Michael Coreleone was the boss of the Corleone crime family after the death of his father, Vito Corleone. He is known for trying to legitimize his family's business from the the 1950's through the 1970's.
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Biography[]
Born in 1926 to mob boss father, Vito Coreleone and his wife Carmela, Michael was the youngest son of the couple having two older brothers, Santino and Fredo and would later have a younger sister named Connie and an adopted brother, Tom Hagen. Through his life he saw small parts of his father work and never seemed eager to be in the business, choosing instead to ignore it.
Military Service (1941 - 1945)[]
Corleone enlisted in the Marines shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, against the wishes of his family he went and fought in the pacific theater in Sicily. During his service he was awarded the Navy Cross and in 1944 was featured in Time Magazine. In 1945 he was discharged after being wounded in combat. His father bribed the military to discharge him so that Michael could return home safely. After he returned he got back with his former girlfriend Kay Adams.
Turning to organized crime[]
In December of 1945 Vito Corleone was nearly killed in an assassination attempt put out by Virgil Sollozzo, a day later Michael came to visit his father in the hospital and discovered his father's guards had been dismissed under orders of corrupt police captain, Mark McCluskey. Corleone was able to hide his father in another room to prevent another assassination attempt on him while in hospital. In January of 1946 Michael killed Sollozzo and McClusky at Louie's restaurant. He used a gun that had been hidden by another family member, Peter Clemenza in a toilet box in the bathroom. Coreleone returned to his table from the bathroom and shot the two dead. He then fled to Sicily.
Time in Sicily[]
After the deaths of Sollozzo and McClusky, Coreleone fled on a ship to Sicily where he went under the protection of Lionele Tommasino, a family friend and Don of the Tommasino Clan. It was in Sicily where he met and fell in love with Apollonia Vitelli and the two eventually married and shared a short yet loving relationship until she was killed in a car bomb explosion meant for Coreleone in 1948, the bomb was planted by a friend of Coreleone's, Fabrizio. Michael was left a widower and returned to America.
Rise to Power[]
In 1954 Michael was made acting boss of the family by his father, a position that would've been held by Michael's brother Santino, though he was killed in 1951. Michael took over running the family from then on as his father began to weaken from age. On July 27, 1955, Vito Coreleone died of a heart attack prompting Michael to become boss. Michael intended to move the family business to Las Vegas and open up a casino to go legit. Michael was forced to deal with the ramifications of the Five Families War and with the help of Peter Clemenza plotted the killing of the heads of the five families. During this time he had his brother in Law, Carlo Rizzi killed for playing a role in Santino's death in 1948.
Moving to Nevada[]
In the 1950's he moved the family operation's to Lake Tahoe, while leaving Clemenza in charge in New York. during this time his relationship with his wife, Kay became strained leading to their divorce in 1960. Also in this time he had to deal with a fellow mobster testifying against him along with an assassination attempt at his home. He discovered that his own brother, Fredo sold him out by accident. After the death of his mother he began killing off his enemies, one of which was Fredo.
Retirement[]
In the 1970's Michael took great steps to turn his business legit, he sold most of the casino's and turning over business to street boss, Joey Zasa. Using his money and power he founded and was awarded the rank of "Commander of St. Sebastian". He also repaired his relationships with Kay and his nephew, Vincent Mancini. After Joey Zasa wiped out the commission in the Atlantic City Massacre Mancini killed Zasa, Michael then make him his heir to the family. After the Immobiliare deal was discovered to be a scam he requested the aid of Tommassino yet again.
End of his career[]
Corleone later returned to Sicily to watch his son, Anthony perform at the Teatro Massimo. However, he soon became aware of two assassins named Mosca and Spara, whom Don Osvaldo Altobello, had hired to kill him. Mosca killed Tommasino, and Michael vowed before his dead friend's coffin to sin no more. That night, Michael, reconciled with Kay and his son Anthony, watched his son perform in the opera Cavalleria Rusticana. That same night, Vincent, with Michael's permission, wiped out the men who had wronged him in the deal in a bloody wave of murders. Later on after the opera show Mary was killed in an assassination attempt on her father, being shot to death in front of her whole family. Devastated by this loss, Michael retired to Sicily and bought Don Tomassino's old villa in Bagheria, where he had lived with his first wife. He died there in 1997, distraught and alone, of a stroke while sitting in a chair in front of his villa.
