Hyman Roth

Hyman Roth (born Hyman Suchowsky) is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1974 film The Godfather Part II. He is also a minor character in the 2004 novel The Godfather Returns. Roth is a Jewish mobster, investor and a business partner of Vito Corleone, and later his son Michael Corleone. He is based on notorious mobster and gambling kingpin Meyer Lansky. It was Al Pacino who suggested Lee Strasberg, his former acting teacher, for the role. Character overview Roth's background is supplied in a deleted scene in The Godfather Part II. In this scene, set in Little Italy, New York in the early 1920s, he is working as a car mechanic. He is noticed by Peter Clemenza, who has been calling him "Johnny Lips". Clemenza introduces him to his friend Vito Corleone, who suggests that he change his name, which was originally Hyman Suchowsky. When Vito asks him whom he admires, Suchowsky says Arnold Rothstein, for having fixed the 1919 World Series; accordingly, he changes his last name to Roth. Dialogue later in the film explains that Roth worked diligently with the Corleone family during Prohibition, helping them enter the bootlegging trade by setting up a molasses-smuggling operation between Havana and Canada. He was also a close friend and ally of fellow Jewish gangster Moe Greene, the "inventor" of Las Vegas. While Roth admits it would have been wrong to show anger and vengenace after Greene's death, as well as admitting that Greene pushed the limit too often, he is disappointed the famous city has nothing to remember him by. Frank Pentangeli later admits that while Vito Corleone had had a long history with Roth, to include doing business with the man, liking him, and respecting him, the elder Corleone never trusted Hyman Roth. The Godfather Part II By the timeline of this film, Roth is based in Miami. Though in poor health, he is extremely wealthy, having made a fortune by running his own organized crime outfit, assisted by his right-hand man, Sicilian Johnny Ola. Roth forms a partnership with Michael Corleone for a profitable business enterprise with the corrupt Cuban government of Fulgencio Batista and a number of major American corporations to take control of a casino in Reno. Roth secretly plans to assassinate Michael, partly to avenge Moe Greene's murder (as depicted in The Godfather). Roth instructs Ola to befriend Michael's brother Fredo, who provides Ola (and Roth) information about Michael that enables them to make an attempt on his life.