Mob boss Vincent "The Chin" Gigante, the powerful Mafioso who avoided jail for decades by wandering the streets in a ratty bathrobe and slippers, feigning mental illness, died Monday in prison. He was 77.
The head of the Genovese crime family, who had suffered from heart disease, died at the federal prison in Springfield, Mo., said prison spokesman Al Quintero. It was the same place where rival mob boss John Gotti died of cancer in 2002 at age 61.
I once worked for the law firm that represented this guy. Of all the New York mobsters in the latter half of the 20th century, Vinnie was my favorite. I didn’t know him, but I just liked his M.O. — strutting around Little Italy in a bathrobe.