Nobody outside of OC gave a shit about Benny because he wasn't considered the boss and his inner circle probably didnt talk that much about him.
Benny was hardly a fitting media darling like Gotti or Merlino, just a "boring" old man like Danny Leo so he don't get no press coverage or people talking about him.
Vinny was on the family panel in the 70's when Benny was the boss and Benny later promoted Vinny to consigliere.
I think that Gigante being the consigliere think came from a misquote of Gravano in one of the mob books. I don't recall what book but I do remember it said Gravano had referred to Gigante as a captain and Gigante corrected him saying he (Gigante himself) was consigliere.
According to the document below, this is what was actually said:
On May 25, 1976 he returned to the Hospital for ten days. In that year Salvatore Gravano, a Member of the Gambino Family, had a problem with Vincent DiNapoli, a Member of the Genovese Family, involving the construction business. Gravano arranged to meet with Gigante, then a Genovese Captain, at Gigante's club, The Triangle Social Club, where signs on the wall read "The enemy is listening" and "Tough guys don't squeal."
At the meeting Toto Auriello, Gravano's Captain, introduced a man named Dom as a Captain in the Genovese Family. Gigante immediately corrected him, saying that Dom had become the Consigliere. As a result of the meeting Gigante agreed to communicate with DiNapoli and straighten out the problem. He then did so.
http://ny.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.19960515_0000096.ENY.htm/qx
the genovese became the strongest ny family when they start running this the chicago way
meaning using front bosses, triumvarites , etc to run the mob
They've been the strongest family since the beginning.
No desire of getting into a debate here on Lombardo, but he was the official boss for only a brief time (in the early 1980s). This is clear reading his files. Funzi Tieri was the official Genovese boss for most of the 1970s, until he was taken down by the other Genovese powers. Oviation, weren´t you a member of this forum when I posted stuff from his files? You can find it by putting "Lombardo" in the searchfield and "HairyKnuckles" in the author´s name.
It is an old argument indeed. But I don't know what files you're referring to. It seems pretty clear from Vincent Cafaro's testimony, the extent of which can be found in the "25 Years After Valachi" report, that Tieri was official underboss/acting boss and never the official boss. The whole "Benny Squint was only boss for a short time" came from picasso on the RD forum. All things considered, I think Cafaro would be in a better position to know than picasso (who also claimed Fat Tony was the official boss too and Chin didn't become boss until after the Commission case - despite all the evidence to the contrary.)
