Colombo family
The Colombo family ( Colombo Crime Family ), formerly known as the Profaci family , is an Italian-American mafia family belonging to the American Cosa Nostra and the youngest of the so-called Five Families of New York City , which largely control organized crime there .
History of the Colombo Family
Joe Profaci
The murders of Joe Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano in April 1931 marked the end of the so-called War of Castellammare . After these clashes, the US mafia restructured itself. In New York the form of the five families, which is basically still valid today, was formed. These families bore the names of their respective heads and were later classified as Bonanno , Colombo , Gambino , Genovese, and Lucchese .
Many bosses of the "old style" were eliminated or marginalized during the restructuring by Charles "Lucky" Luciano , but Joe Profaci managed to stay in power, which was in part due to his good connections with Joseph Bonanno was due.
Profaci's management style was marked by his stinginess and the high taxes (“ black box ”) that he imposed on members of his family. Under Joe Profaci, the Brooklyn- based family engaged in the usual illegal activities such as extortion , credit fraud, and gambling .
As with most other Mafia families, the Colombo family's illegal activities were camouflaged by legal business; Profaci was z. B. as the “Olive King”, as he dominated the import of olive oil - especially from Italy, of course - which made him a typical “ Mustache Pete ”. His nickname "Don Peppino" resulted from these trading activities.
Joe Profaci was the undisputed head of the family until the late 1950s.
The Gallo brothers
Ultimately, however, the burgeoning anger of some subordinates led to the conflicts that would last for decades. Carlo Gambino began to incite the family members among themselves to undermine the alliance between Profaci and Bonanno.
The brothers Larry Gallo, Joey "Crazy Joe" Gallo and Albert Gallo agreed to Gambino's plans after Profaci - who had often made extensive use of the brothers' profits - ordered the murder of gang member Frank Abbatemarco .
In February 1961 the Gallos kidnapped some prominent members of the family, including the underboss Joseph Magliocco and Capo Joseph Colombo . In return for the release of the hostages, they demanded changes in the distribution of profits within the groups. Profaci agreed, but had the offer withdrawn a short time later by his consigliere Charles Locicero .
This gave Joe Profaci time to plan his counter-attack. Gallo member Joseph Gioelli was murdered by Profaci's men in September that year. An attack on Larry Gallo in a bar in South Brooklyn was prevented by police officers. Carmine Persico , who previously worked with the Gallo brothers in the conflict (including during the kidnappings at the beginning of the year), but soon switched sides back to Profaci, was of particular importance in this attack in August 1961 . The planned meeting with Larry Gallo was arranged on the pretext that Persico wanted to switch back to the Gallo brothers. This attack as well as the changing loyalty attitudes formed the origin of the nickname "The Snake" (dt. The snake), which Persico was to receive. The brothers then repeatedly attacked Profacis men and a real battle broke out between the two factions.
The Gallos were thus responsible for two wars within the Colombo family , both of which ended in defeat for the brothers.
Profacis death
In 1961/62, three heads of the other five families called for Profaci to resign; except for Joseph Bonanno, whose son Salvatore "Bill" Bonanno was married to a niece of Profaci. Profaci's health deteriorated further and on June 6, 1962 he died of cancer.
Profaci's brother-in-law Joseph Magliocco was appointed as his successor with the support of Joseph Bonanno, who wanted to remain true to Profacis line. A fact that the Gallo brothers didn't like. Despite the change at the top of the family, they did not want to end the fighting. Two of Magliocco's men, Hugh McIntosh and Carmine "Junior" Persico, were attacked by the brothers, but they survived the attacks.
The Gallo group was then broken up. Some members ended up behind bars for their criminal activities, and two others were killed in retaliation by Magliocco's men. The head of the troupe, Joey Gallo, was himself in prison at the time and was therefore unable to intervene.
Magliocco
With the Gallos out of the way, Magliocco was able to maintain his position and remained head of the family. Meanwhile, Joe Bonanno had set himself the goal of murdering the competing heads of the Gambino and Lucchese families in order to dominate the National Crime Syndicate together with Magliocco . It was also suspected that the Buffalo boss Stefano Magaddino should also be the target. The background to this plan played the fact that Carlo Gambino and Tommy Lucchese used the refused recognition by the Gallos to forbid Magliocco a seat on the commission . Therefore, the planned attack of the Bonanno-Don was his attempt to restore the balance, which was to shift to his disadvantage.
Joseph Colombo was tasked with putting Gallo's plans into practice. But instead of killing them, he told Carlo Gambino and Tommy Lucchese of Bonnano's fatal intentions. Bonanno and Magliocco were then supposed to face the commission of the National Crime Syndicate . Joe Bonanno went into hiding, Magliocco faced his actions. He was fined $ 50,000 and had to resign as the boss of the family.
Joseph Magliocco died on December 28, 1963 of a heart attack due to high blood pressure .
The Colombo era
Because of his proven loyalty and because Gambino believed he could easily control him, Joseph Colombo became the new boss of the family.
The family name has been changed to differentiate itself from the past. At the age of 41 Colombo became the youngest head of a mafia family at the time. Colombo founded the Italian-American Civil Rights League in the late 1960s . This association was supposed to fight the prejudices that all Italians were members of the American Cosa Nostra and denounced the alleged anti-Italian attitude of the FBI. The establishment was not entirely altruistic, because its facade was intended to hide the illegal activities.
In February 1971 Joey Gallo was released from prison and four months later, on June 28th, Joe Colombo was declared at a rally of the Italian-American Civil Rights League, which was proclaimed the second "Italian-American Unity Day" (the first took place under held on June 29, 1970 on Columbus Circle ), shot by gangster Jerome Johnson . He then fell into a vegetative state from which he was not to wake up until his death in 1978. The assassin was shot dead by Colombo's bodyguards immediately after the crime.
It was speculated whether Joey Gallo had commissioned the attack on Colombo, but this could never be clarified with certainty, as "Crazy Joe" Gallo was shot on April 7, 1972 on his 43rd birthday. This attack is seen by many as an act of revenge by Colombo members who sought to atone for the dishonorable (and not sanctioned by the Commission) murder of their former leader. Other sources claim that the commission itself commissioned the murder of Joe Colombo because his work in the Italian-American Civil Rights League attracted too much public attention and thus endangered the entire mafia.
"Deep Throat" - The Colombo Family and the Film Industry
Deep Throat , an American porn film directed by Gerard Damiano , was made in 1972. The film's producer, Luis "Butchie" Peraino was a member of the Colombo family. The production cost of $ 22,500 was funded by the Colombo family. The box office revenues - estimates vary from around 100 million, according to the FBI , to around 600 million US dollars, for the most part flowed back to the family.
The family under Carmine Persico
After Colombo was unable to lead the family, Thomas DiBella was raised to "Acting Boss". However, he resigned from his position in 1977 due to health problems. This resignation left a huge void at the head of the Colombo family.
Carmine Persico was traded as his successor, but it was unclear whether he would be the right man because of the many prison sentences he had served in the last 10 years. In any case, he ran the family out of prison with the help of his street boss Gennaro "Jerry Lang" Langella . Both men were charged in the " Mafia Commission Trial " in the mid-1980s and Persico was sentenced to 100 years in prison.
Despite the verdict, Persico continued to divert the family from his prison cell in the Lompoc Federal Penitentiary in California. He used his various "Street Bosses"; including his cousin Vittorio "Vic" Orena. This, however, wanted to head the family himself and so it came to a fight between the proponents of Orenas (including the "acting boss" of the Gambino family, John Gotti ) and Persico's supporters. Persico's advisor and deputy, Carmine Sessa, had spearheaded an attack on Orena, but it failed. On behalf of his boss, he then asked the commission to intervene.
However, the commission did not come to a decision and so Persico's captain Gregory Scarpa Sr , who was traveling with his family at the time , was ambushed on November 18, 1991. However, this failed and no one was injured.
Orena's people hit back, killing Persico supporter Henry "Hank the Bank" Smurra. After men were murdered on both sides, the police became aware and began to arrest some mobsters . In 1993 Orena and Amato were both sentenced to life imprisonment. Since Orena was now incapacitated, Persico maintained his position within the family and continued to lead them out of prison.
present
The family is currently considered weakened, it is believed that Carmine "Junior" Persico was still pulling the strings of the Colombo family from prison. According to reports, all important decisions were still made by him and carried out by changing managers ( acting bosses ).
Alphonse "Little Allie Boy" Persico would take on the role of his father. However, he was convicted in December 2007 together with the underboss John "Jackie" DeRoss, because "Little Allie Boy" had ordered in 1999 to murder the family enemy William Cutolo.
In October 2010, an FBI investigation team returned to the Long Island location where William Cutolo's body was found in 2008.
Thomas "Tommy Shots" Gioeli , about whom little is known, was used as "Street Boss". Long-time family member Vincenzo "Vinny" Aloi is, according to various reports, the Consigliere of the Colombo family. In June 2008, nine senior members of the Colombo family were arrested during a large-scale police operation. Including Thomas Gioeli, allegedly current "Acting Boss". He was charged with various robberies, murder and extortion, but denied the allegations and pleaded his innocence. If there is a conviction, he faces life imprisonment.
The current strength and exact size of the family is unknown, but has recently prevented the loss of more members. It is believed that the Colombo family is in the process of rebuilding to get back to old size.
Historical tour
Head of the family
The head of a family can not always be identified so clearly; especially if another family member comes to the fore due to a prison sentence. The external view does not always make it easy to recognize a new head as such or to determine his exact term of office. In addition, a presidential system seems to be establishing itself to a certain extent; ie the head shifts his power more to a so-called “acting boss” and / or “street boss”, who in turn continue to recognize the head as such, even if he is, for example, in custody.
| Period | Surname | Nickname | Lifetime | Cause of death | annotation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1928-1962 | Giuseppe "Joseph" Profaci | Joe, Don Peppino | 1897-1962 | cancer | |
| 1962-1963 | Joseph Magliocco | Joe Malyak | 1898-1963 | Heart attack | deposed by the Commission |
| 1964-1973 | Joseph Colombo | Joe C. | 1924-1978 | shot on June 28, 1971 | 1971–1978 in a vegetative state ; Perpetrator: Jerome Johnson |
| 1973-2019 | Carmine John Persico, Jr. | Junior, The Snake | 1933-2019 | imprisoned: 1973–79, 1981–84, 1985–2019 |
Acting Boss:
- 1971–1972: Joseph "Jo Yak" Yacovelli; 1929- ?; after the murder of "Crazy Joe" Gallo fled
- 1972–1973: Vincenzo "Vinny" Aloi; 1923 - today; Imprisoned 1973–1980 / became consigliere in 1993
- 1973–1973: Joseph "Joey" Brancato ; Imprisoned for 5 months in 1973
- 1973–1979: Thomas "Tom the Old Man" DiBella; became consigliere in 1977
- 1981–1983: Alphonse "Allie Boy" Persico; 1929-1989; Brother of Carmine John Persico, Jr .; 1983 became consigliere again
- 1983–1984: Gennaro Adriano “Gerry Lang” Langella; 1938-2013; 1985–2013 imprisoned (1981–1994 Consigliere)
- 1985–1987: Anthony "Scappy" Scarpati ; imprisoned
- 1987–1991: Victor "Little Vic" Orena ; 1934 - today; detained since 1992
- 1991–1993: Vacant - competitive leadership during the third family war
- 1994–1996: Andrew "Andy Mush" Russo ; 1923 - today; Cousin of Carmine John Persico, Jr .; became Street Boss in 1996
- 1996 – today: Alphonse "Little Allie Boy" T. Persico ; 1954 - today; Son of Carmine John Persico, Jr .; detained since 2000
Street Boss (Front Boss):
- 1987–1987: (committee) -
- Benedetto “Benny” Aloi ; 1935-2011; Brother of Vincenzo Aloi
- Vincent "Jimmy" Angelino
- Joseph T. "Joe T" Tomasello ; 1926-2006
- 1991–1993: Joseph T. "Joe T" Tomasello
- 1993–1994: (committee) -
- Joseph T. "Joe T" Tomasello
- Theodore "Teddy" Persico, Sr .; 1937 - today; Brother of Carmine John Jr. and "Allie Boy" Persico
- Joseph Baudanza
- 1994–1996: Alphonse "Little Allie Boy" T. Persico; became acting boss in 1996
- 1996–1999: Andrew "Andy Mush" Russo; Imprisoned 1999-2005 / Street Boss again from 2010
- 2000-2003: Joel "Joe Waverly" J. Cacace, Sr .; 1941 - today; imprisoned since 2003 (1999-2008 consigliere)
- 2003–2008: Thomas "Tommy Shots" Salvatore Gioeli ; 1952 - today; detained since 2008
- 2008-2009: Ralph F. DeLeo ; 1943 - today; detained since 2009
- 2009–2010: Theodore "Teddy Boy" Persico, Jr .; 1964 - today; Son of Theodore Persico, Sr.; imprisoned
- 2010 - today: Andrew "Andy Mush" Russo; detained since 2013
Underboss of the family
The underboss is number two in the criminal family, he is the deputy director of the syndicate. He gathers information for the boss, gives orders and instructions to the subordinates. In the absence of the boss, he leads the criminal group.
| Period | Surname | Nickname | Lifetime | Cause of death | annotation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1928-1962 | Joseph Magliocco | Joe Malyak | 1898-1963 | Heart attack | became boss in 1962 |
| 1962-1963 | Salvatore Musacchio | Sally the Sheik | 1905-1972 | Brother-in-law of Joseph Magliocco | |
| 1963-1967 | John Franzese, Sr. | Sonny | 1917-2020 | Imprisoned 1970–1978, 1986–1991 and again until 2010 and 2017, released in a wheelchair at the age of 100 in June 2017 | |
| 1967-1971 | Charles Mineo | Charlie Lemons | resigned | ||
| 1971-1973 | Sebastian Aloi | Buster | Father of Vincenzo and Benedetto Aloi | ||
| 1973-1977 | Anthony Abbatemarco | Tony shots | 1922 - ???? | Disappeared in 1977 | |
| 1977-1981 | Alphonse Persico | Allie Boy | 1929-1989 | cancer | became acting boss in 1981 |
| 1981-1994 | Gennaro Adriano Langella | Gerry Lang | 1938-2013 | natural death | Imprisoned 1985-2013 |
| 1994-1999 | Joel J. Cacace, Sr. | Joe Waverly | 1941 – today | became consigliere in 1999 | |
| 1999-1999 | William Cutolo | Wild Bill | 1949-1999 | was shot dead on May 26, 1999 | Masterminds: Alphonse T. Persico and John J. DeRoss |
| 1999-2004 | John J. DeRoss | Jackie Zambooka | 1937 – today | detained since 2002 | |
| 2004-2020 | John Franzese, Sr. | Sonny | 1917-2020 | already 1963–1967 Underboss (see above); imprisoned until 2010 and 2011–2017 |
- Acting underboss
- 1973–1975: Andrew "Andy Mush" Russo; became acting boss in 1994
- 1983–1987: John "Sonny" Franzese, Sr.; 1917-2020; 1986–1991 and later repeatedly imprisoned / since 2004 again underboss
- 1987–1987: Benedetto “Benny” Aloi; became Acting Consigliere in 1988
- 1993–1999: Benedetto “Benny” Aloi; Imprisoned 1991–2009
- 2001–2003: Thomas "Tommy Shots" Salvatore Gioeli; became Street Boss in 2003
- 2008–2009: Theodore "Teddy Boy" Persico, Jr.; became Street Boss in 2009
- 2009–2011: Benjamin “The Claw” Castellazzo ; * 1939 – today; detained since 2011
Consigliere of the family
At the same level as the underboss is the consigliere , the advisor to the criminal family. It is usually an older member of the family who has not reached the position of boss in his criminal career and has now partially withdrawn from active criminal activity. He advises the boss and the underboss, giving him considerable influence and power.
| Period | Surname | Nickname | Lifetime | Cause of death | annotation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931-1954 | Salvatore Profaci | 1905-1954 | Boating accident | Brother of Giuseppe "Joseph" Profaci | |
| 1954-1963 | Carlaggero LoCicero | Charles the Sidge | ???? - 1968 | Murdered in 1968 | |
| 1963-1969 | Benedetto D'Alessandro | ||||
| 1970-1973 | Joseph Yacovelli | Jo Yak | 1929 - ???? | became acting boss in 1971 | |
| 1973-1977 | Alphonse Persico | Allie Boy | 1929-1989 | cancer | became Underboss in 1977 |
| 1977-1983 | Thomas DiBella | Tom the Old Man | resigned | ||
| 1983-1988 | Alphonse Persico | Allie Boy | 1929-1989 | cancer | 1982–1987 fleeting |
| 1988-1993 | Carmine Sessa | Carmine Marletta | 1951 – today | Imprisoned 1993–1997 | |
| 1993-1999 | Vincenzo Aloi | Vinny | 1923 – today | ||
| 1999-2008 | Joel J. Cacace, Sr. | Joe Waverly | 1941 – today | became Street Boss in 2003 | |
| 2008-2011 | Richard Fusco | Ritchie Nerves | 1936-2013 | natural death | Imprisoned 2011–2013 |
| 2011 – today | Thomas Farese | Tom Mix, Mr. T | 1943 – today |
- Acting Consigliere
- 1987–1988: Vincent "James" Angellino
- 1988–1991: Benedetto “Benny” Aloi; was again acting underboss in 1993
- 2001–2004: Ralph "Ralphie" Lombardo ; * 1930
- 2004–2008: Vincenzo "Vinny" Aloi
Films and documentaries
- 1991: The Real Bosses - A Devilish Empire ( Mobsters) : Film about the War of Castellammare , the founding of the Five Families and the National Crime Syndicate .
- 2014: In the Mafia Network - The FBI 's Secret Files ( Mafia's Greatest Hits ): British 13-part documentary series (Episode 3: The Activist: Joe Colombo)
- The "Colombos" are mentioned in the series The Sopranos (season 1, episode 4 and season 6, episode 20).
literature
- Selwyn Raab: Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires . St. Martin's Press, 2006, ISBN 0-312-36181-5 .
- Tim Adler: Hollywood and the Mob . Bloomsbury Publishing, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7475-7350-0 .
Web links
- The Colombo / Persico / Orena family on www.mafianj.com (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ American Organized Crime - Colombo Crime Family - First War - Gallo v. Profaci / Magliocco ( Memento of October 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ American Organized Crime - Colombo Crime Family - Secon War - Gallo v. Colombo / Persico, Jr. ( Memento from October 17, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ David Southwell: History of Organized Crime . Fackelträger Verlag, Cologne, 2007 ISBN 978-3-7716-4344-7 p. 69
- ↑ "Inside Deep Throat" - the story of a film that was a scandal - a porn film as a cult phenomenon ( memento from June 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) on kinokultur.at
- ↑ Press release on the conviction of the United States Attorney's Office Eastern District of New York ( Memento from January 19, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ FBI digs at Long Iceland site where mob body found in 2008 | 7online.com
- ↑ "Colombo Boss Arrest" ( memento of October 8, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) on nydailynews.com (English)
- ↑ Colombo Crime Family - Crime Library on truTV.com
- ↑ New York ex-Mafia boss with 100 released orf.at, June 24, 2017, accessed June 24, 2017. Is or was again underboss from 2004 (see below)