HBO Doc. McMillions-Jerry Colombo and Uncle Dom

[richard_belding]

There are some brief perp-walk shots from what looks like the 70s in the middle of ep 2. Can anyone ID?

[gohnjotti]

It does not make it entirely clear that "Uncle Dom" was whacked, seems likely. Maybe, they could be talking about Donnie Montemarano and then he "disappeared" because hes still alive? Maybe? Yes? No?

Montemarano was imprisoned in ‘86. He was released from prison in the late 1990s, can’t remember the exact year, and moved straight to California.

In the podcast, Colombo’s wife directly talks about Uncle Dominick’s funeral.

remember calling someone uncle doesn't actually mean he was a uncle , yeah I agree the wife sounded kinda sketchy in the documentary
was he related to Dominik catalado ?

Cataldo was my thought but he died in 1990 and Robin didn’t marry until like ‘97.

Honestly, at this point I'm worried that Robin Colombo is making half of it up. After all, there were never any federal allegations or investigations into Jerry Colombo's actual mob ties - just his involvement in the Monopoly scam. There was no made member called Dominick LNU that was whacked in the Colombo family during the late 1990s (and this Uncle Dominick guy was implied to be Jerry's captain although, of course, they didn't use many actual LCN terms in the doc). Also very implausible that a man as wealthy as Jerry (who owned multiple nightclubs & strip clubs, and allegedly ran prostitution and bookmaking operations across South Carolina) was not referenced or picked up in any other FBI investigations into the Colombo family, in New York or otherwise. And I don't believe there is any evidence of the Colombos as a whole operating in South Carolina, apart from using the state to purchase cheap cigarettes that they re-sold in New York (a scam which has been going on since the cigarette tax was invented).

Robin really does seem like a pretty fantastical storyteller. The way she describes her life is pretty much how someone would describe Karen from Goodfellas. The only "official" information we have regarding Jerry Colombo's mob ties is from the original article on which the documentary was based, in which the journalist reportedly contacted Jerry's mother who confirmed they were cousins of Joe Colombo, the namesake mob boss. To me, the only plausible information is if Jerry's mob ties relied solely on his cousins Anthony & Chris, who were shelved from 1993-onwards and operated a relatively low-key crew that wasn't busted until 2003. Since we know pretty much nothing about the Anthony & Chris Colombo crew other than what was in the '03 idictment, since they were disconnected from the rest of the family, it would be somewhat possible that Jerry "reported" to them, for lack of a better word. I've noticed the FBI kept quiet on any real LCN allegations when they were being interviewed on the doc.

It's only until you watch a doc about a subject you know about that you realize how underdeveloped a lot of big-name projects are. You'd think they could've contacted Michael Franzese, Larry Mazza, Anthony Russo, someone. Hell, maybe the producers did and they were all given the same response; Who the fuck is Jerry Colombo?

[Stroccos]

It does not make it entirely clear that "Uncle Dom" was whacked, seems likely. Maybe, they could be talking about Donnie Montemarano and then he "disappeared" because hes still alive? Maybe? Yes? No?

Montemarano was imprisoned in ‘86. He was released from prison in the late 1990s, can’t remember the exact year, and moved straight to California.

In the podcast, Colombo’s wife directly talks about Uncle Dominick’s funeral.

remember calling someone uncle doesn't actually mean he was a uncle , yeah I agree the wife sounded kinda sketchy in the documentary
was he related to Dominik catalado ?

Cataldo was my thought but he died in 1990 and Robin didn’t marry until like ‘97.

Honestly, at this point I'm worried that Robin Colombo is making half of it up. After all, there were never any federal allegations or investigations into Jerry Colombo's actual mob ties - just his involvement in the Monopoly scam. There was no made member called Dominick LNU that was whacked in the Colombo family during the late 1990s (and this Uncle Dominick guy was implied to be Jerry's captain although, of course, they didn't use many actual LCN terms in the doc). Also very implausible that a man as wealthy as Jerry (who owned multiple nightclubs & strip clubs, and allegedly ran prostitution and bookmaking operations across South Carolina) was not referenced or picked up in any other FBI investigations into the Colombo family, in New York or otherwise. And I don't believe there is any evidence of the Colombos as a whole operating in South Carolina, apart from using the state to purchase cheap cigarettes that they re-sold in New York (a scam which has been going on since the cigarette tax was invented).

Robin really does seem like a pretty fantastical storyteller. The way she describes her life is pretty much how someone would describe Karen from Goodfellas. The only "official" information we have regarding Jerry Colombo's mob ties is from the original article on which the documentary was based, in which the journalist reportedly contacted Jerry's mother who confirmed they were cousins of Joe Colombo, the namesake mob boss. To me, the only plausible information is if Jerry's mob ties relied solely on his cousins Anthony & Chris, who were shelved from 1993-onwards and operated a relatively low-key crew that wasn't busted until 2003. Since we know pretty much nothing about the Anthony & Chris Colombo crew other than what was in the '03 idictment, since they were disconnected from the rest of the family, it would be somewhat possible that Jerry "reported" to them, for lack of a better word. I've noticed the FBI kept quiet on any real LCN allegations when they were being interviewed on the doc.

It's only until you watch a doc about a subject you know about that you realize how underdeveloped a lot of big-name projects are. You'd think they could've contacted Michael Franzese, Larry Mazza, Anthony Russo, someone. Hell, maybe the producers did and they were all given the same response; Who the fuck is Jerry Colombo?

Are either Anthony and or Chris still alive ?

[gohnjotti]

Chris, I think, is still alive but inactive (he had a short lived reality show on HBO). Anthony moved to LA and wrote a book trying to vindicate his father Joe Colombo, and he passed away in 2017.

[TwoPiece]

i'm catching up on the doc now but is this jerry colombo related to joe colombo? if so, i guess being overly flashy runs in the family

[funkster]

My guess is he was a very low level associate, if that. Maybe knew some people, the doc makes him sound like he was made which he clearly wasnt.

[gohnjotti]

My guess is he was a very low level associate, if that. Maybe knew some people, the doc makes him sound like he was made which he clearly wasnt.

I put the chances of him being inducted at 0.1%, and the chances of him being an on-record, tribute-paying associate of the Colombo crime family (during the 1990s) at about 5-10%. It seems plausible that he would know Anthony & Chris Colombo of the renegade Colombo Bros crew, but that’s about it. Doc says he was going to NY and that the Colombo crime family was actually involved in the scheme, I guess to recruit out-of-state people to win the Monopoly prizes. I guess if he is an associate, the truth lies in those Monopoly records.

Maybe I’ll rewatch the documentary again and write down everything that comes out of the mouth of LE officials or prosecutors instead of Robin Colombo. That might help separate fact from fiction.