Wikia

	Phillip Tattaglia
	Biographical Information
Gender	Male
Born	ca. 1887
Died	1955
Affiliation	Tattaglia
Title(s)	Don

"But I must have strict assurance from Corleone. As time goes by and his position grows stronger, will he attempt any individual vendetta?"

―Phillip Tattaglia^[src]

Phillip Tattaglia was the head of the Tattaglia crime family.

BiographyEdit

Tattaglia was the head of one of New York's Five Families. He initially gained his support from Giuseppe Mariposa, who he encouraged to enter the pornography market, but when Emilio Barzini betrayed Mariposa, Tattaglia was encouraged to join him and was present at the Don's final moments when he was murdered by Salvatore Tessio. At this time, he was still respected enough by Vito Corleone to merit an invite to the wedding of his son Santino.

Although his primary business was prostitution, he was the first to support Virgil Sollozzo's heroin connection, and went to war with the Corleone family after they refused to lend their political and police protection to the enterprise. He was known to be somewhat of an irritation to the other Dons, and was constantly complaining about the police crackdowns, employment problems and high costs that his businesses provided. For this reason, even when he was almost victorious during the Five Families War, Tattaglia received little respect.

The five families warEdit

"Tattaglia has lost a son, and I have lost a son. We are at quits."

―Vito Corleone^[src]

When Virgil Sollozzo arrived in New York, the Tattaglia family backed his operations, but required the political connections of Vito Corleone for everything to run smoothly. When Vito politely turned Sollozzo down, the lines were drawn and war was inevitable.

Tattaglia's family struck first, claiming the life of notorious enforcer Luca Brasi, but their further attacks floundered, an assassination attempt on Vito Corleone serving only to hospitalise him. Tattaglia was dealt a blow when the protracted and bloody conflict claimed the life of his son, Bruno Tattaglia as well as crippling most of his businesses and eliminating his key associates, including Sollozzo.

Tattaglia's vengeanceEdit

To this end, Tattaglia made an alliance with Emilio Barzini, which resulted in the death of Santino Corleone, who had masterminded the attacks and was close to winning the war. Rising from his sick bed, Vito Corleone hastily called a sit-down with the members of the Commission.

However, at this meeting, Tattaglia tellingly insisted that Don Corleone guarantee not to break the peace. After conceding to his demands, Corleone realized that the lowly "pimp" had been the front for a plan masterminded by Don Emilio Barzini, to bring down the Corleones, divide the spoils amongst the Five Families, and embrace the lucrative heroin trade unopposed.

DemiseEdit

Eventually, Tattaglia suffered the same fate as his fellow conspirators; he was in bed with a prostitute in a bungalow room when Rocco Lampone and another man, acting on the orders of Michael Corleone, burst in and riddled Tattaglia with machine gun fire. His last words were to denounce Don Barzini as the mastermind behind the operation. He was succeeded by his younger brother Rico.

Personality and traitsEdit

Phillip Tattaglia was a sixty-year-old dandy and woman-chaser who had ample opportunity to indulge his weakness. His personality was unpleasant to others. He was a whiner, always complaining of the costs in his family business, so he would often rant on to audiences unsympathetic and contemptuous. He relied on the help of stronger men like Virgil Sollozzo and Emilio Barzini, as well as his own sons, to keep him afloat.

Despite this, Tattaglia had some cunning and the foresight to see the money that could be made from the drugs trade, and in his youth he was smart enough to suggest the importance of the adult films industry to Mariposa. He also had the intelligence to flee Mariposa's sinking ship and offer loyalty to the new Five Families, encouraged by the prospect of becoming a boss.

Behind the scenesEdit

"It wasn't me... it was Barzini."

―Phillip Tattaglia^[src]

Phillip Tattaglia was played by Victor Rendina and Bill Meilen in the video game.

In the original version of the game he was represented in the "Baptism of Fire" mission by a regular Tattaglia model, but a more advanced character model in later versions of the game. Also in the game is it possible not to kill the hooker Don Tattaglia is with.

TriviaEdit

The surname Tattaglia does not seem to be a genuine Italian name and is likely derived from the more common names Battaglia or Tartaglia.

Don of the Tattaglia crime family
Preceded by: -	1931-1955	Succeeded by: Rico Tattaglia

Start a Discussion Discussions about Phillip Tattaglia

You can find discussions about everything related to this wiki on The Godfather Wiki Forum!

Wikia

Phillip Tattaglia

Contents