Thomas "Tom" Hagen (1916-1973) was the Consigliere of the Corleone crime family under Vito Corleone and Michael Corleone. He was adopted by Vito Corleone, and he served as Vito and his son Michael's close adviser, despite not being of Italian descent.
Biography[]
Thomas Hagen was born in 1916, the son of German carpenter Martin Hagen and his Irish wife Bridget. At the age of eleven, Hagen lost his mother to a venereal disease, and his father drank himself to death a few months later. Hagen lived on the streets for more than a year, but he met Sonny Corleone after saving Corleone from a switchblade merchant in an alleyway. Hagen was adopted into the Corleone family by Vito Corleone and his wife Carmela, and he quickly became a valued son of Don Vito.
Sollozzo Intrigue[]
Hagen in 1945
Despite not being of Sicilian descent, Hagen's promising legal career led to Don Vito making Hagen his new Consigliere following Genco Abbandando's death in 1945. Hagen was a very wise adviser to Don Vito and to Sonny (who was acting boss while Vito was in the hospital from 1945 to 1948), and he assisted Johnny Fontane in getting a role in one of Jack Woltz's movies, negotiated his own release from Virgil Sollozzo's custody, and attempted to calm Sonny Corleone during the Five Families War. Hagen's role declined during the war, and after Vito Corleone made Michael Corleone acting boss, Michael decided that Hagen was not a wartime consigliere, and instead made Vito his adviser. Hagen handled the family business in Las Vegas, Chicago, and Los Angeles and he was reinstated to his former position upon Don Vito's death in 1955.
Consigliere[]
Tom Hagen remained consigliere after Michael Corleone made the move to Lake Tahoe, Nevada, but he was excluded from Michael's meetings with Hyman Roth and instead sought to become a congressman. Hagen became acting don after a failed attempt on Michael's life was made at Lake Tahoe, and he was instrumental in securing the friendship of US Senator Pat Geary and defended Corleone during the Senate hearings on the Mafia. He also encouraged turncoat caporegime Frank Pentangeli to commit suicide to secure his silence. Tom Hagen continued to serve as Michael's consigliere until his death in the 1970s, and his son Andrew Hagen became a Catholic priest.
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