Early Years
Born as Hyman Suchowsky, Hyman Roth settled in Hell's Kitchen, New York. In the early 1920s, while working as a car mechanic, he was noticed by Peter Clemenza, who called him "Johnny Lips". Clemenza introduced him to Vito Corleone who suggested to change his name. When Vito asked who he admired, Suchowsky told him Arnold Rothstein for fixing the World Series. He had one brother, Sam, and a wife named Marcia, who always remained loyal to her husband.
Roth worked diligently with the Corleone family during Prohibition, and was a close friend and ally of Moe Greene, the "inventor" of Las Vegas. Roth, as well as Don Corleone, both got their starts working together running molasses out of Canada. It is suggested, however, that Vito never fully trusted Roth, nor did many of his associates, including Frank Pentangeli.
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