Italy. He hustled huge stocks of cigarettes, liquor, wheat, food and medicines on the black market; it was as though the crime kingpin had never left New York.
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Genovese carried passes that gave him free access to supply bases throughout Italy and he bore testimonials of his great devotion to the United States. Military officers, who later demonstrated no inclination to prosecute Genovese after he was exposed, attested to his "invaluable" contributions to the war effort. He was, they said, "honest ... trustworthy, loyal and dependable ... worked day and night ... exposed several cases of bribery and black-market operations among so-called civilian personnel ... is devoted to his adopted home, the U.S.A. ... served without any compensation whatever."
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Compensation or no, Genovese had made and salted away millions. His testimony, which was so valuable in breaking up operations of other black marketeers, was nothing more than a move to get rid of competitors. Dickey tracked Genovese down and arrested him. He found Genovese's apartment in Naples; the young sergeant said later he had never been inside such a lavishly furnished place or seen so extensive a wardrobe for one man. This was in a time of wartime misery for most civilians.
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At first Dickey did not know who Genovese was, not even having heard the name before. However, Genovese had made underworld enemies in his criminal operations and a tipster supplied Dickey with a publication from the 1930s which bore Genovese's photograph and identified him as a notorious member of the American underworld.
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In August Dickey forwarded a communication to the FBI in Washington advising the agency of Genovese's apprehension and inquiring about any outstanding charges against him. He got no answer until the end of November when he was told a warrant would arrive from Brooklyn shortly on a murder charge.
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In the meantime Dickey faced enormous pressure to release Genovese. When he reported his findings to the provisional U.S. officer at Nola, he was ordered to drop the investigation. Instead Dickey went to Rome where he saw Colonel Poletti who refused to discuss the case. Dickey then turned to Brigadier General William O'Dwyer, in Italy on leave from his post as Brooklyn district attorney. It was a waste of time. Incredibly, O'Dwyer, who had overseen the prosecution of Murder, Inc., blandly told Dickey that Genovese was of no "concern" to him.
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When a crestfallen Dickey returned to Naples he was ordered by superiors to take Genovese out of a military prison and have him either put under bond or transferred to a civilian jail. Stubbornly, Dickey chose the second alternative, tucking him away in the most secure Italian jail he could find and constantly checking up personally on his prisoner.
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Finally in December confirmation came from Brooklyn that a warrant would be sent. By this time Genovese realized all his powerful supporters had been unable to pressure Dickey, and so he offered the $210-a-month non-commissioned officer a quarter of a million dollars in cash simply to "forget" about him.
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"There are things you don't understand," Genovese said. "This is the way it works. Take the money. You are set for the rest of your life. Nobody cares what you do. Why should you?"
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When finally Dickey was not going to go for the bribe offer, Genovese turned vicious. He threatened to have Dickey and his family killed.
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Nothing worked, and Dickey and his prisoner boarded a troop ship bound for home. Aboard ship, Genovese's tone changed again. He was very relaxed. "Kid," he told Dickey, "you are doing me the biggest favor anyone has ever done to me. You are taking me home. You are taking me back to the U.S.A."
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It was almost as though Genovese knew something. He probably did. The murder charge against him required the testimony of two witnesses, Ernest Rupolo and Peter LaTempa, both hoodlums who had talked. If one was silenced, the murder case against Genovese would collapse.
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Genovese landed on January 8, 1945. Immediately when the news broke, a frightened Peter LaTempa rushed to Brooklyn authorities and begged to be held in protective custody. He was placed in what was reported to be a secure cell. A week later LaTempa died there. He had been poisoned.
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Genovese went free, and Sergeant Dickey was still a young but certainly a wiser man. Ironically, Genovese probably would not have returned to the United States on his own. His return, with Lucky Luciano removed from the scene, would greatly affect the development of the Mafia and organized crime in America.
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See also:
LaTempa, Peter; Rupolo, Ernest "the Hawk
."
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Dio, Johnny (19151979): Labor racketeer
Under crime family boss Tommy "Three-Finger Brown" Lucchese, Johnny Dio, real name John Dioguardi, was one of organized crime's top "labor relations experts"that is, labor racketeer. Dio was vital to Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa, who used him in his efforts to capture control of the union in New York City. Authorities also said Dio was the man who ordered the acid blinding of labor columnist Victor Riesel in 1956. At the time Riesel was causing Hoffa a good deal of grief with his hard-hitting columns. The law had conspirators ready to testify
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