Vincenzo Terranova

This article is about the real-life gangster. For the fictitious FBI undercover agent/"gangster" in the television series Wiseguy, see Wiseguy (TV series).
Vincenzo Terranova
Born(1886-05-15)May 15, 1886
Corleone, Sicily, Kingdom of Italy
DiedMay 8, 1922(1922-05-08) (aged 35)
New York City, U.S.
Cause of deathMurder by gunshot
OccupationCrime boss
PredecessorNicholas Morello
SuccessorGiuseppe Masseria
Parents
  • Bernardo Terranova (father)
  • Angelina Piazza (mother)
RelativesNicholas Terranova (brother), Ciro Terranova (brother), Giuseppe Morello (half brother)
AllegianceMorello crime family
Conviction(s)Counterfeiting (1910)

Vincenzo "the Tiger of Harlem" Terranova (May 15, 1886 – May 8, 1922) was a gangster and an early Italian-American organized crime figure in the United States. He succeeded Nicholas Morello as boss of the then Morello Gang in 1916 and was succeeded in turn by Giuseppe Masseria in 1922. He served as boss and underboss of the Morello crime family, today known as the Genovese crime family, the oldest of the Five Families in New York City.

Terranova was born in Corleone, Sicily in 1886.[1] He was the first son of Bernardo Terranova, a member of the Mafia in Corleone, and his wife Angelina Piazza. Angelina had a son from a previous marriage, Giuseppe Morello, and would later give birth to Vincenzo's two brothers, Ciro Terranova and Nicolo Terranova.[1] Vincenzo, Nicolo and Ciro along with other relatives emigrated to the United States, arriving in New York on March 8, 1893.[1] Giuseppe Morello had immigrated to New York the previous year and sometime in the 1890s founded a gang known as the 107th Street Mob, which evolved into the Morello crime family. His three half brothers would eventually join him in this enterprise.

  1. ^ a b c Critchley, David (2008). The Origin of Organized Crime in America : the New York City Mafia, 1891–1931. London: Routledge. pp. 51–54. ISBN 978-0-415-99030-1.