The Artichoke King

The real life Ciro Terranova was born in the town of Corleone, Sicily. In 1893, Ciro moved to New York with his father, mother, four sisters, brothers Vincenzo and Nicolo to meet half brother Giuseppe Morello, who had arrived six months earlier. When Ignazio "the Wolf" Lupo and Ciro's brother Giuseppe were sent to prison on counterfeiting charges, Ciro, Vincent, and Nick filled the power vacuum. They soon rose to be the top gangsters of Italian Harlem, running the Morello family.

Ciro earned his nickname, "the Artichoke King", by purchasing all the artichokes that came into New York and selling them for roughly three times more. During the prohibition years, Terranova was associated with, either in partnership or as adversaries, such names as Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria, Ignazio "the Wolf" Lupo, Umberto "Rocco" Valenti,

On February 18, 1938, Ciro Terranova suffered a paralyzing stroke. He died two days later at Columbus Hospital, at age 49, with his son and wife at his side. Ciro was the only one of the four Terranova brothers to die in bed.

In the funeral home, hitman Felix Burke tells mob boss Ciro Terranova that baseball legend Lou Gehrig is known as "the Iron Man". Lou Gehrig was actually known as "the Iron Horse".