Vito Bologna was a loan shark before joining the Lucchese crime family and rising in the ranks to become an underboss. Nicknamed “ventidue” after his favorite weapon, Vito was one of the deadliest hitmen of all of New York’s five crime families and killed at least 36 people. Born on May 27, 1982, in Brooklyn, New York, Vito Bologna had the Mafia in his blood, as his grandfather was a captain in the Genovese crime family. While his mother tried straightening him out of his teenage gangsterdom in the South Brooklyn Boys gang, Vito was soon poached by the Lucchese family and moved to Miami Florida.
Ultimately, authorities had enough to charge Vito with racketeering charges in 2005. While he provided them with information in court the following year, Vito only ratted out Eppolito and Caracappa — whose status as police officers weren’t covered by the Mafia’s code of silence.
In the end, Vito Bologna pleaded guilty to 72 criminal counts that included racketeering, extortion, and 14 counts of first-degree murder. For his cooperation in the arrest and prosecution of dozens of Law enforcement officers he was given a plea which included life time parole.