Peter LaTempa (1904 – January 15, 1945) was a New York mobster and associate of the

Genovese crime family The Genovese crime family (), also sometimes referred to as the Westside, is an Italian Americans, Italian American American Mafia, Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City and Ne ...

, who later agreed to become a government witness against

Vito Genovese Vito Genovese (; November 21, 1897 – February 14, 1969) was an Italian-born American ''American Mafia, mafioso'' and the leader of the Genovese crime family in New York City. A childhood friend and criminal associate of Lucky Luciano, Genovese ...

. A local Brooklyn hoodlum, LaTempa was pressured to support the testimony of hitman Ernest "The Hawk" Rupolo in the government's case against Vito Genovese for the 1934 murder of gambler and

Luciano crime family The Genovese crime family (), also sometimes referred to as the Westside, is an Italian American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City and New Jersey as part of the American Ma ...

soldier Ferdinand "The Shadow" Boccia. Shortly after Genovese's escape to

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, LaTempa reportedly agreed to cooperate with the authorities because he believed that Genovese would never be prosecuted. However, in 1944, U.S. military police in Sicily arrested Genovese for dealing in black market goods, and his status as a fugitive was uncovered shortly thereafter. On January 8, 1945, federal authorities announced that Genovese had been

repatriate Repatriation is the return of a thing or person to its or their country of origin, respectively. The term may refer to non-human entities, such as converting a foreign currency into the currency of one's own country, as well as the return of mi ...

d to New York. LaTempa immediately went to the Brooklyn

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

's office and demanded

protective custody Protective custody (PC) is a type of imprisonment (or care) to protect a person from harm, either from outside sources or other prisoners. Many prison administrators believe the level of violence, or the underlying threat of violence within pris ...

. As a result, the authorities placed LaTempa in

Raymond Street Jail The Raymond Street Jail was a jail in Brooklyn, New York City. With its cornerstone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other ston ...

. Less than a week after Genovese's return, LaTempa was found dead in his cell after taking medication for his

gallstones A gallstone is a stone formed within the gallbladder from precipitated bile components. The term cholelithiasis may refer to the presence of gallstones or to any disease caused by gallstones, and choledocholithiasis refers to the presence of ...

. An

autopsy An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of deat ...

allegedly revealed that he had ingested enough poison ''"..to kill eight horses."'' Those responsible for arranging LaTempa's murder by tampering with his medication were never apprehended. However, authorities were convinced that Genovese was behind the murder, as he was the one who stood most to gain from LaTempa's death. With LaTempa's sudden death, there was no one to corroborate Rupolo's testimony in the Boccia murder case, and the jury was subsequently forced to acquit Genovese. The presiding judge, Samuel Leibowitz, stated before the court: :''"I cannot speak for the jury, but I believe if there were even a shred of corroborating evidence you would have been condemned to the electric chair. By devious means, among which were the terrorizing of witnesses, kidnapping them, yes, even murdering those who would give evidence against you, you have thwarted justice time and again."'' After applying for early release from prison, Rupolo himself would be found dead almost 20 years later, on August 24, 1964. He was recovered from

Jamaica Bay Jamaica Bay (also known as Grassy Bay) is an estuary on the southern portion of the western tip of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The estuary is partially man-made, and partially natural. The bay connects with Lo ...

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

with his hands bound and two concrete blocks attached to his legs. His murder was almost certainly in response to his having testified against Genovese.

References

*Nash, Jay Robert. ''The Great Pictorial History of World Crime''. Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. *Sifakis, Carl. ''The Mafia Encyclopedia''. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. *Sifakis, Carl. ''The Encyclopedia of American Crime''. New York: Facts on File Inc., 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:Latempa, Peter 1904 births 1945 deaths Genovese crime family Murdered American gangsters of Italian descent Murdered Genovese crime family members People murdered in New York City Deaths by poisoning People murdered in 1945