Giuseppe Profaci (1897 - 1962)

Born 2 Oct 1897 in Villabate, Palermo, Sicilia, Italia

Husband of Ninfa (Magliocco) Profaci — married 29 Apr 1928 (to 6 Jun 1962) in Brooklyn, New York, United States

Died 6 Jun 1962 at age 64 in New York, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Justin Cascio [send private message]

Biography

On 3 October 1897 in Villabate, Salvatore Proface, age 36 (b. 1861), traficante (dealer), reports the birth on 2 October of a baby to his wife, Rosalia Schillaci, in their home in Villabate. The baby is a boy and is named Giuseppe.^[1][2]

He is suspected of already being involved in the Mafia in Sicily, where he serves a year in a Palermo prison for theft.^[3] He was also charged with rape.^[4]

Joe Profaci immigrates from Sicily on 4 September 1921 on the SS Providence.^[5] Capeci incorrectly claims that he is traveling with future boss Vincent Mangano and Vincent's brother and father.^[6] A search on SteveMorse.org for a matching travel date finds the SS Providence departing Palermo on 24 August 1921 and arriving 4 September 1921 in New York. Appearing on the manifest are:

10. Gaetano Mangano, 39 (b. 1882), married, a merchant, leaves his wife Giovanna Giannone behind in Palermo. Destination NY, his brother in law Francesco Giannone, at 25 West Broadway (near World Trade Center site in Tribeca)

11. Vincent Mangano, son, 14 (b. 1907), student Dest NY as above. “Claims US born”. Giovanna Giannone is his mother.

12. Giuseppe Profaci, 24 (b. 1897), single, merchant, leaves his father, Giuseppe behind in Palermo. Dest NY, his cousin Calogero Profaci at 225 Elizabeth St (in lower Manhattan near Little Italy).^[7]

On his 1921 trip, Giuseppe says he is going to New York City to join a cousin. However, he soon moves to Chicago, and lives there until sometime after his return trip to Italy in 1925.

On the SS Leonardo Da Vinci sailing from Palermo on 25 May 1925 and arriving in the port of Boston on 8 June 1925:

8. Giuseppe Profaci, age 28 (b. 1897), single, laborer, last permanent residence Chicago IL, father Salvatore Profaci in Villabate is his nearest relative in Italy, is going back to Chicago. He paid his own way, has $25, was previously in the US from 1920-25 in Illinois, is joining his cousin Giuseppe Provenzano at 846 Cambridge Ave in Chicago. Stands 5’7”, has a mole on his lip, born in Villabate, Italy.^[8]

When he relocates to Brooklyn, New York, in 1925, he enters the olive oil import business, earning his nickname, "The Olive Oil King." Joseph starts two businesses in Brooklyn: the Sunshine Shortening Corporation and the Mama Mia Olive Oil Company. Sunshine passes to his sons on his death, moves to New Jersey in 1976, and is finally absorbed into Mama Mia.^[9]

Profaci's relationship with Vincent Mangano allows him to build relationships with other gang leaders in New York. Besides his legitimate operation in olive oil import, Profaci is also involved in extortion, bootlegging, counterfeiting, prostitution, loan sharking, narcotics trafficking, and gambling.^[6]

Joe Profaci, age 29 (b. 1898), petitions to be naturalized in Brooklyn, NY, on 27 September 1927.^[10]

The naturalization record for Joe Profaci available online has covered his name on the first page, but it's visible on the second. His immigration information matches the Providence: 4 September 1921. He was born 2 October 1897 in Villabate, Italy. He declared his intention to become a citizen on 12 March 1924 in Chicago. He has lived in the US continuously from his immigration in 1921 until 14 May 1926. Declaration of intention no. 154662 filed 7 June.

There are affidavits from Gerlando Casasa, a baker who lives at 115? Nostrand Av, and Arthur Massolo, an insurance agent who lives at 6219 10th Av, both in Brooklyn. They sign on 7 June 1927.

The second page gives the Certificate of Naturalization No. 2513370, issued 27 September 1927.^[11]

Giuseppe Profaci and Ninfa Magliocco, both of 279 Bay 11th St in Brooklyn, are united in marriage on 29 April 1928 by a Roman Catholic priest at Our Lady of Peace Church in Brooklyn before witnesses Michele De Pisa and Margaret Italiano. The certificate is stamped RECEIVED on 2 May 1928. It is the first marriage for them both. Giuseppe is 30, an importer, born in Palermo, son of Salvatore Profaci and Rosalia Schillaci. Ninfa is 24, also born in Palermo, Italy, the daughter of Giovanni Magliocco and Carmela Fontana. The celebrants and witnesses sign their names. Michele signs it “Mike Dipisa.”^[12]

Nina’s brother, Joseph, is Profaci’s long time underboss.^[5]

In December 1928, Profaci attends the Cleveland Mafia summit, at which his Brooklyn crime family is formally recognized by his peers.

While in Cleveland, he is arrested for bootlegging.^[6]

In the 1930 federal census of Brooklyn, ED 24-1472, taken 17 April, Joseph Profaci, age 32 (b. 1898), heads a household with his wife, Ninfa, 26 (b. 1904). They married two years previously. They own their home, which is worth $14,000. Joseph immigrated in 1921, and Ninfa in 1918. Both are naturalized citizens. He is a sales manager for a spaghetti manufacturer.^[13] ED-1472, AD 16, is bounded by Bay 8th, Cropsey Ave, 16th Ave, and Gravesend Bay in Brooklyn.

Joe and Nina have six children: Rosalie (c. 1930), Carmella (c. 1932), Salvatore Joseph (1936), John J. (1937), Dominic J. (1938), and Joseph (1942).^[9]

Neutral in the Castellammarese War, Profaci is rewarded by Lucky Luciano with a seat on the Commission.^[6]

On the SS Prince David, sailing from New York on 5 December 1936 and arriving in New York [sic] on 18 December 1936, the manifest list of US citizens includes:

30. Joseph Profaci, 38 (b. 1898), married, naturalized in Brooklyn on 27 September 1927, returning to his home at 8863 15th Ave, Brooklyn, NY.^[14]

In the 1940 federal census of Brooklyn AD 16, ED 24-1768, taken 2 April, Giuseppe Proface, 42 (b. 1898), heads a household at 8863 15th Ave with his wife Ninfa, 36 (b. 1904), both born in Italy, and their children Rosalind, 10 (b. 1930), Carmela, 8 (b. 1932), Salvatore, 4 (b. 1936), John, 3 (b. 1937), and Dominic, 2 (b. 1938), all born in New York. Giuseppe owns his home. He is self-employed as an importer of Italian goods.^[15]

Giuseppe S. Profaci registers for the draft for WWII on 15 February 1942. He lives at 8863 15th Ave., Brooklyn, NY. He has home and business phones. He is 44 years old, born 2 October 1897 in Villabate, Sicily, Italy. His contact is Ninfa Profaci at the same home address. His employer is Mama Mia Importing Inc at 1414 65th St., Brooklyn, NY. Giuseppe is 5’6” and 185# with brown eyes and hair and a sallow complexion.^[16]

Olive oil is a rationed food in the latter years of World War II, when trade embargoes make it impossible to source legitimate, Italian olive oil. Demand skyrockets after the war.^[6]

Rosalie marries Anthony Zerilli, son of Joseph Zerilli, late head of a Detroit Mafia faction.^[9]

In the 1950 federal census of ED 24-1354 in Brooklyn, taken 10 April, Joseph Profaci, age 50 (b. 1900), heads a household at 8863 15th Ave with his wife, Ninfa, 46 (b. 1904), both born in Italy, and children Carmella, 17 (b. 1933), Salvatore, 13 (b. 1937), John, 12 (b. 1938), Dominick, 11 (b. 1939), and Joseph, 7 (b. 1943), all born in New York.^[17]

Carmella marries Anthony J. Tocco, son of Guglielmo (William) “Black Bill” Tocco, another Detroit mob leader.^[9]

Profaci and his underboss, brother-in-law Joseph Magliocco are two of dozens of high level Mafia members arrested at Apalachin in 1957.^[6][18]

In 1959, a shipment of Sicilian oranges Joe Profaci is recorded discussing on the phone, turns out to be wax fruit covering 110 lbs of pure heroin.^[6]

Profaci and Joe Bonanno are close friends. Their families visit each other often. Profaci’s niece Rosalie marries Joe's son, Salvatore "Bill" Bonanno.^[6][18]

Profaci's territory is Long Island, where he has a home that was previously owned by former US President Theodore Roosevelt. ^[6]

By 1960, Profaci and Magliocco have held uncontested power for thirty years. Profaci's alliances with Bonanno, Magaddino, Detroit, and Mangano, are credited with Profaci's lengthy career.^[5][3]

Profaci is a devout Catholic who makes many donations to Catholic charities.

He does not pay his taxes.

Death of Joe

Profaci dies at the age of 64, of cancer, on 6 June 1962^[19][18], six months after the death of Lucky Luciano. (The American Mafia History site gives his date of death on the seventh.)^[6] A sculpture of St. Aloysius, bearing a cross and clutching a skull, stands atop Joe Profaci’s mausoleum.^[20]

John Jr. begins an olive oil import business, Colavita USA, in 1978.^[21]

Ninfa dies at age 86 on 11 October 1990 in New York.^[22]

Sources

1. ↑ Atto di nascita, Giuseppe Proface. (1897, October 3). Record no. 133. "Italia, Palermo, Palermo, Stato Civile (Tribunale), 1866-1910," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L971-H9QB-C?cc=2051639&wc=MCT9-92S%3A351055601%2C353776201%2C353786501 : 22 May 2014), Palermo > Villabate > Nati, pubblicazioni, matrimoni, cittadinanze, morti 1879, 1886, 1890-1895, 1897 > image 1188 of 1209; Tribunale di Cagliari (Cagliari Court, Cagliari).
2. ↑ Joe Profaci. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Profaci Accessed 6 April 2017.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Joe Profaci Biography. http://www.nationalcrimesyndicate.com/joe-profaci-biography/ Accessed 6 April 2017.
4. ↑ Critchley, D. (2009). The origin of organized crime in America: The New York City Mafia, 1891-1931. Routledge.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} Capeci, Jerry. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Mafia. Penguin, 4 Jan 2005. P. 302.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9} Giuseppe "Joe" Profaci. http://americanmafiahistory.com/giuseppe-joe-profaci/ Accessed 5 April 2017.
7. ↑ Accessed via SteveMorse.org on 5 April 2017
8. ↑ The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC; Series Title: Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving At Boston, Massachusetts, 1891-1943; NAI Number: T843; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; Record Group Number: 85; Series Number: T843; NARA Roll Number: 300 Month or Roll: 300 Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists, 1820-1963 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2006.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3} Conohan, S. and Goldstein, R. (1983, February 27). Profaci family empire continuing. Asbury Park Press (Asbury Park, NJ). P. 41. https://www.newspapers.com/image/144299005/
10. ↑ Declaration of Intention No. 154662, issued in Cook County, 12 March 1924. No children. Ancestry.com. U.S. Naturalization Records Indexes, 1794-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007.
11. ↑ National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, DC; ARC Title: Index to Petitions for Naturalizations Filed in Federal, State, and Local Courts in New York City, 1792-1906; NAI Number: 5700802; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States, 1685-2009; Record Group Number: RG 21
12. ↑ Certificate and record of marriage, Giuseppe Profaci and Ninfa Magliocco. (1928, Apri 29). Certificate no. 5145. Brooklyn. New York City Municipal Archives. NYC Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS). https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/view/9286815 Accessed 27 October 2022
13. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X4J1-JTG : accessed 7 April 2017), Joseph Profaci, Brooklyn (Districts 1251-1500), Kings, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 1472, sheet 1A, line 18, family 4, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 1526; FHL microfilm 2,341,261.
14. ↑ "New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-G5FC-SS39?cc=1923888&wc=MFK3-YP8%3A1030047801 : 2 October 2015), 5913 - vol 12717-12718, Dec 17, 1936 > image 411 of 786; citing NARA microfilm publication T715 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
15. ↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9MY-P2D5?cc=2000219&wc=QZXR-H7C%3A790105101%2C795835101%2C804038401%2C804117101 : accessed 28 October 2022), New York > Kings > New York City, Brooklyn, Assembly District 16 > 24-1768 New York City, Brooklyn Borough Assembly District 16 (Tract 168 - part) > image 1 of 10; citing Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012.
16. ↑ National Archives at St. Louis; St. Louis, Missouri; WWII Draft Registration Cards for New York City, 10/16/1940 - 03/31/1947; Record Group: Records of the Selective Service System, 147 Name Range: Priola, Leo-Scimone, Frank Ancestry.com. U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
17. ↑ FamilySearch accessed 28 October 2022. “Joseph Profaci,” “Brooklyn,” “Ninfa.” No citation available. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QHK-9QHW-MS79-C?personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3A6XTL-1QSB
18. ↑ ^{18.0 18.1 18.2} Profaci one of 1st bosses. (1983, February 27). Asbury Park Press (Asbury Park, NJ). P. 41. https://www.newspapers.com/image/144299005/
19. ↑ "New York State Health Department, Genealogical Research Death Index, 1957-1963," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2CHY-B3K : 9 December 2014), Joseph Profaci, 06 Jun 1962; citing Death, , New York State Department of Health—Vital Records Section, Albany.
20. ↑ ‘Olive Oil King’ Joseph Profaci. Gardens of Stone. Published 20 June 2011. Accessed http://www.gardens-of-stone.com/2011/06/olive-oil-king-joseph-profaci.html 6 April 2017.
21. ↑ La Gorce, Tammy. “Oil Baron: Jersey-Made Extra Virgin Olive Oil.” New Jersey Monthly. Published 11 Dec 2012. https://njmonthly.com/articles/jersey-living/oil-baron/ Accessed 5 April 2017.
22. ↑ "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JK2V-Z6J : 19 May 2014), Ninfa Profaci, 11 Oct 1990; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).