Joe Profaci: The Olive Oil King and Patriarch of the Colombo Crime Family

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In the annals of American organized crime, few figures bridged the old-world traditions of Sicilian rural clans and the corporate modernization of the U.S. underworld quite like Giuseppe “Joe” Profaci (1897–1962). For over three decades, Profaci reigned as the undisputed boss of one of New York City’s original five mafia families—later known as the Colombo crime family.

Renowned publicly as a pious, God-fearing importer of olive oil and religious goods, Profaci secretly operated as a calculated patriarch who combined devout Catholicism with ruthless syndicated racketeering.

Key Profile Data

• Lifespan: October 2, 1897 – June 6, 1962
• Role: Boss of the Profaci crime family (later the Colombo family) from 1928 until 1962
• Core Operations: Olive oil importation, wholesale food distribution, labor racketeering, extortion, narcotics, and gambling in Brooklyn and New York
• Significance: A founding member of the American Mafia Commission who established one of New York’s enduring criminal dynasties through strict clan loyalty and traditional Sicilian values.

1. Roots in Villabate and Emigration to America

Born in Villabate, a town in the province of Palermo, Sicily, in 1897, Joe Profaci grew up immersed in the traditional mafia culture of western Sicily.

• Early Criminal Involvement: As a young man in Sicily, Profaci developed local underworld ties before serving a brief prison sentence for extortion in the early 1920s.
• Arrival in New York: Seeking new opportunities amid the tightening grip of Italian law enforcement, Profaci emigrated to the United States in 1921, settling first in Chicago before permanently relocating to Brooklyn, New York, by the late 1920s. Utilizing his deep Sicilian connections, he quickly transitioned from grocery importing into legitimate and illegitimate commercial enterprises.

2. Rise to Power: The Profaci Crime Family

Following the bloody chaos of the Castellammarese War (1930–1931)—which reshaped the New York underworld—Profaci solidified his control over his Brooklyn-based faction.

• The Peacemaker and Corporate Boss: Profaci was a founding member of the National Crime Syndicate’s Commission, sitting alongside heavyweights like Lucky Luciano, Frank Costello, and Salvatore Maranzano. Unlike volatile gangsters who relied solely on reckless violence, Profaci favored stability, economic diversification, and institutionalized rackets.
• The “Olive Oil King”: Profaci anchored his financial empire in legitimate businesses, most notably Mamma Mia Importing Company, a massive olive oil and cheese distribution network. While his imported goods business was real, federal authorities later discovered it served as a lucrative front and shipping conduit for contraband and narcotics trafficking.
• Pious Patronage: Profaci cultivated an image of intense philanthropy and religious devotion. He regularly donated large sums to Catholic churches, funded community events, and maintained close ties with clergy members—all while overseeing loan sharking, extortion, and numbers rackets across Brooklyn.

3. Internal Revolt: The Gallo-Profaci War

Despite his polished facade as a grandfatherly patriarch, Profaci’s autocratic leadership style and heavy financial demands eventually triggered a violent internal rebellion within his own family.

• The Grievances: Younger, more aggressive crew members—led by Joe Gallo (“Crazy Joe”) and his brothers—resented Profaci’s heavy-handed tax demands on their criminal earnings and his refusal to share lucrative territory.
• Open Warfare: In 1961, the Gallo crew kidnapped top members of Profaci’s inner circle, setting off the bloody Gallo-Profaci War. The internal civil war tore the family apart, resulting in multiple murders, defections, and intense police scrutiny that embarrassed the broader Commission.

4. Death and Legacy

Before the internal gang war could be decisively resolved, Joe Profaci’s health deteriorated rapidly. He died of cancer on June 6, 1962, at the age of 64.

Profaci left behind a multi-million-dollar estate and a deeply entrenched criminal organization. Following his death, leadership of the family shifted through turbulent successions, eventually evolving into the Colombo crime family under subsequent bosses like Joseph Colombo. Profaci remains remembered in criminal history as the archetype of the old-world Sicilian boss who successfully fused corporate commercial fronts with traditional clan governance on American soil.