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Born in Italy · Nationalities Italian, American — crime / mafias / terrorism / criminal cases — organised crime

Joe Profaci

Organised crime and cartels Violent crime and serial killers

Documented profile covering 9 controversies, including “1928–1962: Leadership of Profaci crime family and protection/extortion activities attributed to organisation” and “1953: Tax dispute over approximately $1.5 million in unpaid taxes”.

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Profile No. 2178 · Updated on 12 October 2026

9Documented controversies

7Sources

1 followed by a conviction

§ Legal statuses reflect the documented sources as of the date shown; they replace neither court decisions nor the presumption of innocence. Counts are not a rating. Methodology

I. Documented controversies

1928–1962

1928–1962: Leadership of Profaci crime family and protection/extortion activities attributed to organisation

No legal proceedings

Profaci founded and led the criminal organisation that later became the Colombo family for more than three decades. Historical sources attribute revenues from protection rackets, extortion, gambling and other clandestine activities to the organisation.

State of the evidence: Documented
Attribution: Directly implicated

Sources · 2

[1]
National Crime SyndicateJoe Profaci Biography: The Olive Oil KingSecondary sourceMedium reliability
[2]
U.S. Senate / Google BooksInvestigation of Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce — New York/New Jersey hearingsParliamentary recordVery high reliability

Last verified: 14 September 2026

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1953–1962

1953: Tax dispute over approximately $1.5 million in unpaid taxes

Civil / administrative proceedings

Historical accounts of Profaci indicate that in 1953 the IRS sought more than $1.5 million in unpaid income tax from him and that the debt was still reportedly outstanding at his death in 1962.

State of the evidence: Documented
Attribution: Directly implicated

Sources · 2

[1]
Wikipedia — source aggregationJoe ProfaciSecondary sourceMedium reliability
[2]
National Crime SyndicateJoe Profaci Biography: The Olive Oil KingSecondary sourceMedium reliability

Last verified: 14 September 2026

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1959–1962

1959–1962: Internal war with Gallo brothers, disputed tribute demands and killings/attempts attributed to Profaci faction

No legal proceedings

The murder of bookmaker Frank Abbatemarco, heavy tribute demands within the family and disputes over racketeering proceeds contributed to the Gallo brothers' rebellion. In 1961, after several Profaci associates were kidnapped, historical sources attributed Joseph Gioielli's killing and an attempted strangling of Larry Gallo to the Profaci faction.

State of the evidence: Documented
Attribution: Directly implicated

Sources · 2

[1]
Wikipedia — source aggregationJoseph Profaci — First Colombo WarSecondary sourceMedium reliability
[2]
National Crime SyndicateJoe Profaci Biography: The Olive Oil KingSecondary sourceMedium reliability

Last verified: 14 September 2026

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1954–12 January 1960

1954–1960: Citizenship revoked at first instance, then ruling overturned on appeal

Civil / administrative proceedings

The government sought to revoke Profaci's naturalisation, alleging that he had concealed his Italian arrest and conviction. The district court revoked his citizenship, but the Second Circuit overturned the decision in 1960 and ordered dismissal, finding that intentional fraud had not been established by sufficiently clear and convincing evidence.

Attribution: Directly implicated

Sources · 1

[1]
U.S. Court of Appeals / JustiaUnited States v. Profaci, 274 F.2d 289 (2d Cir. 1960)Court decisionVery high reliability

Last verified: 14 September 2026

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January–28 November 1960

1960: Five-year sentence following Apalachin, subsequently quashed in its entirety on appeal

Acquitted / conviction overturned

Profaci and other Apalachin participants were convicted of an alleged conspiracy to obstruct justice and lie about the meeting. The Second Circuit quashed the convictions and ordered dismissal, finding that the inferences were insufficient and no criminal purpose had been proven.

State of the evidence: Established by a court
Attribution: Accused

Sources · 1

[1]
U.S. Court of Appeals / JustiaUnited States v. Bufalino et al., 285 F.2d 408 (2d Cir. 1960)Court decisionVery high reliability

Last verified: 14 September 2026

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1956–1959

1956–1959: Suspected heroin trafficking through orange crates — documented seizure, no prosecution of Profaci

No legal proceedings

Historical accounts report that a recorded conversation between Profaci and Sicilian mafioso Antonio Cottone concerned orange exports; in 1959, customs intercepted a crate containing wax oranges filled with approximately 110 pounds of heroin.

Attribution: Personally implicated

Sources · 2

[1]
Wikipedia — source aggregationJoe ProfaciSecondary sourceMedium reliability
[2]
National Crime SyndicateJoe Profaci Biography: The Olive Oil KingSecondary sourceMedium reliability

Last verified: 14 September 2026

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14 November 1957

1957: Attendance at Apalachin Mafia summit and questioning during police dispersal

Investigation

Profaci was among the dozens of organised crime figures identified by police at a meeting at Joseph Barbara's home in Apalachin. The FBI explicitly recorded his presence among the major bosses stopped or questioned as participants dispersed.

State of the evidence: Documented
Attribution: Directly implicated

Sources · 2

[1]
Federal Bureau of InvestigationJoe’s Barbeque Cooks the MobOfficial documentVery high reliability
[2]
U.S. Court of Appeals / JustiaUnited States v. Bufalino et al., 285 F.2d 408 (2d Cir. 1960)Court decisionVery high reliability

Last verified: 14 September 2026

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1951

1951: Testimony before Kefauver Committee on organised crime

No legal proceedings

Profaci was among the witnesses in the major Kefauver Senate investigation into organised crime in the New York–New Jersey area, focusing particularly on gambling, bookmaking and racketeering networks.

State of the evidence: Documented
Attribution: Protagonist is a witness

Sources · 1

[1]
U.S. Senate / Google BooksInvestigation of Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce — New York/New Jersey hearingsParliamentary recordVery high reliability

Last verified: 14 September 2026

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1920

1920: Conviction for forgery in Sicily and one-year sentence, subsequently central to US naturalisation dispute

Conviction

The US federal appellate court noted that Profaci's arrest in Sicily led to a forgery conviction in 1920 and a one-year sentence in Palermo. This previous conviction subsequently became central to efforts to revoke his US citizenship.

State of the evidence: Established by a court
Attribution: Directly implicated

Sources · 1

[1]
U.S. Court of Appeals / JustiaUnited States v. Profaci, 274 F.2d 289 (2d Cir. 1960)Court decisionVery high reliability

Last verified: 14 September 2026

Add to this entry

II. Constellation of documented links

No documented link with another published profile for now.

Two profiles are linked when a documented controversy of one names the other. The link points to that controversy and its sources; it does not indicate a personal relationship.

III. Has something changed?

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