Nick Circella
Leavenworth inmate 60609, photographed in February 1944. In the Second Circuit's account of the motion-picture extortion testimony, Circella kept a Chicago night club and, with Bioff, was given a union office as Browne's personal representative.
- Role
- Personal representative of Browne in the union. Court opinion: the Second Circuit's account of the trial testimony, United States v. Compagna (1944): "Circella and Bioff were then given offices in the union as personal representatives of Browne, as president"
- Rights
- Biography on this page is limited to what the cited federal records state.
On the record
- 1934–1935 — United States v. Compagna (2d Cir. 1944), recounting the testimony, says Browne and Bioff spent freely enough "to attract the attention of one Circella, who kept a night club in Chicago, and who was one of a group, or gang, of confederates who lived by blackmail," that the group forced on Browne and Bioff an agreement to share their collections, and that "Circella and Bioff were then given offices in the union as personal representatives of Browne, as president."
- 1935–1940 — The same opinion: "Circella introduced Rosselli to Bioff as the representative of the group in California."
- 9 February 1944 — Leavenworth photograph from his inmate file, inmate 60609, placard "USPLK-60609 2-9-44."
- July 1945 — An FBI Atlanta report of 1947 quotes a Bureau of Prisons teletype of 18 July 1945: "Warden HUNTER states NICK CIRCELLA says no ill feeling exists between him and these men," referring to De Lucia and Campagna.
The role field quotes the Second Circuit’s account of the testimony; it is a union office in the court’s narrative, not an organizational rank, and Circella holds no seat on any chart in this archive. The court also calls him “one of a group, or gang, of confederates who lived by blackmail.” That is the court’s description of the people in the scheme. It names no organization, so the family field is left empty.
Circella was not one of the appellants in 146 F.2d 524. No record opened for this archive gives his plea, offense of commitment, sentence, release, birth or death. His Leavenworth inmate file (NAID 12004248) is not digitized. The photograph is also in Faces.
Records
itemNick Circella, Leavenworth inmate 60609, 1944 (National Archives)Front and profile mug shot from the Leavenworth inmate file of Nick Circella, inmate 60609, with a placard dated 2-9-44. A copy is stored here.itemUnited States v. Compagna, 146 F.2d 524 (2d Cir. 1944)Second Circuit opinion of December 20, 1944 affirming the convictions of Compagna and six others for a conspiracy to extort money from motion-picture producers and exhibitors, 1935 to 1940.
itemFBI Atlanta report (file Atlanta 58-62), autumn 1947: Warden Sanford on the prisoners and their 1945 transfer to Leavenworth (Vault, John Roselli Part 02)The Atlanta office's report for the 1947 parole inquiry. Warden Sanford said he made no parole recommendations, recalled an inmate informant's report that three of the men "had stated they had $10,000 to arrange their transfer", and said the transfer to Leavenworth was "done by bus on July 28, 1945."