Although by then a wealthy landowner and politician as a member of Christian Democracy (DC), Genco Russo still kept his mule in the house and the toilet outside, which was little more than a hole in the ground with a stone for a seat and no walls or door according to Mafia turncoat Tommaso Buscetta.

In his youth, he was forced to work as a goatherd on the large Polizzello estate owned by the noble Lanza Branciforti family.

Best man at the baptism was fellow mafioso Calogero Vizzini, who would also be the witness at the marriage of Vincenzo in 1950 together with Rosario Lanza, the president of the Sicilian Regional Assembly.

[9] During Fascist Italy rule, when the authorities embarked on a campaign against the Mafia, Genco Russo was arrested repeatedly on charges ranging from theft and extortion to membership in a criminal association, and 11 murders and several attempted murders; with one exception, he was regularly acquitted on grounds of "insufficient evidence",[3][4] which was the mark of a successful mafioso showing his power to intimidate potential witnesses and enforce the law of silence (omertà).

[12] In 1944, the court granted Genco Russo a decree of rehabilitation for his one conviction, thereby allowing him "to recreate a moral and social virginity, acquiring a respectability which will permit him to undertake even political activity.

When land reform was finally enacted in 1950, mafiosi were in a position to perform their traditional role of brokerage between the peasants, the landlords, and the state.

"[16] Persecution by the Italian Fascist authorities proved a blessing in disguise when the regime of Benito Mussolini was toppled and the Allies of World War II military invaded Sicily in July 1943 (Operation Husky).

The Allied Military Government of Occupied Territories (AMGOT) looking for anti-fascist notables to replace Fascist authorities made Genco Russo mayor of his hometown Mussomeli.

Coordinating the AMGOT effort was the former lieutenant governor of New York, Colonel Charles Poletti, whom Lucky Luciano once described as "one of our good friends".

[17][18] Initially, Genco Russo's political activity was in support of the separatist and monarchist causes (he was awarded the honorific title of Cavaliere della Corona d'Italia in 1946),[4] and ultimately for the DC party.

During the crucial 1948 Italian general election that would decide on its post-war future, Genco Russo and Calogero Vizzini sat at the same table with leading DC politicians, attending an electoral lunch.

In 1950, when Genco Russo's oldest son married, Don Calò Vizzini was a witness at the ceremony, just as the DC member and Sicilian Regional Assembly president Rosario Lanza.

Genco Russo had been at the right-hand side of Don Calò's bier, the ancient sign that the heir-apparent was taking the place of the deceased.

[28] In the aftermath of the First Mafia War in 1962–1963 and the Ciaculli massacre that prompted the first concerted anti-Mafia efforts by the state in post-war Italy through the Antimafia Commission, Genco Russo was among the many mafiosi arrested on 6 February 1964, when he turned himself in.

When showing up in court, Genco Russo presented petitions from prominent politicians, priests, bankers, doctors, lawyers, and businessmen who declared to testify on his behalf.

His lawyer threatened to publish telegrams from 37 DC deputies, including one cabinet minister, thanking Genco Russo for helping them to get elected.

[29][30] His forced retirement as town councillor of Mussomeli, his arrest and years of confinement initiated the decline of Genco Russo's power.

The new generation was more entrepreneurial and made their money with cigarette smuggling, drug trafficking, skimming off public contracts, and speculating in real estate.

Genco Russo probably only was present at the Grand Hotel et des Palmes Mafia meeting in 1957 because Santo Sorge, one of his relatives from the United States, was there as well.

[33] At the time of his death, he possessed 147,000 hectares of land in several holdings around Caltanissetta, Canicattì, and Casteltermini through front men and family members.