Genovese was known for street crime and violence to get what he wanted. “He was more on the thug side of organized crime,” says Schumacher. He was an underboss to Lucky Luciano, who took control of the mafia in America in 1931 after killing the New York boss Joe Masseria.

The Oscar-winning actor plays both Frank Costello and Vito Genovese in Barry Levinson’s lackluster Mafia movie, inspired by real life.

ROBERT DE NIRO might be more or less synonymous with gangsters on film, but he’s doing double duty in The Alto Knights, which is now playing in theaters. De Niro plays two mobsters at once in the movie,