Anna Genovese
| Anna Genovese | |
|---|---|
| Born | Anna Petillo 1905 |
| January 1982January 1982 | |
| Burial place | St. John Cemetery, Queens, New York |
| 💼 Occupation | |
Anna Genovese (formerly Vernotico, née Petillo) was an Italian-American businesswoman in the Italian mob and the second wife of mobster Vito Genovese of the Genovese crime family and the Costello crime syndicate.[1] She played a key role in Manhattan's drag bar scene in the middle of the 20th century.[2][time needed][better source needed]
Genovese is the subject of the 12-episode podcast Mob Queens (2019), hosted by writers Jessica Bendinger and Michael Seligman, who had researched her life after discovering a stash of old letters five years previously.[2]
Early life
Genovese was born Anna Petillo,[3] the eldest child of Italian-Catholic immigrants to the United States. In the spring of 1924, at age 19, Genovese married her first husband, Gerard "Gerry" Vernotico.[3] According to Kate Harmon, Genovese's great niece, to whom the Mob Queens researchers spoke, her marriage was not looked upon kindly by her family as Vernotico was considered a man of little means; a census record notes that he was a carpenter, though in reality he was a baker in New York City's Little Italy. In 1927, Genovese and Vernotico had a daughter, Marie, and moved to a tenement apartment next to an elevated train on Sixth Avenue in Greenwich Village. In a 1930 census, she is listed as a housewife. Court records show that at the same time, she was working evenings in one of the clubs in the Washington Square Park neighborhood.
Marriage to Vito Genovese
It is thought that Vito Genovese, a fourth cousin of Anna's,[4] was responsible for or involved with the murder of Gerard Vernotico in March 1932.[3] Two weeks later, Anna and Vito, whose first wife had also just died, were married.[3][4] Anna was six months pregnant. The couple's first luxury apartment was located at 43 5th Ave,[5][better source needed] a decadent Beaux Arts building, completed in 1905, with limestone pillars, a marble lobby, and wrought-iron balconies. The building would later be a place of residence for Marlon Brando.
Two years into their marriage, Vito killed gangster Ferdinand "The Shadow" Boccia.[6] A year later, in 1935, Vito moved himself and Anna to the Deep Cut Estate, a 1928 mansion on a 40-acre piece of property in Middletown, New Jersey.[7][8][not in citation given] Around the same time, New York Special Prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey started cracking down on organized crime, which bode poorly for Vito once Boccia's body was pulled from the Hudson River in 1937, as one of the hit men he hired for the job admitted to police that the commission had come from Vito.
Standing accused of the Boccia murder and other crimes, such as racketeering, Vito decided to flee the U.S., leaving the bulk of his business up to Anna. She was left to help formulate a source of revenue for the crime family at a time when most in the nation were struggling severely, as it was mid-Great Depression.[9][not in citation given]
At this vital time, Anna's path intersected with an unexpected set of social phenomena: the repeal of Prohibition, but the institutionalization of "Gay Prohibition," during which it became common practice for law enforcement officers to stalk, harass, entrap, and arrest people in--or suspected to be in--the LGBTQ+ community. It was not uncommon for queer people or those suspected as such to be removed from bars, and, moreover, for bars to be raided when suspected homosexual activity was being condoned.[10][11][not in citation given] Bars could even lose their liquor licenses for serving gay patrons.[12][not in citation given] Coinciding with these new norms, the Hays Code took full effect in 1934, signaling the strict patrolling of morality in cinema and in the off-screen behavior of cinema's stars.[13][14][not in citation given] It was all the more risky and rebellious for Anna to create havens for queer people, but she took on the effort, ultimately effectively blocking police efforts to persecute the LGBTQ+ community, her means being the power and influence of the mob.[15][not in citation given]
Business ventures
While raising three children, Anna also ran nightclubs and gay and drag bars in Lower Manhattan,[2] whose profits she siphoned to the crime syndicate and Vito, exiled in Italy, who invested in Benito Mussolinin's fascist party and cocaine for Mussolini's son.
Club Caravan
Anna's first club, Club Caravan, opened in 1939. Singers and other kinds of performers provided the entertainment, individuals like drag king Malvina Schwartz, also known as Buddy "Bubbles" Kent, whose 1983 Lesbian Herstory Archives oral history chronicles her time spent there.
Club 82
While Vito was in hiding abroad, Anna became hostess of Club 82, a gay bar located at 82 E. 4th St., between 2nd Ave. and the Bowery in Manhattan.[16] There, Anna cultivated a vibrant gay scene. According to Anna's eldest grandson, Frank, she supported show biz acts in their nascence, such as Barbra Streisand.[17][time needed][better source needed] Anna allowed Streisand to sleep at Club 82 and would provide food for her.[17][time needed][better source needed]
The venue would later come under investigation with a potential loss of its liquor license, allegedly orchestrated by vindictive Vito.[18] Anna left the club in 1962 in order to focus more on her family.
The 181 Club
Anna was a co-owner and proprietor of The 181 Club[19] alongside gangster Steven Franse.[20] It was a gay cabaret venue.[19] [21][better source needed]
Separation from Vito Genovese
By 1940, Vito had been in exile from the United States for seven years. Finally, he was extradited back to the States and was placed in custody, standing accused of the 1934 murder of Ferdinand "The Shadow" Boccia. However, after two key witnesses were found dead, the authorities had no choice but to free Vito, under which circumstances he was reunited with Anna. He then instigated a move from Manhattan to Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, summarily ending Anna's club career.[6][not in citation given]
Anna had walked out on Vito in 1950. She then asked, in court, for $200 per week in maintenance, which meant alimony without the divorce. However, she dropped the divorce suit in 1951.
Testimony in open court
In order to escape domestic violence she said she was experiencing at the hands of Vito,[9] Anna resumed her efforts to rid herself of him. On March 2, 1953, at the Freehold County Courthouse, Anna testified against Vito in court[22]--open court, an unheard-of move for any mob wife.[2] She asked the judge for $350/week--approximately $160,000 per year, adjusted for inflation in 2019's money.
To further damage Vito, Anna testified that the family had been involved in narcotics trafficking. To lend credence to her supposed involvement with the family's crimes, she claimed she was the only one with the combination to the family safe in New Jersey. Amidst the revelations, it is believed that Anna also had the intention of publicly shaming Vito by insinuating that Frank Costello, his rival, had more power than he did, part of the proof being that she had faith Costello's branch would offer her protection once she left Vito.
In counter-testimony, Vito's witnesses attempted to discredit Anna's character. "Untrustworthy, hot-tempered" woman who slept with other women. As it was the height of the Red Scare in the United States, the characterization of Anna's behavior would serve to undermine her claims.
Dorothy Kilgallen reportage
Dorothy Kilgallen, the most syndicated newspaper columnist at the time of the trial, began reporting on the case, recording live with "If I were Mrs. Vito Genovese, I'd be awful careful crossing streets." It turned out that Kilgallen was close with gangster Frank Costello, a rival of Vito Genovese. According to Kilgallen's biographer, Mark Shaw, the friendship was marked by Costello gifting Kilgallen with a diamond cross, which Kilgallen's hairdresser corroborated. It is speculated that Costello gifted Kilgallen so she would, as a favor to him, "warn" Anna--through her newspaper column and other outlets she presided over--that she needed to stop spilling mob business publicly--whether in court or otherwise--or face consequences. That, or switch allegiances from the Genovese crime family to the Costello syndicate.
Sexuality
In addition to playing a key role in the development and sustenance of the Manhattan drag and LGBTQ+ scene of the early to mid-20th century, it has been confirmed by firsthand friends and family that Anna was either bisexual or gay.[6] For example, drag king Malvina Schwartz, also known as Buddy "Bubbles" Kent, who worked in Anna's clubs, has stated in her Lesbian Herstory Archives interview that Anna was "definitely into the girls."[19] Additional confirmation of this has been given by Henry "Adrienne" Oranco, a drag queen who worked under Anna's supervision at Club 82. He has stated that Anna was romantically involved with a drag king named Duke, whose given name was Jackie. As a token of love, Jackie, Anna's "girlfriend," as Oranco calls her in Chapter 9 of Mob Queens, received a Cadillac.[23][time needed][better source needed] In Chapter 6 of the Mob Queens podcast, Anna's granddaughter, Mia, confirms that the two were romantically involved, Mia having met Jackie the day that Anna died.[24][time needed][better source needed] Also confirmed by Mia was Anna's romantic involvement with a woman named Gwen Saunders, a cashier at one of Anna's clubs.
Death
At the end of her life, Anna worked at the upper-crust Warwick Hotel in guest relations. According to Anna's granddaughter, Mia, Cary Grant was living at the hotel at the time and he and Anna became good friends.[25][17][time needed][better source needed]
Thirteen years later, in 1982, Anna had a significant stroke. She was hospitalized at St. Vincent's, where she died surrounded by her lover, Jackie, daughter Marie, and granddaughter, Mia.[17][time needed][better source needed] Anna was buried next to her ex-husband, Vito, in the Genovese Family vault in St. John Cemetery, Queens, New York.[17][time needed][better source needed]
References
- ↑ "1953-Anna Genovese testifies in divorce case". The Evening Times. 1953-03-03. p. 2. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Rochlin, Margy (September 16, 2019). "Why a mafia wife's story unearthed in 'Mob Queens' podcast is part of queer history too". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Moore, William Howard (2004). "Vito Genovese". In Block, Lawrence. Gangsters, Swindlers, Killers, and Thieves: The Lives and Crimes of Fifty American Villains. USA: Oxford University Press. pp. 97–98. ISBN 9780195169522. Retrieved 5 November 2019. Search this book on
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Donati, William (January 10, 2014). "Lucky Luciano: The Rise and Fall of a Mob Boss". McFarland – via Google Books.
- ↑ "Anna Genovese". Infamous New York.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "1950-Who is Vito Genovese? Profile". November 16, 1950. p. 49 – via newspapers.com.
- ↑ https://www.monmouthcountyparks.com/page.aspx?ID=2560
- ↑ Sudol, Valerie (April 23, 2012). "The Gangster's Garden". nj.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "1954-Vito Genovese faces divorce and deportation case". January 28, 1954. p. 17 – via newspapers.com.
- ↑ "The Pansy Craze: When gay nightlife in Los Angeles really kicked off". KCRW. May 11, 2018.
- ↑ Kane, Michael (May 3, 2014). "How NYC's gay bars thrived because of the mob".
- ↑ ESKRIDGE, William N.; Eskridge, William N. (June 30, 2009). "Gaylaw: Challenging the Apartheid of the Closet". Harvard University Press – via Google Books.
- ↑ "Remembering Hollywood's Hays Code, 40 Years On". NPR.org.
- ↑ https://www.asu.edu/courses/fms200s/total-readings/MotionPictureProductionCode.pdf
- ↑ "Queeroes: Vito Genovese and the Mafia". June 6, 2017.
- ↑ "1953-Anna Genovese in gossip column for divorce". November 12, 1958. p. 6 – via newspapers.com.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 https://player.fm/series/mob-queens/ep-12-chapter-12-the-godmother
- ↑ "Anna Genovese, New York Daily News, 19 March 1953, Thursday, Page 89". March 19, 1953. p. 89 – via newspapers.com.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Ryan, Hugh (October 12, 2016). "The Three Lives of Malvina Schwartz". Hazlitt. Penguin Random House.
- ↑ Fried, Ronald K. (June 30, 2019). "How the Mafia Muscled in and Controlled the Stonewall Inn". The Daily Beast. Retrieved October 1, 2019 – via www.thedailybeast.com.
- ↑ Madeja, Steve (June 6, 2017). "Club 82 at 82 East 4th Street". Secrets of Manhattan - Your Guide to Gotham's Hidden History. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
- ↑ "1953-Anna Genovese testifies against husband Vito". February 23, 1969. p. 131 – via newspapers.com.
- ↑ "9. Chapter 9: The Queen's Not Dead from Mob Queens". www.stitcher.com.
- ↑ "6. Chapter 6: Kismet from Mob Queens". www.stitcher.com.
- ↑ https://player.fm/series/mob-queens/ep-12-chapter-12-the-godmother
This article "Anna Genovese" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Anna Genovese. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
|
This page exists already on Wikipedia. |
