Frank Pentangeli is a fictional character from the 1974 film The Godfather Part II, portrayed by Michael V. Gazzo. Gazzo was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance, which he lost to Robert De Niro, his co-star from the same film (as young Vito Corleone). He is nicknamed "Frankie Five Angels" from his last name, which is formed from the Greek-derived prefix (meaning "five") and the Italian word ("angels"). Character overview Born Francesco Pentangeli in Partinico, Sicily, Pentangeli has an older brother named Vincenzo who remained in Sicily when he immigrated to the United States. Frank is a caporegime in the Corleone family, running the family's operations in New York City while Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), his brother and underboss, Fredo (John Cazale), consigliere Tom Hagen and the other two capos, Rocco Lampone (Tom Rosqui) and Al Neri (Richard Bright), are based in Nevada. He was a top soldier in the regime of Peter Clemenza (Richard S. Castellano), and took over the regime after Clemenza's death. He also moved into Vito's former estate in Long Beach, Long Island. His bodyguard is longtime soldier Willi Cicci. In The Godfather Part II, Frank Pentangeli is portrayed as having been one of godfather Vito Corleone's (Marlon Brando) most trusted associates. A rift grows between Pentangeli and Michael, however, that eventually results in Pentangeli betraying the family. Pentangeli's character was created in The Godfather Part II by Coppola and Puzo due to actor Richard Castellano not reprising his role as Clemenza in the sequel. The Pentangeli character took the part in the plot which was originally intended for Clemenza, whose death was to be set anti-parallel to the extended sequence in which the young Vito becomes Clemenza's partner. Coppola, in his director's commentary on The Godfather Part II, mentioned that the scenes depicting the Senate committee interrogation of Michael Corleone and Pentangeli are based on the Joseph Valachi federal hearings and that Pentangeli is like a Valachi figure. In the film Near the beginning of the story, Pentangeli approaches Michael to ask for his help in eliminating the Rosato brothers, rivals in New York, who claimed to have been promised territories by Clemenza prior to his death. Michael refuses, however, and orders Pentangeli to do nothing, as he does not want a war to interfere with an upcoming deal with Hyman Roth (Lee Strasberg), who supports the Rosatos. Pentangeli takes this