Rocco Lampone

Rocco Lampone (1917 - 1959) is a fictional character appearing in Mario Puzo's novel "The Godfather" and the first two installments of the Godfather trilogy in the cinema. He was portrayed by actor Tom Rosqui.

Lampone began his career in organized crime as an associate of Peter Clemenza. When Clemenza got the assignment to kill the treacherous Paulie Gatto in "The Godfather", he decided to give Lampone a chance to "make his bones." Clemenza and Lampone drive Gatto to a remote spot near New York, making him think they're scouting out places to live in case Sonny orders them to "go to the mattresses." While Clemenza is waiting outside, Lampone kills Gatto with three bullets to the head.

Lampone rises fast in the Corleone family,. After Michael Corleone takes over the family, he makes Lampone a "capo." On the advice of Vito Corleone, Michael puts together a secret "regime" for Lampone, but makes sure that it is eventually discovered by Tom Hagen. Later in the film, Lampone and another unnamed associate kill Philip Tattaglia in his bed, and his men play a role in the wave of killings that cements Michael's power.

He subsequently moves to Nevada with the family, and arranges security for the Lake Tahoe compound; he is, however, unable to prevent the attempted assassination of Michael by two mobsters hired by his rival Hyman Roth and allowed in by fellow conspirator Fredo Corleone. When the time comes to take revenge on Roth, it is Rocco who opines that assassinating him would be "difficult, not impossible", and is personally entrusted with the hit. Disguised as a reporter, Rocco successfully approaches Roth at Miami Airport and shoots him, but despite the ensuing panic and confusion, he is in turn shot by a police officer while fleeing the scene.

Rocco appears in Mark Winegardner's sequel novel "The Godfather Returns".