Costello died a free man, Genovese died in prison. Getting shelved was probably the best thing that could have happened to Frank Costello.
When Frank Costello was "shelved" by Vito back in 1957, my father and older cousin bumped into him at a top Manhattan joint. My cousin was hesitant to approach Frank to say hello and pay respects. But my dad told him "how the fuck could we not?" So they both went over to him and shook hands and kissed him on his cheek Italian style as a show of reverence and respect for who he was and represented. They didn't put it in the newspapers the next day because they woulda be pulled on the carpet, but said hello nonetheless out of respect. They were both nothing compared to Frank, especially back then.
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There supposedly was a time, a year or two later when Vito and Frank met at Atlanta and had a chance to talk, compare notes, and clear the air. Vito thereafter "reinstated" Frank to the family as a "soldier" in good standing. Frank Costello was soooo revered, that even bosses and skippers bowed to him. A fucking gentleman and a half.
He died in his own bed in silk sheets, with his slippers off, in his multimillion-dollar Sands Points, Long Island, mansion. THAT was a boss worth respecting. Not half these other guys who people speak of with such undeserving reverence and don't know shit.
Intelligent, even tempered, "non-violent", a genius for business and the rackets, and stayed away from narcotics, prostitution, and murder. It was a rare instance to get killed during Frank's tenure at the top. You had to be a rat stool pigeon or real backstabber to get clipped.
My father and grandfather loved him!
