Giuseppe Antonio Doto (22 November 1902-26 November 1971), also known as Joe Adonis, was a made man in the Genovese crime family under Lucky Luciano.
Biography[]
Giuseppe Antonio Doto was born on 22 November 1902 in Montemarano, Campania, Italy, and he emigrated to the US city of New York City, New York in 1909. He became a pickpocket, and he befriended fellow criminal Lucky Luciano. Doto was nicknamed "Joe Adonis" by a showgirl that he was dating, and he used this name for the rest of his life. Adonis became involved in illegal gambling alongside Luciano, Meyer Lansky, and Bugsy Siegel, and he sold alcohol to Broadway performers. During the 1920s, he worked with Frankie Yale, but his operations ceased after Joe Masseria took over Yale's operation in 1928 after his murder. Adonis joined Masseria's faction alongside Luciano, fighting against Salvatore Maranzano's rival family. In 1931, Adonis, Vito Genovese, Albert Anastasia, and Bugsy Siegel assassinated Masseria at a Coney Island restaurant, and Adonis and Luciano would control bootlegging in Midtown and along Broadway after the war's end. Adonis also helped in the formation of Murder, Inc., at times enlisting its services. During the 1940s, he was involved in setting up casinos, and he was arrested for illegal gambling in 1951. In 1953, Adonis was deported to Italy, and he was involved in the local Mafia's crimes there. He died in Ancona in 1971 at the age of 69.