Louis Tom Dragna (; July 18, 1920 – November 16, 2012) was an

Italian-American Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, w ...

mobster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

, nephew of

Jack Dragna Jack Ignatius Dragna (born Ignazio Dragna, ; April 18, 1891 – February 23, 1956) was an American Mafia member and Black Hander who was active in both Italy and the United States in the 20th century. He was active in bootlegging in Californ ...

and son of

Tom Dragna Tom Dragna (born Gaetano Dragna; ; November 25, 1888 – September 30, 1977) was a Sicilian-American bootlegger and mobster who became a member of the Los Angeles crime family. He was the brother of Jack Dragna and the father of Louis Tom Dragna. H ...

. He was active in the

Los Angeles crime family The Los Angeles crime family, also known as the L.A. Mafia or the Southern California crime family, is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate based in Los Angeles as part of the larger Italian-American Mafia. Since its inception in the earl ...

from the 1940s until the early 1980s.

Early life

Louis Tom Dragna was born on July 18, 1920, in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and Julia Torisco. He had a younger brother, Frank Paul Dragna (nicknamed "Two Eyes" to distinguish him from his cousin with the same name and had a

glass eye An ocular prosthesis, artificial eye or glass eye is a type of craniofacial prosthesis that replaces an absent natural eye following an enucleation, evisceration, or orbital exenteration. The prosthesis fits over an orbital implant and under ...

, from a combat injury he received in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

.) and a sister, Anna Dragna. They are second generation immigrants and Louis was the only younger Dragna to be heavily involved in the

Mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...

. His grandparents, Francesco Paolo Dragna and Anna Dragna, immigrated to the United States on November 18, 1898, but returned to Sicily 10 years later. His family then returned to New York City in the 1910s and made their way West to California. In 1931 his uncle Jack Dragna became Boss of the Los Angeles crime family and named his father Tom his

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 ...

Criminal career

According to his army enlistment record, Louis Dragna spent two years in college. He started to become involved in the crime family in the 1940s. Under his uncle Jack, the Mafia in Los Angeles was growing into a very widespread enterprise. Louis had an arrest record dating back to 1946. Dragna became a

made man In the American and Sicilian Mafia, a made man is a fully initiated member of the Mafia. To become "made", an associate first must be Italian or of Italian descent and sponsored by another made man. An inductee will be required to take the oat ...

in 1947 along with Jimmy "The Weasel" Fratianno,

Dominic Brooklier Dominic Phillip Brooklier (born Domenico Brucceleri; November 19, 1914 — July 18, 1984) was an American mobster and boss of the Los Angeles crime family of the Mafia during the mid-1970s who mainly worked in pornography, extortion, and gambli ...

Joseph Dippolito Joseph Charles Dippolito (December 28, 1914 – January 14, 1974), also well known as Joe Dip, was an Italian American Mafia member in the Los Angeles crime family. The son of fellow Mafioso Salvatore Charles Dippolito (known as Charlie Dip) ...

, and Salvatore "Dago Louie" Piscopo. Louis Dragna was eventually promoted to Captain (

caporegime A caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to capo or informally referred to as "captain" or "skipper", is a rank used in the Mafia (both the Sicilian Mafia and Italian-American Mafia) for a ''made member'' of an Italian crime family who head ...

) in the family by his uncle. Some including Jimmy The Weasel, say that Louis never "made his bones" i.e. committed a murder on the Mafia's orders. In 1959 Dragna was arrested with mobsters

Joe Sica Joseph "JS" Sica (August 20, 1911 – November 21, 1982) was a New Jersey mobster involved in armed robbery, murder for hire, extortion, and narcotics distribution. Sica mentored many West Coast mobsters, including Mike Rizzitello and Anthony "t ...

Frankie Carbo Paul John "Frankie" Carbo (born Paolo Giovanni Carbo, ; August 10, 1904Bureau of Narcotics, Sam Giancana, The United States Treasury Department. ''Mafia: The Government’s Secret File on Organized Crime''. 2007(pg. 85)/ref> – November 9, 1976) w ...

, Frank "Blinky" Palermo, and

Truman Gibson Truman Kella Gibson, Jr. (January 22, 1912 – December 23, 2005) was an African-American businessman, attorney, government advisor, and later influential boxing promoter who played a unique and unheralded role in the Civil Rights Movement, pr ...

for extorting Jackie Leonard, the manager of boxing champion

Don Jordan Don Jordan (June 22, 1934 – February 13, 1997) was an American boxer born in Los Angeles, California and was the Welterweight Champion of the World from 1958 to 1960. His nickname was ‘Geronimo’. He was of Mexican and African American desce ...

in 1958. They were accused of trying to muscle in on the fight earnings of Jordan. On May 30, 1961, they were all found guilty in Los Angeles Federal District Court of conspiring to extort money and of transmitting by interstate commerce threats of harm to Jackie Leonard and sentenced to prison times of various lengths, with Dragna sentenced to five years. The defendants appealed their ruling and on February 13, 1963, the U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction of four of the defendants, with only Dragna 's sentence being overturned. His lawyers argued that the case against Dragna was weak and questioned Leonard's creditability. Leonard's only testimony on Dragna stated that he was present at the times threats were made against him, but that Dragna never made any threats himself. On June 16, 1960, the

Nevada Gaming Commission The Nevada Gaming Commission is a Nevada state governmental agency involved in the regulation of casinos throughout the state, along with the Nevada Gaming Control Board. In 1959, the Nevada Gaming Commission ("Commission") was created by the pass ...

opened its first Black Book. It is a list of all persons who are banned from entering any casino in Nevada. Dragna was one of the 11 original entries to the list and was the last surviving member from the original black book when he died in 2012. In the 1940s

Johnny Dio Giovanni Ignazio Dioguardi (; April 29, 1914 – January 12, 1979), known as John "Johnny Dio" Dioguardi, was an Italian-American organized crime figure and a labor racketeer. He is known for being involved in the acid attack which led to the bli ...

taught Dragna how to manipulate

labour unions A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

in the Garment District. By the 1970s Dragna's garment company, "Roberta Manufacturing Co." was a $10+ million a year business. When Los Angeles Mob boss

was imprisoned in 1975, he chose Dragna as his co acting boss, along with Jimmy Fratianno to run the Los Angeles family while he was in prison. Brooklier knew Dragna would never have had the nerve or the inclination to try and take over the family permanently. Dragna, however declined the opportunity unless Fratianno was his co boss, and the job was given to both men. Dragna's refusal to become boss, despite his uncle's and father's former positions in the family earned him the nickname "the Reluctant Prince". Fratianno wrote in

The Last Mafioso ''The Last Mafioso: The Treacherous World of Jimmy Fratianno'' is a biographical novel detailing the life of American Mafia member Aladena "Jimmy the Weasel" Fratianno. It chronicles Fratianno's life from his childhood in Cleveland to becoming th ...

that he felt Dragna was so busy with his Roberta Manufacturing Company he did not have time to be a mob boss. Fratianno also wrote the Dragna had never "made his bones"-i.e. killed someone under a Mob boss's orders. In 1978 Louis Dragna,

Michael Rizzitello Michael Anthony Rizzitello (March 29, 1927 – October 26, 2005), also known as "Mike Rizzi", was a high ranking Italian American mobster in the Los Angeles crime family. Rizzitello's criminal record stretched back to 1947. He was also featured in ...

, Thomas Ricciardi,

Jack LoCicero Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

, and Dominick Raffone were indicted on

Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed as part of an ongoing criminal organization. RICO was en ...

(RICO Act) charges related to the murder of

Frank Bompensiero Frank "Bomp" Bompensiero (October 29, 1905 – February 10, 1977) was a Mafia hitman and longtime caporegime in the Los Angeles crime family. In 1956, with the death of boss Jack Dragna, Bompensiero was demoted to the rank of soldier by the new ...

and extortion. On October 14, 1980

Jimmy Fratianno Aladena James Fratianno (born Aladena Fratianno; November 14, 1913 – June 29, 1993), also known as "Jimmy the Weasel", was an Italian-born American mobster who was acting boss of the Los Angeles crime family. After his arrest in 1977, Fratianno ...

, a longtime member of the Los Angeles family and close associate of Dragna's testified in the case. During an October 23 hearing FBI agent John Barron offered testimony that Louis Tom Dragna admitted to being a member of the Mafia and gave up the leadership structure of the Los Angeles crime family at a meeting held on October 14, 1976. Dragna started serving a one-year sentence in a community center in 1984. He was released on March 18, 1985, and completed his sentence which included 1,000 hours of community service. After serving his sentence, Dragna was forced to step away from

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

. According to federal prosecutors,

Peter Milano Peter John Milano (December 22, 1925 – April 21, 2012) was a Los Angeles-based, American mobster, and former Crime boss, boss of the Los Angeles crime family. Milano was active in organized crime from the 1950s until his death. His legitimate bu ...

once discussed in the 1980s with members of the

Cleveland crime family The Cleveland crime family or Cleveland Mafia is the collective name given to a succession of Italian-American organized crime gangs based in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States. A part of the Italian-American Mafia (or ''Cosa Nostra'') phenom ...

a plot to have Dragna murdered for violating the oath of

Omertà Omertà (, ) is a Southern Italian code of silence and code of honor and conduct that places importance on silence in the face of questioning by authorities or outsiders; non-cooperation with authorities, the government, or outsiders, especiall ...

. During Milano's arrest in 1987, prosecutors were going to call Cleveland crime family underboss-turned-government witness

Angelo Lonardo Angelo Anthony Lonardo (January 21, 1911 − March 31, 2006) was a mobster who became the acting boss of Cleveland crime family in the early 1980s. Lonardo was born in 1911 in Cleveland to Joseph and Concetta Lonardo. His godfather was Anthony ...

to testify to this allegation. Milano's lawyer strongly denied these allegations, stating that if it were true, Dragna would have received a formal warning from the FBI. Milano pleaded guilty to racketeering charges and a trial never took place.

References

External links

Louis Tom Dragna
profile on Nevada's exclusion list
Case Study: How Courts Foil JusticeGangland Figures Refuse To Testify In California Case
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dragna, Louis Tom 1920 births 2012 deaths Los Angeles crime family American gangsters of Italian descent American gangsters of Sicilian descent Criminals from Los Angeles United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army soldiers