Frederick J. Tenuto[1] (born January 20, 1915) was a New York City mobster and criminal who was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list for over a decade, the longest on record at the time. As Top Ten fugitive #14,[2] he replaced Stephen William Davenport, #12, as the first replacement of a fugitive who was not among the original ten.[1] Tenuto's whereabouts are uncertain after the 1947 prison escape that led to his inclusion on the FBI most wanted list.
Tenuto was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on January 20, 1915.[3] Tenuto was a career criminal who was believed by police to have served as a hitman in several organized crime murders. A police psychiatrist who interviewed him described Tenuto as a man who could murder someone and then calmly sit down to a meal.[4]
On February 10, 1947, Tenuto escaped from the Philadelphia County Prison in a jailbreak with four other inmates, including bank robber Willie "The Actor" Sutton. Eluding authorities for several years, Sutton was eventually identified in early 1952 while riding in a New York City Subway train by Brooklyn resident Arnold Schuster. After Schuster was murdered following a television interview, authorities suspected Tenuto of the killing, supposedly on the orders of New York mobster Albert Anastasia.[5] Tenuto, who had been officially placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list on May 24, 1950,[6] was never captured.[7] Tenuto's name remained on the list for over 14 years. It was removed on March 9, 1964, amid reports Tenuto had been killed and secretly buried.
↑ SCHUSTER SUSPECT ALREADY A KILLER; Tenuto, 37, Has One Murder, Many Burglaries and Prison Breaks in 21-Year Record, The New York Times, 10 March 1952, p. 13
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