Described in the novel as "a punk, sore at the world", Rizzi was born in Nevada and moved to New York City following some trouble he ran into with the law. He befriends Sonny Corleone and in 1941, he meets Sonny's sister Connie at a surprise birthday party for their father Vito Corleone. The two marry in 1945. Vito disapproves of Connie's marriage to a small-time criminal who is not a full-blooded Sicilian. He consents to the marriage on condition that they have a traditional Sicilian wedding. Rizzi basks in the glory of marrying into the Corleone crime family. However, Vito instructs consigliereTom Hagen to forbid Rizzi to have any significant knowledge of the family's inner workings and only to "give him a living". He operates a small sports book under the family's supervision, though he proves inept. Rizzi hates how his in-laws treat him, and regularly abuses and cheats on Connie to assert his own power over the Corleone family. When Connie complains to her parents, Vito refuses to intervene, presumably to punish her for her poor choice in a husband. In truth, Vito is outraged with Rizzi's behavior, but he feels powerless to act because Italian tradition forbids parents to interfere in their children's marriages. Vito also worries that if Carlo fears the family, he will be unable to intimately perform as a husband. In contrast to his parents, Sonny has no patience for Carlo's treatment of Connie and he has to be physically restrained by Vito from assaulting Rizzi. When Sonny happens to visit Connie, he finds her with a black eye after a particularly severe attack. Furious, Sonny finds and severely beats Rizzi in the street, threatening to kill him if he ever hurts Connie again. Rizzi seeks revenge by secretly making a deal with the Corleones' chief rival, Emilio Barzini, to murder Sonny. Rizzi sets the plan in motion by having his mistress call his house, provoking a pregnant Connie into an argument in which he whips her with his belt. In a deleted scene, Connie walks in on Carlo while he is showering and accuses him of cheating on her; Carlo asks her to make him dinner. When Connie calls Sonny, he loses his temper and races off to find Rizzi. En route, Sonny is killed by Barzini's men in a hail of gunfire at the causewaytoll booth. After Sonny's death, Vito seems to take a liking to Rizzi, and allows him to run a family-controlled labor union. When Michael becomes operating head of the family after Vito semi-retires, he plans to move the family's business interests to Nevada. Michael treats Rizzi as a trusted lieutenant, promising he will be his "right-hand man" once the move is complete. Michael even agrees to be godfather to Rizzi's and Connie's second child. However, Vito and Michael had figured out early on that Rizzi set Sonny up, and they brought him deeper within the family fold solely as a ploy to make him vulnerable. Vito cannot bring himself to make his daughter a widow, and so leaves it to Michael to carry out Carlo's execution after his death. Vito dies in 1955, and Michael succeeds him as head of the family. As Connie's and Rizzi's child is baptized, Michael's men assassinate the other heads of the Five Families and Las Vegas casino kingpin Moe Greene on Michael's orders. Hours later, Michael confronts Rizzi, saying he knows Rizzi set Sonny up to be murdered. He assures Rizzi that his life will be spared, but he is being exiled from the family; Rizzi, believing he is safe, confesses that he conspired with Barzini. As he is about to be driven to the airport, Peter Clemenza, Michael's caporegime and Sonny's godfather, garrotes him to death. Connie is angry with Michael for having Rizzi killed, despite Rizzi's abuse and his role in Sonny's death, and resents her brother for many years afterward. In the novel, Connie quickly recovers from Rizzi's death and, a few weeks later, apologizes to Michael for accusing him. Free from her abusive and loveless marriage, Connie remarries about a year later.
Legacy
Carlo Rizzi was portrayed by Gianni Russo. The role allowed Russo to have a career acting as "tough guys" in films and television. Russo's portrayal of Rizzi led him to be the spokesperson for the 2016 brand of Don CorleoneOrganic Italian Vodka.
