For the more versed members:

what was he like? did he rule with an iron fist or was he a fair boss(well, about as fair as you can be in that business)? was he a hot tempered kind of guy or did he tread softly but carry a big stick?

For the first question, I think it's a combination of the two. He was never overly greedy and didn't demand anything out of his men except silence and loyalty. But on occasion, he could be ruthless, and didn't hesitate to have somebody offed on any manner of indiscretion. As for the second question, I would say "big stick". There's a reason he ruled the family for sixteen years (in the RICO era, too) before finally getting locked up.

There are literally a dozen threads about Gigante, so I'll make it brief.

He was ruthless, and a stickler for "the rules." No one ever fucked up and got a pass from him. Not once. But if you played by the rules (or at least didn't get caught breaking them ), then he was pretty well liked because he'd let you earn and not demand much in return.

That there were captains, soldiers and even a few associates under Vince who were much richer than he was (Angelo Ponte, for instance), is a testament to the fact that he wasn't greedy. And that's not to say that he wasn't a wealthy man himself. Far from it. The guy left behind what I like to refer to as generational wealth. But if he was greedy about it he could have made much more.

Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. Gigante knew this mantra and lived by it. That's his real legacy, not the bathrobe and umbrella .

He was extremely soft when it came to Peter Savino...

Well, he obviously made a big mistake with Savino; probably the biggest mistake of his career. But I wouldn't call him soft. If Savino wasn't a protected witness, Chin would have gotten to him long before the cancer did. I can guarantee you that.

But I get what you're saying. Chin did have a soft spot for the guy, in that he trusted him enough to deal with him directly, even though he was a mere associate. That's a big no-no. It was the biggest mistake of Chin's career, and he died in prison because of it.

Pizzaboy, Chin was soft with Savino. Here's why....

Gaspipe Casso had an FBI agent on his payroll named Doug McCane. McCane warned Casso that Savino had flipped and was in the process of obtaining recordings. Casso personally met with Chin and gave him the details. There were multiple opportunities for Chin to take care of Savino. And despite having the intel handed over on a silver platter, Chin refused to act.

One reason Casso was so pissed off about Chin's non action is because Casso (and Vic Amuso) also got nailed in the Windows Case based on Savino's testimony.

Thank you all for the interesting info in your answers.

I'm kind of young and not well versed in this kind of info(yet anyways).

Chin was the last of the real old school bosses

Did he really have an IQ of 69?

Where does it state that was his IQ? He did feign insanity..

There may be other posts but that was an excellent and succinct answer Pizzaboy. thank you.

"His brother Louis insisted that Vincent had a tested IQ of 69. His mother Yolanda, when questioned about her son's alleged leadership of the Genovese crime family she stated, "Vincenzo? He's the boss of the toilet!" A psychiatrist retained by his relatives said in an affidavit that Vincent "suffers from auditory and visual hallucinations and delusions of persecution." Gigante had two families and lived in two different places. He had allegedly been mentally troubled since the 1960s with a below normal IQ of 69 to 72."

Wikipedia (I know)

John Gotti had an IQ like that...

"John Gotti had the IQ of a mothball"-Joe Coffey

Supposedly, Pete and Junior are also stupid.

Must run in the family.

Great post but I must point out he definitely gave pete cassela a pass

Vincent had a soft spot for Pete because Pete was a business man, a very smart business man. Vincent was earning big money with the windows business as was Venero and also Bobby. He dealt with him directly because he trusted and respected Pete.