By Jerry Capeci

There's something out of whack when a Mayor who loves "The Godfather" so much he does Marlon Brando impressions all over the country criticizes a national magazine for romanticizing the mob for its profile of real life Mafia boss Lucky Luciano.

In fact, New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani loves the movie so much he has opened City Hall meetings and out of town political speeches with his  impression of Brando's throaty portrayal of Don Vito Corleone.

"It's nice of all youse to be here," he began one meeting, according to The New York Times. "Some of you come from the Upper West Side. Some from the East Side. We even got some people here from The Bronx."

And while Italian American organizations, law enforcement officials and others for years have complained the film romanticizes mobsters as so-called "Men of Honor," "The Godfather" rendition remains one of Giuliani's favorite shticks.

He even showed the 1972 film classic at a pre-inaugural party last New Year's Eve.

Last week, Time Magazine in a portrayal of ruthless Mafia boss Lucky Luciano, (right) described him as a criminal genius who organized crime so well it has stood the test of time, and said he was one of the 20 most influential builders and titans of the 20th Century.

"His story was Horatio Alger with a gun, an ice pick and a dark vision of Big Business," said Time, noting Luciano had a "vision of replacing traditional Sicilian strong-arm methods with a corporate structure, a board of directors and systematic infiltration of legitimate enterprise."

Luciano, the undisputed George Washington of the American Mafia, helped organize La Cosa Nostra families into a sophisticated national syndicate with a board of directors - The Commission - that sets crime policy and arbitrates family feuds over turf.

Giuliani, who had initially agreed to write the article but backed out, criticized Time for treating Luciano as a leader in business, albeit the business of crime, and railed on about Luciano's murderous legacy, which the magazine didn't (and couldn't) downplay.

"Unfortunately," Giuliani said, "Hollywood and others have had a great impact on romanticizing all of that and it does have an impact on young people. It really does."

Really Rudy? Any movies in particular?

Aside from investigators and prosecutors, John A. Gotti and his Junior gangsters have had another ongoing hassle -   the Anthony problem.

Before Gotti was arrested a year ago, his schedule was so busy and hectic that he employed two full time chauffeurs to take him on his appointed rounds, Anthony (The Carpenter) Plomitallo and Anthony Ameroso.

They squired the reputed acting boss of the Gambino family from his homes in Massapequa and Mill Neck, L.I.  to his social club -- the Bergin Hunt & Fish Club in South Ozone Park, Queens -- to various sitdowns, meetings and confabs in restaurants, diners and street corners all over the city and suburbs, and to and from LaGuardia Airport when he flew to visit his father at the federal prison in Marion Ill. (left)

The men were often interchangeable. Once, lawyer Joseph Corrozzo, while working on the Dapper Don's appeal, wanted to see Junior before he left town. Corrozzo called his associate, Mike McLaughlin, who told him to "Page Anthony" and gave him beeper numbers for both men.

Sometimes, both Anthony's would ride with Junior, more often than not in Ameroso's 1996 Jeep, according to surveillance reports. Plomitallo drove Gotti around in a 1987 Mercury.

Gotti often switched cars to confound state investigators who always seemed to be around. Both vehicles were always tuned up and ready to roll, and Plomitallo, whose older Mercury needed much more maintenance, occasionally complained about this to the other Anthony.

The biggest problem with the Anthony's was the constant confusion among  Gotti's men about which Anthony they were talking to or about.

Ameroso had a suggestion, McLaughlin told Gotti cohort Steven Kaplan in a May 4, 1996, taped discussion. Plomitallo's infrequently used nickname, "Anthony the Carpenter," could be changed to "Little Anthony," and Ameroso could be "Big Anthony."

But the new name didn't catch on with the feds. Plomitallo's official nickname was listed as Anthony the Carpenter in the 60-count racketeering indictment filed against Junior, Plomitallo (right) and 21 others on Jan. 21.

So far, Ameroso, Kaplan and McLaughlin have escaped indictment, as well as getting official nicknames.

There's still time to enter our fifth Gang Land contest. This one tests your knowledge of Mafia bosses - the families they headed, the way they died, where they were born, and where they departed "The Life" for the big Gang Land in the sky, wherever that is.

The rules are simple, the same as always. One entry per person, via e-mail. Anyone caught making two or more submissions will be rubbed out, eliminated. Previous contest winners, employees of Gang Land and the Daily News and their families, are ineligible to win a prize, but can still play along for the fun of it. In case of ties, winners will be selected at random.

Deadline is Sunday, Dec. 20.

First prize is a copy of "Gotti: Rise & Fall," autographed, of course, by yours truly and co-author Gene Mustain.

Second prize is a similarly autographed copy of Murder Machine: A True Story of Murder, Madness and The Mafia.

The contest has four sections, each with five questions. That's  20 questions for those with problems in arithmetic, each worth five points. Novices and Gang Land newcomers have a shot at this contest, since it's a matching test, just like those you took in school. And there's no penalty for a bad guess.

Just to be different, and make things a little competitive, there's an extra possible match in each section. Good luck.

Match the Boss with his Family

Match the Boss with the method of his death

  Big Al's Corner

By Allan May

( This week Big Al tackles a couple of queries. The first is from Romerl Elizes, who saw a recent newspaper picture of Charles (Lucky) Luciano flanked by two federal agents, and wondered, "Was he really that short or were the federal agents that tall?")

Luciano was definitely not as tall as he was portrayed in several movies. According to Jay Robert Nash's, "Bloodletters and Badmen," Luciano was 5 foot, 7 inches tall. This is borne out by a Chicago Police Department photograph I have seen of six hoods, including Luciano, whose real name was Salvatore Lucania, Meyer Lansky (left) and Paul (The Waiter) Ricca. Lansky and Luciano are standing next to each other and Luciano appears to be a good three inches taller that Lansky, whose height is listed at 5 feet, 4 inches.

But size, of course, doesn't matter. Luciano and Lansky were two of the most powerful and terrifying gangsters of their time.

(Ed from Denver asked whether any or all of the New York families have defined geographic "turfs" and also whether they are headquartered in certain neighborhoods.)

An excellent explanation of the territorial breakdown of New York City came from John Stanley, a New York City deputy chief inspector who testified before a Senate subcommittee in 1963. He told the committee: "The various families do not exercise control over geographic areas of the city.   Instead, individual families have a tendency to concentrate on a particular type of activity - one family is stronger in the beverage business while other families have specialized in the garment or trucking industries. The operations of a single family may touch all five boroughs in the New York City and metropolitan area generally."

During the 1970's and 1980's, four of the city's five families - all but the Bonannos - shared in some aspects of the construction business, the replacement window industry and the private carting industry and benefited from bid-rigging throughout the city and its suburbs. When disputes over joint rackets arise, they are mediated by The Commission.

Next week, Big Al will have a special report on the first known meeting of the national crime cartel that Luciano organized in 1931.