Lombardo, Philip (1908-1987)
Item
Title
Lombardo, Philip (1908-1987)
Benny Squint
Cockeye Phil
Description
Philip Lombardo was the boss of the Genovese crime family from 1969 to 1981. He was sent to jail once in the 1940s for narcotics trafficking. He lived in Englewood's second ward on Audobon Street for decades and retired in Flordia.
Philip “Benny Squint” Lombardo (1908–1987) was one of the most influential yet least publicly visible Mafia bosses of the twentieth century, serving as the true head of the Genovese crime family during much of the 1960s and 1970s. Born in New York to Italian immigrant parents, Lombardo rose quietly through the ranks of the Genovese organization, earning a reputation for caution, discipline, and exceptional strategic skill. Unlike more flamboyant Mafia figures, Lombardo kept an extremely low profile, rarely appearing in photographs and avoiding the public notoriety that drew law-enforcement scrutiny. As the de facto boss, he oversaw a wide range of rackets—including labor and construction unions, gambling, and political corruption—while maintaining firm internal control and minimizing violence. His most notable innovation was the use of “front bosses,” such as Thomas Eboli and later Frank Tieri, to disguise the family’s true power structure. This tactic protected Lombardo from prosecution and helped the Genovese family remain the most stable and impenetrable of the Five Families. By the early 1980s, declining health led him to transfer authority to Vincent “The Chin” Gigante, who continued Lombardo’s tradition of misdirection and secrecy. Lombardo died in 1987, remembered by historians as a master strategist whose quiet style and organizational reforms profoundly shaped the modern American Mafia.
Philip “Benny Squint” Lombardo (1908–1987) was one of the most influential yet least publicly visible Mafia bosses of the twentieth century, serving as the true head of the Genovese crime family during much of the 1960s and 1970s. Born in New York to Italian immigrant parents, Lombardo rose quietly through the ranks of the Genovese organization, earning a reputation for caution, discipline, and exceptional strategic skill. Unlike more flamboyant Mafia figures, Lombardo kept an extremely low profile, rarely appearing in photographs and avoiding the public notoriety that drew law-enforcement scrutiny. As the de facto boss, he oversaw a wide range of rackets—including labor and construction unions, gambling, and political corruption—while maintaining firm internal control and minimizing violence. His most notable innovation was the use of “front bosses,” such as Thomas Eboli and later Frank Tieri, to disguise the family’s true power structure. This tactic protected Lombardo from prosecution and helped the Genovese family remain the most stable and impenetrable of the Five Families. By the early 1980s, declining health led him to transfer authority to Vincent “The Chin” Gigante, who continued Lombardo’s tradition of misdirection and secrecy. Lombardo died in 1987, remembered by historians as a master strategist whose quiet style and organizational reforms profoundly shaped the modern American Mafia.
Source
“Philip Lombardo.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 1 June 2024.
"The Genovese Family." Courier-Post, 20 Feb. 1983, p. 6.
Raab, Selwyn. "Vincent Gigante, Mob Boss Who Feigned Incompetence to Avoid Jail, Dies at 77." New York Times, 20 Dec. 2005.
Birth Date
1908-10-06
Birthplace
New York City, New York, USA
Death Date
1987-04-29
Source of File Attached
"The Genovese Family." Courier-Post, 20 Feb. 1983, p.6.
Collection
Citation
“Lombardo, Philip (1908-1987),” Englewood Makes History, accessed October 1, 2026, https://archive.englewoodmakeshistory.org/items/show/117.
Geolocation
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