James Failla
Encyclopedia
Caporegime
A caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to just a capo, is a term used in the Mafia for a high ranking made member of a crime family who heads a "crew" of soldiers and has major social status and influence in the organization...
with the Gambino crime family
Gambino crime family
The Gambino 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 group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
who was a major power in the garbage hauling industry in New York City. Failla's crew was based in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, with operations stretching into Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
, Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, and New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
Early days
Failla was raised in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, a neighborhood dominated by New York's La Cosa Nostra families. Failla eventually relocated to a modest home in Staten IslandStaten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
. In 1951, Failla was convicted of bookmaking and illegal gambling charges and paid a $25 fine. During the 1950s, Failla became close to 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...
, underboss to 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...
, boss of the Gambino family. Failla later serving as Gambino's chauffeur/bodyguard. After the 1957 murder of Anastasia, new boss Carlo Gambino appointed Failla as his point man in the waste hauling industry.
In 1966, Failla was again fined for bookmaking and illegal gambling. In 1970, Failla was charged with contempt of court
Contempt of court
Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
for refusing to testify before a grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
, but the charge was later dropped. By 1971, Failla had become a caporegime
Caporegime
A caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to just a capo, is a term used in the Mafia for a high ranking made member of a crime family who heads a "crew" of soldiers and has major social status and influence in the organization...
in the Gambino family.
Man of power and caution
Failla was one of the most respected and feared racketeers in New York, and one of the all-time top earners. A resident of Ocean Breeze, Staten IslandOcean Breeze, Staten Island
Ocean Breeze is a name sometimes applied to the southern part of the neighborhood known as South Beach, in Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City, United States.-History:...
, Failla's nickname "Jimmy Brown" derived from his fondness for brown clothes. Despite his power and wealth, Failla lived modestly.
Law enforcement agents characterized Failla as being extremely cautious and constantly wary of electronic surveillance. Failla had a reputation as being one of the most discrete mobsters. During 1983, when the FBI was bugging Castellano's house, Failla was present for hundreds of hours of meetings. During that six-month period, Failla barely spoke ten words on all the tapes combined. To avoid electronic surveillance, Failla did not have an landline
Landline
A landline was originally an overland telegraph wire, as opposed to an undersea cable. Currently, landline refers to a telephone line which travels through a solid medium, either metal wire or optical fibre, as distinguished from a mobile cellular line, where transmission is via radio waves...
telephone in his social club in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
Bensonhurst is a neighborhood located in the southwestern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn.-Geography:Sometimes erroneously thought to include all or parts of such neighborhoods as Bath Beach, Dyker Heights, and Borough Park, or to be defined by the streets where the concentration of...
. He did hang a poster on the wall showing a cockroach
Cockroach
Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations...
wearing a headset with the caption "Our bugs have ears". Failla's cautious habits allowed him to avoid criminal prosecution for many years.
Failla directed a large crew that was involved in loansharking, illegal gambling, and extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
. This crew included made members Joseph "Joey Cigars" Francolino, Joseph "the Cat" LaForte, Anthony Vitta, Thomas "Tommy Sparrow" Spinelli, Louis Astuto, Nunzio Squillante, Philip Mazzara, and Angelo Paccione.
Garbage rackets
For 30 years, Failla controlled the Trade Waste Association of Greater New York, an association of trash haulers in the New York area. Failla skimmed off 50% of the association dues for the Gambino family. Failla allocated hauling routes and set pricing. Companies were prohibited from switching trash hauling companies or using non-union drivers. To prevent competitors from entering the New York City market, Failla used threats and intimidation. In 1993, the Houston-based Browning-Ferris IndustriesBrowning-Ferris Industries
Browning-Ferris Industries was a North American waste management company that was disbanded in 1999. Its name is a licensed trademark of Allied Waste Industries. Its headquarters were located in the Eldridge Place 1 and 2 complex in the Energy Corridor area of Houston, Texas.BFI was founded in...
(BFI), a national trash hauling corporation, started doing business in New York. In February of that year, a company executive found a dog's severed head on his doorstep in Rockland County, New York. The following note had been placed in the dog's mouth: "Welcome to New York." Due to this mob control, New York businesses paid twice as much in trash fees as comparable businesses in 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...
, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, and Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. Coupled with Failla's control of Teamsters Union Local 813, the union local for trash haul drivers, Failla was able to extort hundreds of millions of dollars from New York businesses. John Gotti, after taking control of the Gambino family, was recorded on Federal surveillance saying: "Jimmy Brown, he took the garbage industry and turned it into a candy store."
Castellano years
In 1976, Gambino died and Failla became the acting boss of the Gambino family. However, Gambino's successor was Paul CastellanoPaul Castellano
Constantino Paul "Big Paul" Castellano , also known as "The Howard Hughes of the Mob" and "Big Paulie" , was an American Mafia boss in New York City. He succeeded Carlo Gambino as head of the Gambino crime family, at the time, the nation's largest Mafia family...
. Failla built a strong relationship with Castellano, meeting him weekly at Castellano's Todt Hill
Todt Hill
Todt Hill [elevation 410 ft ] is a hill formed of serpentine rock on Staten Island, New York. It is the highest natural point in the five boroughs of New York City and the highest elevation on the entire Atlantic Coastal Plain from Florida to Cape Cod., The summit of the ridge is largely covered...
mansion on Staten Island. On December 16, 1985, Failla was waiting for Castellano at the Sparks Steak House
Sparks Steak House
The Sparks Steak House is a restaurant located at 210 East 46th Street between Second & Third Avenues in Midtown Manhattan.-History:The restaurant was founded by brothers Pat and Mike Cetta in 1966...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
to discuss family matters. When Castellano arrived outside the restaurant, gunmen allied with Gambino capo John Gotti
John Gotti
John Joseph Gotti, Jr was an American mobster who became the Boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. Gotti grew up in poverty. He and his brothers turned to a life of crime at an early age...
assassinated him on the street. Soon after Castellano's death, Gotti became the new boss. Despite Failla's ties with Castellano, Gotti left Failla in charge of the lucrative trash hauling rackets.
Gotti years
Over time, Failla built a close partnership with the Genovese crime familyGenovese crime family
The Genovese 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 Genovese crime family has been nicknamed the "Ivy League" and "Rolls Royce" of organized crime...
. It was rumored that the Genovese leadership wanted to install Failla as Gambino boss after a failed assassination attempt on then Gambino boss John Gotti
John Gotti
John Joseph Gotti, Jr was an American mobster who became the Boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. Gotti grew up in poverty. He and his brothers turned to a life of crime at an early age...
. In 1986, as a result of the tapings at Castellano's house in 1983, Failla was indicted on racketeering charges. However, in June 1987, Failla was acquitted on federal racketeering charges. The reason cited for the acquittal was his lack of conversation on those tapings.
In 1989, Failla participated in the murder of Gambino mobster Thomas Spinelli. A member of Failla's crew, Spinelli had recently testified before a grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
and was due to appear again. Gambino underboss Sammy Gravano
Sammy Gravano
Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano is a former underboss of the Gambino crime family. He is known as the man who helped bring down John Gotti, the family's boss, by agreeing to become a Federal Bureau of Investigation informant and turn state's evidence.Originally a mobster for the Colombo crime...
ordered Spinelli's murder to prevent him from providing further testimony. Spinelli was murdered inside a Brooklyn factory.
In December 1990, when Gotti went to jail awaiting trial, he appointed Failla as acting boss of the family. After Gotti's incarcaration, Failla and Peter Gotti both jointly held the acting street boss position until Peter took over control compelely.
Prison
In 1991, Gravano became a government witness and implicated Failla in the 1989 Spinelli murder. In April 1993, Failla was charged with racketeering and murdering Spinelli. In 1994, in a plea bargainPlea bargain
A plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case whereby the prosecutor offers the defendant the opportunity to plead guilty, usually to a lesser charge or to the original criminal charge with a recommendation of a lighter than the maximum sentence.A plea bargain allows criminal defendants to...
deal, Failla pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit murder. During the sentencing phase, Failla appeared in court on crutches and his lawyer pleaded for leniency based on his client's heart problems and hypertension
Hypertension
Hypertension or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. What that means is that the heart is having to work harder than it should to pump the blood around the body. Blood pressure involves two measurements, systolic and...
. Failla was sentenced to seven years in prison.
On August 5, 1999, James Failla died of natural causes in a federal prison in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. He is buried at the Moravian Cemetery in New Dorp, New York.