Joe Adonis, as charming as

that appellation is, was not

his real name. He was baptized Giuseppe Antonio Doto

in the 'carnival town' of
Montemarano, Italy on November 22, 1902.

Adonis, like all good criminals,
managed to enter the United States illegally by
stowing away on a boat in 1915 and sneaking
ashore to New York City.

Once in the United
States, he survived by picking pockets and
stealing what he could from the wealthier
people of the city.

During his criminal
escapades he met Charles "Lucky" Luciano, a
fellow criminal.

The two became very good
friends over the years and graduated to bigger
and better rackets, such as gambling and
prostitution. In 1920, he changed his name to
"Joe Adonis" out of sheer vanity. He considered
himself a very handsome man and spent a lot of
time grooming himself at the mirror.

He adopted
the name from the Greek name that came to refer
to the perfect male figure.

One time, Luciano
saw Adonis at the mirror combing his hair and
asked,

"Who do you think you are, Rudolph
Valentino?" and Adonis replied, "For looks,
that guy's a bum!"

Under his new name, he
became a major player in New York and sought
sex everywhere he could.

Unfortunately not all
women shared his view that he was the perfect
man and he was arrested at one point for raping
a woman who refused his advances.

In the 1920s,
Adonis started working for mafia boss Frankie
Yale, who controlled much of the criminal
enterprises in Brooklyn.

Luciano chose to work
for Joe Masseria instead, and Adonis served as
one of the four hitmen who gunned down Masseria
on April 15, 1931.

Following the assassination,
Luciano appointed himself head of the Masseria
crime family and formed the National Crime
Syndicate, uniting the crime families across
the United States.

Adonis was summarily placed
on the board of directors for the organization
and given a great deal of power. He was in
charge of bribing the New York City officials
to allow their criminal enterprise to operate
without too much friction. Adonis established
his headquarters at his restaurant, Joe's
Italian Kitchen.

From there he directed
prostitution, gambling, alcohol, and other
operations, netting millions of dollars in
profit.

He even sold cars in New Jersey, then
forced customers to pay him extra or find their
car destroyed. He also bought vending machines
and stole products to sell in them, generating
a 100% profit margin.

By 1932, Adonis
controlled all of Brooklyn and was untouchable
despite numerous attempts by the federal
government to bring him down.

After Luciano was
deported to Italy in 1945, Adonis took over
control of the National Crime Syndicate.

Despite the deportation, Luciano maintained
some degree of control over the organization
with Adonis' approval. In the late 1940s, the
heat was starting to come down on Joe. A member
of Murder Inc., Abe Reles, became a government
informant and fingered Adonis as the most
powerful criminal in New York City.

Adonis was
called to testify before the Kefauver
Committee, but cited the fifth amendment and
was allowed to leave. In 1953, the US
government deported Adonis due to his lack of
official citizenship and sent him to Italy. He
was not terribly disappointed, however, since
he was able to take his fortune with him and
live like a king near Naples and Luciano.

Unfortunately, his relationship with Luciano
turned sour after he learned that Adonis had
ceded control of the National Crime Syndicate
to Vito Genovese.

On November 26, 1972, the
Italian police cracked down on organized crime
and arrested Adonis. They took him to a shack
in the country to interrogate him, but Adonis
had a heart attack and died on the spot.

After
a small funeral, he was buried, 

like all good criminals, in New Jersey.