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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account.  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Mar 20, 2025 8:02 PM UTC  Robert De Niro as both Vito Genovese and Frank Costello The Alto Knights Robert De Niro as both Vito Genovese and Frank Costello The Alto KnightsCourtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Mar 20, 2025 8:02 PM UTC _The_ _Alto Knights_, out March 21, brings [Robert DeNiro](https://time.com/7258165/zero-day-review-robert-de-niro-netflix/) back to a mob movie—and stars the famed actor in dual roles. Written by [_Goodfellas_](https://time.com/4030997/goodfellas-25-years/)screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi, _The Alto Knights_ is inspired by the true story of the rivalry between Frank Costello and Vito Genovese—big names in organized crime in New York City in the mid-20th century—both played by [DeNiro](https://time.com/6982319/biden-campaign-ad-2024-robert-de-niro-trump/). The title “Alto Knights” is the name of a real social club in NYC’s Little Italy neighborhood where mafiosos could safely talk in person. Here’s a look at how _The Alto Knights_ tells the dramatic story of Frank Costello and Vito Genovese. TIME talked to two experts on the mobsters, Tony DeStefano, author of _The Deadly Don: Vito Genovese, Mafia Boss_ and _Top Hoodlum: Frank Costello, Prime Minister of The Mafia_, and Geoff Schumacher, the vice president of exhibits and programs at the Mob Museum in Las Vegas. ## **How Frank Costello and Vito Genovese became influential** “It can be summed up in one word: prohibition,” says Schumacher. The mob flourished during the [Prohibition](https://time.com/5469508/prohibition-repeal-anniversary-history/) era from 1920-1933, when a ban on manufacturing, selling, and transporting alcohol in the U.S. created a black market for alcohol. Costello and Genovese became leading figures in “rum running”—smuggling good liquor into the U.S. from Canada, the Caribbean, or Europe—and “bootlegging”—making alcohol and then selling it. “They were essentially rivals,” says DeStefano. They were each very successful, with different approaches. In _The Alto Knights_, Genovese captures their dynamic in a line to Costello: “You wanna be a diplomat, that’s your business. I’m a gangster.” Genovese was known for street crime and violence to get what he wanted. “He was more on the thug side of organized crime,” says Schumacher. He was an underboss to [Lucky Luciano](https://time.com/4436032/suicide-squad-american-history-world-war-ii-mafia/), who took control of the mafia in America in 1931 after killing the New York boss Joe Masseria. By contrast, Costello was mainly a power broker in New York City, less focused on street violence, and more focused on getting people elected and controlling judges and the police. “All kinds of people in the political sphere were under his thumb in New York for many years through payoffs,” says Schumacher. Costello was also involved in the gambling industry, introducing slot machines in New York City and New Orleans. He even made the cover of [TIME magazine ](https://time.com/vault/issue/1949-11-28/page/1/)in 1949\. The movietakes place in 1957, when Genovese is jealous of Costello’s power and influence and wants to usurp him as the big boss in New York. The movie opens with a failed assassination attempt against Costello, and while Genovese was not the guy who pulled the trigger, “he was definitely behind it,” says Schumacher. As the movie shows, Costello does agree to retire and step aside so Genovese can take over. Costello is shown living the good life on Central Park West, walking dogs decked out in miniature mink coats, including a pomeranian in a fur beret. ## **How** **_The Alto Knights_** **depicts the Apalachin Meeting** Geneovese’s takeover leads to one of _The Alto Knights_’s most dramatic scenes, when the film depicts cops in upstate N.Y. breaking up a summit of mob leaders driving [Cadillacs](https://time.com/3303212/gm-self-driving-cadillac/) in upstate N.Y. This gathering—to recognize Genovese as the leading mob boss nationwide—really did take place on Nov. 14, 1957, and is known as the “Apalachin Meeting.” As shown in the movie, the mobsters who arrived at the meeting tried to escape the police by running away to the woods, and their cars got stuck in mud as they revved up the engines. Costello is en route to the event, but never makes it because he constantly stops at roadside attractions and stores along the way. The movie seems to lean into a theory that Costello tipped off local authorities that a bunch of guys up to no good were going to get together—possibly as payback for Genovese trying to kill him. “We don't know if Costello ever did that,” says DeStefano. “We don't know for a fact that Costello made that trip. He was not at that meeting…But it makes for a good film.” ## **What happened to Frank Costello and Vito Genovese** While Vito Genovese survived the meeting, it was the beginning of the end for him. In 1959, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison after getting busted for heroin trafficking. He died behind bars, from heart problems, in 1969 at the age of 71\. Costello served stints in prison for contempt of Congress and tax evasion, but he was able to live out the last years of his life at home, mostly gardening and showing off his flowers at horticultural shows. He died in 1973 at the age of 82\. The mafia’s power also began to wane at this point. Enacted in 1970, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act—RICO, for short—enabled federal prosecutors to go after mobsters nationwide. But organized crime still exists today. While members of the [“Five Families”](https://time.com/5869561/fear-city-netflix-documentary/) are still around, they are not as powerful as they used to be. Organized crime has become more anonymous and international in scope—led by [Mexican drug cartels](https://time.com/4184368/drug-cartel-gangsters-ioan-grillo-book-excerpt/) and Russian and Albanian mobsters—with increased [wildlife trafficking](https://time.com/5438770/illegal-wildlife-trade-last-animals/) and gun-running. 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