Ottilio Cuneo

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Don Ottilio "Leo the Milkman" Cuneo is a fictional character appearing in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather. In the film adaptation he is called Carmine Cuneo by Vito Corleone. He was portrayed by actor Rudy Bond.

Role of the Cuneo Family in the Story

In both the novel and movie "The Godfather", the Cuneo family is the fourth most powerful crime family of the Five New York Families.^{[citation needed]} From its beginnings the family's don was Ottilio Cuneo. The Cuneo family, along with the Tattaglia family, Barzini family, and the Stracci family are the families to invest in Virgil Sollozzo's heroin trade and to fight in the subsequent war against the Corleones.

When these families realized that the only way to win the war was to assassinate Sonny Corleone, they contact Carlo Rizzi and use him to set up Sonny by having Carlo beat up his wife and Sonny's sister Connie.^{[citation needed]} Sonny drives towards Carlo's home in a fit of rage, but is killed at a toll booth by assassins before getting there. Sonny's assassination is the declaration of victory in the war against the Corleones.^{[citation needed]}

After Don Vito Corleone declares peace among the Five Families, he promises not to break the peace and thus, Victor Stracci, Emillio Barzini, Phillip Tattaglia, and Ottilio Cuneo have their families start taking away territory from the Corleones.^{[citation needed]} Later, after Don Corleone's death, they summon Michael to a fake peace summit where he is to be assassinated.

Michael, however, had already foreseen this move thanks to his father's deduction and Michael has Ottilio Cuneo and all other dons in New York assassinated, eliminating almost all of the Five Families interests in New York, therefore, almost completely destroying the Cuneos.

Character

In the film, Cuneo was the head of the Cuneo crime family, one of the Five Families of New York from 1927 to 1955. He sided with his fellow dons against the most powerful of the five, the Corleones, in Emilio Barzini's plot to take their territory and assets, and spread the heroin trade through the entire city of New York. For his part in the conspiracy, Cuneo was assassinated in 1955 by Corleone family soldier Willi Cicci, who trapped the unsuspecting Don in the revolving door of a hotel lobby before shooting him through the glass.

In the novel, however, Cuneo is not murdered. In Mark Winegardner's sequel novel The Godfather Returns, Cuneo is one of the New York dons attempting to keep peace between the Corleones and their enemies. As with the "Victor Stracci" of the film, it is quite possible that Ottilio and Carmine are two completely different characters.

In The Godfather: The Game, the player is asked to stay and wait until Don Cuneo exits a hotel. When outside the player is prompted to shoot him.

References