Previous
Johnny Fontane
Clemenza is a powerful caporegime—a Mafia captain who controls his own territory, acts on orders from the Don, and directs a group of mob soldiers who carry out those orders—in the Corleone crime Family. He is among Don Vito Corleone’s closest friends and confidents, as the two first collaborated as young criminals in Little Italy. Clemenza has an enormous belly and operates with a cold ruthlessness when he kills those who cross the Don. His crime territory is the Bronx. Alongside Salvatore Tessio, Clemenza is one of the two original caporegimes in the Corleone Family. Clemenza first meets Vito Corleone after Vito agrees to stash several of Clemenza’s guns to hide them from police. Clemenza returns the favor by stealing a lavish rug from a wealthy neighbor for Vito’s small apartment. These exchanges lead to Clemenza collaborating with Vito and Tessio hijacking and reselling goods such as dresses and guns. Clemenza demonstrates the type of unflinching loyalty upon which the Mafia thrives. After Sonny discovers that Clemenza’s own protégé, Paulie Gatto, has betrayed Vito to Sollozzo’s hitmen, Clemenza himself, along with Rocco Lampone, carries out Paulie’s murder. Clemenza also plays a key role in the plot to assassinate Sollozzo and McCluskey by teaching Michael how to carry out the murder and stashing the pistol in the toilet at Luna Azure Restaurant for Michael to retrieve.
Peter “Pete” Clemenza Quotes in The Godfather
The The Godfather quotes below are all either spoken by Peter “Pete” Clemenza or refer to Peter “Pete” Clemenza. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 14 Quotes
When he became a Don and asked opponents to sit down and reason with him, they understood it was the last chance to resolve an affair without bloodshed and murder.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Here, The young Vito Corleone meets with Clemenza and Tessio and outlines his plan to pay Don Fanucci only $200 of the $700 total that the Black Hand demands from the three men. This is the first instance in the novel where Puzo emphasizes the calculated nature by which Vito amasses and maintains his power in the criminal underworld. Don Corleone’s power stems from his organizational control over various rackets, as well as his interpersonal ability to build networks and relationships backed by both favors and the underlying threat of violence. Don Corleone is a deft negotiator who prefers to Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa
Chapter 28 Quotes
“Revenge is a dish that tastes best when it is cold.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Here, Michael and Don Corleone meet with Tom Hagen, Sal Tessio, and Peter Clemenza to inform them of their plan to reassert the Corleone Family’s dominance over the Five Families and finally end the Mafia war. This passage accompanies the transition of leadership from Don Corleone to Michael, and it epitomizes the qualities that made Vito Corleone such as effective Mafia leader. The Don likens vengeance to a dish “that tastes best when it is cold” to emphasize how patience is an essential trait a Don must possess. Much like a man who waits to enjoy food after it cools Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molest
Get the entire The Godfather LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Peter “Pete” Clemenza Character Timeline in The Godfather
The timeline below shows where the character Peter “Pete” Clemenza appears in The Godfather. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...also eyes the wedding envelopes while his boss, the fat Corleone caporegime (captain) Peter “Pete” Clemenza, dances and drinks copious amounts of wine.
(full context)
...he stays with the old Consigliere until he passes away. Later that evening, Gatto and Clemenza drive Kay back to her New York City hotel. The next day, Don Corleone officially...
(full context)
Back in New York, Paulie Gatto and Pete Clemenza wait in their black car until Jerry Wagner and Kevin Moonan, the two men who...
(full context)
Chapter 2
...but knows the Turk must have powerful allies to have dared such a hit. When Clemenza mentions to Sonny that Paulie was too sick to guard the Don that day, Sonny...
(full context)
Chapter 4
Michael Corleone arrives at the mall. Clemenza greets him and tells him that the Don is going to be okay. Fredo is...
(full context)
Chapter 5
...who will want to avoid a destructive war. Sonny ponders Tom’s advice but emphatically orders Clemenza to kill Paulie Gatto. The men also wonder what has happened to Luca Brasi.
(full context)
Chapter 6
The next morning, Clemenza begins planning the murder of his protégé, Paulie. He had brought Paulie up studiously through...
(full context)
Clemenza decides that Paulie’s execution must be public: his body has to be found “so that...
(full context)
Chapter 8
As Michael, Hagen, Sonny, Tessio, and Clemenza sit down to eat spaghetti, they hear a noise in the kitchen. Clemenza investigates and...
(full context)
Chapter 9
...surprised to find the street and the lobby inside deserted. He wonders where Tessio and Clemenza’s guards are, as there is no one outside of Don Corleone’s room. A nurse tells...
(full context)
Chapter 10
Later that morning, Sonny, Hagen, Michael, Tessio, and Clemenza discuss whether to meet Sollozzo. The Turk refuses to negotiate with the hotheaded Sonny and...
(full context)
...public place that will guarantee his safety. He will go unarmed, but if Tessio or Clemenza can stash a gun at the site beforehand, Michael will retrieve it and “take both...
(full context)
...desire to “kill those fucks that are trying to destroy our father and our Family.” Clemenza begins teaching Michael how to handle an untraceable gun wrapped in fingerprint-resistant tape. As the...
(full context)
Chapter 11
...a false passport, a seaman’s card, and passage on a freighter bound for Italy. Meanwhile, Clemenza instructs Michael on how to shoot the gun he will use to kill McCluskey and...
(full context)
...Luna Azure restaurant in the Bronx. Tessio knows the restaurant well and is confident that Clemenza can stash the gun in its bathroom. Sonny warns Clemenza to hide the gun well....
(full context)
Chapter 14
...other odd jobs while nursing a hatred for Fanucci. One evening, a young man named Clemenza asks Vito to hide some guns in his apartment. Vito agrees and, in return, Clemenza...
(full context)
...insult Vito has given by not recognizing Fanucci’s influence over the neighborhood. Vito responds that Clemenza and Tessio share the money, so he will have to speak to them first. Vito’s...
(full context)
That evening, Vito, Tessio, and Clemenza meet at Vito’s home. “Why do we have to pay him?” Vito asks, “what can...
(full context)
...a total of $700: the $300 he owes Fanucci, plus the $400 from Tessio and Clemenza. He does not fear the police or the electric chair, because he “had lived under...
(full context)
...it as just another gangland hit. After two weeks, Vito meets again with Tessio and Clemenza, who greet him with “obvious respect.” Clemenza suggests taking over Fanucci’s extortion rackets, but Vito...
(full context)
...also formalizes the major hierarchies in his crime family by making Genco Consigliere, Tessio and Clemenza his caporegimes, and putting “layers of insulation between himself and any operational act” so as...
(full context)
Chapter 16
...the stoop. Sally Rags reports the incident to Rocco Lampone, who then reports it to Clemenza. The caporegime curses “that goddamn Sonny and his temper” and reports the incident to Tom...
(full context)
Chapter 17
The Mafia war reveals the Corleones are unsuited for a protracted struggle. Tessio and Clemenza are competent caporegimes, but their age and mellowed ruthlessness hampers their fighting ability. Tom Hagen...
(full context)
Chapter 19
...news. For a moment, the Don seems drained of his strength, but he quickly recovers. Clemenza and Tessio arrive, and Hagen gives the men the full story of Sonny’s murder.
(full context)
Chapter 20
When Don Corleone and Tom Hagen arrive home, Clemenza dismisses the Bocchicchio hostage that acted as surrogate for the Don. The men discuss the...
(full context)
Chapter 28
...home from Las Vegas, Michael holds an evening meeting with Don Corleone, Tom Hagen, Carlo, Clemenza, and Tessio. Since the meeting of the Five Families and Don Corleone’s retirement, the Corleone...
(full context)
...so it can move west and fully enter the casino business. He instructs Tessio and Clemenza to wait until the end of the year, after which they can split from the...
(full context)
Chapter 29
...Don Corleone’s funeral, Michael tells the caporegimes that his plan for moving forward remains unaltered. Clemenza warns him that “the Barzinis and Tattaglias are going to move in on us real...
(full context)
Chapter 31
Carlo settles in the front seat and closes the door. In the back seat, Clemenza wraps a garrote around Carlo’s neck, and his body leaps “like a fish on a...
(full context)
To dispose of any remaining traitors, Clemenza and new caporegime, Lampone take control of the remaining Barzini rackets and murder those men...
(full context)
...true,” Michael answers. Relieved, Kay goes into the kitchen to make drinks when she sees Clemenza, Neri, and Lampone enter Michael’s room with their bodyguards in tow. “Don Michael,” Clemenza says....
(full context)
Chapter 32
...remaining New York real estate and assets and moves the Family to Las Vegas. Peter Clemenza now leads his own New York Family, while Rocco Lampone is now the Corleone’s senior...
(full context)
