Vincenzo Pentangeli

Vincenzo Pentangeli is a fictional character from the film The Godfather Part II. In the film, he was portrayed by Salvatore Po.
Vincenzo was a native of Sicily and remained there when his brother Frank Pentangeli went to America. Vincenzo became the Don of a Sicilian Mafia family during this time.
Many years later, Frank had become involved with a young woman, at the same time that he was already married to Signora Pentangeli. He had two children with her, and, after they were not suited to life in New Jersey, Vincenzo took care of them in Sicily.
In 1959, at a congressional hearing investigating the allegations of Michael Corleone's (Al Pacino) criminal activities his brother, Frank Pentangeli is presented as a surprise witness by the committee.
Because Pentangeli's protective custody is so secure, Michael knows he will be unable to have Pentangeli killed before he testifies. Instead, Michael flies Vincenzo in from Sicily, and he accompanies Michael to the hearing at which Frank is scheduled to testify. Upon seeing his brother sitting stone-faced and silent in the hearing room, Frank recants his earlier statements, and now claims that the Corleone family is innocent of any wrongdoing. This testimony catches the congressional investigators completely off-guard and effectively derails the government's case against Michael.
After the hearing, Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) visits Frank in custody. Hagen tells Frank that he did the right thing by recanting, and that if he accepts responsibility for turning on the Corleone family, Frank's own family will always be taken care of. He thanks Hagen, returns to his room, and commits suicide by slitting his wrists while taking a bath.
The finished film leaves unclear exactly what about Vincenzo's presence motivated Frank to change his story. The final film only states that Vincenzo Pentangeli is himself a Mafia chieftain in Sicily. An early draft of the film explains that Vincenzo, shocked that Frankie is about to betray the Corleones to government authorities, attends the hearing to remind Frankie that he must not break the Mafia's code of silence, Omertà. His brother's mere presence and icy stare directed at Frankie serve as a threat that if Frankie follows through with his planned testimony, retribution will be taken against his children, who are living in Sicily under Vincenzo's guardianship.

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