Colombo bros. Crew Question

[maxiestern11]

After doing some research into this crew, it' crazy to me that the Colombo Family allowed this to happen. If a group of shelved members are allowed to operate independent then what is the point of being shelved?

They had enough pull, having been Joe Colombo’s kids, and had enough knockaround guys in their crew, that they were able to do their own thing. Especially that they mostly operated in the upstate area. They’re not alone either, there are other guys who have strayed off and do their own thing also. Maybe not as large a crew, but others have done it. CN is far from what it was in the 1930-60’s era

Colombo brothers problem was that they got a bit nutty, pulling off violent armed robberies and crimes that drew too much LE attention. Had they been more surreptitious, they might have lasted much longer

[Bklyn21]

After doing some research into this crew, it' crazy to me that the Colombo Family allowed this to happen. If a group of shelved members are allowed to operate independent then what is the point of being shelved?

They were SHELVED but supposedly they had some Protection and like Mafia said a huge crew of knockaround guys and SHELVED members along with alot of other "Protection" if you know what I mean , Politically etc...Theyre connected to everyone up there , Bikers, Other family members etc etc....Theyre like Royalty

[Bklyn21]

Maxie said** Not mafia** Typo

[IrishDave]

That makes sense. Thanks maxie and Bklyn

[AntComello]

At the time back then I don't think so , But I'm not sure he was into all types of businesses and street stuff and Lived in a house belonging to Pat McGuire who was in the Indictment or in a second indictment stemming from the first .

O ok just wondering. I live in Dutchess county and I know a few Russos that live in Newburgh/Orange County area...they own a big fuel company and waste company...all loaded

That could possibly be them , Or another set of Russo's . This specific guy went by a different last name as to not attract attention but he did have relatives , Aunts, Cousins living in Orange County and his mother who is a Russo lived right over the border in Pennsylvania right outside Scranton somewhere . She was married to a Michael Genovese who this person says was related to Mike Genovese the boss in Penn. Who died years back in his 90s . But , There was a bunch of them (Russo's) scattered around Orange County , Town of Newburgh and surrounding areas and I know for a fact they were directly related to Andy Mush and his sons . There was alot going on and alot of intertwined shit to have your head spinning . They were from Bensonhurst and Right before the war broke out they left brooklyn and went upstate and Penn. From what I heard some of it was due to the conflict and Protection of certain people going up there. I think it was JoJo who died back then of Cancer and this guy was his cousin and had his cars , His personals , Some money etc. He'd constantly show pics of himself and his cousins (Russos) and at one point was trying to sell me the Lincoln he was handed due to his death .

They have to be related...the kids I know that are about my age upper 20’s all have nice cars and are hooked on pills lol and they act like they are connected so it definitely wouldn’t surprise me.

[Bklyn21]

I wouldn't be surprised either . There is alot of them up there and in all those surrounding areas

[gohnjotti]

To answer Tony Monte's original question:
Yes, the Colombo Bros. crew did interact with other crime families. In fact, they held pseudo-sitdowns with the Bonanno and Lucchese families over their turf in upstate NY.

Who was in their crew? Were they brought back into the fold when Russo was bringing members back?

The crew was headed by Colombo soldiers Anthony Colombo and Gerard "Jerry Green Eyes" Clemenza. Colombo passed away in 2017, after moving to Los Angeles and writing a book about his father's murder and potential set-up. Clemenza, on the other hand, is a very wealthy racketeer in upstate New York who spends a considerable amount of the year in Sarasota IIRC. The third "leader" of the crew was Anthony Colombo's brother, Chris Colombo.

Now, all three of these leaders are/were living pretty comfortably, enough to indicate that they made a lot more money than the average Colombo button man. If they were still active through 2010, one can assume that Andy Russo would have brought them into the fold.

[Bklyn21]

There ya go guys , Gohn is an expert on the Colombos and can give great insight into they're activities etc...If you haven't already , Log onto his site ! Tons of great stories and great Info that's hard to obtain on the web

[gohnjotti]

There ya go guys , Gohn is an expert on the Colombos and can give great insight into they're activities etc...If you haven't already , Log onto his site ! Tons of great stories and great Info that's hard to obtain on the web

Thanks, Bklyn. I wish I knew more about this particular crew but they appear to have gone quiet after the 2004 bust. I would imagine the law enforcement in upstate NY is considerably more lax than the police in New York and, as others have said in this thread, corruption on the local level might be a possibility if the crew is indeed still active. Local cops are susceptible to corruption in local municipalities and hamlets since those communities tend to be tight-knit. In 2011, in an illegal gambling case, a local cop was charged with tipping of Politi on impending busts. I can't comment on that with the Colombo Bros. crew because I haven't seen any evidence of that.

Another interesting tidbit about them is that they had more than a couple of ties to Los Angeles, excluding Anthony's own residence there. One of their key crew members, Phil "Fat Philly" Dioguardi, was a longtime associate of the Los Angeles crime family during the '70s and '80s. That would make him the third example of a Colombo/LA Family associate in the 1990s, the other two being Ori Spado and Kenny Gallo.

[Bklyn21]

I can't see them shutting down , Everyone up there loves these guys and name drops the like crazy. They are like Gods and if you do go up there and stay for awhile you'll hear there name everywhere involved in everything . I think by operating in numerous Jurisdictions they opened themselves up but as long as the stay within they're confines and surrounding areas and counties we won't hear anything