Salvatore "Sal" Tessio is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather and the film based on it. In the film, Tessio was portrayed by Abe Vigoda, and as a younger man in the sequel by John Aprea.
Tessio starts out with his friends Peter Clemenza and Vito Corleone as low-level hoodlums in New York City's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood. As Corleone rises to prominence in the Mafia underworld, Tessio and Clemenza rise with him, each eventu...
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Salvatore "Sal" Tessio is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather and the film based on it. In the film, Tessio was portrayed by Abe Vigoda, and as a younger man in the sequel by John Aprea.
Tessio starts out with his friends Peter Clemenza and Vito Corleone as low-level hoodlums in New York City's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood. As Corleone rises to prominence in the Mafia underworld, Tessio and Clemenza rise with him, each eventually settling into the caporegime roles. Tessio owns the Embassy Club in Brooklyn and makes it his base of operations. From there, he manages his Mafia soldiers and is very well-connected throughout the borough. Most federal investigators consider Tessio the smarter, savvier and more ruthless of the two capos. However, according to the book, he mellows considerably over the decade of peace between New York's Mafia families.
His regime includes soldiers Nick Geraci, Momo Barone, Eddie Paradise, and Tommy Neri. He is initially the more trusted...
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