| Founded | 1928 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Joe Profaci |
| Named after | Joseph Colombo |
| Founding location | New York City, New York, United States |
| Years active | 1928–present |
| Territory | Primarily New York City, with additional territory in Long Island, North Jersey, Massachusetts, South Florida, Las Vegas and Los Angeles[1] |
| Ethnicity | Italians as "made men" and other ethnicities as associates |
| Membership (est.) | 112 made members and 500 associates (2004)[2] |
| Activities | Arms trafficking, arson, assault, battery, bribery, burglary, cigarette smuggling, chop shop, conspiracy, contract killing, counterfeiting, drug trafficking, extortion, fencing, fraud, illegal gambling, larceny, loansharking, money laundering, murder, pornography, prostitution, racketeering, robbery, skimming, theft, truck hijacking, and tax evasion[3] |
| Allies | |
| Rivals | Various gangs in New York City, including their allies |
The Colombo crime family (/kəˈlɒm.boʊ/, Italian pronunciation: [koˈlombo]) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and the youngest of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City within the criminal organization known as the American Mafia. It was during Lucky Luciano's organization of the American Mafia after the Castellammarese War, following the assassinations of "Joe the Boss" Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano, that the gang run by Joseph Profaci became recognized as the Profaci crime family.
The family traces its roots to a bootlegging gang formed by Profaci in 1928. Profaci would rule his family without interruption or challenge until the late 1950s.[4][5] The family has been torn by three internal wars. The first war took place during the late 1950s, when caporegime Joe Gallo revolted against Profaci, but that conflict lost momentum in the early 1960s when Gallo was arrested and Profaci died of cancer. The family was reunited in the early 1960s under Joseph Colombo. In 1971, the second family war began after Gallo's release from prison and the shooting of Colombo. Colombo supporters led by Carmine Persico won the second war after the exiling of the remaining Gallo crew to the Genovese family in 1975. The family would then enjoy over 15 years of peace under Persico and his string of acting bosses.
In 1991, the third and bloodiest war erupted when acting boss Victor Orena tried to seize power from the imprisoned Persico. The family split into factions, loyal to Orena and to Persico, and two years of mayhem ensued. It ended in 1993, with 12 members of the family dead and Orena imprisoned, leaving Persico the winner. Left with a family decimated by war, Persico continued to run the family until his death in prison in 2019, but the organization has never recovered.[6] In the 2000s, the family was further weakened by multiple convictions in federal racketeering cases and numerous members becoming government witnesses. Many law enforcement agencies believe the Colombo crime family to be the weakest of the Five Families of New York City as of 2011.[7]
- ^
- 9 Indicted in Nassau Rackets Inquiry Into Nightclubs David A. Andelman, The New York Times (July 6, 1972) Archived April 15, 2024, at the Wayback Machine
- 16 arrests made in Colombo crime family's South Florida faction The Ledger (June 22, 2000) Archived April 15, 2024, at the Wayback Machine
- Organized crime loses its foothold Las Vegas Sun (July 2, 2002) Archived March 16, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
- "The Changing Face of organize crime in New Jersey" (PDF). State of New Jersey Commission of Investigation. May 2004. Archived June 11, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
- Colombo roots run deep in Brockton John Sylvester, The Enterprise (May 10, 2010) Archived April 15, 2024, at the Wayback Machine
- LA-By-NY Mob Capo Donnie Shacks Dead At 81, FBI Probed Point Shaving Claims Linking UCLA Football & Colombos Scott Burnstein, GangsterReport.com (January 22, 2021) Archived July 24, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "The Changing Face of organize crime in New Jersey" (PDF). State of New Jersey Commission of Investigation. May 2004. Archived June 11, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
- ^
- 7 Are Convicted on Pornography Charges The New York Times (November 6, 1971) Archived January 1, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
- Meeting of Colombo Aides Linked to Narcotics Trade Nicholas Gage, The New York Times (August 16, 1972) Archived November 1, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
- Crime ‘Families’ Taking Control of Pornography The New York Times (December 10, 1972) Archived November 11, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
- Suit Asks Court To Run Cement Union Arnold H. Lubasch, The New York Times (June 20, 1986) Archived May 24, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
- Mafia-Aided Scheme Evades Millions in Gas Taxes Selwyn Raab, The New York Times (February 6, 1989) Archived May 13, 2024, at the Wayback Machine
- Organized Crime: A Gang That Still Can't Shoot Straight Richard Behar, Time (January 20, 1992) Archived April 15, 2024, at the Wayback Machine
- "The Changing Face of organize crime in New Jersey" (PDF). State of New Jersey Commission of Investigation. May 2004. Archived June 11, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
- Code of Betrayal, Not Silence, Shines Light on Russian Mob N=Bill Berkeley, The New York Times (August 19, 2002) Archived February 29, 2024, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Critchley, David. (2009) The origins of organized crime in America: the New York City mafia, 1891-1931. Taylor & Francis. pp. 160-64. ISBN 978-0-2038-89077.
- ^ Robbins, Michael W. and Palitz, Wendy (2001). Brooklyn: a state of mind. Workman Publishing. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-7611-16356
- ^ "Legendary New York Mob Boss Carmine Persico, Head of Colombo Family, Dead at Age 85". nbcnewyork.com. March 7, 2019.
- ^ Hamilton, Brad (January 30, 2011). "The brutal rise and bloody fall of the Colombos". New York Post. Retrieved October 24, 2011.