to the role after an absence of many years. He brought the family into the video pornography business and an expanded role in drug trafficking that pushed the family to the brink of oblivion. Rastelli went to prison, where he died in 1991. He was replaced by Joseph Massino, who rebuilt the family to the third most powerful in New York. But after a series of successful prosecutions and the turning of Massino himself, the family was battered—but not totally down.
Under the don-ship of Rusty Rastelli, the events that formed the basis for the Mafia movie Donnie Brasco occurred. FBI agent Joseph D. Pistone infiltrated the family, lived the lifestyle, became friends with Dominick “Sonny Black” Napolitano and Benjamin “Lefty Guns” Ruggiero, and then betrayed them, sending several family members to jail and prompting the “disappearance” of Napolitano in the 1970s.
The Colombo Family
Like Joe Bonanno, Joe Profaci took over a crime family when the Castellam-marese War ended. He had a reputation as a cheapskate Mafioso. He charged members of his family the equivalent of union dues. Each soldier and capo (literally “captain” in Italian, meaning a Mafioso who supervises the soldiers) had to fork over $25 a month for the privilege of being in the family.
He was so unpopular that there was a mutiny in his ranks. Three brothers—Joey, Larry, and Albert Gallo—and others were dissatisfied with Profaci’s reign and were making plans to oust him. This came to be known as “the Gallo Wars.” The Gallos were making some strides against Profaci until Joe was sent to prison in 1961 for ten years.
The Don Is Dead
Joe Profaci died in 1962 and was replaced by his underboss, Joe Magliocco. After the failed Bonanno/Magliocco attempt on the Lucchese and Gambinos, Magliocco started a downhill slide, and he died of natural causes a few months later. He was succeeded by Joe Colombo, the very turncoat who ratted out Magliocco and Bonanno to the Commission.
Italian Civil Rights
When Joe Colombo took over the family, it became known from then on as the Colombo family. While the other mob bosses took pains to keep themselves as low profile as possible, Colombo swaggered around with a flamboyant air, drawing not only the watchful eye of law enforcement but the ire of the other dons as well. He was told on numerous occasions to downplay his role.
New York’s five families were forever fighting one another, but the Colombo family earns the distinction of the most fights within its own ranks. Three brutal internal wars were fought in its bloody history.
Civil Rights Crusader
With various groups campaigning for civil rights, Joe Colombo thought it would be a good idea to exploit the ethnic pride of Italian Americans by staging a series of public rallies that would equate anti-Mafia sentiment with anti-Italian racism. He accused the feds of being anti-Italian in their prosecution of the Mafia, even going so far as to picket FBI headquarters in New York City. Joe took it one step further, forming the Italian-American Civil Rights League and holding a unity rally. The first Italian Unity Day rally was a huge success, even drawing the participation of politicians. But Carlo Gambino was fed up with the man he recommended as don. Gambino told Colombo to stop—or else—and Colombo refused.
At the second Italian Unity Day rally, Joe Colombo was shot in the head. The perpetrator was an African American who was killed at the scene by a police officer. Though portrayed as a lone gunman, he was likely sent by Gambino. Colombo did not die immediately, however. He lingered in a vegetative coma for seven years before finally dying.
The Snake
Vincent Aloi took over briefly as acting boss of the Colombo family after Joe Colombo’s shooting. He was an old-timer who had served in the lower levels of the Mafia since its glory days. After only a short reign, he transferred power to Carmine “the Snake” Persico, who was in prison when Colombo
Under the don-ship of Rusty Rastelli, the events that formed the basis for the Mafia movie Donnie Brasco occurred. FBI agent Joseph D. Pistone infiltrated the family, lived the lifestyle, became friends with Dominick “Sonny Black” Napolitano and Benjamin “Lefty Guns” Ruggiero, and then betrayed them, sending several family members to jail and prompting the “disappearance” of Napolitano in the 1970s.
The Colombo Family
Like Joe Bonanno, Joe Profaci took over a crime family when the Castellam-marese War ended. He had a reputation as a cheapskate Mafioso. He charged members of his family the equivalent of union dues. Each soldier and capo (literally “captain” in Italian, meaning a Mafioso who supervises the soldiers) had to fork over $25 a month for the privilege of being in the family.
He was so unpopular that there was a mutiny in his ranks. Three brothers—Joey, Larry, and Albert Gallo—and others were dissatisfied with Profaci’s reign and were making plans to oust him. This came to be known as “the Gallo Wars.” The Gallos were making some strides against Profaci until Joe was sent to prison in 1961 for ten years.
The Don Is Dead
Joe Profaci died in 1962 and was replaced by his underboss, Joe Magliocco. After the failed Bonanno/Magliocco attempt on the Lucchese and Gambinos, Magliocco started a downhill slide, and he died of natural causes a few months later. He was succeeded by Joe Colombo, the very turncoat who ratted out Magliocco and Bonanno to the Commission.
Italian Civil Rights
When Joe Colombo took over the family, it became known from then on as the Colombo family. While the other mob bosses took pains to keep themselves as low profile as possible, Colombo swaggered around with a flamboyant air, drawing not only the watchful eye of law enforcement but the ire of the other dons as well. He was told on numerous occasions to downplay his role.
New York’s five families were forever fighting one another, but the Colombo family earns the distinction of the most fights within its own ranks. Three brutal internal wars were fought in its bloody history.
Civil Rights Crusader
With various groups campaigning for civil rights, Joe Colombo thought it would be a good idea to exploit the ethnic pride of Italian Americans by staging a series of public rallies that would equate anti-Mafia sentiment with anti-Italian racism. He accused the feds of being anti-Italian in their prosecution of the Mafia, even going so far as to picket FBI headquarters in New York City. Joe took it one step further, forming the Italian-American Civil Rights League and holding a unity rally. The first Italian Unity Day rally was a huge success, even drawing the participation of politicians. But Carlo Gambino was fed up with the man he recommended as don. Gambino told Colombo to stop—or else—and Colombo refused.
At the second Italian Unity Day rally, Joe Colombo was shot in the head. The perpetrator was an African American who was killed at the scene by a police officer. Though portrayed as a lone gunman, he was likely sent by Gambino. Colombo did not die immediately, however. He lingered in a vegetative coma for seven years before finally dying.
The Snake
Vincent Aloi took over briefly as acting boss of the Colombo family after Joe Colombo’s shooting. He was an old-timer who had served in the lower levels of the Mafia since its glory days. After only a short reign, he transferred power to Carmine “the Snake” Persico, who was in prison when Colombo
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