Joseph Civello
Encyclopedia
Joseph Francis Civello was a retailer of imported food and liquor in Dallas, Texas
, and, more notably, leader of the Dallas crime family
from 1956 until his death in 1970.
, Civello had moved to Dallas as early as July 1928 when he was arrested for the murder of Joe DeCarlo at the St. Paul Drug Store in Dallas. Reportedly, DeCarlo's dying words were that the close-range shotgun
blast to his abdomen
was accidental. Based on this information, a grand jury did not issue an indictment against Civello. Civello was an expert marksman and regularly participated in skeet shooting
competitions as a longtime member of the Dallas Gun and Skeet Club.
By the early 1930s, Civello had organized a crew (dubbed The Civello Gang by the Dallas Morning News) which included cousins Sam Civello, Louis Civello, Leon Civello, Frank Ianni, and Joe Cascio, among others. The gang operated as associates of Dallas' Piranio crime family, and was involved primarily with bootlegging
and narcotics trafficking
.
The Civello gang's main rival during this time was a Jewish gang
headed by Nathan Biegler. In 1935, when Biegler was sentenced to 10 years in Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary, another Jewish gangster, Louis "Big Daddy" Ginsberg, came to Dallas from Chicago
to reorganize the remnants of Biegler's gang. Both the Civello Gang and the Ginsberg Gang were heavily involved in the sale and distribution of morphine
and heroin. The Civellos collaborated almost exclusively with associates of Charles "Lucky" Luciano of New York City
, while the Ginsbergs' drugs came from mobsters in Chicago.
In January 1937, after a two-year undercover investigation, federal agents seized more than $150,000 of drugs and arrested members of both the Civello and Ginsberg gangs. It was called the biggest narcotics bust in Bureau of Narcotics
history. Ginsberg was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison which, at the time, was the longest sentence ever given for a drug crime in the United States. Civello was sentenced to 15 years in Leavenworth, and five others of the Civello gang were given lesser sentences.
activities in Dallas and quickly moved up within the Piranio family ranks. From its beginning, the Piranio crime family was a traditional mafia
organization, taking care to avoid unnecessary attention from the press and law enforcement. In fact, when family boss Joseph Piranio died at age 78, his obituary described him as a successful retired building contractor and family man; no mention was made of any involvement in the underworld. The low-key nature of the Dallas mob quickly changed once Civello assumed the reins as boss upon Piranio's death in 1956.
in Dallas for years to come. Following the assassination of Albert Anastasia
, chief of one of the Five Families
of New York, a meeting of mob leaders from cities throughout the United States and Canada was called in order to install Carlo Gambino
as Anastasia's successor. A suspiciously large number of black Cadillac
s and Lincolns
in and around Apalachin, New York
, the tiny Upstate New York
town where the mob conference was gathering, alerted local law enforcement to investigate. Over 60 underworld bosses were detained and indicted at the Apalachin Meeting
, including Civello. Noted federal judge Irving R. Kaufman
presided over the 1960 trial in which Civello was sentenced to five years for a conspiracy
charge stemming from the Apalachin meeting. Civello retained Houston defense attorney Percy Foreman
, and the conviction was reversed on appeal in 1961.
Civello was a close friend or associate of these powerful people
operated the Carousel Club, a strip club
in downtown Dallas. However, it is believed that Civello actually controlled the club, or at least controlled the possible gambling, loan sharking, prostitution, and narcotics income generated within the club. There is no proof of any involvement between Joseph Civello and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy
, however there are several facts which continue to cause speculation about such a conspiracy.
Civello died on January 17, 1970 in Dallas of natural causes. His obituary
indicated no children, but listed a wife, a brother and five sisters as survivors. He was buried at Calvary Hill Cemetery in Dallas.
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, and, more notably, leader of the Dallas crime family
Dallas crime family
The Dallas crime family is an American Mafia crime family based in Dallas, Texas. It was one of the member families of The Commission, the network of American Mafia families organized by Charles "Lucky" Luciano in 1931.-Early history:...
from 1956 until his death in 1970.
Early life
A native of Baton Rouge, LouisianaBaton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
, Civello had moved to Dallas as early as July 1928 when he was arrested for the murder of Joe DeCarlo at the St. Paul Drug Store in Dallas. Reportedly, DeCarlo's dying words were that the close-range shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
blast to his abdomen
Abdomen
In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
was accidental. Based on this information, a grand jury did not issue an indictment against Civello. Civello was an expert marksman and regularly participated in skeet shooting
Skeet shooting
Skeet shooting is one of the three major types of competitive shotgun target shooting sports . There are several types of skeet, including one with Olympic status , and many with only national recognition.- General principles :Skeet is a recreational and competitive activity where...
competitions as a longtime member of the Dallas Gun and Skeet Club.
By the early 1930s, Civello had organized a crew (dubbed The Civello Gang by the Dallas Morning News) which included cousins Sam Civello, Louis Civello, Leon Civello, Frank Ianni, and Joe Cascio, among others. The gang operated as associates of Dallas' Piranio crime family, and was involved primarily with bootlegging
Rum-running
Rum-running, also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law...
and narcotics trafficking
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
.
The Civello gang's main rival during this time was a Jewish gang
Jewish-American organized crime
Jewish-American organized crime , emerged during the late 19th century and early 20th century....
headed by Nathan Biegler. In 1935, when Biegler was sentenced to 10 years in Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary, another Jewish gangster, Louis "Big Daddy" Ginsberg, came to Dallas from Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
to reorganize the remnants of Biegler's gang. Both the Civello Gang and the Ginsberg Gang were heavily involved in the sale and distribution of morphine
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
and heroin. The Civellos collaborated almost exclusively with associates of Charles "Lucky" Luciano of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, while the Ginsbergs' drugs came from mobsters in Chicago.
In January 1937, after a two-year undercover investigation, federal agents seized more than $150,000 of drugs and arrested members of both the Civello and Ginsberg gangs. It was called the biggest narcotics bust in Bureau of Narcotics
Federal Bureau of Narcotics
The Federal Bureau of Narcotics was an agency of the United States Department of the Treasury. Established in the Department of the Treasury by an act of June 14, 1930 consolidating the functions of the Federal Narcotics Control Board and the Narcotic Division...
history. Ginsberg was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison which, at the time, was the longest sentence ever given for a drug crime in the United States. Civello was sentenced to 15 years in Leavenworth, and five others of the Civello gang were given lesser sentences.
Rise to power
After his release, Civello resumed his organized criminalOrganized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
activities in Dallas and quickly moved up within the Piranio family ranks. From its beginning, the Piranio crime family was a traditional mafia
American Mafia
The American Mafia , is an Italian-American criminal society. Much like the Sicilian Mafia, the American Mafia has no formal name and is a secret criminal society. Its members usually refer to it as Cosa Nostra or by its English translation "our thing"...
organization, taking care to avoid unnecessary attention from the press and law enforcement. In fact, when family boss Joseph Piranio died at age 78, his obituary described him as a successful retired building contractor and family man; no mention was made of any involvement in the underworld. The low-key nature of the Dallas mob quickly changed once Civello assumed the reins as boss upon Piranio's death in 1956.
Apalachin Meeting
One year after Civello ascended to power, he made a fateful trip that would shed a glaring light on him and La Cosa NostraMafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
in Dallas for years to come. Following the assassination of Albert Anastasia
Albert Anastasia
Albert Anastasia was boss of what is now called the Gambino crime family, one of New York City's Five Families, from 1951-1957. He also ran a gang of contract killers called Murder Inc. which enforced the decisions of the Commission, the ruling council of the American Mafia...
, chief of one of the Five Families
Five Families
The Five Families are the five original Italian-American Mafia crime families which have dominated organized crime in America since 1931. The Five Families in New York remain as the powerhouse of the Italian Mafia in the United States.-History:...
of New York, a meeting of mob leaders from cities throughout the United States and Canada was called in order to install Carlo Gambino
Carlo Gambino
"Don" Carlo Gambino, was a Sicilian mafioso who became Boss of the Gambino crime family, that still bears his name today. After the 1957 Apalachin Convention he unexpectedly seized control of the Commission of the American Mafia. Gambino was known for being low-key and secretive...
as Anastasia's successor. A suspiciously large number of black Cadillac
Cadillac
Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...
s and Lincolns
Lincoln (automobile)
Lincoln is an American luxury vehicle brand of the Ford Motor Company. Lincoln vehicles are sold mostly in North America.-History:The company was founded in August 1915 by Henry M. Leland, one of the founders of Cadillac . During World War I, he left Cadillac which was sold to General Motors...
in and around Apalachin, New York
Apalachin, New York
Apalachin is a census-designated place within the Town of Owego in Tioga County, New York, United States. The population was 1,126 in the 2000 census. It is named after the Apalachin Creek. Apalachin means From where the messenger returned in the Lenape.Apalachin is in the southeast part of the...
, the tiny Upstate New York
Upstate New York
Upstate New York is the region of the U.S. state of New York that is located north of the core of the New York metropolitan area.-Definition:There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York...
town where the mob conference was gathering, alerted local law enforcement to investigate. Over 60 underworld bosses were detained and indicted at the Apalachin Meeting
Apalachin Meeting
The Apalachin Meeting was a historic summit of the American Mafia held on November 14, 1957, at the home of mobster Joseph "Joe the Barber" Barbara in Apalachin, New York. The meeting was attended by roughly 100 Mafiosi from the United States, Canada, and Italy...
, including Civello. Noted federal judge Irving R. Kaufman
Irving Kaufman
Irving Robert Kaufman was a federal judge in the United States. He is best remembered for imposing the controversial death sentences on Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.-Biography:...
presided over the 1960 trial in which Civello was sentenced to five years for a conspiracy
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
charge stemming from the Apalachin meeting. Civello retained Houston defense attorney Percy Foreman
Percy Foreman
Percy Eugene Foreman was a criminal defense attorney from Houston, Texas. Foreman was born near Bold Springs, Texas, and moved to Livingston, Texas when he was six years old. He was the son of William P. Foreman, a former sheriff of Polk County, Texas...
, and the conviction was reversed on appeal in 1961.
Underworld connections
Joseph Civello was related to:- Frank DeSimoneFrank DeSimoneFrank A. DeSimone was the Boss of the Los Angeles crime family from 1956 to 1967. DeSimone was the son of former don Rosario DeSimone. He was sometime referred to as "One Eye" because one of his eyes drooped, in the same way as Charles "Lucky" Luciano...
, boss of the Los Angeles crime familyLos Angeles crime familyThe Los Angeles crime family is an Italian American criminal organization based in Los Angeles, as part of the American Mafia . Since its inception in the early 1900s, it has spread throughout Southern California. Like most Mafia families in the United States, the L.A. family gained power... - Antonio Musso, boss of the Rockford, IllinoisRockford, IllinoisRockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
crime family - James and Vincenzo Coletti, bosses of the ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
crime family
Civello was a close friend or associate of these powerful people
- Benny BinionBenny BinionLester Ben "Benny" Binion was a well-known American casino owner, mobster, poker enthusiast, and convicted felon.-Early history:...
, gangster, pokerPokerPoker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
enthusiast, and casino owner - Giovanni Ormento, capo in the New York Lucchese crime familyLucchese crime familyThe Lucchese crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The family originated in the early 1920s with Gaetano "Tommy" Reina serving as boss up until his murder...
- James "Jimmy the Hat" Lanza, boss of the San Francisco crime familySan Francisco crime familyThe San Francisco crime family was a Mafia crime syndicate in San Francisco. The syndicate was organized in the early 1930s by Francesco "Frank" Lanza. The San Francisco family was a very small organization with 20-25 made members.-Francesco Lanza:...
- Santo Trafficante Jr., boss of the Tampa crime familyTrafficante crime familyThe Trafficante crime family better known as the Tampa Mafia, is the only original Mafia crime family in the state of Florida.-Tampa's underworld:...
in FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it... - Carlos MarcelloCarlos MarcelloCarlos "The Little Man" Marcello was a Sicilian-American mafioso who became the boss of the New Orleans crime family during the 1940s and held this position for the next 30 years.-Early life:...
, boss of the New Orleans crime familyNew Orleans crime familyThe New Orleans crime family is one of the oldest American criminal organizations in activity. It is based in New Orleans and parts of southern Louisiana in the United States. Its status today is unknown, as it remained in the shadows since 1993...
Civello-Marcello connection
It has often been erroneously reported that the Dallas crime family was merely a satellite operation of Carlos Marcello's New Orleans crime family. While the flashier, more powerful New Orleans mob certainly collaborated extensively with the Dallas mob, it did not control the Dallas mob. They were two separate, distinctive entities; Marcello was careful not to step on the toes of the Dallas family (at least prior to Civello's death in 1970). Additionally, Marcello was only 11 years old when the Piranio crime family was officially founded in 1921.Kennedy assassination
It is well documented that Jack RubyJack Ruby
Jacob Leon Rubenstein , who legally changed his name to Jack Leon Ruby in 1947, was convicted of the November 24, 1963 murder of Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of President John F. Kennedy. Ruby, who was originally from Chicago, Illinois, was then a nightclub operator in Dallas, Texas...
operated the Carousel Club, a strip club
Strip club
A strip club is an adult entertainment venue in which striptease or other erotic or exotic dance is regularly performed. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or bar style, but can also adopt a theatre or cabaret-style....
in downtown Dallas. However, it is believed that Civello actually controlled the club, or at least controlled the possible gambling, loan sharking, prostitution, and narcotics income generated within the club. There is no proof of any involvement between Joseph Civello and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, however there are several facts which continue to cause speculation about such a conspiracy.
- Joseph CampisiJoseph CampisiJoseph Campisi was a Dallas, Texas restaurateur with connections to organized crime in the Dallas area. He was known as an associate ofJack Ruby's....
, Civello's alleged underboss and successor, dined with Ruby at Campisi's Egyptian RestaurantCampisi's Egyptian RestaurantCampisi's Restaurant is an Italian restaurant located in Dallas, TX, offering a self-described Roman cuisine.The facility was founded as Campisi's Egyptian Lounge in the mid-1940s by Joseph Campisi...
the night before Ruby assassinated Lee Harvey OswaldLee Harvey OswaldLee Harvey Oswald was, according to four government investigations,These were investigations by: the Federal Bureau of Investigation , the Warren Commission , the House Select Committee on Assassinations , and the Dallas Police Department. the sniper who assassinated John F...
, accused assassin of Kennedy. - After being arrested for Oswald's murder, Ruby's first visitor in jail was Joseph Campisi.
- The block of businesses immediately adjacent to the Texas TheatreTexas TheatreThe Texas Theatre is a movie theater and Dallas Landmark located in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas, Texas. It gained historical fame for being the place Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of President John F. Kennedy and Dallas police officer J. D. Tippit, was arrested after a brief fight...
, where Oswald was captured, were built and owned by Joseph Piranio.
Final days
The publicity surrounding the Kennedy assassination forced Civello to keep a low profile, however his racketeering continued, as did his expansion into legitimate businesses. Judge Irving R. Kaufman called Civello a "high ranking criminal who cloaked himself with the facade of legitimate business."Civello died on January 17, 1970 in Dallas of natural causes. His obituary
Obituary
An obituary is a news article that reports the recent death of a person, typically along with an account of the person's life and information about the upcoming funeral. In large cities and larger newspapers, obituaries are written only for people considered significant...
indicated no children, but listed a wife, a brother and five sisters as survivors. He was buried at Calvary Hill Cemetery in Dallas.