Millions of movie fans remember Gianni Russo as the guy who played Carlo Rizzi in "The Godfather." He was Vito Corleone's son-in-law and treacherously lured Sonny Corleone to his death — and later kicked out a Cadillac windshield while being garroted by the capo Clemenza.

That's the least-authentic mafia role Russo has ever undertaken.

Now 75, Russo spent decades as a real-life "mob associate," which is the term for a frequent business facilitator of sundry felonious mob enterprises despite not actually being an official member of any one crime family. Russo's respectful demeanor and ability to quietly and efficiently do any chore he was asked earned the trust of mafia dons like New York's Frank Costello, New Orleans' Carlos Marcello, Chicago's Sam Giancana and several others in a murderer's row, if you will, of murderers.

(John Gotti? Not a lot of trust there.)

Such enthralling and frankly juicy minutiae are just part of "Hollywood Godfather — My Life in the Movies and the Mob," Russo's just-out autobiography. He'll discuss the book Saturday at Comix in Mohegan Sun and sign copies afterward in the Shops at Mohegan Sun. 

The book is an irresistible and lightning-storm array of anecdotes and name-dropping that giddily sprints through an interconnected labyrinth of entertainment, politics and crime. Turn to any page in "Hollywood Godfather" and, in addition to A-list mobsters, spend some time with Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, John and Robert Kennedy, Liza Minnelli and Judy Garland, Dionne Warwick, one of Siegfried & Roy's overly frisky tigers, an overly frisky Richard Nixon, Sammy Davis, Jr., Don Rickles, Dean Martin, and many more. If at times certain episodes strain credulity, well, Russo was damned sure in position to witness such things if indeed they DID happen.

Bottom line: "Hollywood Godfather" is an amazing narrative of a phantasmagoric life, particularly as Russo had polio as a child and spent much of his youth in the grim reality of the Bellevue Polio Ward. As a teen, estranged from his family, he slept on a bag of flour on the floor of a bakery in a Little Italy bakery while hustling ballpoint pens to commuters on the streets of the financial district. By chance, Russo met and was taken under the wing of Costello, the mob don who inspired "The Godfather" — a "gentleman, brilliant, and actually not a violent person" who became a paternal figure.

Russo began running a series of increasingly important errands for Costello, and it turned into a career. Simply by doing his job, Russo met other mobsters who wanted similar deeds performed nationally and internationally — no hired killing and minimal knee-breaking, by the way. Over time, he became a respected player with enough money to invest in his own legitimate enterprises in Las Vegas, Los Angeles and other cities whose demographics were receptive to Russo's style of entrepreneurship. Russo has owned restaurants and nightclubs, has a sustained post-"Godfather" career as an actor, writer and producer, is a professional singer (coached by Sinatra), and has consistently found ways to make heaps of cash.

Last week, as he took his daily three-mile exercise walk, Russo spoke by phone about the book and his life. Here are some scenarios and his comments.

"The Godfather"

Despite not having any acting experience, Russo was determined to be in the movie and, after a variety of persuasive gambits with various folks connected with the production, he was cast as Carlo. When he met Brando on set, though, the great actor tried to have Russo fired because of his amateur status. Russo says he pulled Brando into a corner and quietly but viciously threatened to cut out his heart.

"(Marlon) thought I was acting and was completely impressed with my chops. Well, I wasn't acting. In any case, I got the job, and we became very close friends and we stayed that way until he died. He was an amazing actor and person but, by the end, had become very confused and a very sad person. I think he'd wanted his life to end and just didn't know how to go about it."

On whether Russo realized how great his "Godfather" co-stars were, given that Al Pacino (Michael Corleone), Robert Duvall (Tom Hagen), John Cazale (Fredo Corleone), Robert DeNiro (Vito Corleone in "Godfather II"), and James Caan (Sonny Corleone) were all relatively unknown at the time:

"John Cazale was something else. They were all obviously great, as history has shown, but Cazale had this pureness and a connection to whatever he was doing. All of them, though, (were) just true thespians in the highest sense of the word. And about Cazale: It says something that, after he got sick, DeNiro and Pacino put him in every film they were in until he died."

The Kennedys

John and Bobby Kennedy had been courted by the mob through connections with their father, Joe, who made his fortune in prohibition. Joe was obsessed with John becoming president. But, according to Russo, though the mob delivered the presidency through voting chicanery in Chicago, the Kennedy Administration reneged on certain promises.

On November 18, 1963, on the orders of Frank Costello, Russo flew to New Orleans and went to Mosca's restaurant, passed a man exiting the restroom, and delivered an envelope directly to Carlos Marcello, who was sitting alone in the dining room. Marcello looked at the contents of the envelope and told Russo, "It's on."

Russo immediately returned to New York and passed the message to Costello, who then put Russo was then put onboard a freighter to Italy and told him he wouldn't be back in American for a long time. On his first day at sea, Russo learned John F. Kennedy had been assassinated. When the ship television flashed a photo of the suspected assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, Russo recognized him as the young man exiting the restroom at Mosca's.

On complicity:

"I was definitely contacted by the FBI. But what were they going to do? All I did was deliver envelopes. I coulda been the mailman. The thing that bothered me the most, of course, was on that boat when I figured out he was the target."

On John and Bobby:

"I spent a lot of time with John when (the mob) was grooming him to be president, and I enjoyed his company. He had incredible charisma and was a lot of fun. It was Bobby who screwed it all up. (The mob) didn't realize he hated his brother and dad, or that he didn't want to be part of his father's machine. He was self-righteous and a mama's boy."

As to whether Oswald acted alone, he answered promptly and in a matter-of-fact tone of voice:

"(Mobster) Johnny Roselli fired the kill shot from the storm drain."

The mob and presidential "influence"

"I know of six presidents who were connected. You can probably figure it out. (The mob) has had their share of guys. Nowadays, that's not really the point. Trump is not contolled by anybody; he's just the luckiest SOB in the world. I know him, and I have a friend who is one of Trump's biggest supporters who was with him the night of the election. Trump could not believe it. 'I was just goofing around,'" he kept saying.

The one guy who truly creeped Russo out

"Pablo Escobar. He threatened me (with a blood-soaked animal sacrifice in the living room of Russo's Las Vegas home) and that was bad enough. In the middle of it all were pictures of me and my daughter Carmen. And they were surveillence photos. It was very disturbing. To this day, no one can figure out how they got past very high-tech security. No one."

Later, after a one-on-one meeting with Escobar that Russo considers himself lucky to have survived. "I've known a lot of bad people surrounded by idiots willing to do bad things. But Escobar was nuts, and HIS idiots were insane. That's when you realize you have no control over the situation. In the end, though? I went to see him, and he respected that. We were both fathers, and I was trying to protect my daughter."

No conscience required

After a 35-minute conversation, Russo is still rapidly walking his exercise circuit with no audible signs of exertion. He's asked what, if any, stories he left out of the book. "The only things I didn't tell would be about mobsters who are still alive."

In that spirit, then, knowing all that he knows, does Russo — plainly visible on the streets of Manhattan on a daily basis, for example — ever look over his shoulder?

"To be honest, no," he says. "If you care, don't do it. If you had to do what I had to do and you worry about it, you're in the wrong business. Look, I can take care of myself. I know tai chi, and I've disarmed more people and stuck more guns up more people's (rear ends) than I can count." He cackles. "Oh, and basically, if you've got a conscience, that doesn't help, either."

If you go

Who: Gianni Russo

What: Mobster-turned-actor, noted for his role as Carlo Rizzi in "Godfather" films, will discuss and sign copies of his new memoir, "Hollywood Godfather"

When and where: 2 p.m. talk and Q&A at Comix Comedy Club, Mohegan Sun; 3 p.m. book signing at the Shops at Mohegan Sun

How much: Free, first-come first serve tickets

For more information: (860) 536-2300