Joseph Magliocco (born Giuseppe Magliocco; ; June 29, 1898 – December 28, 1963), also known as "Joe Malayak" and "Joe Evil Eye", was an Italian-born New York mobster and the boss of the Profaci crime family (later to become the

Colombo crime family The Colombo crime family (, ) is an Italian American Mafia crime family and is the youngest of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City within the criminal organization known as the American Mafia. It was du ...

) from 1962 to 1963. In 1963, Magliocco participated in an audacious attempt with Joseph Bonnano to kill other family bosses and take over the Mafia Commission. The attempt failed, and, while his life was spared, he was forced into retirement. Soon after, he died of a heart attack on December 28, 1963.

Background

Magliocco was born in Portella di Mare, a

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

in the comune of

Misilmeri Misilmeri ( scn, Musulumeli) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, Sicily. It is approximately from Palermo and its name means "the resting place or the messuage of the Emir", and dates from the Muslim emirate of Sicily. ...

, in the

province of Palermo The Province of Palermo ( it, provincia di Palermo; Sicilian: ''pruvincia di Palermu'') was a province in the autonomous region of Sicily, a major island in Southern Italy. Its capital was the city of Palermo. On 4 August 2015, it was replaced ...

, in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. Magliocco's nickname, "Joe Malayak," came from the word ''Maluk'', which meant "ruler". Despite weighing over 300 pounds, Magliocco was described as being very energetic and decisive in his work and physical gestures, someone who exuded danger and confidence. Magliocco lived on a six-acre waterfront estate in

East Islip, New York East Islip is a hamlet and CDP in the Town of Islip, Suffolk County, New York, United States. At the time of the 2010 census, the CDP had a population of 14,475. History and overview Originally referred to as "East of Islip", the name was acqu ...

. He was the silent partner in a liquor company, Alpine Wine and Liquor, and a linen company, Arrow Linen Supply. In 1963, it was suspected that Magliocco was using his clout to force bars and restaurants to buy from both companies. According to

Joseph Bonanno Joseph Charles Bonanno (born Giuseppe Carlo Bonanno; ; January 18, 1905 – May 11, 2002), sometimes referred to as Joe Bananas, was an Italian-American crime boss of the Bonanno crime family, which he ran from 1931 to 1968. Bonanno was born ...

, Magliocco was an excellent Italian chef and loved to eat. Magliocco's son, Ambrose Magliocco, was a capo. Magliocco's second cousin and brother-in-law was mob boss

Joseph Profaci Giuseppe "Joe" Profaci (; October 2, 1897 – June 6, 1962) was an Italian-born New York City Cosa Nostra boss who was the founder of what became the Colombo crime family. Established in 1928, this was the last of the Five Families to be organi ...

, founder of the Profaci crime family. Magliocco was an

in-law In law and in cultural anthropology, affinity is the kinship relationship created or that exists between two people as a result of someone's marriage. It is the relationship which each party to a marriage has to the relations of the other part ...

consigliere Consigliere ( , ; plural ) is a position within the leadership structure of the Sicilian, Calabrian, and Italian-American Mafia. The word was popularized in English by the novel ''The Godfather'' (1969) and its film adaptation. In the novel, a c ...

and

underboss Underboss ( it, sottocapo) is a position within the leadership structure of certain organized crime groups, particularly in Sicilian, Greek, and Italian-American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the boss. The underbo ...

Salvatore Mussachio, related by marriage to

Buffalo crime family The Buffalo crime family, also known as the Magaddino crime family, Buffalo Mafia, The Arm, the New York State crime family, the Upstate New York Mafia, and the Todaro crime family, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in Buffalo, Ne ...

boss

Stefano Magaddino Stefano "The Undertaker" Magaddino (; October 10, 1891 – July 19, 1974) was an Italian-born crime boss of the Buffalo crime family in western New York. His underworld influence stretched from Ohio to Southern Ontario and as far east as Montreal ...

, and uncle to the wife of

Bonanno crime family The Bonanno crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, and in the United States, as part of the criminal phenomenon known as the A ...

founder Joseph Bonanno.

Early years

As a young man, Magliocco became involved in

illegal gambling Gaming law is the set of rules and regulations that apply to the gaming or gambling industry. Gaming law is not a branch of law in the traditional sense but rather is a collection of several areas of law that include criminal law, regulatory law, c ...

and union

racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. Originally and of ...

. On December 5, 1928, Magliocco and Profaci attended a meeting of New York mobsters at the

Statler Hotel The Statler Hotel company was one of the United States' early chains of hotels catering to traveling businessmen and tourists. It was founded by Ellsworth Milton (E. M.) Statler in Buffalo, New York. Early ventures In 1901, Buffalo hosted the ...

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. The main topic was dividing the Brooklyn territory of the recently murdered boss

Salvatore D'Aquila Salvatore "Toto" D'Aquila (; November 7, 1873 – October 10, 1928) was an early Italian-American Mafia boss in New York City of the D'Aquila crime family, what would later become known as the Gambino crime family. Early life and career Salv ...

without causing a gang war. By the end of the meeting, Profaci had received a share of the open territory, and named Magliocco as his second-in-command—a post he would hold for the next 34 years. When the Cleveland Police raided the meeting, Magliocco was briefly detained on an illegal weapons charge. In 1931, the

Castellammarese War The Castellammarese War () was a bloody power struggle for control of the Italian-American Mafia that took place in New York City, New York, from February 1930 until April 15, 1931, between partisans of Joe "The Boss" Masseria and those of Salv ...

began in New York between two powerful Italian-American gangs. Both Profaci and Magliocco attempted to stay neutral during this conflict. By the end of 1931, the war was over and the New York gangs were divided into five crime families supervised by a Mafia Commission. Profaci and Magliocco were confirmed as boss and underboss, respectively, of what was now known as the Profaci crime family.

Colombo War

In 1957, Magliocco was arrested with 60 other mobsters who were attending the Apalachin Conference, a national mob meeting in

Apalachin, New York Apalachin ( ) is a census-designated place within the Town of Owego in Tioga County, New York, United States. The population was 1,131 in the 2010 census. The CDP is named after Apalachin Creek. ''Apalachin'' means "from where the messenger retur ...

. On January 13, 1960, Magliocco and 21 others were convicted of conspiracy and he was sentenced to five years in prison. However, on November 28, 1960, a United States

Court of Appeals A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

overturned the verdicts. On February 27, 1961 the Gallos led by

Joe Gallo Joseph Gallo (April 7, 1929 – April 7, 1972), also known as "Crazy Joe", was an Italian-American mobster and Caporegime of the Colombo crime family of New York City. In his youth, Gallo was diagnosed with schizophrenia after an arrest. He so ...

, kidnapped four of Profaci's top men: underboss Magliocco, Frank Profaci (Joe Profaci's brother), capo Salvatore Musacchia and soldier John Scimone. Profaci himself eluded capture and flew to sanctuary in Florida. While holding the hostages, Larry and Albert Gallo sent Joe Gallo to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The Gallos demanded a more favorable financial scheme for the hostages' release. Gallo wanted to kill one hostage and demand $100,000 before negotiations, but his brother Larry overruled him. After a few weeks of negotiation, Profaci made a deal with the Gallos. Profaci's consigliere Charles "the Sidge" LoCicero negotiated with the Gallos and all the hostages were released peacefully.Capeci (2001), p.303 However, Profaci had no intention of honoring this peace agreement. On August 20, 1961 Joseph Profaci ordered the murder of Gallo members Joseph "Joe Jelly" Gioielli and Larry Gallo. Gunmen allegedly murdered Gioilli after inviting him to go fishing. Larry Gallo survived a strangulation attempt in the Sahara club of

East Flatbush East Flatbush is a residential neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. East Flatbush is bounded by Crown Heights and Empire Boulevard to the north; Brownsville and East 98th Street to the east; Flatlands, Canarsie and the ...

Carmine Persico Carmine John Persico Jr. (; August 8, 1933 – March 7, 2019), also known as "Junior", "The Snake" and "Immortal", was an American mobster and the longtime boss of the Colombo crime family in New York City from 1973 until his death in 2019. He ha ...

and Salvatore "Sally" D'Ambrosio after a police officer intervened.Raab (2006), pp.321-324 The Gallo brothers had been previously aligned with Persico against Profaci and his loyalists;Cage, Nicholas (July 17, 1972
"Part II The Mafia at War"
''

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

'' pp.27-36 The Gallos then began calling Persico ''"The Snake"'' after he had betrayed them. the war continued on resulting in nine murders and three disappearances. With the start of the gang war, the Gallo crew retreated to the Dormitory.

Family boss

On June 6, 1962, Profaci died of

liver cancer Liver cancer (also known as hepatic cancer, primary hepatic cancer, or primary hepatic malignancy) is cancer that starts in the liver. Liver cancer can be primary (starts in liver) or secondary (meaning cancer which has spread from elsewhere to th ...

and Magliocco became the family boss. However, the Mafia Commission did not endorse him as the new family leader. Afraid that the other New York families viewed him as weak, Magliocco increased the tempo of violence against the Gallo faction. In turn, car bombs, drive-by shootings, and other murder attempts were made against Magliocco men such as

and his enforcer, Hugh McIntosh. In 1963, with the jailing of Gallo and several associates, the hostilities temporarily ended.

Commission plot

In 1963,

, the head of the Bonanno crime family, made plans to assassinate several rivals on the Mafia Commission—bosses

Tommy Lucchese Thomas Gaetano Lucchese (born Gaetano Lucchese; ; December 1, 1899 – July 13, 1967), sometimes known by the nicknames "Tommy", "Thomas Luckese", "Tommy Brown" or "Tommy Three-Finger Brown" was an Italian-American gangster and founding member of ...

Carlo Gambino Carlo Gambino (; August 24, 1902 – October 15, 1976) was an Italian-American crime boss of the Gambino crime family. After the Apalachin Meeting in 1957, and the imprisonment of Vito Genovese in 1959, Gambino took over the Commission o ...

, and

, as well as

Frank DeSimone Frank A. DeSimone (July 17, 1909 – August 4, 1967) was an American attorney and the boss of the Los Angeles crime family from 1956 to 1967. DeSimone was the son of former don Rosario DeSimone. He was sometime referred to as "One Eye" because ...

.Staff (September 1, 1967
"The Mob: How Joe Bonanno Schemed to kill – and lost"
''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'' p.15-21 Bonanno sought Magliocco's support, and Magliocco readily agreed. Not only was he bitter from being denied a seat on the Commission, but Bonanno and Profaci had been close allies for over 30 years prior to Profaci's death. Bonanno's audacious goal was to take over the Commission and make Magliocco his right hand man. Magliocco was assigned the task of killing Lucchese and Gambino, and gave the contract to one of his top hit men,

Joseph Colombo Joseph Anthony Colombo Sr. (; June 16, 1923 – May 22, 1978) was the boss of the Colombo crime family, one of the Five Families of the American Mafia in New York City. Colombo was born in New York City, where his father was an early member ...

. However, the opportunistic Colombo revealed the plot to its targets. The other bosses quickly realized that Magliocco could not have planned this himself. Remembering how close Bonanno was with Magliocco (and before him, Profaci), as well as their close ties through marriages, the other bosses concluded Bonanno was the real mastermind. The Commission summoned Bonanno and Magliocco to explain themselves. Fearing for his life, Bonanno went into hiding in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, leaving Magliocco to deal with the Commission. Badly shaken and in failing health, Magliocco confessed his role in the plot. The Commission spared Magliocco's life, but forced him to retire as Profaci family boss and pay a $50,000 fine. As a reward for turning on his boss, Colombo was awarded the Profaci family.

Death

On December 28, 1963, Joseph Magliocco died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center Good Samaritan University Hospital (formerly Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center) is a 537-bed non-profit teaching hospital located in West Islip, New York. The hospital contains 100 nursing home beds as well as operates an adult and pediatric ...

West Islip, New York West Islip is a hamlet and CDP founded roughly in 1683, located in the Town of Islip in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Situated on the South Shore of Long Island, the population of the CDP was 27,048 at the time of the 2020 census. ...

. Magliocco is buried in

Saint Charles Cemetery St. Charles / Resurrection Cemeteries is a Roman Catholic cemetery of the Diocese of Brooklyn in East Farmingdale, New York. History It was formed from two separate but adjoining cemeteries: Resurrection Cemetery was originally created and opera ...

Farmingdale, New York Farmingdale is an incorporated Political subdivisions of New York#Village, village on Long Island within the Oyster Bay (town), New York, Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York. The population was ...

. In 1969, the authorities

exhume Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

d Magliocco's body to determine if he had been

poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

ed. This action was taken based on FBI phone tapings in which

DeCavalcante crime family The DeCavalcante crime family, also known as the North Jersey Mafia, is an Italian-American Mafia organized crime family that operates mainly in northern New Jersey, particularly in Elizabeth, Newark, West New York, and various other North Jersey ...

boss

Sam DeCavalcante Simone Rizzo "Sam" DeCavalcante (March 3, 1912 – February 7, 1997), known as "Sam the Plumber", was an Italian-American mobster who was boss of the DeCavalcante crime family of North Jersey. Claiming descent from the Italian royal family, DeCava ...

suggested that

poisoned Magliocco. However, no traces of poison were found in the body and it was re-interred at Saint Charles.

In popular culture

Magliocco was portrayed by

Michael Rispoli Michael Rispoli is an American character actor. He was a contender for the role of Tony Soprano in the HBO television series ''The Sopranos,'' but was ultimately cast as Jackie Aprile, a recurring character in the show’s first season. Rispo ...

in the second season of the 2019 TV series ''

Godfather of Harlem ''Godfather of Harlem'' is an American crime drama television series which premiered on September 29, 2019, on Epix. The series is written by Chris Brancato and Paul Eckstein, and stars Forest Whitaker as 1960s New York City gangster Bumpy Johnso ...

''.