Joseph Profaci was the first boss of the Profaci Crime Family, later it would become known as the Colombo Crime Family. Profaci ruled his Family from 1930 to 1962. He was a very prominent boss. Profaci was frequently in the papers, and he liked the attention. The only problem he ever encountered was when a Capo named Crazy Joey Gallo launched an all out war against his boss in an attempt to gain control of the family.

Joseph Profaci was born in Sicily on October 2, 1897. He arrived in New York in 1922. Profaci soon got into criminal activity and became very good at it, soon climbing the ranks of his Mafia Family untill he was appointed boss of his family by Maranzano in 1931. Most of Profaci's operations were based in Brooklyn, there he controlled numbers, prostitution, loan sharking and narcotics. Profaci and underboss Joe Magliocco were the only leaders of the five families who survived the Castellammarese War of the early 1930's and were still in their positions. After the Castellammarese War Profaci allied himself with up and coming gangster Lucky Luciano (the man who would ultimately lay down the framework for organized crime as it is known to day). Profaci also maintained close ties with other luminaries in the gangster world such as Joseph Doto aka Joe Adonis, Thomas Lucchese, Albert Anastasia, Morelli brothers Willie and Salvatore and even Jack Dragna from the Los Angeles crime family.

Profaci was one of the smarter LCN leaders in that besides his criminal activities he established thriving legitimate businesses which allowed him to live an opulent life style without fear of the IRS. At one time he was reputed to be the country's largest importer of olive oil and had a number of garment companies. Apparently, one reason for his purchase of the large New Jersey estate was so he could hide some of his soldiers from the World War II draft by claiming they were laborers in an essential farm business. Offcourse he still had a lot of illegal business. Loansharking, bookmaking, and labor racketeering were prime income producing activities and Profaci was listed as a major drug dealer by federal law enforcement officials. Profaci was a flamboyant man who smoked large cigars, drove big, black cadillacs, and bought rows of tickets to Broadway shows. In addition, Profaci had homes in New York and Florida and owned a 328 acre estate in New Jersey. To most of his own men he was known as a mean man, a tyrant. Long after the other bosses had ceased the Sicilian practice of collecting tributes from their men, Profaci continued to demand $25 from each man each month as a tithe. The money was ostensibly to be held in "escrow" to pay members' legal fees or to help out the families of soldiers doing time. Mostly the money just stuck to Profaci and found a permanent home in his pockets. He also insisted on his men paying him a percentage of their rackets, which did not please them very much. Ruling his family with an iron fist, Profaci's interests and power grew over the years.

It were good times for the Mafia families. Luciano's commission was working and mafia business had never been better. Profaci, as boss of one of the five families, was a charter member of the Commission. For thirty years he was allied with the dominant group of that body and was thus unchallenged by any dissidents within his family. By the early 1950's, the relative peace in the world of La Cosa Nostra was coming to an end.

The Kefauver hearings that brought unwanted publicity were only a minor problem to Profaci. The disappearance of his friend and ally, Vince Mangano, who was the long time boss of what we now know as the Gambino family, was a much bigger one. It was rumored that Mangano was whacked by his underboss Albert 'The Mad Hatter' Anastasia, some now claim Profaci knew of the plans but decided that he was not strong enough to do anything about it since Anastasia had the backing of Frank Costello. 6 years later Anastasia was gunned down. Anastasia was double crossed by his underboss Carlo Gambino. Gambino got the backing of Vito Genovese and Tommy Lucchese, soldiers of the Profaci Family did the hit.

After all these hits peace was still far away for Profaci. Profaci was growing old and was therefor showing weakness, that weakness and his 'tribute pay' was all some people needed. With the backing of Gambino, Lucchese and Genovese the Gallo brothers started a Family war. The Family was divided in 2 factions, one supporting Profaci and one supporting the Gallo brothers. In the end both lost. While the 3 other Families watched the war they waited for the moment that they could take over and divide the Family amongst themselves. But as they watched they saw how the Family was totally detroyed. Several top Mafioso were kidnapped and murdered and the Family was now truly splitting in two, without any hope for peace, one side had to die. But before one side could wipe out the other the two key figures were removed from the battlefield. First to go was Joe Gallo. Gallo was arrested and convicted of extortion, he went off to prison and would not reappear for almost ten years. Joseph Profaci wasn't that lucky.

On June 6, 1962, Joseph Profaci died in the South Side Hospital, Long Island, of cancer. Laid to rest in St. John's Cemetery, Queens, his coffin rests in a white granite, domed mausoleum, behind two huge brass doors, depicting Jesus on the cross, attended by two angels. It has been estimated that during his reign his earnings from his illegal activities were as high as $200 million. He left no will and no estate. His holdings had been parcelled out and simply vanished. Because of Profaci's death the war never ended, raging on well into the 90s and under different bosses, the factions were never again really one Family.

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