Jimmy Fratianno

Aladena James "Jimmy" Fratianno[1] (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 become an informant and entered the Witness Protection Program in 1980. He admitted to having killed five people. Later in life, he became a writer.

Jimmy Fratianno
Mugshot of Jimmy Fratianno
Born
Aladena Fratianno

(1913-11-14)November 14, 1913
Naples, Campania, Italy
DiedJune 29, 1993(1993-06-29) (aged 79)
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma U.S.
NationalityItalian
Other namesJimmy the Weasel
CitizenshipAmerican
OccupationMobster
Spouse(s)
Jean Fratianno
(
m. 1975)
AllegianceLos Angeles crime family
Conviction(s)Robbery (1937)
Attempted extortion (1954)
Murder (1977)
Criminal penaltySeven years' imprisonment (1937)
Six years and three months' imprisonment (1954)
Five years' imprisonment (1977)

Early life

Fratianno was born in Naples, Italy, in 1913, later immigrating with his family to the United States, settling near Cleveland, Ohio. He was first arrested at the age of 19, on suspicion of rape, but was not charged. Two years later, he was acquitted of robbery charges, but in 1937, was convicted of robbery and spent more than seven years in an Ohio state prison.[2] Fratianno earned his nickname "Weasel" as a boy when from running from the police in the Little Italy section of Cleveland. A chase witness shouted "Look at that weasel run!" and the police quickly attached the nickname to his criminal record, falsely believing it was his alias. He was paroled in 1945, and moved to Los Angeles, California, where he associated with underworld figure Mickey Cohen.[2]

In 1951, he was arrested but later released in connection with the gangland-style slaying of two mobsters believed to have plotted to kill Cohen. In 1954, Fratianno was convicted of attempted extortion; he served 6 years and 3 months, mostly at San Quentin State Prison. In 1968, he pleaded guilty to charges stemming from phony pay agreements with drivers at a trucking company he owned, and in 1971 he entered another guilty plea, this time for extortion.[2] Fratianno married Jean in 1975, whom he had met in an airport in 1966.[2]

International connections

Fratianno was known to have global connections. One such connection was with Australian organised crime figures. In 1976, Australian criminal Murray Riley met with Fratianno in San Francisco, allegedly, to organize drug shipments.[3][4] The same year, Sydney businessman Bela Csidei also met with Fratianno in San Francisco.[5][4] The FBI took photographs of this meeting.[6]

Fratianno also associated with Australian/Hungarian transport magnate and managing director of Thomas Nationwide Transport, Peter Abeles.[7] Through Fratianno's connections with Teamsters and Longshoremen's unions, particularly with Rudy Tham, a San Francisco Teamsters leader, Abeles was able to use his company to smuggle drugs in and out of the U.S.,[7] as well as reduce industrial tensions on the waterfront.[8]

Acting Boss
Fratianno (left) with Frank Bompensiero.

In 1975, the boss of the Los Angeles family, Dominic Brooklier, was sent to prison, and Louis Tom Dragna was made acting boss. He accepted the position on the condition that he run the family together with Fratianno. Fratianno accepted the proposal with the understanding that he would carry the majority of the responsibility.[9]

Soon after, he was approached by Dragna in regards to having Frank Bompensiero murdered.[10] Bompensiero was one of the few made men that Fratianno trusted, as they were old friends, and he was infuriated that the Los Angeles family would give him such a 'contract'. At this point Fratianno felt that he was tricked into becoming Acting Boss, a position which required him to be transferred from the Chicago Outfit back to the Los Angeles family. Because of his close relationship with Bompensiero, it was assumed that Fratianno could easily lay a trap and murder him. Fratianno stalled until the contract was given to other mob associates.[11]

Brooklier returned from prison in October 1976 after serving 16 months.[12] After a transition period he called Fratianno to a meeting some time before February 11, 1977 and announced he was ready to resume his position as Boss. Fratianno was once again a soldier.

Last stages of Mafia career

Some time between February 11 and May 16, 1977, Brooklier summoned Fratianno to a meeting and confronted him about a rumor that Fratianno was running a separate 'crew' in the Los Angeles territory and saying, "Jimmy, you've got a bad mouth, like [Bompensiero]..."[13] In June 1977, Fratianno learned that Brooklier had started a rumor that he had never made Fratianno Acting Boss and that Fratianno was misrepresenting himself. Fratianno began to suspect that Brooklier was trying to poison his reputation within the Mafia thus laying the groundwork for a sanctioned hit, or execution, of himself.[14] Then at the wake for Tony Delsanter, Fratianno learned that the Cleveland family had a connection in the FBI, a clerk, that was feeding them documents about Mafia informants. James Licavoli told him that the Cleveland family had the code numbers for two informants and that the FBI clerk was working on getting their names.[15]

Government witness and later life

On October 6, 1977, Danny Greene was killed by a car bomb in Ohio, and Ray Ferritto was arrested for the murder. Ferritto implicated Fratianno in the planning of the murder, and Fratianno was indicted for charges related to the bombing.[2] Fearing for his safety, Fratianno agreed to become a government witness against the Mafia. In return for his testimony, he pleaded guilty to the murder charges and received a five-year prison sentence, of which he served 21 months.[2]

In 1980, after testifying for the government that led to the racketeering convictions of five reputed Mafia figures, Fratianno entered the federal Witness Protection Program.[2] Fratianno claimed that the Mafia had a $100,000 contract on his life.[2] In 1987, after he published two biographies, The Last Mafioso (1980) with author Ovid Demaris and Vengeance is Mine (1987) with author Michael J. Zuckerman, Fratianno was expelled from Witness Protection after the Justice Department noted that it had spent almost $1 million on the Fratiannos in 10 years.[2]

On June 29, 1993, Fratianno died in of natural causes in his home in an undisclosed U.S. city,[2] believed to be Oklahoma City.[16] His wife Jean had said that he suffered from Alzheimer's Disease, as well as a series of strokes.[2]

Murders

Fratianno had admitted to committing five murders:[2]

  • Frank Niccoli - Niccoli was a bodyguard and collector for mob boss Mickey Cohen. Following Jack Dragna's orders, Fratianno tried to convince Niccoli to leave Cohen and join Dragn'a mob, but Niccoli refused. In a few minutes, Fratianno and Joseph Dippolito strangled Niccoli to death.[17] (1949)
  • Frank Borgia - Borgia was a Los Angeles winemaker/former bootlegger and was a member of the Los Angeles crime family, according to Fratianno. Borgia was resisting an extortion attempt from Gaspare Matranga and Dragna. Bompensiero and Fratianno had a friend of Borgia's bring him to a house. Then Fratianno and Bompensiero strangled Borgia with a rope and other mobsters buried him.[18] (1951)[19]
  • Anthony Brancato - Brancato and his criminal associate Tony Trombino were two young mobsters who were performing robberies in Los Angeles and Las Vegas without the sanction of the Los Angeles family. Jack Dragna told Jimmy Fratianno they needed to be "clipped", and asked Jimmy to set "something up". Within a few days, Fratianno set up the Two Tonys and killed them in their car.[20] (August 6, 1951)
  • Anthony Trombino - see Anthony Brancato.[20] (August 6, 1951)
  • Louis Strauss - Louis (Russian Louie) Strauss was a former casino owner in Lake Tahoe, and a mob connected man who was trying to extort money from Las Vegas casino owner Benny Binion, a friend of Dragna's. Fratianno set Strauss up by befriending him in Las Vegas, and telling Louis he had $10,000 cash in Los Angesles he would loan him. After driving to Los Angeles with Fratianno, Strauss then walked into a house, where Bompensiero and Fratianno surprised him with a rope, and strangled him to death.[21] (1953)

Fratianno is portrayed by Joseph Riccobene in Martin Scorsese's crime film The Irishman (2019).[22]

References
  1. "Aladena Fratianno, Mobster-Informer, 79". The New York Times. July 2, 1993. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  2. "'Jimmy the Weasel' Fratianno; Mob Figure, Informant". latimes.com. July 1, 1993.
  3. Bob Bottom (1984). Without Fear or Favour (pp. 74–75). Victoria, Australia: Sun Books.
  4. "Evan Whitton: Can of Worms II - 6. Biographies".
  5. Bob Bottom (1984). Without Fear or Favour (p.75). Victoria, Australia: Sun Books.
  6. Bob Bottom (1984). Without Fear or Favour (pics at pp. 58–59). Victoria, Australia: Sun Books.
  7. Tony Reeves (2007). Mr Sin: The Abe Saffron Dossier (pp. 83–85). NSW, Australia: Allen & Unwin.
  8. John Pilger (1992). A Secret Country (pp. 256–257). NSW, Australia: Vintage.
  9. Demaris, Ovid. The Last Mafioso: The Treacherous World of Jimmy Fratianno." Bantam Books, 1981, p.284
  10. Demaris, Ovid. The Last Mafioso: The Treacherous World of Jimmy Fratianno." Bantam Books, 1981, p.295
  11. Demaris, Ovid. The Last Mafioso: The Treacherous World of Jimmy Fratianno." Bantam Books, 1981, p.298
  12. Demaris, Ovid. The Last Mafioso: The Treacherous World of Jimmy Fratianno." Bantam Books, 1981, p.361
  13. Demaris, Ovid. The Last Mafioso: The Treacherous World of Jimmy Fratianno." Bantam Books, 1981, p.375
  14. Demaris, Ovid. The Last Mafioso: The Treacherous World of Jimmy Fratianno." Bantam Books, 1981, p.391
  15. Demaris, Ovid. The Last Mafioso: The Treacherous World of Jimmy Fratianno." Bantam Books, 1981, p.395
  16. https://newsok.com/article/2443193/oklahoma-city-among-worlds-best-hideouts
  17. "Jimmy Fratianno" Videosurf
  18. "Frank Bompensiero" Crime Magazine
  19. "Winemaker's Fate Mystery" Los Angeles Times December 27, 1951
  20. "The Two Tonys" Archived 2010-01-03 at the Wayback Machine Allan May Crime Magazine
  21. "Frank Bompensiero: San Diego Hitman, Boss & FBI Informant (Part One)" Allan May Crime Magazine
  22. The Irishman Full Cast & Crew at IMDb

Further reading
  • Lewis, Brad. Hollywood's Celebrity Gangster. The Incredible Life and Times of Mickey Cohen. New York: Enigma Books, 2007. ISBN 978-1-929631-65-0
  • Moldea, Dan E. Dark Victory: Ronald Reagan, MCA, and the Mob. New York: Penguin Books, 1987. ISBN 0-14-010478-X
  • Neff, James. Mobbed Up: Jackie Presser's High-Wire Life in the Teamsters, the Mafia, and the FBI. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1989. ISBN 0-87113-344-X
  • Pizzo, Stephen; Fricker, Mary; and Muolo, Paul. Inside Job: The Looting of America's Savings and Loans. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1989. ISBN 0-07-050230-7

Jimmy Fratianno at Find a Grave

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