27 Facts About Joseph Colombo

Joseph Colombo was born in New York City, where his father was an early member of what was then the Profaci crime family.

In 1961, the First Joseph Colombo War unfolded, instigated by the kidnapping of four high-ranking members in the Profaci family by Joe Gallo.

In 1963, Bonanno crime family boss, Joseph Colombo Bonanno made plans with Joseph Colombo Magliocco to assassinate several rivals on The Commission.

Magliocco gave the contract to one of his top hit men, Joseph Colombo, who revealed the plot to its targets.

In 1971, Gallo was released from prison, and Joseph Colombo invited him to a peace meeting with an offering of $1,000, which Gallo refused, instigating the Second Joseph Colombo War.

On June 28,1971, Joseph Colombo was shot three times by Jerome Johnson at the second Italian Unity Day rally in Columbus Circle sponsored by the Italian-American Civil Rights League; Johnson was immediately killed by Joseph Colombo's bodyguards.

On May 22,1978, Joseph Colombo died of cardiac arrest that resulted from his injuries.

Joseph Colombo's father, Anthony Colombo, was an early member of the Profaci crime family, which would eventually be renamed after his son.

Joe Joseph Colombo attended New Utrecht High School in Brooklyn for two years, then dropped out to join the US Coast Guard.

Joseph Colombo owned a modest home in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and a five-acre estate in Blooming Grove, New York.

Joseph Colombo married Lucille Faiello in 1944, and had five children including sons Christopher Colombo, Joseph Colombo Jr.

Joseph Colombo became one of the family's top enforcers, and soon became a capo.

However, the opportunistic Joseph Colombo revealed the plot to its targets.

At the age of 41, Joseph Colombo was one of the youngest crime bosses in the country.

Joseph Colombo was the first American-born boss of a New York crime family.

On May 9,1966, Joseph Colombo was sentenced to 30 days in jail for contempt by refusing to answer questions from a grand jury about his financial affairs.

Unlike other mob leaders who shunned the spotlight, Joseph Colombo appeared on television interviews, fundraisers and speaking engagements for the League.

In 1971, Joseph Colombo aligned the League with Rabbi and political activist Meir Kahane's Jewish Defense League, claiming that both groups were being harassed by the federal government.

At one point, Joseph Colombo posted bail for 11 jailed JDL members.

However, after producer Albert Ruddy met with Joseph Colombo and agreed to excise the terms "Mafia" and "Cosa Nostra" from the film, the League cooperated fully.

Gallo refused the invitation, wanting $100,000 to stop the conflict, which Joseph Colombo refused to pay.

On March 11,1971, after being convicted of perjury for lying on his application to become a real estate broker, Joseph Colombo was sentenced to two and half years in state prison.

On June 28,1971, Colombo was shot three times in the head and neck by Jerome A Johnson, at the second Italian Unity Day rally in Columbus Circle sponsored by the Italian-American Civil Rights League; Johnson was immediately killed by Colombo's bodyguards.

In 1975, a court-ordered examination showed that Joseph Colombo could move his thumb and forefinger on his right hand.

Joseph Colombo refused to listen to Gambino's complaints about the League, and allegedly spat in Gambino's face during one argument.

On May 22,1978, Joseph Colombo died of cardiac arrest at St Luke's Hospital in Newburgh, New York.

Joseph Colombo's funeral was held at St Bernadette's Catholic Church in Bensonhurst and he was buried in St John Cemetery in the Middle Village section of Queens.