Don Fanucci

Don Fanucci is one of the two secondary antagonists of the universally acclaimed Academy-Award winning gangster film, The Godfather: Part II.

He is portrayed by Italian actor Gastone Moschin.

Biography
He is a seemingly ruthless, but actually weak and gullible mafia boss who was a Black Hand extortionist in Little Italy. Fanucci demands protection money from neighborhood business. He is first seen when Vito Corleone and Genco Abbandando attend a play of a young girl acting in it. Backstage, when he demands money from the playwright, he threatens to disfigure his daughter, the young girl from the play, if he doesn't comply, and so he does. He later costs Vito his job, when he demands that his nephew Sandiago be provided with money and employment.

In the novel and in the chronological film version re-edited for TV (The Godfather Saga), Vito witnesses an attack on Fanucci by two youths of the neighborhood who are tired of Fanucci's oppression over the neighborhood. Although Fanucci screams for help, nobody comes to his rescue and the attack ends only when the youths have robbed him, cut his throat, and run away. Vito knows from his own experiences that a real Don would probably be escorted by bodyguards, and that anybody who dared attack him would be dealt with severely and publicly. Vito begins to suspect that Fanucci's power comes from the threat of force rather than force itself.

Soon, Vito meets Peter Clemenza, a young criminal who asks Vito to hide his guns. When Vito does this favor, Clemenza repays him by helping him steal merchandise from other people's homes to provide for Vito's family, albeit initially at Vito's behest. Soon, they meet Salvatore Tessio, who becomes a business partner with the two of them.

One day, while Vito is driving a load of stolen merchandise, Fanucci jumps onto the moving vehicle. He explains that he has gotten word that Vito, Clemenza and Sal Tessio have participated in several robberies and are fencing the stolen goods. He demands $200 from the three men, but almost immediately states he will take slightly less if he is wrong on the amount. He also threatens to go to the police unless Vito gives him a cut of their profits. This confirms Vito's suspicions in the novel that Fanucci is not as powerful as he claims, as he would not have to anonymously get the police involved against Vito if he truly had the power and resources to retaliate.

He assures Fanucci that he will convince his friends to pay him. That night, Vito meets with Clemenza and Tessio and expresses hesitations about paying Fanucci. They both tell Vito that they must pay, and when Vito mentions two bookies across town who he says don't pay Fanucci anything, Tessio and Clemenza insist that someone else must collect from them for Fanucci's boss, the Black Hand leader Maranzalla, whom they fear retaliation from rather than Fanucci. Vito meets with Fanucci, but offers only $100. Impressed with the young man's courage, he tells Vito he will find him work for good money.

After this meeting, Vito follows Ciccio into an abandoned building during the Feast of Saint Rocco, and then sneaks up on him. Ciccio notices him, and Vito then shoots him dead, the sounds of gunfire masked by the carnival outside and by Vito using a rolled-up towel as a makeshift silencer. After the hit, Vito retrieves the money that Fanucci had taken earlier and then destroys the gun.

This completes Vito's character arc from a reluctant criminal to a powerful mob boss, as Vito then assumes Fanucci's place. However, Vito is far more compassionate and shows the people of his neighborhood with far more respect than Fanucci does.