I believe that Vito would have had Democratic leanings by virtue of his being an Italian immigrant but he most likely would have been apolitical knowing how corrupt the process was.
Very true, SC. The early Italian immigrants, like most immigrants, were overwhelmingly Democrats. But as they assimilated and became more moneyed and successful, more than a few switched allegiance to the Rebublican party. Just look at Staten Island today, which has a good percentage of upper middle class 2nd, 3rd and even 4th generation Italian Americans. It is by far the most conservative borough demographically speaking. There are more registered Republicans in Staten Island than any other borough of New York City, yet it has the smallest population.
As for Vito's political preference, I agree that he was probably apolitical. But I agree with Sonny that we can really only speculate. Democrats on the board probably want him to be a Democrat. Republicans probably want him to be a Republican. What else is new?
