The Godfather

 “The Godfather” By Mario Puzo
 
239
immigrants from Canada, all upstate gambling and exercised veto power on state 
licensing of racing tracks, was headed by Ottilio Cuneo. This was a completely 
disarming man with the face of a jolly round peasant baker, whose legitimate activity 
was one of the big milk companies. Cuneo was one of those men who loved children 
and carried a pocket full of sweets in the hopes of being able to pleasure one of his 
many grandchildren or the small offspring of his associates. He wore a round fedora 
with the brim turned down all the way round like a woman’s sun hat, which broadened 
his already moon-shaped face into the very mask of joviality. He was one of the few 
Dons who had never been arrested and whose true activities had never even been 
suspected. So much so that he had served on civic committees and had been voted as 
“Businessman of the Year for the State of New York” by the Chamber of Commerce. 
The closest ally to the Tattaglia Family was Don Emilio Barzini. He had some of the 
gambling in Brooklyn and some in Queens. He had some prostitution. He had 
strong-arm. He completely controlled Staten Island. He had some of the sports betting in 
the Bronx and Westchester. He was in narcotics. He had close ties to Cleveland and the 
West Coast and he was one of the few men shrewd enough to be interested in Las 
Vegas and Reno, the open cities of Nevada. He also had interests in Miami Beach and 
Cuba. After the Corleone Family, his was perhaps the strongest in New York and 
therefore in the country. His influence reached even to Sicily. His hand was in every 
unlawful pie. He was even rumored to have a toehold in Wall Street. He had supported 
the Tattaglia Family with money and influence since the start of the war. It was his 
ambition to supplant Don Corleone as the most powerful and respected Mafia leader in 
the country and to take over part of the Corleone empire. He was a man much like Don 
Corleone, but more modern, more sophisticated, more businesslike. He could never be 
called an old Moustache Pete and he had the confidence of the newer, younger, brasher 
leaders on their way up. He was a man of great personal force in a cold way, with none 
of Don Corleone’s warmth and he was perhaps at this moment the most “respected” 
man in the group. 
The last to arrive was Don Phillip Tattaglia, the head of the Tattagfia Family that had 
directly challenged the Corleone power by supporting Sollozzo, and had so nearly 
succeeded. And yet curiously enough he was held in a slight contempt by the others. 
For one thing, it was known that he had allowed himself to be dominated by Sollozzo, 
had in fact been led by the nose by that fine Turkish hand. He was held responsible for 
all this commotion, this uproar that had so affected the conduct of everyday business by 

---