Vincent "Jimmy Blue Eyes" Alo (May 26, 1904 – March 9, 2001) was a New York mobster and a high-ranking capo in the

Genovese crime family The Genovese crime family, () also sometimes referred to as the Westside, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City and New Jersey as part of the American M ...

who set up casino operations with mob associate

Meyer Lansky Meyer Lansky (born Maier Suchowljansky; July 4, 1902 – January 15, 1983), known as the "Mob's Accountant", was an American organized crime figure who, along with his associate Charles "Lucky" Luciano, was instrumental in the development of the ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

Early years

Born in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

, Alo started working on

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

at age 14. As a young man, Alo was convicted of armed robbery and sent to either

Sing Sing Sing Sing Correctional Facility, formerly Ossining Correctional Facility, is a maximum-security prison operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in the village of Ossining, New York. It is about north of ...

or Dannemora state prison. In 1926, Alo became a

made man In the American and Sicilian Mafia, a made man is a fully initiated member of the Mafia. To become "made", an associate first must be Italian or of Italian descent and sponsored by another made man. An inductee will be required to take the oat ...

, or full member, of Joseph "Joe the Boss" Masseria's powerful New York gang. Named a

caporegime A caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to capo or informally referred to as "captain" or "skipper", is a rank used in the Mafia (both the Sicilian Mafia and Italian-American Mafia) for a ''made member'' of an Italian crime family who head ...

of the old

Joe Adonis Joseph Anthony Doto (born Giuseppe Antonio Doto, ; November 22, 1902 – November 26, 1971), known as Joe Adonis, was an Italian-American mobster who was an important participant in the formation of the modern Cosa Nostra crime families in New Y ...

crew, Alo oversaw clubs,

speakeasy A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States d ...

s, and illegal gambling in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

Partnership with Lansky

In 1929,

Lucky Luciano Charles "Lucky" Luciano (, ; born Salvatore Lucania ; November 24, 1897 – January 26, 1962) was an Italian-born gangster who operated mainly in the United States. Luciano started his criminal career in the Five Points gang and was instrumenta ...

, one of Masseria's lieutenants, introduced Alo to Meyer Lansky. An old friend of Luciano's, Lansky was a valuable money-maker for Masseria's organization and Luciano wanted Alo to guard him. Luciano may have wanted Alo to also monitor Lansky (a claim reinforced in

Vincent Teresa Vincent Charles Teresa (1930–1990) was an American mobster in the Boston branch of the Patriarca crime family who claimed to be a top captain for Raymond Patriarca. Early life Teresa was born in Revere, Massachusetts in 1930. He was the ...

's ''My Life In the Mafia'' and '' The Last Mafioso'' by

Ovid Demaris Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

). However, the majority of crime historians view this as unlikely, as Lansky was at this time the head of a gang independent of Masseria and Luciano called the Bugs and Meyer mob, which made much of their income through extortion and was one of the most violent gangs of the era. Alo is described as a junior partner in Lansky's operations in virtually all sources, if mentioned at all. Both Lansky and Alo were introverted, bookish men who wanted to become legitimate businessmen. The two mobsters quickly became friends. When Alo first met Lansky, Alo was involved in a setting up a casino in the town of Hallandale, Florida (now called Hallandale Beach). Immediately realizing that Alo would be perfect for this venture, Meyer invited him to become a partner. When Lansky and Alo arrived in Florida, they immediately started making contributions to local fraternal organizations and secret payments to politicians and law enforcement. When they opened their first casino in Hallandale, Alo and Lansky faced no government or public opposition. Business was so good in the first casino that Alo and Lansky soon opened a second one in Hallandale. This cooperative relationship between the town and the mob would continue uninterrupted until 1947. As the town's economy became more diversified, public embarrassment about the illegal gambling increased. At that point, Alo and Lansky closed their two Hallandale casinos and started planning for casinos in

Later years

In 1970, Alo was convicted of obstructing justice.

Robert M. Morgenthau Robert Morris Morgenthau ( ; July 31, 1919July 21, 2019) was an American lawyer. From 1975 until his retirement in 2009, he was the District Attorney for New York County (the borough of Manhattan), having previously served as United States Atto ...

U.S. District Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the Southern District of New York, stated that "Alo is one of the most significant organized crime figures in the United States. He is closely associated with Meyer Lansky of Miami, who is at the apex of organized crime." Alo was described as being charming, intelligent and well liked by his associates. He retired in the mid 1970s and his crew was taken over by

Matthew Ianniello Matthew Joseph "Matty the Horse" Ianniello (June 18, 1920 – August 15, 2012) was a New York mobster with the Genovese crime family, of which he was once the acting boss. During the 1960s and 1970s, Ianniello controlled the lucrative sex indus ...

. On March 9, 2001, Alo died of natural causes in

at age 96. His remains were interred in Woodlawn Cemetery in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

In popular culture

The character

Johnny Ola This is a list of characters from the film series ''The Godfather'' consisting of ''The Godfather'' (1972), ''The Godfather Part II'' (1974) and ''The Godfather Part III'' (1990), based on Mario Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same name, as ...

, portrayed by

Dominic Chianese Dominic Chianese (; born February 24, 1931) is an American actor, singer, and musician. He is best known for his roles as Corrado "Junior" Soprano on the HBO series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), Johnny Ola in ''The Godfather Part II'' (197 ...

, in the film ''

The Godfather Part II ''The Godfather Part II'' is a 1974 American epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film is partially based on the 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' by Mario Puzo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola. ''Part II'' s ...

'' (1974) is based on Alo. The character Victor Tellegio, portrayed by

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...

, in the film '' American Hustle'' (2013) is based on Alo as well. He also provided the full story of Prohibition-era bootlegging to

Drew Struzan Drew Struzan (; born March 18, 1947) is an American artist, illustrator and cover designer. He is known for his more than 150 movie posters, which include ''The Shawshank Redemption'', ''Blade Runner'', ''Mallrats'', as well as films in the ''In ...

's wife Dylan, who published it as the 2019 nonfiction narrative book ''A Bloody Business''.''A Bloody Business'' by Dylan Struzan at Hard Case Crime
/ref> He is mentioned early in the 2019

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...

film ''

The Irishman ''The Irishman'' (subtitled onscreen as ''I Heard You Paint Houses'') is a 2019 American epic gangster film directed and produced by Martin Scorsese and written by Steven Zaillian, based on the 2004 nonfiction book '' I Heard You Paint Hou ...

'' by

Frank Sheeran Francis Joseph Sheeran (October 25, 1920 – December 14, 2003), also known as "The Irishman", was an American labor union official and enforcer for Jimmy Hoffa and Russell Bufalino. He was accused of having links to the Pittston crime family ...

, also played by De Niro.

References

*Sifakis, Carl. ''The Mafia Encyclopedia''. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005.

External links

In Memory of Jimmy Blue Eyes website
By John William Tuohy {{DEFAULTSORT:Alo, Vincent 1904 births 2001 deaths American gangsters of Italian descent Genovese crime family Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) People from Harlem Criminals from Manhattan Gangsters from New York City People from Hallandale Beach, Florida