Michele Miranda
Michele "Big Mike" Miranda (July 26, 1896 – July 16, 1973) was a longtime member and eventual consigliere of the Genovese crime family and one of the most powerful New York gangsters in the 1950s and 1960s.
Early years
Born in
Luciano crime family underboss, Vito Genovese and became a made man
, or full member, of that crime family.
Enforcer for Luciano and Genovese
Miranda frequently acted as enforcer for
Louis "Lepke" Buchalter in 1944, Lucchese took control of Buchalter's garment industry rackets for the Lucchese crime family
.
Reaching the Top Rank
Miranda soon became one of the top
Luciano crime family boss, Frank Costello. Even though the hit failed, Costello soon retired from the family, leaving Genovese in control. Genovese named Miranda as consigliere, making him the number three man after Genovese and underboss Gerardo "Jerry" Catena
.
On November 14, 1957, Miranda, Genovese, Catena, and about 60 other Mafia bosses were apprehended by federal agents at the famous
Apalachin Conference in Apalachin, New York
.
Genovese in Prison
In 1958, Genovese was indicted on
Atlanta, Georgia. While serving his sentence, Genovese placed the family under the leadership of a "Three Man Ruling Panel", made up of acting boss Thomas "Tommy Ryan" Eboli
, Catena, and Miranda. Genovese would relay orders from his prison cell to the panel members as they ran the day-to-day family activities.
Law enforcement continued to pursue Miranda and other Mafia bosses. In October 1965, the
New York Police Department (NYPD) arrested Miranda and Eboli for parole violations of consorting with known criminals, but all the men were released within a week. On September 22, 1966, Miranda and 12 other high level Mafia members, including bosses from New York, New Orleans, and Florida were arrested at the La Stella Restaurant in Queens, New York
. Miranda was once again charged with consorting with known criminals. Each man had to put up $100,000 bail, a total of $1.3 million for all 13 men.
Retirement
In 1972, Miranda retired from active involvement in family affairs. On July 16, 1973, Michele Miranda died of natural causes in
Saint John Cemetery in Queens.[2]
References
- ^ Feinberg, Alexander. "MIRANDA BALKS AT GANG INQUIRY; Auto Dealer Questioned in Anastasia Slaying Is One of 7 to Refuse Answers", The New York Times, December 15, 1957. Accessed June 18, 2009. "Miranda, who lives in Forest Hills, Queens, and has an automobile agency in Manhattan, took the Fifth Amendment thirty-two times as a witness before the Joint Legislative Committee on Government Operations, the so-called watchdog committee."
- ^ "Michele 'Mike' Miranda" Find A Grave website
Sources
- Fox, Stephen. Blood and Power: Organized Crime in Twentieth-Century America. New York: William Morrow and Company, 1989. ISBN 0-688-04350-X
- Kelly, Robert J. Encyclopedia of Organized Crime in the United States. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2000. ISBN 0-313-30653-2
- Sifakis, Carl. The Mafia Encyclopedia. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. ISBN 0-8160-5694-3
- Sifakis, Carl. The Encyclopedia of American Crime. New York: Facts on File Inc., 2001. ISBN 0-8160-4040-0
- United States. Congress. House. Select Committee on Assassinations. Investigation of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. [1]
- United States. Congress. Senate. Government Operations Committee. Organized Crime and Illicit Traffic in Narcotics. 1964. [2]
External links
- Greater Astoria Historical Society - The Daily Star: Investigating the Mafia
- US Mafia, Short History & Key Players
- Attendee Profiles At The 1957 Apalachin Mob Confab By Mike La Sorte
