His nickname was Big Pussy and he was a powerful and respected member of the Genovese Organized Crime Family. New Jersey was the base of his operations all his life. His younger brother Anthony, who was a Captain in the Genovese Family, was nicknamed Little Pussy. During the 1960s, FBI wiretaps overheard New Jersey mobsters telling the story of how the Russo brothers earned their nicknames. It was said that when the two were young they would burglarize houses and be “as quiet as cats.” John died of natural causes on December 2,1978. Four months later Anthony was murdered in Long Branch, New Jersey.