Michele Miranda
|
Michele Miranda
| |
|---|---|
| Born | (1896-07-26)July 26, 1896 |
| Died | July 16, 1973(1973-07-16) (aged 76) Boca Raton, Florida, U.S.
|
| Other name | "Big Mike" |
| Occupation | Mobster |
| Known for | Consigliere of the Genovese family; attendee at the Apalachin meeting |
| Allegiance | Genovese crime family |
Michele "Big Mike" Miranda (July 26, 1896 – July 16, 1973) was an Italian-American mobster who became a longtime member and later the consigliere of the Genovese crime family of New York City.[1][2]
Early life
Miranda was born in San Giuseppe Vesuviano, near Naples, and immigrated to the United States as a child in 1905, settling in New York City.[3] In later years, his reported residence was in Forest Hills, Queens.[4]
Criminal career
Miranda became involved in crime as a teenager and was arrested in 1915 for petty theft and assault.[5] During Prohibition, he was associated with Gaetano Lucchese and had ties to the Reina crime family.[3]
After the Castellammarese War, Miranda aligned closely with Vito Genovese and became a made member of the Luciano/Genovese organization.[2] In 1933 Genovese told a reporter "You want to know who really rules New York? It's four people: me, Lucky Luciano, Mike Miranda, and Dutch Schultz".[6] In the 1940s and 1950s, he was described in organized-crime reference works as a senior figure involved in gambling, loansharking, and labor racketeering, and he rose into the top ranks of the Genovese family.[1][2] In 1946 he attended the Havana Conference in Cuba.[7]
Consigliere and Apalachin
After Genovese consolidated power in 1957, Miranda served as the Genovese family consigliere, alongside underboss Gerardo Catena.[1][2]
On November 14, 1957, Miranda was among the mob leaders detained by law enforcement at the Apalachin meeting in Apalachin, New York.[1][3] He received five years in prison and $10,000 fine, which was overturned on appeal.[8]
Genovese imprisoned; later arrests
After Genovese was imprisoned on narcotics charges in 1959, Miranda was identified in reference works as part of a ruling panel that helped oversee the Genovese family's day-to-day operations.[1][2]
In 1965, Miranda was arrested in Queens in what press accounts described as a “Little Apalachin” raid targeting alleged Mafia figures for parole-related violations and associations.[4] In September 1966 he was arrested along with twelve others after attending the La Stella Restaurant meeting.[9]
Retirement and death
Miranda retired from active involvement in family affairs in 1972 and died of natural causes in Boca Raton, Florida, on July 16, 1973.[1][2]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Sifakis, Carl (2005). The Mafia Encyclopedia. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-8160-5694-3.
- ^ a b c d e f Kelly, Robert J. (2000). Encyclopedia of Organized Crime in the United States. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-30653-2.
- ^ a b c Fox, Stephen (1989). Blood and Power: Organized Crime in Twentieth-Century America. William Morrow and Company. ISBN 0-688-04350-X.
- ^ a b "7 Cosa Nostra Figures Arrested In 'Little Apalachin' Raid Here". The New York Times. 1965-10-30. Retrieved 2026-02-25.
- ^ Sifakis, Carl (2001). The Encyclopedia of American Crime. Facts on File. ISBN 0-8160-4040-0.
- ^ Reavill, Gill (2013). Mafia Summit: J. Edgar Hoover, The Kennedy Brothers, and the Meeting That Unmasked the Mob. St. Martin's Press. pp. 90–1.
- ^ English, T. J. (2008). Havana Nocturne: How the Mob Owned Cuba and Then Lost It to the Revolution. Harper. p. 336.
- ^ Reavill, Gill (2013). Mafia Summit: J. Edgar Hoover, The Kennedy Brothers, and the Meeting That Unmasked the Mob. St. Martin's Press. p. 184.
- ^ Davis, John H. (1994). Mafia Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the Gambino Crime Family. HarperPaperbacks. pp. 137–8.
Sources
- Fox, Stephen (1989). Blood and Power: Organized Crime in Twentieth-Century America. William Morrow and Company. ISBN 0-688-04350-X.
- Kelly, Robert J. (2000). Encyclopedia of Organized Crime in the United States. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-30653-2.
- Sifakis, Carl (2005). The Mafia Encyclopedia. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-8160-5694-3.
- Sifakis, Carl (2001). The Encyclopedia of American Crime. Facts on File. ISBN 0-8160-4040-0.
- United States House of Representatives. Investigation of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy (Report). House Select Committee on Assassinations. U.S. Government Printing Office.
- United States Senate, Committee on Government Operations (1964). Organized Crime and Illicit Traffic in Narcotics (Report). U.S. Government Printing Office.