The Profaci-Colombo Family circa 1958-1972

This vastly powerful, well connected in the Underworld and extremely war torn organization with origins in Villabate, Sicily, commanded by its original head, the Supremely weathy "Olive Oil King".

Upper Echelon Members of Various Leadership Roles
1.) GUISEPPE PROFACI (commonly called "Joe". The Original Leader. Very wealthy legitimate businessman. Strong ally of Joe Bonanno of New York and Joe Zerilli of Detroit.)
2.) GUISEPPE MAGLIOCCO ( known as "Joe Malyak". Profaci's Longtime Underboss/Interim Power. Legitimate Businessman.)
3.) JOSEPH COLOMBO ( Second Leader/Boss. Influential Member of the Family, closely allied to Carlo Gambino of New York. Italian Civil Rights Activst?)
4.) JOSEPH GALLO (known publicly as "Crazy Joe". Rebel Faction Leader. Very Powerful Capo with loyal contingent)
5.) JOHN FRANZESE (known as "Sonny". Colombo's Underboss/very powerful and influential Caporegime.)
6.) SALVATORE MUSSACHIO ( known as "Sally The Shiek". Magliocco's Consigliere. Influential Old-time member.)

CAPOREGIME

SIMONE ANDOLINO
CHARLES "CHARLIE LEMONS" MINEO
SEBASTIAN "BUSTER" ALOI
JOSEPH "JOE YAK" YACOVELLI
NICHOLAS "JIGGS" FORLANO
CARMINE "THE SNAKE" PERISCO
THOMAS "TOM" DIBELLA
NICOLINE "PEANUTS" SORRENTINO
JAMES "JIM BROWN" CLEMENZA
MICHAEL SAVINO
DOMINICK "MIMI" SCIALO
ENRICO "HARRY" FONTANA

The Criminal Expertise: Legitimate Business Infiltration (Food and Automobile services), Gambling, Shylocking, Extortion, Black Market Rackets, Independent Drug Trafficking.

SOLDIERS/SOLDATO

profaci (old timer) guys:
SALVATORE "SAM" BALDAMENTI
JOHN BALSAMO
CALOGERO "CHARLIE THE SIDGE" LOCICERO
VINCENT FIGLIA
LUIGI "LOUIS" BARBUSCA
VINCENT "JIMMY" GIORDANO
JOSEPH GRECA
LORENZO LAMPASI, SR.
ANIELLO GIANNATTASIO
SALVATORE LOMBARDINO
ANGELO SPECIALE
CHARLES CLEMENZA
AMBROSIO PROFACI
LEONARDO "BIG LEO" CARLINO
FRANK "THE SHIEK" MUSSACCHIO
VINCENZO RANDAZZO
BARTOLO FERRIGNO
ANDREW LOMBARDINO
COSMO D' AMICO
JOHN CLEMENZA
SEBASTIAN D' AGATI
VINCENZO CRIVELLO
ANTONIO BUFFA
VINCENT "JIMMY MELE" MELIA
SALVATORE "SAM" CATALDO
CASSANDRO "THE CHIEF" BONASERA
STEFANO "STEPHEN" ITALIANO
JAMES "THE BARBER" RUBERTONE
FRANCESCO PROFACI
IGNAZIO MARTORANO
EMANUEL "NELLO" CAMMARATA
SALVATORE "WESTO" IMPERIALE
ALLESANDRO DEBENEDETTO
GAETANO MANGANO
JOSEPH MADELONE
ALFRED OLIVERI

colombo guys:
JOHN FONTANA
FRANK "FRANKIE DARE" FUSCO
VINCENZO GAGLIARDI
ETTORE "ART PRICE" MUSURACA
NICHOLAS BIANCO
MICHAEL "MIDGE" BELVEDERE
PASQUALE "BIG PATTY" AMATO
PHILLIP FONTANA
JOHN BOCINO
LEONARDO "BIG LENNY" DELLO
JOSEPH "WHITEY" FLORIO
NATALE MARCONE
GAETANO "THOMAS" BARBUSCA
FRANK "BOPEEP" TUMMILLO
GIOVANNI "BIG JOHN" MUSURACA
SALVATORE "SALLY D" AMBROSIO
ROBERT "BOBBY GREEN" FALVO
DOMINICK "DONNIE SHACKS" MONTEMARANO
FERDINAND "NO NOSE FRED" DELUCIA
JOSEPH "MINX" LIVOTI
PAUL D'AMICO
CARMINE "SONNY PINTO" DIBIASE
PHILLIP GAMBINO
JOSEPH JULIANO
GENNARO "JERRY LANG" LANGELLA
JOSEPH "JOE BLACK" GORGONE
ANTHONY "MICKEY BLUE" LA PONZINA
SALVATORE "SONNY" PEPITONE
NICHOLAS MAINELLO
PASQUALE "FRED SPETH" AMOROSA
SALVATORE "LEFTY" MANGIAMELLA
ROSARIO "BLACK SAM" NASTASIA
CHARLES "CHARLIE MOOSE" PANARELLO
PASQUALE FUSCO
ERNEST "ERNIE BLUE" LA PONZINA
CHARLES "LOLLY" DI PIERRO
FELICE "PHILLY CIGARS" VIZZARI
LAZZARO "LARRY" SAN GIOVANNI
ANTHONY "KID CHOCALATE" RICCARDI
JOSEPH"JOE THE WHALE" PERAINO
CARMELO "JOE" MUTOLA
JOSEPH "BUTCH" MUSUMELI
JOHN "JOHNNY TARZAN" LUSTERINO
VINCENT "JIMMY BROWN" MUCE
ANTHONY "TONY THE GAWK" AUGELLO
JOSEPH "LITTLE JOEY" BRANCATO
FRANK "THE BUG" SCIORTINO
JAMES "JIMMY SKI" SCIANNA
VINCENT ALOI
ANTHONY PERAINO
MODESTO "DUKE" SANTORA
JOHN "JOHNNY GREEN" SCHIMONE
ANTHONY PEPITORE
ANTHONY "SHORTY" SPERO
RALPH "WHITEY" TROPIANO
GREGORY "THE GRIM REAPER" SCARPA
ALPHONSE "FUNZI D" D' AMBROSIO
DOMINICK FAMULARI
FRANK "THE BEAST" FALANGA

gallo rebel faction:
JAMES "JIMMY BAT" CARDELLO
ALBERT "KID BLAST" GALLO
JOSEPH CARDELLO
JOHN "MOONEY" CUTRONE
VINCENT "THE SICILIAN" GUGLIARO
ROCCO "ROCKY" MIRAGLIA
JOSEPH "JOE JELLY" GIOELLI
(and countless associates)

*note: out of all NY Families, the colombos are my least studied. If names are in wrong spots, please correct me. Secondly, certain guys were harder to clarify allegiance, most of those guys were put under Colombo's faction.

Good chart Pep. Yeah because of split factions during the wars they are a bit hard to categorize

When Persico sided with the Gallo's, was his childhood inner circle with him? Or did guys like Jerry Lang, Anthony Scarpati, and Andy Russo stay with the Colombo family?

I read somewhere along time ago Sally the sheik was the cause of alot of the gallo gang problems. Can't remember what but his name came up in ray patriarca office and he said he was the root of the problem

@Dob_Peppino What were Michael Franzese and Salvatore Profaci's reaction to Joe Bonanno's tell-all book?

I
I don't know for sure but I can assume, like most of the guys during that time, They probably didn't like it. But Today Franzese shouldn't have a problem with it, considering he tell stories himself.

Most people have a problem with the book because it "omits" things ( I don't agree with the narrative that Bonanno was a liar.) People seemnto forget that it wasn't acceptable for any criminal of that stature to do a "tell-a-book". Guys like George Jung and Jorge Valdez( Drug lords) to do interviews and books telling the all but in the late 70s/early 80s, c'mon guys. Bonanno was a grandfather, he was from the old country, on top of that, he wasn't far that far removed from he association to Carmine Galante. It just wasn't smart but of course people will believe what they want.....

But anyway, that like rant was better suited for the Bonannos Family thread.

An interesting observation for me is, The Bonannos and Profaci's were both based in Brooklyn, but it seems The Profaci/Colombos got a more dangerous (in terms of volume) crop of gangsters. I wonder was because of the neighborhoods or how the Caporegime ran their crews?

Yes, the Profaci/Colombo crews was different in that the Profaci crew recruited a lot of American born members after their first crop of Italy-born gangsters, whereas the Bonanno's continued to recruit largely from a "tight circle" of Sicilian born (Castellammarese born) background. Even their American born members were kept more closely to the breast in the "Sicilian tradition". Many were indeed American born, Calabrese, etc., but for the most part kept their rank and file more tight to the old view.

Besides Sicilians, the Profaci/Colombo Family had a huge contingent of Napolitani/Calabrese members as well. Several key crews like the Franzese regime were led by them. I believe Junior Persico was Napolitano as well (I'm not sure on him)

**** Don Pep, I just posted up what I consider to be the most accurate color chart on the Colombo's ever designed. Please take a look at it and tell me what you think ok? It shows many of the members faces, the activity and racket profiles, police #s, nicknames, etc..... it also provides profiles on many guys not previously listed for the era. I think it compliments what you've done here. Hope you like it pal.

It was thru your articles, I learned of the Colombos presence in the Pornography, Salvatore Profaci and then Anthony Peraino. Was there anybody involved in prostitution during this era?

Not typically. Prostitution is something that for many years mob guys in general stayed away from. Back in the 1920s etc. they did that sort of thing more.

I will say that guys like Matty Ianniello, Mickey Zaffarano, etc.. did dabble in that stuff from afar. A guy from Brooklyn named Sally Crash actually ran cathouses and also shook a few down in Manhattan by strong-arm.

But its not as prevalent as the G would have the public believe it is with mob guys. Let's face it, that end of it is a sloppy, dirty business. Whores are whores. Wiseguys are generally not pimps.

Even Porno per se is cleaner.

Joe Colombo's father Anthony was clipped for sleeping with another made guy's wife. Apparently that is the member ALFRED OLIVERI. I wonder what the details of this scenario

Giovanni Misuraca and Charlie Mineo were administration members in that period. Franzese and Mineo crews scared Colombo, to where if John was not locked up, there would have been a good chance Colombo would ordered him killed as he did Mineo. Those two crews were powerhouses back in the day.

---
Hello Giacomo, Which Mineo are you referencing when you say that Joe Colombo had Mineo killed? Because Salvatore (Charlie Lemons) Mineo was never killed. In fact after Colombo was shot and paralyzed at the Italian-American Unity Day Rally in 1971, Charlie Mineo (as the consigliere) stepped up and helped hold the Family together to avoid chaos until an interim leadership could be established?

.

I don't know if any of you watch Michael Franzese's interviews. I do. He states that his father John, who was Colombo underboss, had an affair with Marilyn Monroe who was also having an affair with Monroe. He says that's one reason why Robert Kennedy pursued and convicted his father.

Michael's a showboat and full of shit. Thats complete unadulterated BS. More guys bedded her than you have fingers and toes. What was RK gonna do, have a vendetta with everybody?

Don't get me wrong, Sonny banged a lot of braciola in his lifetime, but I for one don't believe he ever did M. Monroe. And even if he did, Whats that got to do with RK?

Kennedy went after everybody, Sonny was not even high on Kennedys list in the scheme of things in those days. Kennedy ran the Senate Labor Rackets Committee which exposed the Teamsters Union and other top locals for corruption.

The likes of union boss Jimmy Hoffa, Tony Ducks, Johnny Dio, Jimmy Jerome Squillante, the longshoremen's union, etc., were Kennedys main targets. Sonny Franzese by and large had zero to do with those unions, or any other major unions in those days.

Franzese later involved himself in a few "catch-all" independent union locals, but these were long after Bobby Kennedy's focus on the mob and unions waned.

What I'm saying is that there is little to no correlation between Franzese, Monroe, Kennedy, and the rest.

Next Michael will be saying that he was partners with Lucky Luciano, and ran all the casinos in Las Vegas and the Havana, Cuba. Lol

He figures who's gonna question him right?

My bad, I mixed up Mineo and Charlie LoCicero. Franzese, Mineo, and LoCicero were administration members in that time period.

No problem Giacomo, it happens to the best of us. Yeah Charlie the Siege was a half a hump. A devious schemer who probably should have gotten clipped back when Magliocco was on top. Always working both ends to the middle. Locicero was actually killed by his own family (his son Frank) for having a hand in his grandsons murder (Franks son).

The theory goes that Charlie hurt the kid Richie (who was supposedly giving info) and the father Frank retaliated. At the end of the day only the participants really know for sure what really happened. It allegedly involved stolen securities.

In general supposedly the entire Locicero family was not well thought of. But this is out of the mouth of Scarpa (a rat), so who really knows.

Any info on JOSEPH "JOE YAK" YACOVELLI or THOMAS "TOM" DIBELLA before they was Acting Boss?

,@NYMAFIA
Got a chance to read your article on CHARLIE LEMONS MINEO. It was a great read!. I've seen the name but never knew of him. The story about meeting in the park was fascinating, just another character in CN

The families were based in Brooklyn which is one reason they had such a strong relationship. The difference is the Colombo's territory was ONLY Brooklyn basically. Sure they had a fairly strong queens crew, branched out into South Florida,Jersey ,L.I, and S.I a bit, but their territory was Brooklyn. Bonannos had Bronx crews, Jersey Crew, manhattan guys in Little Italy and LES. Big crew up in Montreal, a South Florida crew, an Arizona crew, made inroads into California.

Joe Yack and Sonny Pinto did the hit on Ali Waffa. It's said Yak shot the first few times but completely missed so Pinto fired the shots that killed Ali Baba.

NYMafia, it was most likely Carmine Persico and Greg Scarpa that killed LoCicero with Scarpa pointing the blame on Frank LoCicero.

Thomas DiBella was the son of the family boss Salvatore DiBella. Born in Brooklyn. Most suspect he was made in the late 1920s, only one source that has a habit of getting date wrong but the events right, claims DiBella was made when Joe Profaci became the official boss of the family, and was made at the tail end of the war. Gambling and loansharking were his two main source of his income. Moved to Staten Island in the 1940s eventually becoming capo of the crew, extortion, and union inflitrator During the 1950s was investigated by the Government in suspecting him as a communist supporter. He was the official boss from 1973 to 1980.

Joe Yacovelli got his start in New Jersey. A knuckle dragger. Street tough. May have actually been part of Newark family.

Do you know anything about PEANUTS SORRENTINO or MICHAEL SAVINO???
I never heard of these Capos

Guys during Colombo reign as Boss, but made long before Joe Colombo became boss. Not much is known of them.

Michael Savino was Joe Colombo brother in law, and took over Colombos crew when Joe became boss. He was inefficient as a capo and was called Colombo lap dog. Whatever Joe was into, you could find Savino not far behind. He is always one 9f those mobsters I forget no matter what since there is nothing special about him. Demoted after Joe Colombo was shot with his crew being split between the Brancato and Persico crews. Passed away in the early 90s.

Nicoline Sorrentino served as Joe Colombos Consigliere for a short time after peace with the Gallo faction. Retired to Sicily in 1970 and passed away a few years later. Lived in Queens before 1920. Moved to Brooklyn where he ran a laundry service for Salvatore DiBella father of Thomas DiBella, running numbers, fencing stolen goods, suspected in a few crimes in vandalism. After the Castellammarese war remained silent or under the radar till about the mid 1950s when his name surfaced in a couple of investigations done by both Florida State Police and IRS. Most likely moved to Florida in the late 1930s. Close to many known Florida mobsters of different families. During the Gallo war was between New York and Florida. It is said Joe Profaci sought sanctuary at Sorrentino Florida home after the Gallo brothers tried to kidnap him. During that time period was back doing number running in Brooklyn with DeBenedetto and LaPonzina both soldiers in his crew, number running in Florida with Cammerata.

Did Profaci use his olive oil company and his importing contacts as a front for drugs?

Does anyone know why Profaci (Gallo and Perisco) are associated with the Anastasia Hit? I never understood the possible connection.

Gallo bragged about it in a bar to Sidney Slater a week after the murder happened. Said he, Joey Gioelli, Ralph Mafrici, Frank Illiano and Sonny Camerone did it. Peter Diapoulos later said that Joey and Larry Gallo did it on Profaci's orders and that was how they got straightened out. Then in the 1980s, Carmine Persico told his brother-in-law Fred DeChristopher that Gallo had lied about participating in it. Persico then took credit for it. Vincent Teresa and Bill Bonanno have repeated Gallo's claim that he was responsible. Teresa said that Genovese ordered the hit and assigned it to Tony Strollo, who got the Gallos in. The Gallos were then sent to Raymond Patriarca, who lent them John Nazarian and Nicholas Bianco for the hit.

Teresa's story is totally unbelievable nonsense. Diapoulos' claim that Profaci was in on it is also unfounded - there's nothing to suggest Profaci was involved in the conspiracy. Gallo's brag to Slater and Persico's brag to DeChristopher are also bullshit boasts. The hit came from within Anastasia's family, possibly with secret support from Genovese and Tommy Lucchese. Joseph Biondo, Joseph Riccobono and Charles Dongarra (and possibly Carlo Gambino) were the main instigators. Steve Grammauta and either Joseph Cahill or Arnold Wittenberg were the shooters.

So the big question for me is, Why did Profaci make Gallo? Because it seems very plausible that the only reason Gallo got a button is for this hit, but without that, I don't know why Profaci would introduce a cancer to his Family.

It was a two for one deal. Larry was street smart and an earner, Joe Gallo was muscle. In order to bring Larry in, they had to bring Joe in. Larry was actually liked, while Joe was not so much, since his antics brought unwanted trouble, this was before the 1st Colombo war. Salvatore Cerrito invited Joe Gallo to stay out in San Jose for a short time, to let things cool down in New York, two wrongs dont make a right. Joe Gallo also spent time in Southern California, Los Angeles area. This allowed him to recruit guys from California later on when they went up against Profaci. They got their buttons before Anastasia was hit.

Giacamo, isn't it true that an old timer in the Profacis guaranteed the Gallos wouldn't make trouble, and convinced Profaci to go ahead with it?
I think there was also one old timer who was for making the Gallos, and one who was against.

Yes. John Scimone was the Gallo brothers sponsor, but he was neutral and did like Larry Gallo. Frank Abbatemarco and Enrico Fontana made a deal, where each would ok each proposed members in their crews, so they could beef up their crews, I am sure there may have been one or two more Capos in the deal. The Gallo brothers were made before the summer of 1957. Fontana was able to boost his crew during that summer. Salvatore Musacchio and Amborse Magliocco were the strongest opponents to the Gallos being made, and they had Giuseppe Magliocco ear. Musacchio was the biggest headache as he was competing with the Genovese members that were in lucrative business that the Gallo brothers were friendly with, Ambrose was still mad about one of his associates that Joe Gallo got into a shuffle with, and a dislike on how the Gallos were also close to Joe Franco and Carmine Lombardozzi in the Gambino family. Joe Profaci had reassurance from some of his capos and decided to make them. Musacchio was still a problem for the brothers. Profaci decided to test the Gallo brothers loyalty by ordering them to kill Frank Abbatemarco which they did, but Profaci refused to honor the deal of the rackets going to the Gallo brothers. That was Profaci downfall.

Would anyone consider Profaci as an underrated Boss? I mean powerwise, and was his problem with the Gallos an isolated incident or did Profaci have other detractors besides them? (Excluding Frankie Shots as well)

Emmanuel "Nello" Cammarata Is Dead | Colombo Crime Family | Florida| (1972)

Bonanno had been deposed as boss long before he published that book. But it let him have a last laugh at the Commission's expense:
Rudy Giuliani was US Attorney for the Southern District of NY when the book was published. RICO had been on the books for more than a decade, but Federal prosecutors were reluctant to use it because it was so new to their experience. Giuliani saw, in Bonano's description of the Commission's workings, a prime example of a "Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organization." He brought in G. Robert Blakey, the author of RICO legislation, to coach him and his staff on how to use RICO (Giuliani called him "my consigliere"). Result: the Commission case.

I don't think Bonanno had a laugh because they went down legally. I think he would've rather seen them taken out Mafia-style, the way his Tradition that he yapped about so much dictates.