Historica Wiki
Advertisement

Albert "Al" Neri (1925–) was the underboss of the Corleone crime family since 1959, succeeding Fredo Corleone. A former New York police officer, Neri acted as Don Michael Corleone's personal enforcer and held a lifelong loyalty toward him.

Biography[]

Early life[]

Born in The Bronx to a family of Sicilian descent in 1925, Al Neri enlisted in the NYPD at a young age, and he later gained a reputation as one of the most fearsome officers in the city. He would regulary exert his authority by gravely assaulting delinquents for minor infractions, and his aggresive personality caused his wife Rita to abandon him in 1954. That same year, Neri was sentenced to a range of one to 10 years in prison for the manslaughter of Bronx pimp and drug dealer Wax Baines, and he was stripped of his title as police officer.

Al Neri 1955

Neri in 1955.

Employed by the Corleones[]

The Corleone crime family held an interest for Neri after examining his police record, and likened him to Luca Brasi, the former Don Vito Corleone's personal enforcer, so with their contacts in law enforcement, Neri's sentence was suspended, and he felt indebted to Michael Corleone, the current boss. He was placed in Peter Clemenza's regime and got inducted shortly after, and in 1955 he helped end the Five Families War when he killed Don Emilio Barzini of the Barzini crime family. Neri, disguised in his old police uniform, shot Barzini in the steps of the Foley Square courthouse in Lower Manhattan, before escaping in a getaway vehicle, which cemented his reputation as a feared hitman.

With the family's base of operations being moved to Nevada, Neri was quickly promoted to a caporegime position, doubling as head of security at Corleone's hotels. Neri aided Corleone in swaying Nevada state senator Pat Geary to their side by murdering a prostitute he had slept with to pressure him into giving them full support. In 1959, after Corleone discovered his older brother and underboss Fredo had double-crossed him by conspiring with his enemy Hyman Roth, Michael had Neri kill Fredo. They both went out fishing at the the family's Lake Tahoe compound, and as Fredo held his back against Neri, he shot him in the head. With the underboss spot now vacant, Neri succeded Fredo.

Underboss[]

Al Neri 1979

Neri in 1979.

In 1979, Neri joined Michael in his decision to withdraw from the casino business after more than 20 years. He attended the Commission meeting at the Palazzo Azzurro in Atlantic City where he distributed the benefits of the investments of the casinos to every Don present. However, the meeting turned into a massacre when Joey Zasa, the disgruntled and renegade Corleone street boss, staged a helicopter attack on Corleone. Neri protected Michael and his nephew Vincent Mancini with a shotgun as they made their escape. He later authorized Mancini's revenge killing of Zasa when Corleone was hospitalized after a diabetic stroke. Neri travelled to Sicily along with Corleone and his family in early 1980 to oversee their interests in the Vatican. After Corleone's retirement later that year, Neri swore loyalty to his chosen successor Mancini, kissing his hand and calling him "Don Corleone". He was called on to murder Catholic archbishop Liam Gilday for swindling Corleone. He took a train to the Vatican hiding a gun beneath a box of chocolates, and, as Gilday ascended a spiral staircase, fatally shot him from the shadows, before throwing his corpse down the center of the staircase. Neri continued to serve under Mancini in the following years.

Advertisement