Matthew Joseph "Matty the Horse" Ianniello was an American mobster with the Genovese crime family of New York City, of which he was once the acting boss. During the 1960s and 1970s, Ianniello controlled the lucrative sex industry centered near Times Square. He was convicted of bid rigging in construction, skimming union dues, and extorting protection money from bar owners, pornography peddlers, and topless dancers as Times Square became filled with peep shows.

Little Italy is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City, known for its Italian population. It is bounded on the west by Tribeca and Soho, on the south by Chinatown, on the east by the Bowery and Lower East Side, and on the north by Nolita.