Joseph Colombo
FBI memoranda of 1970–71 call him "boss" of the Colombo La Cosa Nostra "family"; agents arrested him on federal gambling charges on April 2, 1971. FBI testimony in 1988 refers to his shooting at an Italian-American rally in 1971.
- Aliases
- Joseph Anthony Colombo, Sr., Joseph Lefore
- Family
- Colombo family, as FBI memoranda name it (FBI memo, 1971)
- Role
- "boss" of the Colombo La Cosa Nostra "family" (FBI memo, 1971)
- Rights
- Biography on this page is limited to what the cited federal records state.
On the record
- 8 October 1963 — Shanley (printed p. 311) listed "Joe Colombo, also known as Joseph Lefore" on the Magliocco chart as a close associate who ran floating dice games. Testimony.
- 1970–1971 — FBI applications for Title III surveillance (Part 01, p. 41) describe a Brooklyn numbers operation "under control of La Cosa Nostra boss Joseph Colombo." FBI memo.
- 2 April 1971 — An FBI memorandum (Part 01, p. 104): "Agents of our New York office arrested Joseph Anthony Colombo, Sr., 'boss' of the Colombo La Cosa Nostra 'family' shortly after noon on April 2, 1971" (cleaned from the OCR). FBI memo.
- 1971 — FBI Deputy Assistant Director Daniels (S. Hrg. 100-906, printed p. 23) referred to the "shooting of then-boss Joseph Colombo in 1971 at the Italian-American day rally in New York." FBI testimony to a Senate subcommittee, 1988.
No opened record gives his birth or death, or the day of the 1971 shooting.
Records
itemFBI Vault: Joseph Colombo, Part 01 (Final)Mostly 1970–71 serials: applications for electronic surveillance describing a Brooklyn numbers operation "under control of La Cosa Nostra boss Joseph Colombo," the April 2, 1971 arrest of Colombo on federal gambling charges, and memoranda on the Italian-American Civil Rights League.
itemOrganized Crime and Illicit Traffic in Narcotics, Part 1 (September 25 to October 9, 1963)The first printed volume of the 1963 Senate hearings: Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy's opening testimony, Joseph Valachi's public testimony, New York police witnesses, Exhibit 8 and Charts A to E.itemOrganized Crime: 25 Years After Valachi (S. Hrg. 100-906, 1988)Hearings of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, April 1988, in which FBI officials compared the 1963 Valachi charts with the Bureau's 1987 charts of the families. FBI testimony about its own intelligence, not court findings.