The Godfather: 10 Best Mob Enforcers, Ranked

Content Warning: This article contains references to graphic violence

Glowingly portrayed in most mob movies and TV shows, the enforcer is one of the most important figures in an organized crime family. He threatens foes, intimidates would-be-foes, collects debts, protects high-ranking members, and most importantly, conducts killings (aka, whackings of people who have been given a death sentence by the boss).

In The Godfather trilogy, several enforcers work under Vito and Michael, as well as the other Dons that are part of the saga. Some are incredibly good at what they do, hence embedding themselves among some of the best movie characters of all time. And even among the skilled enforcers, some come off as more flawless than others.

10 Fabrizio

When Michael goes into exile in Sicily after murdering Police captain McCluskey and drug lord Solozzo, Fabrizio is tasked with protecting him. Unfortunately, he gets jealous when Michael marries Apollonia Vitell. He soon conspires with the Barzini family to kill Michael by planting a bomb in his car but it’s Apollonia who gets killed instead.

Fabrizio’s resume as an assassin in Sicilly is great and that’s why he is chosen to protect the shining star of the Corleone family. However, compared to the other enforcers, he isn’t all that great because he is literally a failure. He ends up dying by when Michael’s men track him to New York and also place a bomb in his car in response to his betrayal.

9 Willie Cici

Cici graduates from an employee of the Genco Pura Olive Oil Company to a master assassin in just a short span of time. He is responsible for one of the most iconic hits, where he shoots Don Carmine Cuneo inside a barbershop as Michael Rizzi’s baptism is taking place.

Cici has 9 lives, having survived both being shot by cops and getting hit by a car. If he is to be analyzed only by his job description, then he is flawless. However, he fails to be the Corleone’s best enforcer since he also betrays them. During the Senate hearings, he testifies against the Corleone family, although he refuses to directly implicate Michael.

8 Bussetta

The elderly mobster is responsible for not only protecting Michael but also carrying out hits that are considered too labyrinthine. A native Sicilian, he lives by the Cosa Nostra code and rarely speaks.

That he is an elderly man means Bussetta has traversed the minacious world of organized crime for decades without any harm coming to him. This is commendable. However, the reason why he isn’t considered the best is that he makes easy mistakes, which ultimately leads to his death is an amateur one. Bussetta attempts to assassinate Hyman Roth inside a hospital in Cuba without caring to know where the security officers are first. As a result, he gets shot.

7 Calò

Calò is also tasked with protecting Michael Corleone during his time in exile in Sicily. A shepherd by day and executioner by night, Calò has gained notoriety for his proficiency with the lupara shotgun.

Calò is an honorable man and is very loyal to his bosses. He serves Michael diligently before going on to protect Don Tommasino for four decades. His improvisation techniques are impressive too, as seen with how he uses Don Lucchesi’s glasses to stab him in the neck when he lacks a weapon.

6 Anthony “The Ant” Squigliaro

Squigliaro’s exploits have earned him different kinds of labels. He is known as “The Ant” because of his unique ability to blend in and go unnoticed. He has also been referred to as Joey Zasa’s “bulldog” because his bite leaves permanent injuries. That’s not all there is to him. The enforcer also has a reputation for soaking bullets in cyanide before using them.

With all these attributes, Squigliaro is indeed the quintessential mob enforcer. All he does is harm and kill. There are no unique story arcs for him. He is the reason why Zasa becomes so feared by New York, such that when Michael makes plans to have Zasa killed, he insists that Squigliaro must die too to prevent retaliation.

5 Vincent Mancini

The illegitimate son of Sonny Corleone and Lucy Mancini begins his criminal career as a street soldier under Joey Zasa before being taken under Michael’s wing. He soon starts a relationship with Michael’s daughter Mary before inheriting the throne.

It takes skill and intelligence to rise from enforcer to boss and Vincent deserves all the credit for that. As an enforcer, Vincent has almost superhuman instincts and levels of awareness. For example, just by Don Altobello and Zasa walking out during a Commission meeting, he is able to tell that a hit is about to take place. He is able to spot the assassin, Mosca of Montelepre, too when he is about to kill Michael.

4 Mosca Of Montelepre

The Sicilian assassin not only has a name that is cool enough to be fit a medieval conqueror but he also speaks in code. He describes his killings for Don Altobello as “removing stones from the Don’s shoe.”

In Sicily, Mosca has a reputation for never failing a task. For this reason, even the Corleone family fears him. He is a master of disguise too as he always shows up for assignments dressed as a priest, making it harder for anyone to suspect him. In one of the saddest scenes in The Godfather, Mosa fatally wounds Michael’s daughter Mary at the Opera Cavalleria Rusticana. In that specific moment, he also dispatches three of Michael’s bodyguards with a knife and also manages to shoot the Corleone family boss in the shoulder.

3 Rocco Lampone

Rocco is responsible for one of the best kills in The Godfather, in which he shoots the turncoat Paulie Gatto as the statue of liberty stands tall in the background, then leaves the gun and takes the cannoli. He is a man whose loyalty cannot be questioned, which is why he tends to be assigned high-profile whackings too.

Rocco’s actions have helped the Corleone family pluck some of its biggest thorns, making it much easier doing business. Hyman Roth and Don Tattaglia were clearly going to cause the downfall of the Corleone family if they had been left unchecked. Rocco also gets a death that is fitting for a soldier like him. In what is also one of the most iconic scenes in gangster movies, Rocco gets sprayed with bullets by feds at Miami International Airport.

2 Al Neri

A trusted assassin of Michael Corleone, Al Neri begins his career as an NYPD cop before morphing from lawman to gangster. Neri enjoys cracking skulls and it’s because of his sadistic killing methods that the Corleone family courts and hires him.

Unlike other enforcers, Neri’s has no record of botched assassinations. He is not only efficient but creative. When Michael orders the deaths of the bosses of the Tattaglia and Barzini families, Neri dons a police uniform in order to approach Barzini unnoticed outside the courthouse. He also whacks Fredo for being a traitor. Even more impressive is his murder of the treacherous Archbishop Gilday inside the Vatican grounds.

1 Luca Brasi

“Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes” is not only one of Clemenza’s best quotes but also a phrase that has gone on to be used in many other gangsters in the movies. Clemenza says the words in the first installment of the trilogy, to mean that Brasi has been killed and his body thrown in the ocean. Brasi’s death is a shocker because he is a feared enforcer.

In the trilogy, Brasi is the only enforcer who instills fear among all mobsters. Tales of his whackings have become a legend because he never needs backup. On one occasion, he allegedly butchered an army of Al Capone’s henchmen all by himself when they tried to assassinate Vito. Unfortunately, Brasi gets garroted to death when he pretends to be a traitor and tries to infiltrate Sollozo’s crew.

About The Author

Philip Etemesi
(1215 Articles Published)

Philip Etemesi is an author, journalist, screenwriter and film critic based in Nairobi. Kenya. As a child, he preferred watching movies like The Goodfellas instead of Home Alone. His girlfriend constantly has to pull him from the front of the TV but he just keeps returning. Stubborn dude! An animal lover, Philip also has a pet giraffe called Refu.

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