Bruno Levine

"And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless."

— Bruno's Bible quote, used after lending money to Henry Tomasino

Bruno Levine is a supporting character in Mafia II.

History[]

Background[]

Bruno Levine is a mob-backed loan shark based out of a small office in Southport. He sits at the top of a network of loan sharks in Empire Bay, and is officially sanctioned by the Commission. He lends mob money to small-time sharks, crooks, and businessmen, charging extortionate rates of interest and backed up by mob muscle. He is fair in so far as he treats all debtors equally. He will honor his side of any bargain to the letter, but expects the same in return. Numerous stories exist of those who have failed to pay Bruno back on time.^[1]

One such story is of "Micky the Crab", the bathroom attendant at The Maltese Falcon, who has only a pinky finger and a thumb on one hand, which makes this hand resemble a crab's claw, hence the nickname. He owed money to Bruno, and Joe Barbaro suggests that this loan and how Micky lost his three fingers are directly related.

Despite being backed and funded by the Commission, Bruno is not Italian, and is also not a formal member of any Italian mob family. Bruno is Jewish-American, and he is implied to belong to a Jewish mob family that has a close alliance with the Italian Mafia families of Empire Bay and the rest of New York state. He has an assistant named Isaac.

Scaletta Loan[]

In 1943, Antonio Scaletta borrowed money from Bruno, thinking he could afford to pay it back after getting a better paying job. After his untimely death the loan fell to his wife and daughter to repay, and Bruno sends his muscle to harass Francesca into repaying the money, even if it means selling everything they own.

After returning home from the war two years later, Vito learns of his father's debt and quickly earns the $2,000 needed to repay it.

Henry's Deal[]

In September 1951 Henry Tomasino, Joe, and Vito decide to borrow money from Bruno for a heroin deal with the Empire Bay Triads. They borrow $35,000, in return for a repayment of $55,000 by the end of the week. When their plan falls apart and Henry is killed, Joe and Vito must earn the entire sum of the loan themselves to repay Bruno. They manage to do so by the deadline, as Vito arrives at Bruno's office with the money just as he and his men are about to leave for the night.

Before he leaves the office, Vito discovers that Bruno was the loan shark who lent his father the money, when Bruno comments that Vito is "much better at paying back his debts than the other Scaletta [he] knew". This visibly upsets Vito, but Bruno points out that he did not force either Vito or his father to borrow money from him, and that if he needs any more loans, he knows where to find him.