In the 1920s, Genovese became a key figure under Luciano as he took over the Manhattan operations of Giuseppe Masseria. It is believed that Genovese was among the gunmen who assassinated Masseria in 1931, ending the Castellamarese War. He may also have had a hand in setting up the murder of Salvatore Maranzano, allowing Luciano to become the Mafia's boss of bosses.
Luciano named Genovese his underboss in 1931. Genovese would have taken over the Family in 1936, when Luciano was jailed, but he fled the country to dodge a murder charge.
In Italy, Genovese appears to have had a good relationship with Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who was generally the enemy of Mafiosi.
He came back to New York after the conclusion of World War II in 1945. He beat the murder rap and began taking control of Luciano's old family from then-boss Frank Costello. Old friends, the relationship between Costello and Genovese degenerated into a long feud. An assassination attempt on Costello in 1957 was traced to Genovese gunman Vincent Gigante. Costello anounced his retirement after that, allowing Genovese to control the organization.
Genovese and Carlo Gambino might have worked together to eliminate strong Costello-ally Albert Anastasia later that year.
A new boss eager to establish himself as a big shot on the national scene, Genovese allegedly called the ill-fated Mafia convention in Apalachin, N.Y., on Nov. 14, 1957. Police raided that convention, apprehending everyone in sight, and establishing for certain the existence of the nationwide criminal network.
Genovese was convicted on narcotics trafficking charges in 1959 and earned a 15-year sentence. He continued to run Family matters from behind bars (through acting bosses like Tommy Eboli) until his 1969 heart attack death in prison.
He probably did not secure the position of boss of bosses. In fact, his efforts in that direction, including the hits on Costello and Anastasia and the calling of the disastrous Apalachin meeting, caused him to lose support from Mafiosi outside of his sphere of influence in New York City.
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