Word: colombo
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Curbing Slurs. When it was finally Colombo's turn at the microphone, he observed: "The Attorney General hates our guts. I think the President is behind it. I want to make the league the greatest organization in the country, the greatest organization in the world, so that people will be proud of us no matter what we do, where we are, even if we are in prison...
...with such appeals to ethnic pride, aided by legitimate grievances over discrimination against Italian-Americans, that Joseph Colombo has attracted supporters, opening chapters in New York, Las Vegas and Miami. Most joined the league for its efforts to curb ethnic slurs and stereotypes, and would be appalled at any use of it by the underworld. But the league, inadvertently or not, has benefited the Mafia-serving as a public relations smokescreen for mob activities. Colombo's leadership of the league has made him the most outspoken reputed Mafia leader in the history of organized crime as well...
Until last summer, Colombo was virtually unknown except to law-enforcement agencies and readers of crime stories. The son of Anthony Colombo, a gangster who was strangled with a girl friend du ing the '30s mob wars, Colombo served in the Army during World War II. After a dishonorable discharge, he became a minor figure along New York's waterfront. He was arrested at least 12 times during this period and had three convictions on gambling charges. In 1964, authorities allege, Colombo ascended to leadership of Joseph Profaci's Mafia family in Brooklyn after the "Banana...
...Spicy Meatballs. Colombo launched his publicity campaign last April after his son Joseph Jr. was arrested on charges of melting coins for resale as silver ingots. The night of his son's arrest, Colombo and some 30 others picketed FBI headquarters in Manhattan, protesting harassment of Italian Americans in general and members of the Colombo family in particular...
...Young Colombo was acquitted after the chief Government witness changed his testimony. The picketing continued into June, and the Italian-American Civil Rights League was formed. On June 29, a massive Italian-American Unity Day Rally brought thousands to Columbus Circle in Manhattan, including virtually every politician in the city. The next month, Attorney General John Mitchell announced that "Mafia" and "Cosa Nostra" were no longer to be used in Justice Department and FBI reports and releases; a similar edict from Governor Nelson Rockefeller affected New York State releases...