Basically he owned the block, no one fucked with him, no one fucked with any one under him, he owned three cats that ate better food than most inmates, everyone was afraid of him, the hacks were afraid to tread on him, the blacks respected/feared him, he owned a refrigerator, he played hand ball, some new black guy who didn't know no better told him to shut up and Teresa told the black guy that if Galante put an X on him he was a dead man so the kid straightened up.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Fun - but mostly false, August 29, 2009
By R______ M_____ - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
This review is from: My Life in the Mafia (Hardcover)
A lot of people love this book. Unfortunately, most of the "inside" info Vinnie Teresa reveals has been proven over the years -- and in court -- to be little more than made-up fantasy and lies.

Teresa -- who claimed to be the No. 3 man in the Patriarca family -- was actually a low-level hustler and gofer. He was not the insider he claimed to be. He got in a jam with the law and cut a deal -- effectively pulling the wool over the law's eyes. He testified and initially put people behind bars, but later trials -- most importantly the one against Meyer Lansky -- revealed him to be a liar. Although he claimed to have worked closely with Lansky, it was conclusively shown in court they never even met. Teresa later admitted making up most of his stories.

In other words, the book is enjoyable. But it is fiction.

Is the wikipedia story about Galante having whacked a bunch of Gambino members true, or is it the usual nonsense? If it's true, who were they?

Galante was always interesting to me too. It was said that he kind of just stepped up and said he was boss in place of Rastelli but nobody really recognized that. Through his dealing, he became top dog and gained a ton of respect. I wonder if Lefty ever even met him. That scene in Donnie Brasco where, the character that I believe is supposed to be Galante, gets out of the car and Lefty is looking like a kid trying to get an autograph... granted it is just a movie. At that time, the families were still relatively big so I wonder if many soldiers even met the sitting bosses.

I always thought the character was supposed to be Rastelli