Anthony Russo (July 13, 1916 – April 26, 1979), also known as Little Pussy, was an Italian-American Genovese crime family figure who was a reputed Boss of Monmouth County, New Jersey. He is also the supposed inspiration behind the fictional character Gennaro "Little Pussy" Malanga from The Sopranos.

Background

Russo and his brother John were a skilled

cat burglar Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murder ...

team during their youth, which is how he earned his nickname "Little Pussy", short for "Little Pussycat". He started his career as a personal chauffeur and bodyguard to Vito Genovese, and later worked as a

loanshark A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high interest rates, has strict terms of collection upon failure, and generally operates outside the law. Description Because loan sharks operate mostly illegally, they cannot reasonably ...

. He lived in

Long Branch, New Jersey Long Branch is a beachside City (New Jersey), city in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, the city's population was 30,719,< ...

and was a made man in the Newark, New Jersey crew of the Genovese crime family which was run by veteran mobster Ruggiero "Richie the Boot" Boiardo. From 1976 to 1978, Russo was a hidden owner in the Jolly Trolley Casino in Las Vegas (now the site of the

Bonanza Gift Shop Bonanza Gift Shop is a landmark located on the Las Vegas Strip between the Sahara Las Vegas and the Stratosphere Las Vegas. It is billed as the ''World's Largest Gift Shop'' with over of shopping space. According to British Airways, the shop "wo ...

). During that time, he was involved in skimming the profits from the casino.Former casino head says he paid Russo out of fear. UPI Archives. October 13, 198

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Death

Russo was shot to death in

, on April 26, 1979, while on an Easter furlough from prison.Sullivan, Joseph F. (April 27, 1979). Anthony Russo, Jersey Crime Figure, Found Slain; No Comment on Motive. '' The New York Times

/ref> His killers were identified in FBI reports as Thomas "Pee Wee" DePhillips, a capo in the Genovese family, Anthony DeVingo, a soldier and enforcer in the Genovese family who controlled gambling and loansharking in parts of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and Joseph "Joe Z" Zarro, an alleged Genovese associate whose operation spread into

Passaic County Passaic County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the population of Passaic County was enumerated at 524,118, an increase of 22,892 (4.6%) from t ...

. "It was a typical mob contract", said one investigator familiar with the case. "It was obvious from the start it was someone he knew, someone he trusted." Federal authorities indicated they always suspected DeVingo, but couldn't produce enough evidence to charge him. No weapons were ever recovered.The Dark Past of Long Branch The Death of Anthony Russo Anthony

References

1916 births 1979 deaths 1979 murders in the United States Genovese crime family People murdered by the Genovese crime family People murdered in New Jersey Deaths by firearm in New Jersey Murdered American gangsters of Italian descent {{Crime-org-stub