James Failla

James "Jimmy Brown" Failla ( 1919 - August 5, 1999 ) was an influential American mobster of the Gambino family in New York City . He dominated the "Local 813" of the Teamsters' union and, for decades, also controlled the city's garbage collection .

His nickname "Jimmy Brown" came from his chocolate-brown suits, which he liked to wear. Failla is said to have shown an astonishing resemblance to Larry Flynt , the US publisher of Hustler magazine.

Life

Under Paul Castellano

Paul Castellano had been the boss of the Gambino family since 1976 . He had been the brother-in-law of his predecessor Carlo Gambino ; Many in the Gambino clan would have preferred Aniello Dellacroce as his successor, which is the fundamental cause of the incipient split in the Gambino family. A Brooklyn and a Manhattan faction faced each other. While the Brooklyn faction leaned towards Castellano , the Manhattan faction clung to Dellacroce . While the Brooklyn faction was more prone to white-collar crimes, Delacroce's faction pursued the usual criminal activities. Castellano's strategy was ultimately Gambino's method of investing illegal money in legal business areas.

With that in mind, Failla controlled the Trade Waste Association . His influence with the Teamsters , which began in the 1960s, lasted until 1995 and enabled him to skim off some 100 million US dollars for the "family". In principle, the Manhattan faction did not participate in this income either, which is why it got into the drug trade.

After Dellacroce's death , the Manhattan faction around John Gotti had to fear that it would be eliminated by Castellano . Gotti anticipated this and had Castellano himself murdered in December 1985 in the so-called "Steakhouse Massacre".

When Castellano was murdered on December 16, 1985 together with Thomas Bilotti in front of the Sparks Steak House in Manhattan, it was Failla who had waited there with Frank DeCicco . Possibly was Armond Della Croce , brother of the late Aniello Della Croce , also in Sparks present.

Unlike DeCicco , Failla is believed to have been uninitiated or implicated in the murder plans. The murder of a boss actually required the approval of the commission - a mafia committee made up of representatives of the five New York families and the Chicago Outfit - or at least had to be discussed with the bosses from the other five families , which is why Vincent Gigante - Boss the Genovese family - initially the murder of Gotti was pursued. This plan was later dropped and Gotti was recognized as the new boss of the Gambino family.

However, some of Failla's presence in the restaurant considered active participation. Witnesses had testified that DeCicco and Failla were running after the shots from the restaurant and Failla even the pulse of Castellano tried to feel. Failla had worked closely with the Genovese family ; there is speculation that he would have been installed together with Daniel "Danny" Marino as the successor to John Gotti , if his forcible removal had succeeded.

Accuse

Failla was considered one of the most silent gangsters ever; although he was involved in countless meetings of his boss, Paul Castellano , the FBI overseeing Costellano could only record a few words from Failla .

In 1987 Failla was charged with numerous offenses. The background was the trial against the consigliere of the clan Joseph N. Gallo . Since around the beginning of the 1980s, the FBI had both Gotti and Gallo in their sights. Gallo was arrested in 1986 and found guilty in 1987. Other defendants in the trial, besides Gallo and Failla, were: Joseph Armone , Joseph Corrao, Robert DiBernardo , Joseph Zingaro, Thomas Agro , Robert Desimone, Jack Giordano, Angelo Ruggiero, Anthony Vitta, George Daly, Louis Giardina, Salvatore Migliorisi, Julie Miron and Mildred Russo.

In 1989, Thomas Spinelli , a man from his crew , was murdered on the orders of Sammy Gravano . Spinelli was supposed to testify in court and Gravano did not want to take any risk of a legally usable testimony, as his boss John Gotti was under constant surveillance by the authorities.

When John Gotti was convicted in 1990 , Failla became the "acting boss" of the Gambino family, which was led by a team of three in Gotti's absence.

In 1994 Failla pleaded guilty to the murder of Thomas Spinelli and was sentenced to seven years in prison. The reason for the low sentence was a criminal procedural deal with the public prosecutor. He started his sentence in 1995 and died in prison in Texas in 1999.

James Failla was buried in Moravian Cemetery in New Dorp , New York City .

family

James Failla had a son (James Failla Jr.) who was murdered on October 5, 1985 at the age of 28. He was found shot dead in his car in the bowling alley of Staten Island , New York City.

literature

James Jacobs: Mobsters, unions, and feds. The Mafia and the American labor movement . New York University Press, New York 2006, ISBN 978-0-81474-273-0 .

Individual evidence

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Failla, James
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Brown, Jimmy
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American mobster
DATE OF BIRTH	1919
PLACE OF BIRTH	United States
DATE OF DEATH	August 5, 1999
Place of death	Texas, USA

[1] United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. - 863 F.2d 185 Argued Sept. 26, 1988.Decided Nov. 29, 1988 on cases.justia.com (English)

[2] ttp://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/23/nyregion/to-prosecutors-breakthrough-after-5-years-of-scrutiny.html