Emilio Barzini
From The Godfather Wiki
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| Emilio Barzini | |
|---|---|
| Biographical information | |
| Gender |
Male |
| Eye color |
Brown |
| Hair color |
Greying |
| Born |
December 1, 1893 |
| Died |
September 4, 1955 (aged 61) |
| Family | |
| Title(s) | |
| Portrayed By | |
- "If Don Corleone had all the judges, and the politicians in New York, then he must share them, or let us others use them. He must let us draw the water from the well. Certainly he can -- present a bill for such services; after all -- we are not Communists."
- ―Don Emilio Barzini[src]
Emilio "The Wolf" Barzini, Sr. was the head of the Barzini crime family from 1921 to 1955. He was portrayed by Richard Conte.
[edit] Biography
Barzini presided as head of one of New York's Five Families, and wielded power matched only by Vito Corleone. He rose to power shortly after Don Corleone and was a physical presence in the 1930s visiting Johnny Trapani and executing him for Trapani's part in sabotaging the Barzini's operations.
He had interests in markets such as narcotics, gambling and prostitution, and was also clever enough to be interested in Las Vegas and Nevada. He was also linked to Wall Street politics and the Mafia in Sicily, as well as to movie mogul Jack Woltz in Hollywood whose mansion he replicated by building the Barzini Compound in Midtown, which he ruled with an iron fist. .
He was respected by his fellow Don enough to be invited to the wedding of Connie Corleone. However, when his counterpart refused to participate in the heroin trade, Barzini secretly conspired with the other families to make war with the Corleones, forcing them to make peace and open up their territory to drug trafficking. To this end, he approached Carlo Rizzi with a ploy to draw Santino Corleone out to the tollbooth where he was ambushed and killed. Don Corleone, realizing this too late, agreed to lend his political protection to the entreprise and to never be the one to break the peace.
[edit] Downfall
- "Barzini will move against you first. He'll set up a meeting with someone that you absolutely trust -- guaranteeing your safety. And at that meeting, you'll be assassinated. "
- ―Vito Corleone[src]
Not satisfied with the submission of the Corleones, Barzini began chipping away at their territory in New York City, and approached Corleone Caporegime Salvatore Tessio to organize another peace summit where Vito's heir Michael Corleone would be ambushed. However, by this time the Don and his son had long anticipated Barzini's move and, on the day of the summit, he was assassinated along with the other conspirators. Barzini was in Foley Square, Little Italy, bribing a judge. Corleone enforcers Al Neri and Aldo Trapani, disguised as police officers, shot the bodyguards and Emilio Barzini in the back.
He was suceeded by caporegime Paulie Fortunato.
