Joseph Biondo
Encyclopedia
Joseph Biondo also known as "Joe Bandy", "Joe the Blonde", and "Little Rabbit", was a New York
mobster with the Gambino crime family
who was heavily involved in gambling activities. Biondo was also the family underboss
for approximately eight years.
in Sicily
, Biondo emigrated to New York City
. He lived on New York's Lower East Side, where he became involved with many who would later, like him, be top Mafia members. He stood at 5'4 and weighed 150 pounds. During the Prohibition
era, Biondo became involved in bootlegging
. Biondo became a close associate of mobster Charles "Lucky" Luciano and was involved in Luciano's 1931 assassination plot against boss Salvatore Maranzano
. With the repeal of Prohibition
, Biondo moved into labor racketeering in the taxi cab industry. During the 1930s, Biondo was close to the top, but stayed away from top position. Biondo owned a shipping business in Queens
and a real estate office in Long Beach
. Biondo lived in the Jackson Heights
section of Queens
and owned a summer cottage in Long Beach. He was married to Louise Volpe, but had no children. Biondo's criminal record included arrests for extortion
, homicide
,, and illegal firearms possession.
In 1957, Biondo and mobster Carlo Gambino
conspired in the assassination of then family boss Albert Anastasia
in a Manhattan
barber shop. When Gambino took over as family boss, he appointed Biondo as underboss. In 1965, Gambino became dissatisfied with Biondo's independence and replaced him with Aniello Dellacroce
. Working with mobster Sam DeCavalcante
of the DeCavalcante crime family
, Biondo had gained a share of revenues from a sanitation landfill in New Jersey
. However, Biondo hid this new revenue from Gambino to avoid sharing it with the family. DeCavalcante later revealed the deception to Gambino, who removed Biondo from power.
in Queens.
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
mobster 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 heavily involved in gambling activities. Biondo was also the family underboss
Underboss
Underboss is a position within the leadership structure of Sicilian and American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the boss...
for approximately eight years.
Career
Born in Barcellona Pozzo di GottoBarcellona Pozzo di Gotto
Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto is a town and comune of about 50,000 inhabitants in the north coast of Sicily, Italy, 40 km from Messina towards Palermo. It belongs to the Province of Messina.-History:...
in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, Biondo emigrated to 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...
. He lived on New York's Lower East Side, where he became involved with many who would later, like him, be top Mafia members. He stood at 5'4 and weighed 150 pounds. During the Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
era, Biondo became involved in bootlegging
Rum-running
Rum-running, also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law...
. Biondo became a close associate of mobster Charles "Lucky" Luciano and was involved in Luciano's 1931 assassination plot against boss Salvatore Maranzano
Salvatore Maranzano
Salvatore Maranzano was an organized crime figure from the town of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, and an early Cosa Nostra boss in the United States. He instigated the Castellammarese War to seize control of the American Mafia operations, and briefly became the Mafia's "Boss of Bosses"...
. With the repeal of Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
, Biondo moved into labor racketeering in the taxi cab industry. During the 1930s, Biondo was close to the top, but stayed away from top position. Biondo owned a shipping business in Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
and a real estate office in Long Beach
Long Beach, New York
Long Beach is a city in Nassau County, New York. Just south of Long Island, it is located on Long Beach Barrier Island, which is the westernmost of the outer barrier islands off Long Island's South Shore. As of the United States 2010 Census, the city population was 33,275...
. Biondo lived in the Jackson Heights
Jackson Heights, Queens
Jackson Heights is a neighborhood in the Northwestern portion of the borough of Queens in New York, New York, United States. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 3...
section of Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
and owned a summer cottage in Long Beach. He was married to Louise Volpe, but had no children. Biondo's criminal record included arrests for 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...
, homicide
Homicide
Homicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
,, and illegal firearms possession.
In 1957, Biondo and mobster 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...
conspired in the assassination of then family boss 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...
in a 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...
barber shop. When Gambino took over as family boss, he appointed Biondo as underboss. In 1965, Gambino became dissatisfied with Biondo's independence and replaced him with Aniello Dellacroce
Aniello Dellacroce
Aniello John "Mr. Neil" Dellacroce , also known as "Father O'Neil" and "The Tall Guy", was an Italian-American gangster and underboss of the Gambino crime family. A capo of his own crew for many years he rose to the position of underboss when Carlo Gambino moved Joseph Biondo aside.-Early...
. Working with mobster Sam DeCavalcante
Sam DeCavalcante
Simone Rizzo "Sam" DeCavalcante , known as "Sam the Plumber", was a member of the New Jersey Mafia. Claiming descent from the Italian royal family, DeCavalcante was nicknamed "The Count"...
of the DeCavalcante crime family
DeCavalcante crime family
The DeCavalcante crime family is an organized crime family that controls organized crime activities in Elizabeth, New Jersey and surrounding areas in the state, despite operating on the other side of the Hudson River in New York, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia...
, Biondo had gained a share of revenues from a sanitation landfill in 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...
. However, Biondo hid this new revenue from Gambino to avoid sharing it with the family. DeCavalcante later revealed the deception to Gambino, who removed Biondo from power.
Death
Joseph Biondo died in New York of natural causes on June 10, 1966. He is buried at the Maple Grove CemeteryMaple Grove Cemetery (Kew Gardens, New York)
Maple Grove Cemetery is a historic cemetery at 83-15 Kew Gardens Road in Kew Gardens, Queens, New York, New York. It was established in 1875 and consists of two sections; Monumental Park and Memorial Park...
in Queens.