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Joe Colombo did something no mobster had ever dared: he declared war on the FBI, stepped into the spotlight, and built a civil rights movement with 50,000 members—all while running a crime family.
The Incredible True Story:
👔 Became youngest Mafia boss in a generation at 41
📢 Created the Italian American Civil Rights League
🏛️ Picketed FBI headquarters daily in New York
📺 Appeared on talk shows challenging law enforcement
👥 Recruited 50,000 members to his movement
🎬 Influenced "The Godfather" movie production
🗽 Held massive rallies in Manhattan with thousands attending
⚖️ Got major corporations to change their advertising
🎤 Convinced NYC Mayor and FBI to stop using the word "Mafia"
What Made Him Different:
Joe Colombo broke the cardinal rule of the Mafia: silence. While other bosses stayed in shadows, he stepped into cameras, gave interviews, and built a public movement. He was a paradox—a ruthless crime boss who became a civil rights activist, a hitman who championed Italian American rights.
The Movement:
His Italian American Civil Rights League achieved remarkable victories:
Forced major brands to withdraw "offensive" ads
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0:00
Joe Columbo was a man who liked to do things differently. He was the only mobster who dared to protest against the
0:06
FBI. You don't go to war with the United States government. Nobody goes to war
0:11
with the United States government. They're too powerful. But Columbbo did.
0:17
His weapon of choice. Mass protest. There's a conspiracy in
0:23
this country against every Italian American. We've been saying this. We'll continue to say it. and it's only till
0:29
it touches them, Columbbo declared. By following this path, Columbbo transitioned from crime into politics
0:36
and the glare of publicity. Along the way, he broke the cardinal rule of the
0:41
mafia. He chose publicity over silence, cameras over staying in the shadows.
0:46
Columbbo became infatuated with fame and celebrity, completely forgetting the way a mobster should live. This incensed the
0:55
old mafio. They didn't want that. And he was told, "Stop this. If you continue,
1:01
you're going to pay a price." In the heart of Manhattan, in front of thousands of witnesses, Joe Columbo
1:07
would face his day of reckoning. Across the East River from Manhattan lies the burrow of Brooklyn. In 1962, this was
1:15
mafia country, the hunting ground of Joseph Columbbo. The quarente-year-old mobster lived and worked these streets
1:21
as a capo or captain, a mid-ranking mafioso in New York's Profacei crime
1:26
family. One of the five crime families that dominated the city's criminal underworld. Then in 1964, an event took
1:35
place that would supercharge his career. Columbbo was summoned by his mafia boss to an important meeting. Joe Magaloko
1:42
had a mission for him. It was a hit and a particularly dangerous one for Joseph Columbo. This was nothing new. He had
1:50
already committed about 11 murders to date. Rubbing people out was what Capos did. You would never advance to Capo
1:57
without killing. They tell you to kill somebody, you go out and kill somebody and you don't hesitate. If you did, you
2:04
wouldn't even be considered for Capo. Unless you've murdered somebody on orders from the boss. Until this moment,
2:10
Columbbo was nothing special within mafia circles. just one killer among many. There were plenty of people like
2:15
that around. A typical kind of hoodlm with nothing outstanding about him. But that was about to change forever. This
2:22
time the target was none other than Carlo Gambino. From a young hoodlm, Gambino had become New York's biggest
2:29
mafia godfather. He was generally regarded as the most powerful boss in the city and unquestionably the most
2:35
fearsome mobster in town. Gambino had built his family into New York's toughest clan. He could take on three
2:42
out of the five families at one time. That s how big his organization was. And he had some of the best killers there
2:49
were. If you killed Carlo Gambino, it was the kiss of death. So rather than kill Carlo Gambino, Columbbo decided to
2:56
tip him off. He was now breaking one of the mafia's most important rules. Every mafia family relies on unswerving
3:03
loyalty from its members. This is one of the so-called ten commandments. Your family comes first. Always. You swear
3:11
allegiance to that family and only that family. Nothing will come before your
3:16
family. Your mafia and everything else takes second place to it. But Columbombo completely rejected this. He went
3:23
straight to the man he'd been told to kill, Carlo Gambino. The move worked well. Gambino was grateful. First, he
3:30
ordered Columbbo's boss, Joe Maggalioo, to retire. Then, as a reward for
3:35
Columbo's bold move, he was given Magalyoko's old job. He was promoted to head of a family which was renamed in
3:42
his honor. The Profacei family became the Columbbo family in 1964.
3:48
Sometimes if you want to advance, you have to make bold moves. Very bold
3:53
moves. But it worked out for Columbbo. He made mafia history, becoming the
3:58
youngest godfather in a generation. Thanks to Columbbo's new position, there were now real benefits. He could live
4:05
off the proceeds of crime paid to him by his criminal family members. If you had a godfather, you had a powerful family.
4:12
And depending upon the size of that family, all your capos had to be bringing an envelope up to you.
4:17
Everything that is brought into the family is kicked up to the head of the family. Columbbo eagerly took over the
4:23
best money-making operations, and the cash rolled in. Anywhere there was money
4:28
to be made, you could find organized crime. They knew how to make money out of just about anything. There was
4:34
illegal gambling where sometimes games were rigged to earn extra cash. The gambling racket typically involved
4:41
floating crap games or poker games that could be moved anywhere within the city of New York. These high-end operations
4:49
included cocktail waitresses and other amenities and they still persist today.
4:54
Columbbo and his men didn't he just make money from the bets, but also from loan sharking to gamblers or anyone who
5:00
needed cash. Loansing or loans charged borrowers huge rates of
5:06
weekly interest known as the vig. Basically, there were many people out there who needed money and banks were
5:14
not readily willing to give them the funds because they had no financial backing. Organized crime would of course
5:21
charge an interest on the money almost 25 baintsto. If you missed a payment, they would
5:27
double the vig. If you continued to miss payments, you could expect a beating or worse. The lone shark book of any mafia
5:34
operator could run into hundreds of thousands of dollars in weekly income. It was an easy way to make cash on the
5:40
street. Columbbo also made money from hijacking trucks and cargo. The stolen goods were then sold off, a practice
5:47
known as fencing. Added to the mix were extortion, protection rackets, and infamous mafioran union scams. Unions
5:56
controlled everything from construction to garbage collection. So, the mafia took over the unions. They plundered the
6:02
pension funds and set up trade monopolies that benefited only them. As a result, Columbbo was getting seriously
6:09
rich. The only problem was that this wealth began to attract the attention of
6:15
the police and the FBI. A couple of years into Columbbo's reign, the authorities started to look hard at
6:22
organized crime in New York, and FBI had been slow to recognize the threat posed by the mafia.
6:28
[Music] Now, Columbbo and the city's mafia families were in their sights. In
6:34
September 1966, the FBI and the Queen S District Attorney s office made their
6:40
first major breakthrough. A massive bust at the Lastella restaurant in the east of the city. Lestella was a restaurant
6:47
on Queens Boulevard, and it brought in mafia chiefs from all over the country.
6:52
They all sat down, broke bread, and discussed their operations. We were able to get information from an informant
6:59
that they were all there, and we raided the place. The Queen's District Attorney made a big deal of the raid. These are
7:06
13 of the top mob leaders in the country. Their meeting has nationwide
7:12
implications. In our opinion, as far as we know, this is a unique meeting. We
7:17
have never had such a gathering of top family leaders and gangland leaders in this county. To our knowledge, he
7:23
declared the bust was significant and sent a clear message. Law enforcement was starting to take the mafia
7:30
seriously. The increased scrutiny and pressure from the authorities posed a new challenge for Columbbo and his
7:35
associates, heralded as the start of a new fight against the mob, especially the New York families. The raid put
7:42
Colomo on the law enforcement radar. In 1966, he was subpoenaed to stand as a
7:48
witness in a federal investigation into racketeering. This meant appearing before what's known under the American
7:53
system as a grand jury. "Everybody's afraid of what's going to happen in a federal grand jury," explained one
7:59
expert. It forces people to come in, appear, and give testimony. And now you
8:05
lock them into that testimony. Columbbo could no longer hide in the shadows. He was dragged into a very public arena.
8:12
But when he came to court, he adhered to mob protocols and refused to testify,
8:17
insisting he was just an honest businessman. One of the codes of the mob is to avoid making yourself a target.
8:24
Denty, go out there and bring attention to yourself or your operations. what they call are ting or lacosa different
8:31
groups and the old bosses believed in keeping a low profile and keeping your mouth shut. Columbo's strict observance
8:38
of this tradition cost him his punishment was 30 days in jail, an easy stretch. But for Joe Colombo, this was
8:46
an epiphany. He realized that what attracted the FBI and police to him was his wealth without any visible source of
8:53
income. So he devised the perfect solution to deal with the new heat from the FBI. He would become an ordinary
8:59
working Joe. He passed down a dictate that all his family members had to hold down a real job to a facade of legality.
9:07
Columbo led by example. He worked as a salesman at Cantalupo Realy based at
9:12
86th Street in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. On their books, the Godfather was a $35,000
9:19
a year employee. In reality, he conducted his mafia business from the offices. Now, when pressed by the
9:25
authorities, he could explain his lifestyle and what a lifestyle it was. The money flooded in from his numerous
9:31
rackets, and Columbo was starting to get carried away with his status. He headed across town to party and enjoy the good
9:38
life in Manhattan. He became increasingly flamboyant and extravagant, decked in expensive jewelry and suits.
9:45
Columbbo cruised around the city in flashy Cadillacs. Joey liked to dress like the biggest actors, an associate
9:51
recalled. He liked to dress as well as Frank Sinatra as well as Dean Martin. He
9:57
didn't want to look like a poor schle. He just didn't buy a suit off the rack. The suits were tailor made silk shirts.
10:03
He had everything made. He was meticulous about his clothes. By now,
10:09
other mobsters had learned that this was not a good idea. Flashing the cash drew the attention of the authorities. Carlo
10:16
Gambino, for example, was never seen in a nightclub or bar or out with women. He
10:21
kept a low profile. And the other mafia clans were right to worry. Columbo had reignited attention from the FBI and the
10:28
income tax authorities who started to look even more closely at his finances. A $35,000 a year salary didn't add up to
10:35
tailor made suits and shirts. So, the FBI decided to go after Colbo. In 1970,
10:42
his son Joe Jr. was arrested for melting down silver coins to extract precious
10:48
metals. Columbo viewed this as a trump charge designed to get at him. It was
10:53
the final straw. Now he hid upon a radical solution to the FBI. Sniffing
11:00
around his affairs. Civil rights we shall not. After all, this was a rich
11:06
time for civil rights activism across America. Street protests were flourishing. The African-American civil
11:12
rights movement was changing the face of America and inspiring many other minority groups into action. Columbo got
11:20
on the bandwagon from a campaign office on 7th Avenue. The former hitman prepared to step fully out of the shadow
11:26
and into the glare of publicity and politics. We feel that the people have had it and the Italian people in
11:33
particular in the United States which number 38 million have been losing their identity as time has gone on more and
11:40
more. though he exploited the growing unrest in the Italian-American community of the time claiming that Italians were
11:47
being discriminated against. There was some truth in that at that particular time you found very few Italian names on
11:55
Wall Street or in law, banking and finance and many Italian-Americans were
12:00
not involved in any kind of organized crime or other criminal activities. Columbbo vowed to stand up for the
12:07
rights of ordinary Italian Americans and he began in a way that nobody could have foreseen. In fact, he declared war on
12:14
the FBI. He started picketing FBI headquarters which was then on the Upper East Side. It was a remarkable opening
12:22
salvo, picketing the very heart of law enforcement in New York. Day after day, a crowd of demonstrators harassed FBI
12:30
agents coming and going, accusing them of unfairly targeting men like himself who were legitimate businessmen.
12:37
Why the FBI? Why is the FBI in your mind persecuting Italians? He used all his
12:43
underlings or muks to stand out there and do the picketing for him. Well, it's
12:48
obvious from what everybody can read in the papers. Every time you see something, you see that the FBI is
12:54
labeling Italian people belonging to an organization they refer to as the mafia.
13:00
As far as we're concerned as Italian people, there is no such thing. It's a
13:06
word invented by law enforcement agencies and we don't feel it's right. The crowds grew and media attention
13:13
followed. Columbo reveled in it. There's a conspiracy in this country against
13:18
every Italian. We've been saying this. We'll continue to say it, and it's only until it touches them, who are they? Are
13:24
they any better than you or I or anybody else standing in this crowd? This outspoken challenge to authority was
13:31
unheard of in mafia circles. It was in marked contrast to his silence at the grand jury years before. Mafia men were
13:39
used to speaking in harsh tones of caution, unsettled that Columbbo declared war on law enforcement. I've
13:45
worked all my life and if it isn't in real estate, why declare war on law
13:50
enforcement? You're going to have enough trouble with them as it is. Why make it personal? The worry growing
13:57
in the highest circles of the mafia was that law enforcement scrutiny would intensify because of Columbbo's actions.
14:03
But initially for the FBI agents, it was a new and unsettling tactic. The tables
14:10
had been turned. I know a lot of them were very furious with him. There was some close calls on the picket lines
14:16
where they almost came to blows. Now I'll go a little further. Many of the other minority groups are starting to
14:23
feel this thing. And when they get through with us, they have to move on to the next group of people. This is where
14:28
the public should wake up. And this is where the public should start demanding that some of these things be brought to
14:34
light. Why are they so afraid of an investigation? And why shouldn't there be an investigation on them? In 1970,
14:41
Columbbo shifted his protest movement up a gear. He created the Italian-American Civil Rights League. Everybody wanted to
14:48
be attached to IT politicians, radio commentators, actors, singers.
14:54
People started to realize the significant contributions Italians had made and they should be proud. The
15:00
league with Columbbo at the helm had huge success almost instantly,
15:06
recruiting some 50,000 paidup members to its cause. Now you see Italian nationality flags everywhere. Joe
15:13
Colombo started Italian flags, adorned every Cadillac owned by an Italian,
15:18
every Lincoln owned by an Italian. Everybody bought into it. Columbo's league achieved some notable early
15:25
victories. They took their campaign to the highest echelons of corporate America. Major brands like General
15:31
Motors and Alcaseltza were targeted. Their ad campaigns were considered demeaning to Italian-means.
15:38
The league succeeded in getting them withdrawn. They also managed to pull a board game based on the mafia from
15:44
Macy's department store. Even Hollywood felt the wrath of the league. Producers of the Godfather movies started to
15:49
encounter difficulties filming in New York. Production was threatened by walkouts, obstructions, and delays. The
15:57
league stepped in, offering to facilitate the process if the producers agreed to remove all references to the
16:04
mafia or Kosanostra from the script. League captains then toured Italian-American neighborhoods to sell
16:09
the idea of the film to skeptical residents. Finally, filming was allowed to continue uninterrupted on the
16:16
landmark Godfather film. Columbo went even further. He successfully persuaded
16:21
the New York mayor, prosecutors, and FBI to stop using the term mafia in official
16:27
documentation, deeming it prejuditial. The city was listening to Joe Colombo,
16:32
and the league was proving highly effective. In 1970, Columbbo was ready
16:37
for the league's showpiece. Its first Italian-American Unity Day rally held in
16:43
Columbus Circle in the heart of Manhattan. Under the glare of news cameras, 50,000 people attended the
16:50
city's traditionally bustling Little Italies were deserted. The other mob families reluctantly allowed
16:55
Italian-American businesses to close for the day in solidarity. There was an overwhelming press presence and the
17:02
streets were mobbed with people proud of their Italian heritage. Everyone wanted to be near Joe Columbo when he spoke of
17:08
national pride and fellowship. At the rally, Columbo held the stage and criticized the law enforcement
17:15
community. To many Americans, it was a triumph to see the Godfather turned activist. In the aftermath of the rally,
17:22
interviews followed interviews. He appeared on TV chat shows and in magazine articles. He held press
17:28
conferences with major newspapers like the Daily News, the New York Mirror, and the Post.
17:35
Every newspaper wanted to hear from him publicly. He continued to dismiss the mafia as a myth and pledged to advocate
17:42
for the rights of all minorities through the Italian American Civil Rights League. Is the League accomplishing its
17:48
aims? Oh, definitely. What has it done? How has it helped? Up
17:55
until now, Columbus's league had cultivated an air of legitimacy. However, under Colombo, this positive
18:02
image was wearing thin because he was still a mobster, and the league was just another money-making opportunity. The
18:08
Italian-American Civil Rights League was created by Joe Colombo, ostensibly to fight against discrimination, and in
18:16
that respect, it wasn't a bad idea. However, he was the wrong person to lead such an endeavor or represent the
18:22
Italian-American community. In reality, Columbbo was exploiting a legitimate cause for personal gain. The league
18:29
quickly became a profitable venture, netting him significant funds that he could appropriate for his own purposes.
18:35
Joe Columbo had formed the Italian-American Civil Rights League as a racket, a scam designed to make money,
18:42
period. And he used it for that purpose. He shook down store owners all over Italian neighborhoods, forcing them to
18:49
display his sticker in their windows of flag with Italian-American Civil Rights League and a number one. He even
18:55
collected receipts from these operations. A wise state senator who was also Italian-American warned, "Don't be
19:02
fooled by Columbbo." He saw through Columbbo's facade Columbbo wasn't just
19:07
skimming off a legitimate cause. He was causing jealousy and suspicion within the mafia ranks and even within his own
19:13
family. His old mentor, Carlo Gambino, started to warn him, saying, "Stop this.
19:21
We don't want it. If you continue, you're going to pay a price." But Columbbo was oblivious to any looming
19:27
danger. He thought he was untouchable, riding high on his newfound fame and influence. He wouldn't back down.
19:36
1971 was going to be his year. Columbo was an egotist, believing he was bigger and better than the mafia itself. Then
19:43
more trouble struck when the FBI, angered by Columbbo's actions through the Italian-American Civil Rights
19:50
League, issued subpoenas for various high-profile bosses. In December 1970,
19:56
Columbo himself was arrested along with one of his men, Ro during a search of
20:02
their car. Police discovered a briefcase stuffed with incriminating documents detailing various Columbbo family rack.
20:08
Even worse, the documents contained names of other high-ranking mob figures. Columbbo was immediately summoned before
20:15
a federal grand jury to explain himself. However, instead of maintaining silence,
20:20
as he had done previously, he took a different approach. He decided to talk.
20:25
This was a grave mistake. He tried to explain that the dollar amounts next to names were donations for his league. One
20:32
notable donation was attributed to Carlo Gambino, the reputed mafia boss. Columbo
20:38
claimed the $30,000 next to Gambino's name was a contribution to the league. To this move was disastrous. You don't
20:45
implicate the boss of bosses before a grand jury, especially when you're telling a lie. The repercussions were
20:52
immediate. That same year, the police department moved in on the mafia and federal strike forces combed the city.
20:58
Even Carlo Gambino paid the price. He was arrested in 1970. It was clear that
21:04
Columbbo's loose mouth had gotten him into deep trouble with his former protector and with the FBI. His behavior
21:11
began to worry bosses like Carlo Gambino. This incensed the old mafiosi
21:16
even more. They valued silence and staying in the shadows. Joe Columbo's
21:21
days were now numbered. But despite the looming threat, Columbo planned a fight on with his tried and tested formula. He
21:28
aimed to expand the league across America. and it even booked Frank Sinatra for a fundraiser at Madison
21:33
Square Garden. Politicians, including state governor Nelson Rockefeller, joined the cause. Columbo planned
21:40
another showcase rally as a platform for his everexpanding league. This rally would cement his status as a civil
21:47
rights activist and keep the forces of law and order off his back. However, by
21:52
now, his enemies within the mob were stirring. An old adversary from his early days, his family boss, Crazy Joe
21:59
Gallo, was watching events from prison with a critical eye. Crazy Joe Gallo, earned his nickname for good reason. He
22:06
was known for his extreme and often violent actions. For instance, he operated a club on President Street in
22:12
Brooklyn, where a mountain lion was kept in the basement to intimidate gambling or lone sharking victims who owed money.
22:19
If someone didn't pay up, they would be brought to the club. The basement door would be opened and they would face the
22:26
intimidating sight of the mountain lion. Columbbo and Joe Gallow had a complicated history. The Gallow bruise
22:32
Larry Albert and Joe known as the Gallow clan had once attempted to take over the
22:37
Columbbo family in the 1960s. They led a bloody insurrection from their base on President Street in Brooklyn until Joe
22:44
Colombo brokered a peace deal with Larry and Albert Gallow while Crazy Joe was in jail. Now, Crazy Joe was itching to get
22:52
back at his old rival, Columbbo. The bottom line was jealousy. Gallo wanted
22:57
to be the boss of the family. Columbo held that position, and Gallo's goal was clear. To take him out, plain and
23:04
simple. Gallo needed soldiers for the forthcoming showdown, and he had a novel idea where to find them behind bars. He
23:11
had cultivated contacts and alliances with African-American gangsters from East Harlem. This was unprecedented in
23:18
the mafia world as traditionally these two groups were enemies. However, Gallo
23:24
foresaw that their combined strength could be formidable. In February 1971,
23:29
Columbbo's old enemy, Crazy Joe Gallo, was released after 9 years in prison.
23:34
Publicly, he swore his mafia days were over and renounced his criminal past.
23:40
Privately, though, it was business as usual. He was back on the streets and in
23:45
his eyes the peace deal was null and void. As far as he was concerned, the
23:50
war was never over and he was preparing for a thus the stage was set for the
23:55
second ItalionAmerican Unity Day rally in June 1971. Held once again at New
24:01
York's Columbus Circle, this rally drew a substantial crowd with thousands of
24:06
Italian-Americans gathering. Columbbo intended this event to galvanize Italian Americans against the FBI, the New York
24:13
City Police Department, and law enforcement in general. From a distance, we observed, taking pictures, and
24:20
conducting intelligence work, noting plate numbers, and observing attendees. However, something had changed. The
24:27
mafia bosses had directed Italian Americans to remain at work, no longer supporting the league. As a result,
24:34
attendance plummeted by 40,000 people compared to the previous year. At the next Columbus Day rally, word spread
24:40
that stores should stay open and people should not attend. Just before noon, Columbbo approached the podium to
24:47
deliver his speech, ready to launch another scathing critique of the FBI. An
24:53
African-American news cameraman with press credentials approached while journalists gathered around Colomo's
24:59
attention for a sound bite. The newsman moved forward. I was there the day it happened and suddenly a gunman appeared
25:07
and shot Columbo in the head. He went down immediately. Then something even more remarkable occurred. The gunman was
25:14
shot dead before he hit the floor. That day, two killings were orchestrated, one
25:19
to shoot and one to eliminate the shooter. Joe Colombo was swiftly rushed to the hospital, alive but in critical
25:26
condition. Confusion reigned among supporters, struggling to comprehend what had transpired. He was just on the
25:34
ground, blood on his right cheek. It's incredible. You don't expect to see these things covering a story, a witness
25:41
recounted. The shots kept coming and I was standing less than 3 ft away. Then I
25:46
started to run, hearing more shots. As far as I know, Joe is at Roosevelt
25:51
Hospital in critical condition with wounds to the chest and head. The perpetrator, Jerome Johnson, was dead.
26:00
Do you know who did it? I have no idea. I didn't see it. I was standing behind
26:05
the stand when it happened. What's your reaction to this? My reaction right now
26:11
is still a state of confusion as to what really transpired. I'm still trying to
26:16
piece the information together myself. The hit on Columbbo had been carried out by Jerome Johnson, an African-Amean from
26:23
Harlem, but he was a very unlikely killer. He was a drifter and petty criminal known for stalking girls on a
26:30
nearby university campus. He had no record as a hitman for the mob. This discrepancy puzzled New York's chief of
26:37
detectives. Albert Seedman. Unfortunately, we have not been able to rule out one possibility or the other.
26:44
Mr. Johnson is still somewhat of a mystery man to us," Seedman explained. What puzzled the police was that someone
26:51
must have instructed Johnson to carry out the hit and trained him. The African-Amean link to Harlem pointed
26:58
suspicion towards Crazy Joe Gall. Around town, rumors in the gangland theorized that Gallo orchestrated the hit on
27:04
Columbbo. However, this remains mere conjecture and rumor without any substantiated basis. Thus far, the truth
27:11
of the matter was that other senior mafia figures must have been involved for over 50 years. No boss could be
27:18
killed without the approval of the mafia's governing body. The commission each family had a seat on the commission
27:24
and any decision to eliminate a boss required unanimous consent. This protocol prevented rogue killings and
27:30
power grabs among different families. In the mafia, the head of each family had an equal say in decisions. It was
27:37
democracy mafia style explained sources familiar with the commission's workings.
27:42
No boss could be eliminated without unanimous agreement from the other bosses that is just how it operated
27:48
bosses couldn't te allow other bosses to be taken out without the collective nod of approval for the FBI and police
27:55
investigators. The only plausible explanation behind the Columbbo shooting and the subsequent hit on crazy Joe
28:01
Gallow lay within the secretive world of the mafia. They suspected that Jerome Johnson, with his ties to the Kylo
28:07
Gambino family, was likely involved, though they refrained from conclusively linking him exclusively to organized
28:14
crime. As for Crazy Joe Gallow, 11 months later, he was celebrating his
28:20
47th birthday with friends at a seafood restaurant. Seated at a rear table, a
28:25
man entered through the back door, approached their table, and fired three shots. Joe Gallow was hit twice and his
28:32
bodyguard Pete the Greek was also wounded. This brazen attack left law enforcement and the FBI pondering yet
28:39
another unsolved mafia related incident, further reinforcing the murky and
28:44
perilous nature of underworld dealings. Joe Columbo s shooting and subsequent death marked a pivotal moment not just
28:51
for him personally but also for the colum crime family and the broader mafia
28:56
landscape. The internal strife and leadership vacuum that followed his incapacitation led to a gradual decline
29:03
in the family s influence and power. Over the decades, internal conflicts
29:08
continued to plague the Columbbo family, further weakening its stature within organized crime circles. In 2011, a
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significant blow was dealt to the remnants of the Columbbo family when 125
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of its members were arrested, signaling a further decline in its operational capacity and influence. Today, the
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Columbbo family exists as a mere shadow of its former self. Its once powerful
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status reduced to insignificance. As for Joe Colombo himself, he never recovered
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from the shooting at the rally. He remained in a vegetative state for 8 years before passing away. Despite his
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prominent role in organized crime, Joe Columbo's criminal record was relatively minor with only a single arrest for
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shooting craps when he was 18 years old. Stark contrast to his later notoriety as
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a mafia boss and civil rights activist, his funeral marked the end of an era,
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reflecting both the complex legacy he left behind and the enduring impact of his actions on the history of the
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American mafia. Joe Columbo s life and legacy were a paradox once. A feared
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mafia boss who later embarked on a controversial journey as a civil rights activist. His bold defiance against
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traditional mafia rules and his clash with law enforcement catapulted him into the public eye, but ultimately led to
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his downfall. Despite his efforts, the high-profile Italian-American Civil Rights League he championed vanished
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almost as quickly as it emerged. Columbumbo's story serves as a cautionary tale about the intersection
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of crime, power, and public perception. His decision to challenge both the mafia
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code of silence and the authorities left a lasting impact on American society. It's a reminder that even the most
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notorious figures can be influenced by ambition and ego. Ultimately facing consequences they could never escape. If
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you found this video informative, don't forget to like, subscribe, and hit the bell icon for more content on
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fascinating stories from history. Thanks for watching.