Giuseppe "Joseph" Ida (; 6 November 1890 − 1970s) was the head of the Philadelphia Mafia during the 1940s and 1950s, following the death of

Giuseppe Dovi Giuseppe is the Italian form of the given name Joseph, from Latin Iōsēphus from Ancient Greek Ἰωσήφ (Iōsḗph), from Hebrew יוסף. It is the most common name in Italy and is unique (97%) to it. The feminine form of the name is Gius ...

in 1946. Ida retired and returned to Italy in 1959, leaving the title of

boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, a ...

of the Philadelphia crime family to

Angelo Bruno Angelo Bruno (born Angelo Annaloro; ; (May 21, 1910 – March 21, 1980) was a Sicilian-American mobster, notable for being boss of the Philadelphia crime family for two decades until his assassination. Bruno was known as "the Gentle Don" due to h ...

Early life

Giuseppe Ida was born on 6 November 1890 in

Fiumara Fiumara ( Reggino: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about northeast of Reggio Calabria. Fiumara borders the following municip ...

, a municipality in

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, Italy. In 1919 Ida came to America, settled in

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west.Salvatore Sabella Salvatore Sabella (; July 7, 1891 – 1962) was an Italian-born crime boss of the Philadelphia crime family in the 1920s. Early life Sabella was born in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, on July 7, 1891, who became a butcher's apprentice as a youn ...

, the sub-boss John "Nazzone" Avena and the

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 ...

Giuseppe "Joe Bruno" Dovi of the local organization. In 1927, Ida, Sabella and three other gangsters were charged with the murder of two of their rivals, but none of the accused was convicted.

Rise to power

Sabella retired in 1931 and John Avena headed the organization until he was murdered in a drive-by shoot in the summer of 1936, and Giuseppe Dovi became the new boss. Ida was named the new underboss by Dovi. In 1946, Dovi died of natural causes in a hospital in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and Ida was appointed new head by the so-called Mafia Commission. Under his leadership, the family gained far more power; he had driven the Jewish mobsters out of their territories, putting an end to the Jewish mob in Philadelphia and

South Jersey South Jersey comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey located between the lower Delaware River and the Atlantic Ocean. The designation of South Jersey with a distinct toponym is a colloquialism rather than an administrativ ...

. Ida and his organization were heavily influenced by the bosses of the five families; the Luciano crime family in particular sought to influence the activities of other families. As the Philadelphia family gained more power in Atlantic City and southern Jersey, it was already seen as a larger faction of the Luciano family, under the influence of Underboss

Vito Genovese Vito Genovese (; November 21, 1897 – February 14, 1969) was an Italian-born American mobster who mainly operated in the United States. Genovese rose to power during Prohibition as an enforcer in the American Mafia. A long-time associate and chi ...

. Ida and his under boss Dominick "Big Dom" Oliveto were among the around 100 mafia members who took part in the legendary Apalachin meeting in 1957; a gathering of almost all the bosses of the American Cosa Nostra in November 1957, which took place in the community of Apalachin in the State of New York and was stormed by the local police. A total of 62 people were briefly arrested and identified; including Ida and Oliveto. Oliveto withdrew and shortly after Ida was charged with drug trafficking and fled to Italy in 1958. During his absence, Oliveto's successor

Antonio Pollina Antonio Domenico "Mr. Miggs" Pollina (September 20, 1892 – February 27, 1993) was an Italian-American mobster and former de facto boss of the Philadelphia crime family. Early life Antonio Pollina was born in Caccamo, Sicily and became a natural ...

appointed acting boss; however, was deposed by the commission in 1959 and Angelo "The Gentle Don" Bruno was appointed new boss of the family.National Crime Syndicate - ''How Did Angelo Bruno Get Killed? – Death Photos''
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ida, Joseph 1890 births Year of death missing People from the Province of Reggio Calabria Italian emigrants to the United States Italian crime bosses