Louis Gigante

Louis Gigante

Reverend Louis Gigante is a retired Catholic priest, former Bronx city council member, the founder of the influential South East Bronx Community Organization (SEBCO), a Bronx community activist, and brother and alleged criminal associate of two legendary figures in the Genovese crime family, family boss Vincent "The Chin" Gigante and top capo/acting boss Mario Gigante. Opinions about Father Gigante among locals of the Bronx borough of New York City differ wildly, with some pointing to his career as a community and tenants-right activist as proof of his heroism on behalf of local residents, and others pointing to his family's deep criminal ties and Father Gigante's alleged second career as a slum lord as evidence of what they view as his essentially corrupt, hypocritical nature.

Career as a Bronx Community Activist & Alleged Slum Lord

As a Catholic priest at St. Athanasius Church in the South Bronx, Father Louis Gigante was one of the leading proponents of tenant rights reform in the late 1960's. [http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0704,redfearn,75612,2.html "Village Voice"] January 23rd, 2007.] In the fall of 1968, he founded the South East Bronx Community Organization (SEBCO) with funds from the federal Section 8 housing program, through which tenants pay 30 percent of their income in rent and the federal government pays the difference, which was generally considered to be one of the organizations most responsible for the economic and civic rehabilitation of the depressed South Bronx area. By 1981, Father Gigante had orchestrated the construction and rehabilitation of 1,100 federally subsidized apartments in the Hunts Point section of the South Bronx. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E01E5DA1F38F936A25754C0A967948260 "The New York Times"] July 15th, 1981. ] Father Gigante himself has claimed credit the rejuvenation of the Bronx, saying "I brought the neighborhood up from ashes to help the people in the South Bronx. There isn't one other organization that can take credit."

In January 2007, Reverend Gigante's reputation was btarnished by published accusations from the tenants of the the Hunts Point I Rehab project, a low-income housing complex managed by Gigante, who claim that he has ignored their complaints and forced them to live for years without heat, hot water, or repairs to rotting floors and ceilings.

Association with the Genovese crime family

Revered Gigante is the brother of Vincent "The Chin" Gigante and Mario Gigante, two of the leading figures in the Genovese crime family for the past thirty years. On many occasions, Reverend Gigante spoke out on behalf of his brother Vincent Gigante, supporting the now discredited ["Gangland News" [http://www.ganglandnews.com/column326.htm Gangland News] April 10, 2003] ruse that Vincent Gigante was mentally deranged and unfit to stand trial. According to testimony of mafia informant and former Genovese crime family soldier George Barone, Reverend Gigante was an active participator of Genovese family criminal activities and a close criminal associate of his brother, Vincent "The Chin" Gigante. "Chin Gigante to the day he died was feared as the boss of the Genovese family and continuously through his brother, the priest, he sent messages out," Barone said in a June 12, 2006 deposition. If taken at his word, Barone's testimony would establish Reverend Gigante as one of the most integral members of Vincent "The Chin" Gigante's administration as the boss of the Genovese crime family during his period of incarceration from 1997-2006.

Further reading

Jonnes, Jill. "South Bronx Rising: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of an American City". New York: Fordham University Press, 2002. ISBN 978-0823221998.

External links

* [http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0704,redfearn,75612,2.html "Sins of the Father"] Jennifer Redfearn, "Village Voice", January 23, 2007.
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E01E5DA1F38F936A25754C0A967948260 "Controversial Father Gigante Wins Applause] Michael Godwin,"The New York Times", July 15, 1981.
* [http://www.ganglandnews.com/column326.htm "Chin Fesses Up; His Lawyer Doesn't"] Jerry Capeci, "Gang Land News", April 10, 2003.
* [http://www.citylimits.org/content/articles/viewarticle.cfm?article_id=2224 "Murphy's Flaw"] "City Limits Magazine", February 1997.

Notes


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