Gianni Russo knows the Mafia inside and out. He grew up on Mulberry Street in Manhattan’s Little Italy, where Mafia boss Frank Costello took him under his wing. In 1962, he was privy to inside information regarding the murder of his friend Marilyn Monroe. A year later, he was acting as a messenger for New Orleans boss Carlos Marcello during the months and weeks leading up to the JFK assassination. With Frank Sinatra as his singing teacher and Marlon Brando as his acting teacher, Russo landed the role of Carlo Rizzi in The Godfather. He is the author of Hollywood Godfather, an autobiography written with Patrick Picciarelli, and Mafia Secrets, written with Michael Benson.