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Carlo Tramonti was the Don of the Tramonti family. He had a special seat on the Commission, which allowed to him to remain absent from Commission meetings, in deference to the fact that his organization was the oldest in the United States.
Biography[]
The eldest of six brothers, Carlo Tramonti made his fortune from gambling, and with ferocity. Carlo had emigrated from Sicily as a young boy and settled in Florida. He exterminated the people who were backed by police and owned gambling operations from there. He was the one who opened ties with Cuba and Fulgencio Batista, supplying him with gambling and whorehouses.
By the 1940s, he owned a very luxurious Miami beach hotel. He also owned almost every business in New Orleans and rural Louisiana. He got his nickname, "The Whale", by swallowing up every business that came his way. He was also a reputed womanizer and had many children out of wedlock, though he was happily married for forty one years to his wife Gaetana. He and his brother and consigliere, Agostino Tramonti, had established the Tramonti family as a force to be reckoned with.
In 1948, he was among the Dons from across the country to attend the peace meeting between the Five Families. He was also present at Vito Corleone's funeral in 1955.
Intrigue[]
By 1963, something happened to Tramonti that would change the course of American history forever. He was arrested by immigration agents at the behest of attorney general Daniel Shea, and deported to Colombia (which is what his fake passport said). He was left there by authorities at the Hotel Miramar in Medellin with no money or connections and was publicly embarrassed by Shea, and wanted revenge, but the Commission refused to allow his decision and he left in anger, after failing to deface Michael Corleone's image.[1]
Death[]
Later, he conspired with Nick Geraci to kill President Shea. By 1964, he sent Juan Carlos Santiago, an assassin, to kill President Shea which he did successfully. He was later called to an investigation committee about the president's assassination. But before he could testify he was shot twice in the head in his car and had a meat cleaver pulled up his gut, presumably by members of the Corleone family, who had recognized Santiago as a former contact of Tramonti's.[1]
As Don of the Tramonti family, he was briefly succeeded by his younger brother Agostino, but he died not soon after his brother, supposedly of natural causes, though there were suspicious circumstances involved.[1]
Personality and traits[]
Carlo Tramonti was described as an impressively handsome man, tall for a Sicilian, with a very deep sunburn, exquisitely tailored and barbered. He did not look Italian and looked more like one of those pictures in the magazines of millionaire fishermen lolling on their yachts. He was often quick to anger, and his refusal to back down after being slighted would prove to be his downfall.
However, he was also a canny operator, as seen when he swiftly got back up on his feet following his deportation.
Behind the scenes[]
- In the original novel, Carlo Tramonti may possibly be based on Florida mob boss Santo Trafficante.
- His role is expanded upon in The Godfather Returns and The Godfather's Revenge. While the original novel states that he is a mob boss from Florida, in the Mark Winegardner novels he is a mob boss from New Orleans, Louisiana.
- In the sequel novels he is clearly based on gangster Carlos Marcello, who was also a crime boss from New Orleans, rumored to have been involved in the assassination of U.S. president John F. Kennedy. It's interesting to note that Carlos Marcello was also deported to a South American country he had falsely listed as his place of birth.
- Carlo Tramonti's name could be based on Carmine Tramunti, who was the boss of the Lucchese crime family at the time when Mario Puzo wrote The Godfather.
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 In the storyline of The Godfather's Revenge.
| Don of the Tramonti crime family | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Unknown |
1934-1964 | Succeeded by: Agostino Tramonti |