Originally posted by Turnbull:
Vito Corleone is a composite of several real-life Mafia Dons:
--In the novel, he defeats a rival whom he arranges to kill at a restaurant and who dies with a mouthful of bread. The dead gangster would be Joe The Boss Masseria, which would make Vito's character like Masseria's nemesis: Salvatore Maranzano, who won the Castellemmarese War of 1930-31.
I haven't read the novel in a while so my memory might be rusty on this, but wasn't that rival killed in the restaurant Maranzano??? I can't remember the name, but it rhyms with Maranzano.....If it's correct, then Vito would be also resembling Lucky Luciano for that part (as well as for doing business with Hyman Roth and Moe Greene...although the Hyman Roth wasn't in the novel)
Also, for listen to other people's woes and troubles and taking part in solving them, he'd be resembling Carlo Gambino...
For killing Carlo (or planning to do so with Mike), he could also be resembling Paul Castellano who ordered the killing of his Son-in-law who used to beat up his wife even when she was pregnant.....
