestamentofl00gosc/page/130 130–132]|url=https://archive.org/details/lasttestamentofl00gosc/page/130}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Davis|first=John H.|title=Mafia dynasty : the rise and fall of the Gambino crime family|year=1994|publisher=HarperPaperbacks|location=New York, N.Y.|isbn=0-06-109184-7|url=https://archive.org/details/mafiadynastyrise00davi|url-access=registration|quote=Albert Anastasia.|edition=1st Harper paperbacks|page=[https://archive.org/details/mafiadynastyrise00davi/page/40 40]}}</ref> Luciano took over Masseria's family, with Genovese as his underboss.

In September 1931, Luciano and Genovese planned the murder of Maranzano. Luciano had received word that Maranzano was planning to kill him and Genovese, and prepared a hit team to kill Maranzano first. On September 10, 1931, when Maranzano summoned Luciano, Genovese, and Costello to a meeting at his office, they knew Maranzano would kill them there. Instead, Luciano sent to Maranzano's office four Jewish gangsters whose faces were unknown to Maranzano's people. They had been secured with the aid of Lansky and Siegel.<ref name="Dec. 7, 1998">"Lucky Luciano: Criminal Mastermind," ''Time'', [http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,989779,00.html Dec. 7, 1998]</ref><ref name=Cohen>{{cite book|last=Cohen|first=Rich|title=Tough Jews|year=1999|publisher=Vintage Books|location=New York|isbn=0-375-70547-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/toughjews00cohe/page/65 65]–66|url=https://archive.org/details/toughjews00cohe|url-access=registration|quote=Genovese maranzano.|edition=1st Vintage Books}}</ref> After assassinating Maranzano, Luciano subsequently created [[The Commission (mafia)|The Commission]] to serve as the governing body for organized crime.<ref name=origins>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/20/nyregion/the-commission-s-origins.html|title=The Commission's Origins|date=1986|work=The New York Times|access-date=22 February 2017}}</ref>

=== Years as consigliere ===
In 1931, after the Masseria and Maranzano murders, Luciano became the leader of the new Luciano crime family, with Genovese as [[underboss]] and Costello as ''[[consigliere]]''. Costello quickly became one of the biggest earners for the Luciano family and began to carve his own niche in the underworld. He controlled the slot machine and bookmaking operations for the family with associate [[Phillip Kastel|Philip "Dandy Phil" Kastel]]. Costello placed approximately 25,000 slot machines in bars, restaurants, cafes, drugstores, gas stations, and bus stops throughout New York. In 1934, [[Mayor of New York City|Mayor]] [[Fiorello La Guardia]] confiscated thousands of Costello's slot machines, loaded them on a barge, and dumped them into the river.{{Fact|date=July 2025}}

Costello's next move was to accept [[Louisiana]] [[Governor of Louisiana|governor]] [[Huey Long]]'s proposal to put slot machines throughout Louisiana for 10% of the take. Costello made Kastel overseer of the Louisiana slot operation. Kastel had the assistance of [[New Orleans]] ''mafioso'' [[Carlos Marcello|Carlos "Little Man" Marcello]]. Costello brought in millions of dollars in profit from slot machines and bookmaking to the Luciano family.{{Fact|date=July 2025}}

=== "The Prime Minister" ===
Costello and Luciano established extensive connections with [[Tammany Hall]] leaders early on; Luciano and Costello each shared hotel rooms with Tammany delegates to the [[1932 Democratic National Convention]] in [[Chicago]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.salon.com/2016/07/26/corruption_for_decades_that_time_when_the_mafia_almost_fixed_the_democratic_national_convention_partner/| title=Corruption for decades: That time when the Mafia almost fixed the Democratic National Convention | date=26 July 2016 | work=Salon | access-date=February 14, 2024}}</ref> Costello continued to cultivate those relationships over the next two decades, intervening in Tammany's affairs and collecting favors and pledges of loyalty from those politicians and judges he had helped, including [[William O'Dwyer]], the two-term [[Mayor of New York City]] in the 1940s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Raab |first=Selwyn. |title=Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires |date=2006|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=0-312-30094-8 |pages=63–65}}</ref> Costello was able, in turn, to use those political debts to his advantage when other New York City crime families came to him for help.

The 1951 [[United States Senate Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce|Kefauver Committee]] hearings on organized crime confirmed what observers of local politics already knew. Senator Kefauver concluded that [[Carmine DeSapio]], leader of Tammany Hall, was assisting Costello and that Costello had become influential in decisions made by the Tammany Hall council. DeSapio admitted to having met Costello several times, but insisted that "politics was never discussed".<ref name=ipqvz>{{Cite news |title=Carmine De Sapio, Political Kingmaker and Last Tammany Hall Boss, Dies at 95 |author=Kandell, Jonathan |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=July 28, 2004 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/28/nyregion/carmine-de-sapio-political-kingmaker-and-last-tammany-hall-boss-dies-at-95.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |access-date=February 17, 2014 }}</ref>

=== Conflicts with Genovese ===
In 1936, Luciano was convicted of running a [[prostitution]] ring and was sentenced to a term of up to 30 to 50 years in state prison.<ref name="l_trial">{{cite web | url = http://www.lucianotrial1936.com/codef.html | title = Luciano Trial Website | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090131202519/http://www.lucianotrial1936.com/codef.html | archive-date = January 31, 2009 | df = mdy-all }}</ref><ref name="luciano sentence">{{cite news|title=Lucania Sentenced to 30 to 50 Years; Court Warns Ring|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1936/06/19/93521980.pdf|access-date=June 17, 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 19, 1936}}</ref> He attempted to run the crime family from prison with the help of Costello and Lansky, but found it too difficult. With Luciano's imprisonment, Genovese became acting boss of the Luciano crime family.<ref name="lucania sentenced">{{cite news|title=Lucania Sentenced to 30 to 50 Years; Court Warns Ring|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1936/06/19/93521980.pdf|access-date=13 January 2012|newspaper=New York Times|date=June 19, 1936}}</ref>

In 1937, Genovese fled to Italy to avoid prosecution for a 1934 murder.<ref name=Sifakis>{{cite book|last=Sifakis|first=Carl|title=The Mafia encyclopedia|year=2005|publisher=Facts on File|location=New York|isbn=0-8160-5694-3|pages=277|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jgCpxTpPCPcC&q=genovese+reina&pg=PA277|edition=3.}}</ref> Luciano then appointed Costello as acting boss. Costello's underboss was his cousin [[Willie Moretti]].

Genovese returned to the United States in 1945. After the 1934 murder charges were dismissed following the death of two witnesses,<ref name="gang ride">{{cite news|title=Gang-Ride Victim Thrown in Brush|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1946/06/10/93128831.pdf|access-date=13 January 2012|newspaper=New York Times|date=June 9, 1946}}</ref> Genovese tried to convince Luciano to become a titular boss of bosses and let Genovese run everything. Luciano not only rejected Genovese's proposal, but kept Costello and Moretti as acting boss and underboss.

=== Investigation, prosecution and imprisonment ===
From May 1950 to May 1951, the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] conducted a large-scale investigation of organized crime, commonly known as the [[United States Senate Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce|Kefauver Hearings]], chaired by [[United States Senator|Senator]] [[Estes Kefauver]] of [[Tennessee]]. Costello attempted to minimize the impact of these hearings on his reputation when he was called as a witness, refusing to allow his face to be filmed during his questioning.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.historynet.com/encounter-frank-costello-vs-estes-kefauver/| title=ENCOUNTER: FRANK COSTELLO VS. ESTES KEFAUVER When a mobster tried to hide on live TV, his fingers did the talking | date=14 November 2016 | publisher=History.net | access-date=February 13, 2024}}</ref>

His demands had the opposite effect, as the news cameras focused instead on his hands as Costello fidgeted throughout the hearings, broadcasting his evasive answers and nervous gestures live to a huge nationwide audience. After sparring with the lawyers for the Committee for hours on the first day, he walked out of the hearing on the second day, claiming that he had a sore throat. When he returned to be questioned several days later he refused to answer questions about his net worth. Costello was eventually convicted of [[contempt of court|contempt]] of the Senate and sentenced to 18 months in prison for his refusal to answer questions.<ref name="costello coronary" />

The Kefauver hearings also led to the murder of Willie Moretti on October 4, 1951, on the orders of the [[The Commission (American Mafia)|Mafia Commission]]. The members of the Commission were concerned with Moretti's erratic behavior before the Senate Committee and worried that Moretti's advancing syphilis was affecting his brain and might lead him to talk to the press.<ref>{{cite book|title=A Man of Honor: The Autobiography of Joseph Bonanno|author= Joe Bonanno with Sergio Lalli|year=1983|publisher=St Martin's Paperbacks|isbn=0-312-97923-1|page=172}}</ref>  Costello appointed Genovese as the new underboss after Moretti's murder.<ref name="moretti buried">{{cite news|last=Conklin|first=William R.|title=Moretti is Buried in Gangster Style|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/10/09/87326536.pdf|access-date=14 January 2012|newspaper=New York Times|date=October 9, 1951}}</ref>

In 1952, the government began proceedings to strip Costello of his U.S. citizenship, and he was indicted for evasion of $73,417 in income taxes between 1946 and 1949 ($870,113 in 2024 dollars). He was sentenced to five years in prison and fined $20,000.<ref name="costello coronary" /> In 1954, Costello appealed the conviction and was released on $50,000 bail; from 1952 to 1961 he was in and out of half a dozen federal and local prisons and jails, his confinement interrupted by periods when he was out on bail pending determination of appeals.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1954/06/20/archives/costello-is-released-in-50000-bail.html|title=Costello Is Released in $50,000 Bail|date=June 20, 1954|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref name="costello coronary" />

=== Assassination attempt and aftermath ===
[[File:Vito Genovese.jpg|right|250px|thumb|[[Vito Genovese]]'s mugshot]]
In 1956, Adonis, a powerful Costello ally, chose deportation to Italy over a long prison sentence. His departure left Costello weakened, but Genovese still had to neutralize one more powerful Costello ally, [[Albert Anastasia|Anastasia]], who had taken over the [[Gambino crime family|Mangano crime family]] after the disappearance of boss [[Vincent Mangano]] and the murder of his brother [[Philip Mangano]] on April 14, 1951.<ref name="shot dead">{{cite news|title=Aide of Joe Adonis is Found Shot Dead|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1951/04/20/87242113.pdf|access-date=26 February 2012|newspaper=New York Times|date=April 20, 1951}}</ref>

In early 1957, Genovese decided to move on Costello. Genovese ordered [[Vincent Gigante]] to murder Costello, and on May 2, 1957, Gigante shot and wounded Costello outside his apartment building.<ref name="costello shot">{{cite news|title=Costello is Shot Entering Home; Gunman Escapes Wound|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1957/05/03/317458602.pdf|access-date=31 December 2011|newspaper=New York Times|date=May 3, 1957}}</ref> The altercation persuaded Costello to relinquish power to Genovese and retire. Genovese then controlled what is now called the [[Genovese crime family]]. A doorman identified Gigante as the gunman, but in 1958 Costello testified that he was unable to recognize his assailant; Gigante was acquitted of attempted murder.<ref name=nyt191205>[https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/20/obituaries/vincent-gigante-mob-boss-who-feigned-incompetence-to-avoid-jail.html Vincent Gigante, Mob Boss Who Feigned Incompetence to Avoid Jail, Dies at 77], by [[Selwyn Raab]], The New York Times, December 19, 2005</ref>

On October 25, 1957, Anastasia was murdered at the barber shop of the [[Park Central Hotel|Park Sheraton Hotel]] at 56th Street and 7th Avenue in [[Midtown Manhattan|Manhattan]].<ref name="anastasia slain">{{cite news|title=Anastasia Slain in a Hotel Here: Led Murder, Inc.|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1957/10/26/84978719.pdf|access-date=24 June 2012|quote=Death took The Executioner yesterday. Umberto (called Albert) Anastasia, master killer for Murder, Inc., a homicidal gangster troop that plagued the city from 1931 to 1940, was murdered by two gunmen. ... |newspaper=[[New York Times]]|date=October 26, 1957}}</ref> [[Carlo Gambino]] was expected to be proclaimed boss of Anastasia's family at the November 14, 1957 [[Apalachin Meeting]] that Genovese called to discuss the future of ''Cosa Nostra'' in light of his takeover.<ref>{{harvnb|Davis|1994|pages=83–84}}</ref> When police raided the meeting, to the detriment of Genovese's reputation, Gambino's appointment was postponed to a later meeting in New York City.<ref>{{harvnb|Davis|1994|pages=88–90}}</ref>

In 1959, Genovese was convicted of selling a large quantity of heroin. On April 17, 1959, Genovese was sentenced to 15 years in the [[Atlanta Federal Penitentiary]] in [[Atlanta, Georgia]].<ref name="15 years">{{cite news|last=Feinberg|first=Alexander|title=Genovese is Given 15 Years in Prison in Narcotics Case|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1959/04/18/80770381.pdf|access-date=15 January 2012|newspaper=New York Times|date=April 18, 1959}}</ref>

== Retirement and death ==
[[File:Frank Costello 1964.jpg|Costello, 1964|thumb|200px|right]]
During his retirement, Costello was still known as "The Prime Minister of the Underworld". He still retained power and influence in New York's Mafia and remained busy throughout his final years.<ref name="costello coronary" /> ''[[Cosa Nostra]]'' bosses and old associates such as Gambino and Lucchese still paid visits to Costello at his [[Waldorf-Astoria Hotel|Waldorf Astoria]] [[Penthouse apartment|penthouse]], seeking advice on important Mafia affairs. Costello's old friend Meyer Lansky also kept in touch. Costello occupied himself with gardening and displayed some of his flowers at local horticultural shows.

On February 20, 1961, the [[United States Supreme Court]] upheld a lower court order that stripped Costello of his US citizenship.<ref name="supreme court">{{cite news|title=Costello Loses Citizenship Plea|newspaper=New York Times|date=February 21, 1961}}</ref> But on February 17, 1964, the same court set aside a deportation order for Costello, citing a legal technicality.<ref name="deportation set aside">{{cite news|title=Court Sets Aside Order For Costello Deportation|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1964/02/18/97170231.pdf|access-date=19 October 2014|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=February 18, 1964}}</ref>

In early February 1973, Costello suffered a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]] at his Manhattan home and was rushed to [[Doctors Hospital (Manhattan, New York)|Doctors Hospital]] in Manhattan, where he died on February 18.<ref name="costello coronary">{{cite news|title=Frank Costello Dies of Coronary at 82; Underworld Leader|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1973/02/19/79843536.pdf|access-date=6 June 2012|newspaper=New York Times|date=February 19, 1973}}</ref> Costello's sedate memorial service at a Manhattan funeral home was attended by 50 relatives, friends, and law enforcement agents.<ref name="costello buried">{{cite news|title=Costello Buried After Brief Rites|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1973/02/22/79844843.pdf|access-date=27 June 2012|newspaper=New York Times|date=February 22, 1973}}</ref> Costello is interred in a private mausoleum in [[St. Michael's Cemetery (New York)|St. Michael's Cemetery]] in [[East Elmhurst, Queens]]. In 1974, after his enemy [[Carmine Galante]] was released from prison, he allegedly ordered the bombing of the doors to Costello's mausoleum.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=li1ZCwAAQBAJ&q=Costello+Mausoleum+at+Saint+Michael%27s+Cemetery&pg=PA194|title=Crimes of the Century|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2016|author1=Steven Chermak|author2=Frankie Y. Bailey|isbn=9781610695947}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
* Costello has been portrayed in several films, including by actors [[Feodor Chaliapin Jr.]] in ''[[My Brother Anastasia]]'' (1973), James Andronica in ''[[Gangster Wars]]'' (1981), [[Carmine Caridi]] in ''[[Bugsy]]'' (1991), [[Costas Mandylor]] in ''[[Mobsters (film)|Mobsters]]'' (1991), and [[Robert De Niro]] in ''[[The Alto Knights]]'' (2025). He has also been portrayed in television series, including by actors [[Kirk Baltz]] in ''[[Kingfish: A Story of Huey P. Long]]'' (1995), Anthony DiCarlo in the docudrama ''[[The Making of the Mob: New York]]'' (2015), and [[Paul Sorvino]] in ''[[Godfather of Harlem]]'' (2019).
* Costello was referenced in the [[Allen Ginsberg]] poem "[[Hadda Be Playing on the Jukebox]]". The line is written: 'It had to be FBI chief [[J. Edgar Hoover]] / and Frank Costello syndicate mouthpiece / meeting in [[Central Park]], New York weekends, / reported Time magazine'. The poem was later performed live (with music) by the band [[Rage Against the Machine]] on the album ''[[Live & Rare (Rage Against the Machine album)|Live & Rare]]''.

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{Cite book |last=Brennan |first=Bill |title=The Frank Costello Story |location=Derby, CT |publisher=Monarch Books |year=1962 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Katz |first=Leonard |title=Uncle Frank: The Biography of Frank Costello |location=New York |publisher=Drake Publishers |year=1973 |isbn=0-87749-549-1 |lccn=73-5943 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/unclefrankbiogra0000katz}}
* {{Cite book |last=Wolf |first=George |title=Frank Costello: Prime Minister of the Underworld |location=New York |publisher=William Morrow & Company |year=1974 | isbn=0688-00256-0 |lccn=74-1128 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/frankcostellopri0040wolf}}
* {{Cite book |last=Raab |first=Selwyn. |title=Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires |location=New York, N.Y. |publisher=St. Martin's Press |year=2006 |isbn=0-312-30094-8 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/unset0000unse_s8f3 }}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Frank Costello}}
{{wikiquote}}
{{Portal|Biography}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Frank Costello |sopt=t}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060720015655/http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/crime/mafia/frank-costello/ Frank Costello] at [[Rotten.com]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061004040624/http://www.carpenoctem.tv/mafia/costello.html Seize The Night: Frank Costello]
* [http://www.freeinfosociety.com/article.php?id=30 The Free Information Society: Frank Costello Biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123083313/http://www.freeinfosociety.com/article.php?id=30 |date=2022-01-23 }}

{{s-start}}
{{s-other|[[American Mafia]]}}
{{s-break}}
{{s-vac|unknown}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Genovese crime family]]<br />Consigliere|years=1931–1937}}
{{s-aft|after="Sandino"}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Vito Genovese]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Genovese crime family]]<br />Acting boss|years=1937–1946}}
{{s-aft|after=Himself|as=boss}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Lucky Luciano]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Genovese crime family]]<br />Boss|years=1946–1957}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Vito Genovese]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Vincent Mangano]]|as=boss of bosses}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Capo di tutti capi]]<br />Chairman of the Commission|years=1951–1957}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Vito Genovese]]|as=boss of bosses|}}
{{s-end}}

{{Genovese crime family}}{{American Mafia}}{{Murder, Incorporated}}{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Costello, Frank}}
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