Joseph Brancato (Colombo boss in 1973)

[Dwalin2014]

Just read that Joseph Yacovelli's successor as boss was Joseph Brancato who only stayed 5 months before being jailed for murder. Never heard of him before, I thought the next boss was DiBella.

What murder was Brancato convicted for? Murder convictions for high-ranking mafiosi were quite rare back then.

[Pogo The Clown]

I think Vincent Aloi was Acting Boss between Yacovelli and Brancato. Brancato had been the Capo of the Sonny Franzese Crew.


Pogo

[B.]

I've been curious about him as well.

He was never the official boss, but the acting boss for a time. I am sure JD has a good deal of info on him.

To my knowledge, Tom DiBella was the first official boss after Joe Colombo, though as we know he was in many ways a figurehead for Carmine Persico, who was the most dominant force in the family by the mid-1970's.

[HairyKnuckles]

It seems to me that Colombo was still boss of the Family (although in a coma) until DiBella stepped up in 1973. Yacovelli was the first acting boss, then Vinny Aloi follwed before Brancato co acted as boss with John Oddo briefly. Then DiBella served as acting boss before given the official seat in 1973. A year later, DiBella had legal problems and was imprisoned on contempt charges. Abbatemarco then served as acting boss but was demoted/stepped down before Brancato (for the second time around) served as acting boss. Brancato was indicted in 1976, but I don´t know if he was still acting boss at that time. He may have been, while DiBella decided to lay low. It´s possible that Brancato was indicted on murder charges stemming from some of the murders that occured during the second Gallo war, but I don´t know the details. I know that he was sentenced to life.

[Pogo The Clown]

Interesting. I had no idea that Oddo and Abbattemarco served as Acting Bosses.


Pogo

[Dwalin2014]

I don't know where the info about Brancato being sentenced to life is from though. His only arrest aside from minor gambling/consorting charges was a 1970s criminal contempt case that wound up dismissed. No other arrests, definitely not an indictment for murder, unless it was later on in the 1980s and no one reported it.

But if he had no legal problems in the 70s, what caused him to stay as acting boss for such a short time?

[rayray]

I imagine one of the guys doing some damage to the admin of that era was Greg Scarpa Sr.

Who was the other?

[MattytheHorse]

I imagine one of the guys doing some damage to the admin of that era was Greg Scarpa Sr.

Who was the other?

Good question, that was long before everyone who has flipped from the Colombos had a reason for cooperating except for Scarpa.

[HairyKnuckles]

I imagine one of the guys doing some damage to the admin of that era was Greg Scarpa Sr.

Who was the other?

I think JD once posted that another CI was based in South Brooklyn and was definitely made. Tony Abbatemarco could be that guy. I think I read somewhere that he was in FBI´s custody just before he decided to get out of "the life". Who knows what was discussed while in custody? I think there were plenty of guys within the Colombos (both made and non made) who gave information. Scarpa informed the FBI that the reason for the Jerry Ciprio´s and Richard Grossman´s murders in 1972 was the two of them being suspected federal informants.

Regarding Brancato, I have a note in my own files saying that he (with DiBella) ordered the murder of Johnny Lusterino in 1973. But I can´t find the original source for this right now. I don´t know if the Lusterino murder conspiracy was used against him during his trial.

[davidf1989]

I imagine one of the guys doing some damage to the admin of that era was Greg Scarpa Sr.

Who was the other?

I think JD once posted that another CI was based in South Brooklyn and was definitely made. Tony Abbatemarco could be that guy. I think I read somewhere that he was in FBI´s custody just before he decided to get out of "the life". Who knows what was discussed while in custody? I think there were plenty of guys within the Colombos (both made and non made) who gave information. Scarpa informed the FBI that the reason for the Jerry Ciprio´s and Richard Grossman´s murders in 1972 was the two of them being suspected federal informants.

Regarding Brancato, I have a note in my own files saying that he (with DiBella) ordered the murder of Johnny Lusterino in 1973. But I can´t find the original source for this right now. I don´t know if the Lusterino murder conspiracy was used against him during his trial.

How about Larry Gallo, who is the leader of the Gallo crew? This video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAZytSEIFvU makes the case that he was an informant. what do you make of this quote about Ciprio's murder from Deal with the Devil by Peter Lance on p. 56 'The Ciprio murder is more than forty years old; any ancillary evidence was likely destroyed long ago. But the implications in this airtel are potentially staggering. If Ciprio was in fact a “Federal informant,” as Scarpa attested, he might have been talking to prosecutors in Chicago, and word that he’d flipped could easily have reached New York. Even if one of “34’s” handlers had unwittingly mentioned to him that Ciprio was a cooperating witness (CW), once Scarpa pulled the trigger on Ciprio, whoever had leaked word of Ciprio’s status as a CW could have effectively become a co¬ conspirator to homicide.'

[jmack]

https://www.nytimes.com/1975/07/07/arch ... a-key.html

He’s mentioned in this article. I also didn’t know that Tony Ducks tried to mediate the dispute.

[B.]

The other member informant was likely Lenny Dello. Scarpa went to prison in the 1970s and was not actively informing so this CI stepped up at the perfect time and provided a lot of good intel. It is heavily implied it was Dello who interestingly didn't die until 2009 so I'd be curious if he continued cooperating in any capacity in later years -- these guys can just drop out of it, though, they aren't required to provide info the rest of their lives.

Joe Brancato's father was reportedly an earlier member of the Colombos.