From The New York Daily News


Rita Gigante was 16 years old before she found out she was a Mafia princess. Life with father, as she describes it in her new memoir “The Godfather’s Daughter: An Unlikely Story of Love, Healing and Redemption,” was far more rough than royal. Vincent Gigante famously wandered Greenwich Village in his bathrobe, passing himself off as a paranoid schizophrenic to fool the Feds. They knew him for what he was, the boss of the Genovese crime family, the reputed head of the Five Families of New York. Sentenced to 12 years, he died in jail in 2005. Here Rita tells of her own violent awakening to the truth and how she was forced to join the masquerade.

BY RITA GIGANTE

I was now a 16-year-old tenth grader at Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan and in no mood to hear that Tina, a popular girl — famous for her acid-washed jeans and over-gelled hair — was spreading rumors about my family. My best friend had heard her big mouth from down the hall.

“Tina’s talkin’ s--- again,” Madison told me during chemistry class. “She’s down the hall and is going around the whole school calling you — get this — a Mafia princess!”

Madison continued, breathlessly, “Tina’s telling everybody that your family is . . . connected.”

Something inside of me snapped. Maybe, I later imagined, it was Dad’s paranoid schizophrenia finally kicking in and taking over.

“Where is she?” I asked Madison.

“She always goes into the bathroom with her friends.”

I hatched my plan in seconds.

“Okay. I’m going to follow them into the bathroom, and you’re going to stay outside and keep watch. Don’t let anybody in,” I instructed. “I need to straighten her out. I’ve had enough of this s---.”



Vincent Gigante started boxing at 16, winning 21 of his 25 fights.

My voice had a chilling finality to it that I’d heard in my father’s voice many times before, and it made me shiver. We waited outside the bathroom door until only Tina and her friends were inside. I went in, positioning myself against the sink, arms crossed.

Tina’s two friends came out from the stalls first, armed with lip gloss and making their way to the mirror.

“Get out,” I said, glaring at them. “Now.”

They scurried out without a word, so quick to betray their leader.

A minute later I heard a flush and Tina cracked open the stall door an inch, her eyes darting around as she searched for her minions.

“They’re gone,” I told her.

Tina opened the door wider and made a move to slip by me.

“Let me ask you something, Tina,” I said, stepping in her way. “How many f------ times do you have to talk about me and my family?”

Read more: Source Article Includes 4 More Pages

Good article. Although I can't stand all these children of mobsters writing books about their private lives, but whatever.
I always love to hear about a head hitting a porcelain sink, so it was a good read.

How old were you when you first beat up a fellow student in the girls room?

Funny guy. Never.

interesting,i will check this book out tomorrow at barnes and noble

i read the daily news article its ok, she listend to alot to springsteen. i guess it will be a way better book then vic gooti's. the lady seems smart other then her talking to the dead, she seems legit willing to tell the truth and not b.s. i watch the little video to she comes across as truthfull. i dont know, but the jets cant score tonite.

This whole business about writing books/articles about your mafioso father or husband, and your upbringing and life is just wrong. What happened in your family should stay in your family. I hate any of these people that write books about their life growing up with their fathers, or husbands.

My name is Carmela and I approve this message.

That whole conversation sounds like a load of bullshit.

She's a hippie dyke nutjob who never gave her father anything but grief. Trust me on that .

As far as kids writing "tell-all" books about their parents?

Well, it's not mutually excusive to the Mafia. It's a disgrace in any walk of life. From Hollywood brats to Sullivan Street lesbians. If your father's a lowly garbage man and you badmouth him to a stranger, you're a piece of human fucking garbage.

Family is family, and I tell my kids as much. I did something right, two are grown and one is in high school. And none of them would badmouth me or my wife, that's for sure.

Antoinette Giancana, Victoria Gotti and now Rita Gigante. A long line of proud and strong mob brats .

you 2 are right.

+1.

I always wonder what the motivation is for family members who write tell all books. Usually it is greed - they need the check. The common themes in the mafia family books is "I did not know", "I had no idea", "I am a victim too", "I never dreamed he could be violent", "I never dreamed he hurt anyone", "he may have hurt other people but he was gentle with me", and my all time favorite, "he was a loving father / husband / boyfriend who treated me like a prince / princess".

I ain't buying any of the last one. Victoria Gotti makes John Gotti Sr out to be Father of the Year, every day. I come from a large family and have lived with a lot of people - every one is an asshole at least once a week. John Gottti's character is what it was - he was an asshole at home too.

That is what ticks me off about these family tell all's - they do not set the record straight because they are inherently biased. They do give insight to carefully selected private family events.

These books give the author a podium (or maybe a loudspeaker), a paycheck and a self serving chance to portray themselves and their public loved one, how they want the world to see them.

I will get off my podium now. Carmela, please approve this message too.

So is this book worth getting?

The thing about this book is its about chins private life.I want to know about the shit he did to get that high up he must of personaly whacked at least 20 guys in the 50s and 60s

Message is approved

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud3mMj0AZZk

I couldn't resist.

That sounds like the beginning of the Movie versions tag line.

She's a hippie dyke nutjob. He's a maniacal devious Mob Boss. Together they're a HIT!

Pizzaboy and TonyG. My name is Carmela and I approve both your messages.

Is Rita really a lesbian, though? Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Will this be the first book to seriously delve into Gigante? I know the author's hardly going to be objective here, of course.

And for what it's worth, I agree with all above that this is shameless whoring of family details for money.

I was reading an article about a blood gang leader in the nypost. And someone in the comments section calling themselves chris gambino wrote:

"Yeah now u can run NY behind a Federal Jail Cell located somewhere in Idaho.. Dumb ass you know "WE RUN NY" yes the real OG'S --- > Gambino crime family!"

He claims to be related to gotti later on in further posts. If he really is thats just embarrasing that their families even trolling news sites for attention.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/pulling_plug_on_thug_qcjsbjOO4gcBi582tN0PBM

I can imagine that as the upbeat opening theme .

My moneys on a mafia fanboy/internet toughguy who knows but.

It wasn't so much the lesbianism that drove the wedge between Vince and his daughter; it was the cross dressing. There was this one time that she showed up at a family outing wearing the same Sergio Tacchini as her Uncle Mario. Very unfortunate.

Then the capper came when she borrowed one of Vince's treasured bathrobes. It was clearly a man's robe, but she was going for that downtown metrosexual look. The worst part was that that it was white and she wore it after Labor Day. Absoulutely tragic. Fashion sense of a lesbian.

But thankfully, shortly before her father's passing there was a bit of a reconciliation. He sent her some plaid flannel shirts that she treasures to this day. I understand that when the book tour goes into full swing, she's going to wear one of them on the Rachel Maddow Show.

Ya know its amazing that these books even get the chance to be released. 30 years ago his daughter would have gone missing for doing this.

It's not like she's got anything big to say though it'll most likely be about his personality and family life. From the title alone it sounds like it's her autobiography and she's just attached her dads name to it to sell more copies .

Antoinette Giancana pulled this same crap 30 years ago and nothing happened. She's still here. She then went on to pose for Playboy at like 50 years old.

Vito Genovese's wife divorced him over 60 years ago and went on record with the judge about Vito's hidden assets. She got a ton of money and nothing happened to her.

The point is, this isn't Sicily we're talking about here. You're reading to much into the myth. Sometimes even mob bosses can't control their women.

with the books, museums and reality shows the mafias like a tourist attraction these days.

In the book she does not seem to mention Domincik Cirillo, or any other Mafia members close to her father. I see no reason to buy book to just hear her talk about her life at home.

Has anyone read her book and Gravano's? which is better (if there is one that is)... l

^^^Gravano's book was a great read

Are you talking about his daughters book? I think that's what he meant

^^^I was referring to Sammy's book not Karen (Gravano's) book.