Fact vs Fiction: Godfather of Harlem season 3 episode 9

Vincent D'Onofrio as Vincent Gigante looking into the distance in Godfather of Harlem season 3 episode 9

Vincent D'Onofrio in Godfather of Harlem season 3 (Image credit: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.)

Original series big bad, Vincent "The Chin" Gigante (Vincent D'Onofrio), finally returned in Godfather of Harlem season 3 episode 9. Up until this point of the season, Gigante has been offscreen in prison, but now he walked out of confinement because of a screw-up with the FBI and their case. Did the real Gigante's brush with the law align with the TV portrayal?

Elsewhere, the mounting threats against Malcolm X (Jason Alan Carvell) literally combusted when his home was bombed. The assailant turned out to be Brother Clyde (Brett Diggs), who was working on behalf of CIA top dog Wild Bill Harvey (Joel Marsh Garland). The question remains, is that true?

Here's what we found out.

Was Vincent Gigante released from prison on a technicality?

Vincent D'Onofrio as Vincent Gigante standing outside of an apartment in Godfather of Harlem season 3 — Vincent D'Onofrio in Godfather of Harlem season 3 (Image credit: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.)

The fiction
The year is 1964 and Gigante walked out of lockup to be greeted by his wife Olympia (Kathrine Narducci) and his attorney. At this point, it was a bit of a mystery how he managed to be set free. Then at his welcome home party, as he continuously demanded to know where his daughter Stella (Lucy Fry) was, his wife said he should forget about Stella and focus on the fact he's not spending 20 years behind bars. Gigante's lawyer provided the explanation that the FBI messed up his arrest and the mobster was released on a technicality.

Again, while viewers welcome Gigante's triumphant return to the Godfather of Harlem canvas, does the TV depiction of his arrest and release match up with what actually happened?

The fact
Gigante's legend in the realm of the New York Italian mafia is quite fascinating. As laid out in The Los Angeles Times, he first rose to prominence in the underworld in 1957 after he allegedly was the hitman behind a failed assassination attempt on mob boss Frank Costello. Although arrested for the incident, he wasn't convicted. However, he was convicted and imprisoned for a heroin-related crime in 1959 for five years. By the time he's paroled, it's 1964.

So in a sense, the Godfather of Harlem episode was correct that Gigante left prison in 1964, however, he wasn't released on a technicality then, rather just paroled.

Now there was an incident in 1969 in which Gigante was arrested for a bribery scheme in which he allegedly paid members of the Old Tappan Police Department in New Jersey to notify him when he and his criminal enterprise were being surveilled. According to The New York Times, he was able to escape prosecution after his lawyer successfully managed to convince the judge he was mentally unfit to stand trial. This would actually be a "defense" the mobster would rely on for decades until it no longer worked, ultimately being tried and convicted in 1997.

Who bombed Malcolm X's house?

Maurice Jones and Jason Alan Carvell as Brother Omar and Malcolm X standing outside his house in Godfather of Harlem season 3 — Maurice Jones and Jason Alan Carvell in Godfather of Harlem season 3 (Image credit: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.)

The fiction
Despite Bumpy Johnson's (Forest Whitaker) pleas that Malcolm X allow the kingpin to provide him with more security among the civil rights leader's growing public profile, Malcolm X was insistent about continuing to tour the country and get his message out without Johnson's help. Unfortunately for the great orator and author, that may have been a mistake, as his house was mysteriously bombed while he and his family were inside asleep. Thankfully, no one was actually injured.

Johnson took great offense to the attack and put his men in charge of finding out who was responsible. That eventually led them to Brother Clyde (Brett Diggs) out of New Jersey. After Johnson's lieutenants tortured him and Johnson himself had a go, Brother Clyde not only confessed to being the one that planted the bomb, but said he was prompted to do so by Wild Bill Harvey of the CIA. They then kill Brother Clyde.

The fact
As reported in the New York Daily News, around 2:30 am on February 14, 1965, as Malcolm X and his family were asleep in their home at 23-11 97th St in East Elmhurst, Queens, someone threw a Molotov cocktail through the living room window. The house caught on fire, but thankfully the civil rights leader, his wife and four daughters made it out of the home unharmed. The house sustained severe damage and fragments of a second Molotov cocktail bottle were found in the rear of the home.

According to Time, no one was ever charged in relation to the bombing. With that said, Malcolm X believed that members of the Nation of Islam were responsible for the attack. He pointed the blame in a speech he gave a day following the event as highlighted in an FBI report.

The Godfather of Harlem season 3 finale airs on Sunday, March 25.