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Barzini Crime Family
Emilio Barzini
"A refusal is not the act of a friend."
"If Don Corleone had all the judges and politicians in New York, then he must share them or let others use them. He must let us draw the water from the well."'
Portrayed By: Richard Conte
Heads the second-most powerful New York family, regarded as a power broker among the feuding families. He's revealed to be the one pulling the strings behind Sollozzo and Tattaglia.
- Ambiguous Situation: In the book, Vito and Michael believe he was the one who ordered the hit on Michael while on Sicily (and thus, responsible for Apollonia's death), but it's left ambiguous if he ordered the hit before Vito made a deal with the families to let Michael come back safe and was not able to cancel it before Apollonia's death, or if he ordered the hit afterwards and broke the promise. Even Vito admits he can't know for sure. This is less ambiguous in the movie, where the explosion that kills Apollonia is depicted as happening before the meeting where Vito negotiates for Michael's safe return.
- Ambition Is Evil: His main motivation is to make his family the most powerful crime family in New York, and thus in all of the United States, hence why he intends to eliminate the Corleones that are the only family still more powerful than his.
- Big Bad: The true antagonist of Part I.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: In a seemingly friendly gesture, he accepts Don Vito's request to help set up a peace summit called to bring an end to the Five Families War. This is ultimately revealed to be a cynical ploy when Barzini uses the summit as an opportunity to subject Vito to a shakedown resulting in the forceful appropriation of much of the latter's power and influence.
- The Chessmaster: Had his plan to take down the Corleones set up very well. However, Michael manages to out-gambit him.
- The Don: Of the Barzini Family.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Appears at Connie's wedding long before his importance to the plot is established. He has a subordinate bring him the camera of a reporter who takes a picture of him (so he can destroy the film), hinting at his importance.
- Faux Affably Evil: He exhibits a very diplomatic and pleasant demeanor in his dealings with business partners and other associates. However, in reality, he is a very cold-hearted and calculated man who has no scruples about employing brutal and underhanded tactics to increase his power.
- In the Back: During the Baptism murders, Al Neri kills him with two shots to the back which cause Barzini to roll down the courthouse steps.
- The Man Behind the Man: He is ultimately revealed to be the mastermind behind a conspiracy to usurp power from the Corleones, originally believed to be led by Philip Tattaglia.
- Manipulative Bastard: He secretly conspires with Carlo Rizzi to have Connie viciously beaten in order to provoke her hot-headed brother, Santino, and lure him to his death.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: He unwittingly reveals himself as the true power behind Sollozzo and Tattaglia by talking in Tattaglia's stead and leading the negotiations with the Corleones during the Dons meeting, allowing Vito to figure out his role and to plot back against him.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: His character is loosely based on Vito Genovese and Joe Bonanno, two ruthless mob bosses who sought to become the "Boss of all Bosses" by cornering the narcotics market and eliminating all potential rivals within the criminal underworld via fronts.
- An Offer You Can't Refuse: Makes one to Don Corleone at the peace conference. Barzini offers to pay fair market value for use of the Corleones' political and judicial influence on behalf of drug couriers, but makes it clear that the only alternative is open warfare.
- Out-Gambitted: Both Vito and Michael Corleone have outsmarted Barzini by deliberately letting him and the other bosses whittle away the Corleone interests in order to lull them into a false sense of security. Before his death, Vito warns his son that Barzini will try to have Michael eliminated under the guise of a peace meeting, and that whoever approaches Michael about the meeting will be exposed as the traitor within the family. Michael uses this info to his advantage, and silently eliminates the other Mafia heads (including Barzini). Sal Tessio (who reveals himself to be the traitor at Vito's funeral, albeit unknowingly) and Carlo Rizzi (for conspiring with Barzini to abuse Connie and cause a rash response from Sonny, to make him easier to eliminate) are later executed for betraying the Corleones.
Tattaglia Crime Family
Leadership
Philip Tattaglia
"But I must have strict assurance from Corleone. As time goes by and his position becomes stronger, will he attempt any individual vendetta?"
"He [Vito] had all the judges and politicians in his pocket. He refused to share them."
Portrayed By: Victor Rendina
Heads one of New York's Five Families, allies with Sollozzo against Vito to advance his standing.
- Bald of Evil: Mob boss Tattaglia has a large forehead coupled with a noticeable combover.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: With Virgil Sollozzo as a front.
- Co-Dragons: He and Sollozzo serve as this to the real Big Bad, Emilio Barzini.
- The Complainer Is Always Wrong: He's constantly complaining and whining about the difficulties he and his business face, whenever they are costs, police crackdowns, employement problems much to the irritation of other Dons and audiences.
- Decoy Antagonist: Appears to be the main villain in the early stages. It's actually Barzini.
- Dirty Coward: He's still a dirty pimp that barely lifts a finger in executing Barzini's plans. He tends to avoid facing danger if the opportunity arises.
- Dirty Old Man: He's old enough to have a middle-aged son and he still consorts with prostitutes.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: More evident in the novel; he specializes in prostitution and is subsequently treated with thinly-veiled contempt by most of the other Families.
- The Heavy: The Five Families War appears to be fought with his men against the Corleones, as Tattaglia was the first of the Dons to ally with Sollozzo.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Loosely based on Tommy Lucchese, who was short in height. Other than that, Lucchese did not specialize in prostitution, but in other areas such as Manhattan's Garment District, union racketeering, narcotics trafficking and also had control over rackets at Idlewild Airport (now JFK Airport). Also has some elements of Joe Magliocco, in that he and Joe Colombo were used as fronts by Joe Bonanno in his bid to take over the Mafia.
- No-Respect Guy: Despite being the head of his own crime family, none of the other dons truly respect him due to his specialisation in prostitution and his cowardice. Even his nearly-successful hit on Vito Corleone fails to bring him respect from the other families due to its failure and of his reliance on Sollozzo and on Barzini's support.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Tattaglia loses his son Bruno when he's killed by Sal Tessio's men during the Five Families War.
- Out with a Bang: He is ambushed by Rocco Lampone and another assassin while visiting with a prostitude at a hotel and machine gunned to death alongside her.
- Ruthless Foreign Gangsters: Unlike the other Family heads, he still speaks with a pronounced Italian accent.
- There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Two of Michael's henchmen, armed with automatic weapons, attack him while he is in bed with a prostitute. They pump him, the bed, and the unfortunate prostitute full of lead in the process.
Don Osvaldo Altobello
"The richest man is the one with the most powerful friends."
Portrayed By: Eli Wallach
Long-time friend of the Corleone family (he's even Connie's actual godfather), revealed to be part of the Big Bad Duumvirate manipulating the events of Part III.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: With Don Lucchesi in Part III, secretly being Michael's enemy.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He managed to fool the Corleones for a long while with a friendly, yet senile disposition; he even managed to become Connie's godfather thanks to his act.
- The Chessmaster: He has an elaborate plan to kill Michael and his pomps so he can take over his operations. However, like the others, Michael manages to catch on to his betrayal and outsmart him.
- Dragon Ascendant: In the books (specifically The Godfather Returns), Altobello was consigliere to Rico Tattaglia, Philip's brother who took over after the events of the original. However, Rico had no head for business and stepped down a year before his death, turning control over to Altobello.
- Evil Old Folks: Despite his age, he's still the antagonist of Part III for a reason.
- False Friend: To the Corleone family, secretly being the Big Bad.
- Faux Affably Evil: Polite, friendly and a bit senile but it's all an act.
- The Man Behind the Man: He's the one behind Joey Zasa, among other things.
- Remember the New Guy?:
- He calls himself the Corleone family's "oldest friend." One wonders where he's been for the past two movies.
- Tattaglia does have a consigliere who appears on screen in the first film, but he's never explicitly identified with Altobello.
- Sinister Sweet Tooth: He has a thing for cannoli, eating his way through an entire box of them over the course of the climactic opera. Unfortunately for him, Connie Corleone had said cannoli poisoned as revenge for his part in the plot, allowing her to watch him expire in the final minutes of the opera.
- Sympathy for the Devil: Connie seems to be a bit sad after poisoning him as he was her godfather.
- Wicked Cultured: He genuinely enjoyed the opera reciting with the performers.
Associates
Virgil Sollozzo
"What guarantees can I give you?"
"I don't like violence, Tom. I'm a businessman. Blood is a big expense."
Portrayed By: Al Lettieri
A narcotics trafficker and freelance mobster allied with the Tattaglia family, who urges Vito and the other dons to expand into narcotics. He engineers the attempt on Vito's life, setting the plot in motion.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: He seems to be this with Tattaglia. In reality they are both merely Co-Dragons to the true Big Bad Barzini.
- Blatant Lies: When Michael meets with him at the restaurant, Michael insists that any deal requires Sollozzo stopping his attempts to kill Vito. Sollozzo doesn't answer that request, deflecting it trying to claim "I'm the hunted one... You think too much of me kid." It's clear to Michael (and the audience) that Sollozzo won't stop making it easier to sympathize with Michael when he kills Sollozzo.
- Boom, Headshot!: This is how he dies, courtesy of Michael Corleone.
- Co-Dragons: He and Tattaglia serve as this to the real Big Bad, Emilio Barzini.
- Disc-One Final Boss: Shot halfway through by Michael.
- Dragon-in-Chief: To Tattaglia, whom he's supposed to be an associate/subordinate of, but Sollozzo is clearly the more cunning, competent and dangerous of the two. It's telling that it's actually Sollozzo who orchestrated the assassination attempts on Vito's life.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: As brutal and ruthless of a mobster and drug dealer he is, he has a wife and a son and is said to be loving toward them, and to only associate with people who can take care of them should anything happen to him.
- Faux Affably Evil: A ruthless businessman who behaves in a polite and personable manner when he's not murdering people.
- Gratuitous Italian: Speaks Sicilian fluently unlike Michael, who has to switch to English to make his final demands in their restaurant meeting; it's left unsubtitled in the film since what he's saying doesn't actually matter in the scene. Sollozzo calls his language "Italian" when telling McCluskey he's switching languages, probably since the captain doesn't know the difference.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Sollozzo ordered the hit on Vito Corleone after Sonny expressed interest in the drug deal, expecting Sonny to take him up on the offer after Vito turned him down. Instead Sonny initiates a war among the Five Families and helps plot Michael's assassination of Sollozzo.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Expected Sonny to not take his father's assassination personally and care more about money than family. Likewise appeals to Michael to side with him over the promise of money seconds before Michael shoots him.
- In-Series Nickname: Known as the "The Turk" although there is no mention of him being a Turkish national. He's only known as "The Turk" despite being Sicilian because his cocaine fields are located in Turkey, his affinity for poisoning rivals in the novel and he's supposed to have a Turkish mistress and children according to Tom; some real-life mobsters were also known as the Young Turks a la the revolutionaries in the Ottoman Empire's last days.
- Knight of Cerebus: His arrival marks the steady erosion of the unassailable position held by the Corleone Family at the beginning of the first film.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Had some elements of Joe Colombo, in that he and Joe Magliocco were used as fronts by Joe Bonanno in his bid to take over the Mafia.
- Pragmatic Villainy: He proclaims he doesn't like violence because he is a businessman. "Blood is a big expense." Tom Hagen agrees with this view, while Sonny puts revenge before the business.
- Ruthless Foreign Gangsters: He had a very elaborate plan with Tattaglia to take down the Corleones. Judging from Brasi's death, it's a very violent plan too.
- Sinister Schnoz: One of the reasons why he was called "The Turk" was because he had a nose like a Turkish scimitar.
Captain McCluskey
"I thought I got all you guinea hoods locked up!"
Portrayed by: Sterling Hayden
Dubbed by: Patrick Floersheim (European French, second dub)
A corrupt police officer who works for the Tattaglia family and Virgil Sollozzo.
- Asshole Victim: He's in the pocket of the Tattaglias, basically serving as a mercenary, who has no problem assaulting civilians and making racial epithets while he does so. So when Michael eventually whacks him, does anyone really care?
- Boom, Headshot!: Is subjected to a sightlier messier version than Sollozzo. Michael finishes him off this way with his third shot, but accidentally shoots him in the throat first.
- Bullying a Dragon: Upon meeting Michael, he insults him and punches him in the face, severely breaking his jaw. Michael wasn't even part of the family business at the time but has no qualms about killing him.
- Dirty Cop: He's a glorified assassin and enforcer for a mob family, and his loathsomeness is compounded by his smug arrogance that his rank will protect him. The novel amplifies these traits. Puzo spends paragraphs explaining the difference, in the eyes of the average cop of the day, between "clean graft" and "dirty graft", with the implication that virtually all of New York's finest are on the take. More important, every individual cop named in the book is either corrupt (Detective Phillips, on the payroll of the Corleones), brutal (Albert Neri) or both (McCluskey). He then makes it clear that McCluskey is dirty even by THIS standard, to the point that the NYPD lose their will to avenge his death when they find out just how dirty he really was.
- The Dragon: Serves as this for Sollozo and by extension the Tattaglia crime syndicate.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: The book reveals that part of the reason he's crooked is because he takes the bribe money to support his family. He has four sons that he sends to Fordham and paid money to treat his sister in law's cancer.
- Evil Parents Want Good Kids: Neither he nor his sons want them to become cops. This trope doesn't usually apply to cops who want their children to have a safer and easier life, but the way McCluskey does the job...
- Faux Affably Evil: Upon formally meeting Michael and en route to the arranged sit-down, he half-heartedly apologizes for breaking the man's jaw (for trying to prevent his father Vito from being killed), asserting that "years on the force made him cranky", and that "he was just doing his job".
- Hypocritical Humor: Dark, but it qualifies. He physically assaults non-Mafia member Michael Corleone (basically for averting a follow-up assassination attempt on his father), while lamenting that he "thought he got all you Guinea hoods locked up". Keep in mind he does this because he's for all intents a hired thug for other "guinea hoods" (the Tattaglia crime family).
- Impromptu Tracheotomy: Michael shoots him in the throat before following it up with a Boom, Headshot!.
- Like Father, Like Son: His father was also a police captain who took him on visits around the district, where he would be given "gifts" of cash by the shopkeepers, who were under his father's protection (an example of "clean graft"). It was then that his son decided to follow in his father's footsteps.
- Police Are Useless: Not only is he the only named police officer in the original film, but he's completely unhelpful and downright corrupt. Subverted in the book, which establishes that in his days of walking a beat, McCluskey was as dutiful and honest as any cop on the force (which is to say that he didn't slack off on his appointed rounds and only took "clean" graft) and kept his territory safe for ordinary citizens. It was only as he rose in rank and his family obligations grew that harder corruption set in.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Calls Michael and the other people guarding Vito "guineas", a derogatory word for Italian Americans.
Stracci Crime Family
Don Victor Stracci
Portrayed By: Don Costello
The head of the Stracci Family.
- Death by Adaptation: In the books, the two main targets for the Baptism murders are Dons Barzini and Tattaglia. In the film, he is murdered by Peter Clemenza as part of the Baptism murders.
- The Don: Of the Stracci Family.
- Everyone Has Standards: He is strongly repulsed by prostitution and refuses to engage in it, having nothing but disdain for Tagliatta as a result.
- Oh, Crap!: In the film, he and his bodyguard have one when they step out of an elevator and find themselves face-to-face with a shotgun-toting Clemenza.
Don Anthony Stracci
The founder and head of the Stracci Family in the original novel.
- The Don: Of the Stracci crime family, in the original novel.
- Everyone Has Standards: He views prostitution as immoral, and strongly looks down in Tagliatta because of it. He also understands why the Corleone family killed Solozzo, though he thinks that they went too far by killing McCluskey too.
- Friendly Enemy: Is noted to be the most well-disposed rival don toward the Corleone family.
- Nothing Personal: He's noted to be the most well-disposed Don toward the Corleones during the mafia war, and never holds a grudge or enmity toward them; his reason for warring with them being for pragmatic reasons, and once Vito makes peace he becomes friendly again to the Corleones.
- Pragmatic Villainy: He owes a large fleet of freight hauling trucks to transport his products, while owning many construction companies to repair the roads damaged by them, thus feeding both of his businesses and significantly increasing his incomes, a move that Tom Hagen admires. He also chooses to support heroin trade because he lost money due to the end of prohibition and that the traffic comes close to his territory.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: He uses his political connections to have his trucks charged beyond the legal authorizations, thus causing heavy damages to the roads of New-York. Though he takes advantage of it by owning road repair companies thanks to government contracts, thus feeding both of his businesses with each other and his connections with the authorities.
- Weak, but Skilled: The Stracci Family is noted to be the least powerful of the Five Families, due to their powerbase being in New Jersey, which is less prestigious and lucrative than the other families' powerbases. However they have powerful political influence and connections, and their control over the docks of New-York and New Jersey give them an important role in the distribution of narcotics.
Cuneo Crime Family
Don Carmine Cuneo
Portrayed By: Rudy Bond
The head of the Cuneo Family.
- Alliterative Name: Carmine Cuneo.
- The Door Slams You: In the film, Cuneo is killed when Willie Cicci traps him in a revolving door and shoots him four times at point-blank range.
- In-Series Nickname: "The Milkman", for he runs a fleet of milk trucks from The Bronx as a front for his illegal activities.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: The Cuneo crime family could be based on the Magaddino crime family from Buffalo, which also ran upstate New York and had close ties to the New York families.
- Number Two: The second most senior Don on the Commission, after Vincent Forlenza of Cleveland.
- Villain with Good Publicity: His criminal activities are ignored by the NYPD.
Don Ottilio Cuneo
Carmine Cuneo's brother. He is the original founder and Don of the Cuneo family in the original novel.
- Adapted Out: Of the first film.
- Affably Evil: The most affable and gentle of the Dons in the original novel, nearly-always being affable and friendly unless you are his enemy, and having a genuine fondness for children.
- Beware the Nice Ones: As genuinely gentle he is, he remains a mobster and is known to turn into a ruthless tactician against his foes.
- The Don: Of the Cuneo family.
- Doting Grandparent: He's a grandfather, and known to dote strongly on his grandchildren as well as on his associates' children.
- Everyone Has Standards: He wants to protect children from drugs, and his conflict with the Corleones isn't based on personal reasons but because he thinks the Corleones went too far and put him in danger by killing captain McCluskey.
- Friend to All Children: Has a sincere fondness for children, being very affectionate and spoiling to them, and refuses to allow children to be exposed to drugs.
- Friendly Enemy: Much like Anthony Stracci he doesn't really have a grudge toward the Corleones, and becomes one of their allies after Vito makes peace with the other families.
- In-Series Nickname: Like his film counterpart, he is nicknamed "The Milkman", for he runs a fleet of milk trucks from The Bronx as a front for his illegal activities.
- Nothing Personal: Unlike Barzini and Tagliatta, and like Stracci, he doesn't take part in the gang war against the Corleones out of personal reasons or to eliminate or dethrone them. Once Vito makes peace with the other families he genuinely stops all hostility toward his family.
- Pragmatic Villainy: He agrees to take part in the drug traffic because it's worth too much to be ignored, and also because he wants to help control it and prevent children from being exposed to drugs. He also only fights the Corleone family because it caused danger for his and the other families by murdering McCluskey and stops all fighting against them once Vito makes peace.
- Villain with Good Publicity: He's one of the few mob bosses whose criminal activities aren't heavily under investigation by the police.
Zaluchi crime family
Giuseppe "Joe Z" Zaluchi
Portrayed By: Louis Guss
The head of the Zaluchi crime family of Detroit. An ally of Don Vito.
- Composite Character: Takes on aspects of the novels' Don Ottilio Cuneo.
- Everyone Has Standards: He accepts to engage in the drug trade, but refuses to have drugs sold near schools and to children.
- Pragmatic Villainy: He agrees to take part in the drug traffic because it's worth too much to be ignored, and also because he wants to help control it and prevent children from being exposed to drugs.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: He proposes keeping the drug traffic limited to black neighbourhoods, dismissing colored people as "animals".
Woltz International Pictures
Jack Woltz
- Portrayed by: John Marley
A Hollywood film producer who refuses to cast Johnny Fontane in a World War II feature. Tom Hagen is sent to "make him an offer he can't refuse."
- Adaptational Nice Guy: While he's mostly the same individual than in the original novel, the film omits his brutal beating and rape of a child actress, an action that disgusts both Tom Hagen and Vito Corleone.
- Affably Evil: After finding out who Tom works for, Woltz invites him to his home and has a pleasant afternoon showing him around while sharing drinks.
- Break the Haughty: He gets a massive shock to his ego when his racehorse is killed and its head is slipped into his bed.
- Dirty Old Man: He routinely sleeps with the young actresses who audition for his films, including child stars.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Woltz is genuinely affectionate for his prized racehorse Khartoum, having spent $600,000 on him and planning to put him out to stud.
- Evil Is Petty: The reason he refuses to cast Johnny Fontane in the war film is because he wooed away a young actress that Woltz had been sleeping with, in spite of knowing that Johnny is perfect for the role and would be far less bothersome and costly than another actor with union connections. Tom Hagen is left astonished upon the reveal.
- Hate Sink: Aside from his genuine love for his horse Khartoum, there's nothing likeable and sympathetic about Jack Woltz, who's an extremely rude, arrogant, petty and prejudiced man, and has the very dark distinction of being the one character in the original novel to be a pedophile.
- Hidden Depths: While he regularly uses women of various ages younger than him, he is a widower who has slept alone in his bed since the death of his wife.
- Hypocrite: In the aftermath of his horse's head in his bed, he thinks about how there couldn't be any world where people could exist or make a living if people threatened to harm/kill each other and carried their threats out... oblivious that his strongarming of Johnny Fontane was a similar kind of tactic.
- Jerkass: He is extremely rude and sees everyone as beneath him, even the Corleones.
- Jerkass Has a Point: As the film omits ulterior motives, he is within his rights to ban from his own business an actor that derailed the career of an upcoming young star of the studio and ruined one of its assets.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: He holds many similarities with Harry Cohn, the founder of Columbia Pictures, who was described as very pleasant socially but ruthless in how he ran his studio. Cohn also had ties to organized crime, and cast Frank Sinatra in From Here to Eternity, which parallels Johnny Fontane's plot line in The Godfather.
- An Offer You Can't Refuse: Tom makes Woltz an offer that the Corleones will use their union connections to help his studio if he casts Johnny Fontane in the movie. When Woltz refuses, they cut off the head of his prized horse and place it in his bed.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: And also an "ethnically correct racist" . He throws every Italian ethnic slur in the book at Tom when he first meets him. When Tom clarifies that he's actually German-Irish and not Italian, he instantly shifts to the appropriate slurs.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: In the original novel, he's a serial rapist and pedophile who sleeps with underage girls, and brutally beats and rapes a blonde child actress, which disgusts Tom Hagen and Don Corleone.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Woltz has many influential connections within and outside Hollywood, and even with the White House as he worked closely with the OWI during World War II. This makes him believe that he's untouchable and that Don Corleone can't do anything against him.
- Self-Made Man: Woltz rose from the bottom of the movie industry to become one of its titans.
- Smug Snake: The novel mentions that Woltz is not a fool, just highly egotistic: he believes that his position as one of the biggest producers in Hollywood and his relations with the White House make him untouchable. He finds out the hard way that it means nothing to a crime lord like Don Corleone.
- Furthermore, he decides to agree to Corleone's demands partly to cover up the attack, to prevent the scandal and humiliation its exposure would bring him.
- Villainous Respect: Even after being insulted in their first meeting, Tom tells Woltz that he enjoys his films.
Roth Syndicate
Hyman Roth
"Good health is the most important thing. More than success, more than money, more than power."
"Michael, we're bigger than U.S. Steel."
Portrayed By: Lee Strasberg
Born Hyman Suchowsky, the Jewish-American Roth befriended Vito during Prohibition, but later set up his own organization in Miami. Aging and perhaps terminally ill, Roth invites Michael to join his operations in Cuba, but he's soon revealed to be plotting against Michael.
- Affably Evil: In most of his scenes, he comes across as a friendly old man who honestly wants to advise Michael and leave behind something worthwhile for his friends.
- Affluent Ascetic: He's a captain of an immense criminal empire but chooses to live in a modest house in a Miami suburb.
- Big Bad: Of Michael's story in Part II.
- The Chessmaster: Tries to outwit Michael, but like Barzini before him, Michael upstages and kills him for it.
- Demoted to Extra: His introductory scene
with young Vito was cut from Part II, where young Roth is only featured in a non-speaking role. It was re-added later in The Godfather Saga. - Die Laughing: He's cracking jokes to reporters at the airport, moments before Rocco shoots him.
- Embarrassing Nickname: Clemenza introduces him to Vito as "Johnny Lips," which Roth clearly dislikes. Vito suggests he select his own name.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: His wife and brother accompany him to Cuba.
- Evil Counterpart: To Don Vito. Played with, in that rather than being an evil version of a good character, he's an even worse version of a character that was already evil to begin with.
- Kosher Nostra: He is Jewish like Moe Greene. He later tries moving to Israel, but gets rejected due to being a known criminal.
- Like a Son to Me: He claims that Moe Greene was this to him, and clearly it is one of the main reasons why he wants revenge against Michael.
- The Mentor: To Moe Greene.
- Meta Casting: Lee Strasberg was a famous and influential acting teacher whom many of the actors in the series studied under, and served as Al Pacino's mentor moreoever. Here, he plays a powerful, highly respected, highly influential crime boss. Originally the role was going to be played by Elia Kazan but eventually Coppola turned to his rival.
- Motive Rant: When Michael asks him who ordered the hit on Pentangeli, Roth responds by revealing his close connection to Moe Greene, whom Michael had killed. This provides greater clarity about why Roth would want Michael dead, even though Roth is never explicit about this.This was a great man, a man of vision and guts. And there isn't even a plaque or a signpost or a statue in that town! Someone put a bullet through his eye. No one knows who gave the order. When I heard it, I wasn't angry. I knew Moe, I knew he was headstrong—talking loud, saying stupid things. So when he turned up dead, I let it go. I said to myself, "This is business that we've chosen." And I didn't ask who gave the order! Because it had nothin' to do with business!
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Roth was very heavily based off the notorious and powerful Jewish gangster/adviser to the Mafia, Meyer Lansky, who would become one of the most powerful men in Cuba. Lansky reportedly called Lee Strasberg (the father of Method Acting), the actor playing Roth, and congratulated him on his performance, but added, "You could have made me more sympathetic." In-Universe, it's mentioned Roth is a pseudonym inspired by Arnold Rothstein. Coppola also commented that Strasberg based Roth's personality on their mutual friend, Elia Kazan.
- Non-Action Big Bad: He is very sick but no less effective as a Big Bad.
- Remember the New Guy?: A longtime friend and business partner of Vito's, whom we don't meet until Part II.
- Tranquil Fury: Is a lot more angry over his protege Moe Greene's death than he's letting on, and has a very good idea who's responsible.
Moe Greene
"Do you know who I am? I'm Moe Greene! I made my bones when you were going out with cheerleaders!"
"Yeah, let's talk business, Mike. First of all, you're all done. The Corleone Family don't even have that kind of muscle anymore. The Godfather's sick, right? You're getting chased out of New York by Barzini and the other Families. What do you think is going on here? You think you can come to my hotel and take over? I talked to Barzini - I can make a deal with him, and still keep my hotel!"
Portrayed By: Alex Rocco
A renowned Jewish mobster from Las Vegas who runs afoul of Michael's plans to relocate the Corleone Family to Nevada. In Part II, he's revealed to have been a protégé of Hyman Roth, providing Roth motivation for revenge against Michael.
- Big Bad Wannabe: He's certainly a renowned mobster in Las Vegas. With his resources, he could very well be a major antagonist to the Corleones. Unfortunately for him, his own behavior coupled with stupidity gives Michael a huge advantage against him, making his removal quite easy.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: He's gunned down by Albert Neri shortly after Michael's meeting with him in the book. He lives several months longer afterwards before being killed concurrently with the Baptism murders in the film.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: Certainly his attitude for Michael bluntly asking if he can be bought out by the Corleone Family.
- Doubles on a macro-level for his friend and mentor Hyman Roth who says he effectively made Las Vegas and yet is not acknowledged for this in any capacity and was ignominiously killed.
- Evil Sounds Deep: His voice drops an octave when he reveals himself to be allied with Barzini.
- Eye Scream: Goes out via a gunshot to the eye through his glasses.
- Faux Affably Evil: He likes to give a very weak facade of being Affably Evil, but he certainly isn't.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Very quickly goes from affable host to angry, blustering defiance when meeting with Michael.
- Jerkass: Judging from his aggressive, confrontational behavior, he's certainly not a nice guy.
- Kick the Dog: His treatment of Fredo. Slapping a member of a major Mafia family around (in public, no less), then bragging about it to the Don's face is bound to get you whacked.
- Kosher Nostra: He's a Jewish mobster.
- Moe Greene Special: The Trope Namer. In fact, the phrase "Moe Greene Special" was coined in reference to his execution by being shot through the eye.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Based on Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, a friend and partner of Meyer Lansky who played a key role in developing the Las Vegas Strip and died in a manner similar to Greene. His name is a portmanteau of two other Las Vegas gangsters, Moe Dalitz and Gus Greenbaum, who were Siegel's contemporaries.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Calls Michael a "guinea", a derogatory word for Italian Americans.
- Psychopathic Manchild: Certainly isn't very adult in manner. He is incredibly short-tempered, impulsive, self-centered, and childish. Even Roth mentions that he used to say stupid things.
- Small Role, Big Impact: His actual screen time is rather brief, but his death plays a major role in Part II.
- Smug Snake: He's not nearly as powerful (or secure) as he thinks he is. Somewhat justified, as he's aware of the turmoil within the Corleone Family and doesn't see Michael as a serious threat.
- Tempting Fate: Among his brazen, disrespectful behavior towards a Mafia Don he smugly tells Michael that the Corleones "don't have enough muscle" to take control of the casinos from him. That muscle gives him a bullet through the eye in the finale.
- Too Dumb to Live: Not only does he aggressively refuse Michael's offer of a buyout and openly insult him, he blurts out that Barzini has already contacted him. Thus confirming for Michael who the real Big Bad is, and marking Greene himself for execution.
- Visionary Villain: According to Hyman Roth, he created Las Vegas's gambling and vice rackets virtually from scratch.
- While You Were in Diapers: He proclaims as such to Michael, when he is angered by his dismissive attitude towards him.
Johnny Ola
"One by one, our old friends are gone. Death, natural or not, prison, deported. Hyman Roth is the only one left, because he always made money for his partners."
Portrayed By: Dominic Chianese
A Sicilian mobster and right-hand man to Hyman Roth.
- Affably Evil: Ola always acts courteous and friendly. It was this friendliness that allows him to manipulate Fredo.
- Category Traitor: He works for a Jewish mobster in detriment of the Corleones, who are of Sicilian descent like him. Frank Pentangeli derisively refers to his as "Hyman Roth's Sicilian Messenger Boy".
- The Dragon: He's Roth's closest associate, acting as his envoy and enforcer.
- Hookers and Blow: He's a regular patron at the seediest clubs in Havana, introducing Fredo to the live sex show the latter later takes Senator Geary.
Sicilian Mafia
Don Francesco Ciccio
"It's not his words I'm afraid of!"
— on Vito
Portrayed By: Giuseppe Sillato
A ruthless mob boss who kills Vito's father, brother and mother, forcing him to flee to the United States. Decades later, Vito returns to Sicily, seeking revenge.
- Actually Pretty Funny: When Vito comes back to Sicily years later, Don Ciccio gets a chuckle about the fact that Vito took his surname from the town he grew up in.
- Asshole Victim: This is the man that killed Vito's parents and older brother... it's hard to shed a tear for him when Vito finally gets his long-sought and very well-deserved revenge.
- Big Bad: Of Vito's story in Part II.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: He doesn't recognize Vito as an adult and is implied to have long since forgotten murdering his family and setting him on the path to becoming who he did.
- Create Your Own Villain: Evil Versus Evil example. Killing off Vito's entire family eventually led to the kid growing up to become a (very vengeful) crime lord himself.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Vito stabs him and tears through his stomach with his knife, giving Don Ciccio an exceptionally brutal and very well deserved demise.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: His novel counterpart was actually killed by Antonio Andolini, while the film version lives for a couple decades longer before his murder by Vito.
- Disproportionate Retribution: He killed Vito's father Antonio Andolini just for insulting him. To think that if it weren't for Ciccio having such a fragile ego, the whole Godfather saga wouldn't even have happened.
- The Don: The top crime boss of Corleone, Sicily at the beginning of the 20th century, until his assassination.
- The Dreaded: Everyone in Corleone is frightened of him as they know full well he will not hesitate to murder them and their families, including their children, over any slight.
- Evil Old Folks: When we first meet Ciccio when he killed Vito's family, Ciccio is already around 70. By the time Vito is an adult and returns to Sicily to enact revenge, Ciccio is ancient, at least 90. This has definitely slowed the old man down and is consequently crippled, almost blind and deaf and defenseless, thus making him an easy target for Vito.
- Fat Bastard: An overweight, child-murdering mob boss.
- Faux Affably Evil: He can can act polite and friendly during business meetings, but is ruthless enough to have whole families killed if they cross him.
- Hate Sink: Ciccio is a sociopathic mob boss who killed Vito's entire family when he was a child. When Vito's mother goes to beg him to spare his son's life, he flatly refuses, kills Vito's mother in front of him and chases him all over Sicily to kill him too. Immoral and ruthless, Don Ciccio stands out among the few characters in the trilogy with absolutely zero humanizing and redeemable traits.
- Jerkass: He was more than willing to kill Vito as a child to ensure he wouldn't return for revenge.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: He lives into old age, still wealthy and powerful and seemingly having gotten away with all his crimes. Then Vito comes to visit...
- Karmic Death: He gets his stomach stabbed and sliced by Vito Andolini, the now-grown-up boy whom Ciccio had orphaned so long ago.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Herod: He attempts to kill all of Antonio Andolini's male relatives, including his 9-year-old son Vito, knowing they would be honor-bound to avenge Antonio's murder. This forces Vito to escape to America, where he becomes a Don himself, eventually giving him the ability to return and kill Don Ciccio.
- Non-Action Big Bad: He has grown too old and almost blind by the time Vito arrives to take his revenge. It doesn't stop him from delivering it anyway.
- Properly Paranoid: He wants to kill Vito, despite his mother's pleas, in the belief that when he gets older, he will seek revenge. He turns out to be absolutely right.
- Would Hurt a Child: Has Vito's older brother Paolo killed for attempting to avenge his father, and tries to have Vito killed since Vito would do the same.
Mosca of Montelepre
Portrayed by: Mario Donatone
A Sicilian assassin.
- Ax-Crazy: An exceptionally brutal assassin who kills their targets in creatively gruesome ways.
- Bad Habits: Disguises himself as a priest in an attempt to infiltrate Don Tommasino's estate.
- The Dragon: To Don Altobello, who hires him to "remove stones from his shoe".
- Evil Mentor: To Spara, his younger partner in crime.
- Evil Old Folks: An aged man that serves as an assassin-for-hire.
- Faking the Dead: He dispatches of one of Michael's bodyguards at the opera by posing dead with another one he just killed, luring the second bodyguard close enough to stab him.
- Final Boss: Ultimately the final antagonist of the Godfather film series serving as a major and final antagonist in Part III.
- Frontline General: In early scripts, Mosca is known as "Don Mosca", suggesting he is The Don of Montelepre. This is referenced in the film by showing several guards when he is hired.
- Master of Disguise: He adopts disguises to approach his unsuspecting victims. To target Michael he chooses to disguise himself as a priest.
- One-Man Army: Personally carves his way through Michael's bodyguards during the opera.
- Professional Killer: He's an assassin for hire.
- Shotguns Are Just Better: Uses a shotgun to eliminate Don Tommasino.
- Walking Armory: Uses several weapons during his attempt to assassinate Michael during the opera: first a sniper rifle, a knife, and finally a pistol.
- White Hair, Black Heart: A ruthless assassin with white hair.
- Would Hit a Girl: Shoots Mary Corleone dead.
Mosca and Strollo
Portrayed By: Ignazio Pappalardo (Mosca), Andrea Maugeri (Strollo)
Enforcers of Don Ciccio.
- Bludgeoned to Death: Strollo gets his head beaten in with an oar by Vito.
- Family Extermination: Mosca and Strollo are personally responsible for killing Vito's family, starting with his father Antonio, then his brother Paolo, and then finally Mosca kills his mother. They would have killed Vito as well if he hadn't escaped to America.
- Ironic Echo: Mosca gets his promise of reward for Vito's life thrown back in his face before his death.
- Retired Monster: Both are no longer working for Don Ciccio by the time Vito returns to Sicily.
- Shotguns Are Just Better: Both of them use shotguns as their primary weapons.
- Slashed Throat: Mosca gets his throat cut by Vito.
- Too Dumb to Live: Strollo, who fails to realize that nobody just happens to be looking for a former enforcer for a Mafia don. Once Strollo reveals his name and that he works for Don Ciccio, Vito kills him.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Neither is seen when Vito returns to Sicily to kill Don Ciccio, though their deaths are seen in extended cuts.
- Would Hit a Girl: Mosca personally kills Vito's mother.
- Would Hurt a Child: Both men murdered Paolo Andolini and hunted Vito all over Sicily before he escaped to America.
Spara
Portrayed by: Michele Russo
An associate of Mosca.
- Calling Card: Braying like a donkey as an insult to Mosca's targets before they are taken out.
- Professional Killer: Like Mosca he's an assassin for hire.
Black Hand
Don Fanucci
"Tell your friends I don't want a lot. Just enough to wet my beak."
Portrayed By: Gastone Moschin
A small-time extortionist terrorizing Little Italy in the 1910s, who drives Vito to a life of crime.
- Backup Bluff: A villainous example, and his entire MO. He scares the people in the neighborhood into thinking he is a member of the Black Hand.
- Big Bad Wannabe: He is very feared and acts all ruthless, but he is a Paper Tiger: there are some paisans who don't pay him any tribute, he has no real muscle and resorts to police threats to enforce his demands. After Vito tests him by only paying half of his debt, he decides that he's no threat and kills him.
- The Bully: He was more of a neighborhood bully in Little Italy rather than a true mobster.
- Character Catchphrase: Fond of telling people he needs to "wet my beak," i.e. skim their profits.
- Create Your Own Villain: If he had left Vito alone, the Corleone family would have stayed as grocers rather than becoming mobsters.
- Disc-One Final Boss: For Vito, killing Fanucci turns him from petty criminal to respected godfather.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He uses his power to get his nephew a job (at the cost of Vito's) and when intimidating Vito, Fanucci takes a dress from Vito's store to give to one of his own daughters.
- Hate Sink: A Slimeball whose main job is to terrorize and extort small business from Little Italy in the 1910s. In many ways, he's more of a small-time bully than a true mobster.
- Karmic Death: He gets Vito fired from his job, forcing him to become a criminal. Vito killing him seems just punishment.
- Paper Tiger: The only reason anyone pays him any respect at all is his supposed connection to the Black Hand and the crime boss Maranzalla. Even Vito's own crew is fooled into thinking that he has all sorts of muscle at his disposal. This turns out to not be the case. He's just a pathetic fraud in an expensive suit who relies solely on empty threats to make people give him money. When he dies, neither the police nor Maranzalla investigate his death, thus completely dispelling his claim that he's connected to either.
- Red Right Hand: In the book, one of his would-be victims counters by slashing his throat. He survives, but there's still a scar from ear to ear on his neck.
- Smug Snake: He thinks he's far more intimidating and dangerous than he actually is. The instant Vito realizes he's all bluff, Fanucci's hours are numbered.
- Stupid Evil: When he smugly attempts to extort money from Vito, he: a.) threatens Vito not with violence but with a visit from the cops, suggesting that he's got no actual muscle; b.) first asks for $200, then halves it to $100 when Vito doesn't immediately capitulate, suggesting that he lacks force of will; c.) doesn't offer Vito anything at all (except the implication that he won't call the cops.) All this does is show Vito that Don Fanucci is not a serious threat, and that killing him will annoy no-one.
- Would Hit a Girl: He was willing to threaten Vito's friend's significant other with a knife to her neck, just to extort more money out of her father.
White-collar criminals (Immobiliare, the Vatican Bank & Propaganda Due)
Don Licio Lucchesi
"Finance is a gun. Politics is knowing when to pull the trigger."
Portrayed By: Enzo Robutti
An Italian politician involved in the Vatican Bank, with heavy ties to organized crime, and Michael's enemy Altobello in particular.
- Big Bad: Of Part III, secretly being Michael's enemy.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: With Don Altobello.
- Corrupt Politician: Lucchesi is an Italian political figure with ties to mafia.
- Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Prominently wears a pair of glasses, which is ironically used to kill him.
- Impromptu Tracheotomy: Stabbed to death by his own glasses in his throat.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Lucchesi is modeled on Giulio Andreotti, who was the prime minister of Italy during III's release and was convicted (then acquitted) of his links with the Real Life mafia. The line Lucchesi's killer gives before Lucchesi's murder — "Power wears out those who don't have it" — is a direct quote from Andreotti. He also shares a lot of traits (down to his first name) with Licio Gelli a grandmaster of the Freemasons.
Archbishop Gilday
"It seems the power to absolve debt is greater than the power of forgiveness".
Portrayed by: Donal Donnelly
High-ranking Church official, involved with the Vatican Bank. Michael enlists him as an ally in his effort to purchase Immobiliare, unaware that he's working with Altobello and Lucchesi.
- The Chessmaster: Quite good at manipulating Michael through outward displays of friendship. It's implied that he's the one who engineers Pope John Paul's death.
- Cigarette of Anxiety: He smokes one when discussing the Vatican Bank's troublesome financial situation with Michael to appear more vulnerable and concerned. He later smokes a genuine one when speaking with Don Lucchesi about Keinszig's disappearance.
- Disney Villain Death: Shot by Neri then falls down a staircase.
- Faux Affably Evil: A very charming and soft-spoken man in public, but a ruthless schemer behind closed doors.
- Four Eyes, Zero Soul: He is a Faux Affably Evil manipulator and he wears a pair of glasses.
- Money Dumb: At the start of the film, he notes to Michael that his lack of any real banking knowledge brought the Vatican Bank in great debt. It's a ploy - the bank's financial problems are not a result of his alleged ineptitude as a banker, but a part of a con against Michael.
- No Full Name Given: His first name is never revealed in the story.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Like other characters in Part III, Gilday is based on a major figure in the Vatican Bank scandals, in this case American-born Archbishop Paul Marcinkus. Unlike his film counterpart, Marcinkus remained head of the Vatican Bank through 1990 and died of natural causes in 2006.
- Oh, Crap!: He gets a brief fearful look on his face when he notices Neri emerging from the shadows with a gun.
- Sinister Minister: If not his demeanor, then certainly his actions.
Frederick Keinszig
"Everything will be out in the open if Corleone dies."
Portrayed by: Helmut Berger
A Swiss banker who helps negotiate the Immobiliare deal. Fearing exposure, he skips town with a Briefcase Full of Money and incriminating documents, which doesn't save him.
- Chronic Backstabbing Disorder: Happily sells out his co-conspirators as well as Michael. Vincent sums him up well:"That little Swiss banker fuck — he's been swindling everyone from the beginning. Fuck him."
- Dead Guy on Display: His corpse gets hanged from a bridge after his murder.
- Gratuitous German: He speaks German at the start of a business meeting regarding the Immobiliare and the Vatican Bank. Justified, considering that he is noted to be Swiss.
- Ironic Nickname: "God's Banker."
- Morally Bankrupt Banker: An archetypal example, especially given his ties to a Corrupt Church and The Mafia.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: For Roberto Calvi, chairman of Banco Ambrosiano, one of the key players in the Vatican Bank scandals of the '80s. Keinszig's fate is explicitly modeled off Calvi's death; the banker was found hanging from Blackfriar's Bridge in London in 1982.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: He flees the Vatican when John Paul I gets elected the new pope, cutting ties with his co-conspirators and going into hiding. It does not save him.
- Smug Snake: Condescending, arrogant and untrustworthy; no one much likes him.
- Too Dumb to Live: When Pope John Paul I takes power, he decides to backstab not only Michael but Altobello, Lucchesi and the Vatican, running off with a suitcase full of cash, bonds and Church documents. Really, what did he expect to happen?
- Vorpal Pillow: He gets smothered with a pillow during the opera purge.
