So in Anthony Colombo's (w/Don Capria) book Colombo: The Unsolved Murder, he offers five theories on his father's murder:

Lone Gunman
Joe Gallo
Carlo Gambino
BRAT - Black Revolutionary Attack Team (who sent a letter to AP claiming they did it)
&
FBI/CIA

He suggested that he believed the FBI was behind it and that the account presented about Colombo's murder was a "myth perpetuated by the FBI and the media."

What is everyone's opinion?

(This a topic I posted over on the other board but inspired by CabriniGreen bringing a topic over here, I'd thought I'd follow his lead)

~LisaB

In his first book Michael Franzese said it came from outside the mafia and that the FBI was suspected. He walked the statement back a few years later.

Gravano, who was around the Colombos at the time, said that Joe Gallo reached out to the Colombo administration to tell them that it was not him. He said that he was at war with Joe Colombo and he was looking to kill him but he wasn't behind the shooting.

Has it ever been confirmed (joe Gallo reaching out) ? As far as I know Gravano is the only one saying that but I think it's interesting. I don't see why he would make up such a story.

Franzese who was with the League at the times, said it was Joe Gallo but i doubt he was really involved in the investigation so i would assume he is just relaying what the Colombo guys were saying at the time.

PS: what is the other board you're talking about ? I only know about this board.

Carlo Gambino did it. And it was kept secret because it would have started a war...

Anthony Ruggiano talked about how his father and him were told not to attend the rally that shit was going down....

BlackHand.

What I find interesting about the Colombo murder are these points:

Franzese claims he was standing next to Colombo when he was shot. He's said this on various videos. Yet, on other videos he says he was by the stairs of the stage getting brochures to pass out when Colombo was shot. I don't 'believe Colombo was by the stage...but further in Columbus Circle. So, how could he be at both places? In addition, was he ever questioned by the cops?

Plus, they never interviewed the cops that had Johnson and how did that guy get shot in police custody?

And the gun that was used to kill Colombo was a gun that was in police evidence months before.

In addition, if you look at the picture Johnson had that huge camera in his hands right BEFORE Colombo was shot, so he would have had to put the camera down and get the gun out of the camera's case in a second which is impossible. And what did they find on that camera film? Was there anything there?

~LisaB

A 16mm Bolex camera is not that big. I think it was black revolution. The black lady with Johnson is why I think that.

I started a thread on this a while back:
http://www.gangsterbb.net/threads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=493613&Searchpage=1&Main=17509&Words=%2BBolex&Search=true#Post493613
I think it was either NYPD, pissed at Colombo for obvious reasons, or an inside job by soldiers and their bosses, pissed at Colombo for obvious reasons, and with police complicity. What sticks in my craw is: How did a no-account like Jerome Johnson get press credentials and an expensive Bolex movie camera? How did his "girlfriend," who distracted Colombo so Johnson could get off his shot, get away? Why weren't the Colombos who killed Johnson immediately arrested?

I think if we knew the identity of the black woman with Johnson that would be the key to the case. I've heard it might have been Assata Shakur. Do any of you guys have a picture of the woman on that day?

The only pic of her I know of is a blurry one of her walking away from the scene but I can't find it. It might actually be in a Time Magazine article. I'll have to check. ~LisaB

The black girl with Jerome Johnson was reputedly Lola Falana. Could have possibly even been Dionne Warwick.....

I do believe some government people were involved CIA most likely.

You're joking right?

Anthony Abbatemarco. One thing people tend to overlook is that he had cops on the payroll like other mobsters had, but that precinct where the gun that eventually killed Joe Colombo was in evidence months before the shooting, he had at least a squad of patrolmen and some higher ups on the pad. Persico fortunes turned on that day but he was a loyal Joe Colombo supporter, Anthony Abbatemarco gained a lot after Joe Colombo was out of the picture. Cops on the payroll, and Johnson having a vendetta against the Colombo family that went years back, Abbatemarco also having issues with Colombo and had the connections and resources to finally do something about it.

I totally agree with you Hollander. But I'm leaning toward the FBI, who's balls Colombo was breaking big time. They despised him!

Maybe?? LOL

The Italian-American Civil Rights League was a pain in the ass for the government, like Malcolm X and those guys.

Yep. I remember it well. Their league stickers were all over my neighborhood. All over NYC for that matter

The first Italian Unity Day was attended by 50,000 people and in those days the political turmoil was already big.

It was the FBI and police, if there was a hint of any involvement linked to Carlo Gambino they would have indicted him in a split second. Columbo's son did several interviews that were on Youtube, in them he totally tore apart the Carlo Gambino theory.

I think Jerome Johnson did shoot Colombo. But that begs the question, who put Johnson up to it? I think everyone involved, the NYPD, the FBI, Gallo, the other bosses, they all had something to gain by Colombo's death. I doubt anyone outside his blood family gave a shit. Whoever ordered the hit, they really covered their tracks by using someone like Johnson. And being in front of police practically guaranteed Johnson wouldn't live to tell the tale. It's anybody's guess who he was working for. But I have to think that if it was Colombo Family business, the FBI would have found evidence of it. They had Greg Scarpa in their pocket at the time.

The League also was a pain in the ass for Colombo soldiers. They had to waste valuable time shaking down store owners and others for League dues that they had to turn over to Joe without keeping any. Colombo's high profile put targets on their backs for law enforcement; and his denial that the Mafia existed diminished the fear factor that helped them earn.

There was never any evidence other than "leaked" reports to newspapers of Columbo soldiers shaking anyone down for the league.

I hope you're not that naive

Of course they all had something to gain but it wasn't a 5 way conspiracy.

Gotta put yourself in Jerome Johnson's shoes. Hey Jerry, kill this mob boss in front of thousands of people and you'll be set. This good looking black woman will escort you. Do the job and you'll be set for life. It's half sirhan sirhan/polka dot dress girl half LHO/Ruby with a hint of MLK james earl ray sprinkled in.

If it wasn’t Carl Gambino then why were the Ruggianos and other wise guys told to stay away that shit was going down....

AND Joe Cantaloupe talked about a meeting a week prior where Gambino told Colombo to step down and he refused, saying the league was “his baby”..

To me it’s a simple matter of who had the biggest motive.. and the Heat was killing the mob and Carl Gambino had just been indicted because of it...

If we’re talking about JFK or MLK I’d definitely pick certain branches of the Govt...

That's another thing, it wasn't just Gambino who told his men to stay away from that rally, but Genovese members Thomas Lombardi, James Angellino, Anthony Salerno, and one more member told their guys not to attend the rally. Lucchese members Samuel Cavallari, and Salvatore Santoro told their guys to stay away. It all makes those families seem to be behind it, but in all reality Joe Colombo had angered the other bosses with the Italian League. He was bring to much attention to the families, and another thing no boss would have green lighted a move like that as it would bring too much heat on the families, which it did, but LE didnt find any evidence that one of the other bosses did it. Sure the Detectives and LCN had a suspect as their first choice and that was Joey Gallo, but Gallos message was sincere and clear, he and his crew had nothing to do with it, but the top guys in the Colombo family thought differently, even a few capos in the other families did too. As for the Colombo family extorting shop owners and making them place the sticker in their stores, that is true.

I always felt if it was purely a mafia hit, why kill him at the rally and not at another time in his office or at his home.

You meant to say wasn't probably. What better way when you think about it? Why not try to get them to look in a different direction?

Well, I just got over 4000 pages of FBI docs on the subject, so we'll see what I can find once I start digging through it all. ~LisaB