Peter LaTempa
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Peter LaTempa (1904 – January 15, 1945) was a New York mobster and associate of the Genovese crime family, who later agreed to become a government witness against Vito Genovese.
A local Brooklyn hoodlum, LaTempa was pressured to support the testimony of hitman
However, in 1944, U.S. military police in Sicily arrested Genovese for dealing in black market goods, and his status as a fugitive was uncovered shortly thereafter. On January 8, 1945, federal authorities announced that Genovese had been
The presiding judge, Samuel Leibowitz, stated before the court:
- "I cannot speak for the jury, but I believe if there were even a shred of corroborating evidence you would have been condemned to the electric chair. By devious means, among which were the terrorizing of witnesses, kidnapping them, yes, even murdering those who would give evidence against you, you have thwarted justice time and again."
After applying for early release from prison, Rupolo himself would be found dead almost 20 years later, on August 24, 1964. He was recovered from Jamaica Bay, Queens with his hands bound and two concrete blocks attached to his legs. His murder was almost certainly in response to his having testified against Genovese.
References
- Nash, Jay Robert. The Great Pictorial History of World Crime. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. ISBN 1-928831-20-6
- 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., 2005. ISBN 0-8160-4040-0