According to rumor, some of the movie's crew members and actors had Mafia connections. Brando said he based his performance as Don Corleone on Pasquale 'Patsy Ryan' Eboli, reputedly a high-ranking member of the Genovese crime family and brother-in-law to actor Al Lettieri, who played Virgil ‘The Turk’ Sollozzo in the movie. According to Brando, Brando, James Caan, and others went to dinner at Eboli's house, and Pacino later visited when he needed help speaking Italian. In an odd coincidence, Eboli's brother was found shot in a street in Brooklyn in 1972, a fate similar to that of Sonny Corleone in the film.
