Jimmy Fratianno Biography

Aladena "Jimmy the Weasel" Fratianno (November 14, 1913 - June 30, 1993) was an Italian-born American mobster based in Cleveland, Ohio, and later acting head of the Los Angeles crime family before becoming a US government witness. Fratianno was the most powerful mobster to become a federal witness until Sammy "the Bull" Gravano agreed to testify against the Gambino crime family in 1991.

Early life

Born in Naples, Italy, Fratianno was brought to the United States by his parents four months later. He began stealing from fruit stands as a child. Fratianno went by the name "Jimmy" because he believed "Aladena" sounded like "a broad's name". He earned his nickname "Weasel" from a witness who saw him outrun police in the Little Italy section of Cleveland. The police then attached the nickname to his criminal record. As a youth, Fratianno boxed under the name "Kid Weasel", but otherwise did not like the name and was never called "Weasel" in person. As a young man, Fratianno became involved in Cleveland's organized criminal syndicate as a gambler and robber. After a prison sentence for assault, he moved to Los Angeles, where he was introduced to mobster John Roselli.

West Coast mobster

In 1947, Fratianno became a made man in the Los Angeles crime family under boss Jack Dragna. Fratianno worked with fellow Los Angeles mobsters Frank "Bomp" Bompensiero, Leo Moceri, Dominic Brooklier, and Louie Piscopo. In 1952, Dragna promoted Fratianno to caporegime. After Dragna's death in 1956, Frank DeSimone became the new boss of the Los Angeles crime family. Fratianno soon became dissatisfied with DeSimone's leadership and in 1960, after serving a 6 year sentence for extortion, Fratianno transferred to the Chicago Outfit. He still lived and remained active in California and Las Vegas and remained closely associated with Bompensiero. During the 1960s and 1970s, Fratianno started his own trucking company. His wife Jewel officially owned the company, even after her separation and divorce from Fratianno. Fratianno also attempted several times to build, own, or obtain a share in a Las Vegas casino, but failed each time. During this period, he started providing information on organized crime to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In exchange for his information, Fratianno received less scrutiny from law enforcement along with a small amount of money. Fratinano's information was of minimal value and never helped convict anyone. In 1976, the Los Angeles family offered Fratianno the opportunity to become acting boss, so he rejoined them.

International connections

Fratianno was known to have global connections. One such connection was with Australian organised crime figures. In 1976, Australian criminal Murray Riley met with Fratianno in San Francisco, allegedly, to organize drug shipments. The same year, Sydney businessman Bela Csidei also met with Fratianno in San Francisco. The FBI took photographs of this meeting.

Fratianno also associated with Australian/Hungarian transport magnate and managing director of Thomas Nationwide Transport (better known as TNT) Peter Abeles. Through Fratianno's connections with Teamsters and Longshoremen's unions, particularly with Rudy Tham, a San Francisco Teamsters leader, Abeles was able to use his company to smuggle drugs in and out of the USA, as well as reduce industrial tensions on the waterfront.

Acting Boss

In 1975 the boss of the Los Angeles family, Dominic Brooklier, was headed to prison for 20 months and Louis Tom Dragna was made Acting Boss. He accepted the position on the condition that he run the family together with Fratianno. Fratianno accepted the proposal with the understanding that he would carry the majority of the responsibility. Fratianno also saw the opportunity as a way to become the permanent boss of the family. Fratianno was hoping that by making the family stronger and boosting its reputation, that he'd earn support to take over the family even when Brooklier was released from prison.

Soon after, he was approached by Dragna in regards to having Frank Bompensiero murdered. Bompensiero (a soldier in the L.A family) was one of the few made men that Fratianno trusted, as they were old friends, and he was infuriated that the L.A family would give him such a 'contract'. At this point Fratianno felt that he was tricked into becoming Acting Boss, a position which required him to be transferred from the Chicago family back to the L.A family. Because of his close relationship with Bompensiero, it was assumed that Fratianno could easily lay a trap and murder him. Fratianno stalled until the contract was given to other mob associates.

Brooklier returned from prison in October 1976 after serving 16 months. After a transition period he called Fratianno to a meeting some time before February 11, 1977 and announced he was ready to resume his position as Boss. Fratianno was once again a soldier.

Last stages of Mafia career

Some time between February 11 and May 16, 1977, Brooklier summoned Fratianno to a meeting and confronted him about a rumor that Fratianno was running a separate 'crew' in the Los Angeles territory and saying, "Jimmy, you've got a bad mouth, like [Bompensiero]..." In June 1977, Fratianno learned that Brooklier had started a rumor that he had never made Fratianno Acting Boss and that Fratianno was misrepresenting himself. Fratianno began to suspect that Brooklier was trying to poison his reputation within the Mafia thus laying the groundwork for a sanctioned hit, or execution, of himself. Then at the wake for Tony Delsanter, Fratianno learned that the Cleveland family had a connection in the FBI, a clerk, that was feeding them documents about Mafia informants. James Licavoli told him that the Cleveland family had the code numbers for two informants and that the FBI clerk was working on getting their names.

Fratianno, concerned he would be revealed as an informant, communicated this information to his contact at the FBI and began working with Jim Ahearn, (Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the San Francisco Field Office) in an effort to plug the leak. At this point Fratianno felt the pressure mounting and considered three options to extricate himself from his predicament. He could enter the Witness Protection Program, flee the country, or kill his enemies within the Mafia organization. He actively pursued all three options.

Government witness

On October 6, 1977 Danny Greene was killed and Ray Ferritto was arrested for the murder. Ferritto implicated Fratianno in the planning of the murder and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Ahearn arrested Fratianno, who, at this point, was looking at life in prison or death by Brooklier's order, agreed to become a government witness against the Mafia. Unlike Genovese crime family informant Joe Valachi, a low-level "soldier" limited to knowledge within and about New York, Fratianno was privy to information on the detailed hierarchy of organized syndicate operations across the United States. Fratianno also knew about Florida crime boss Santo Trafficante, Jr.'s 1960s plans to assassinate Cuban president Fidel Castro as part of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)'s Cuban Project Operation Mongoose. Some conspiracy theorists (such as the people behind the Gemstone File) named Fratianno as one of the three assassins of U.S President John F. Kennedy in 1963.

In 1981, after testifying for the government, Fratianno entered the federal Witness Protection Program. However, the government dropped him from the program after he published two biographies, The Last Mafioso with author Ovid Demaris and Vengeance is Mine with author Michael J. Zuckerman. The FBI determined that Fratianno could support himself; they didn't want the public to think that the Witness Protection Program was a retirement plan for former mobsters. Fratianno enjoyed his years as a criminal celebrity with appearances on the CBS 60 Minutes television news program and various television documentaries.

In 1993, Jimmy Fratianno died in Oklahoma. An autopsy performed at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Oklahoma City determined that he died from complications of Alzheimer's Disease.

Murders

A list of the confirmed murders that Fratianno committed.

• Frank Borgia - Borgia was a Los Angeles winemaker/former bootlegger and was a member of the Los Angeles crime family, according to Fratianno. Borgia was resisting an extortion attempt from Gaspare Matranga and Dragna. Bompensiero and Fratianno had someone bring Borgia in a house and they both strangled Borgia with a rope and buried him. (1951)
• Frank Niccoli - Niccoli was a bodyguard for Mickey Cohen. Fratianno tried to convince Niccoli to betray Cohen, but Niccoli refused. Fratianno and Matranga murdered him with a rope. (1949)
• Anthony Brancato - Brancato and his associate Trombino were two young mobsters who were performing many audacious robberies without the sanction of the Los Angeles family. Fratianno led a squad of hit men who shot and killed Brancato and Trombino in their car. (August 6, 1951)
• Anthony Trombino - see Anthony Brancato. (August 6, 1951)
• Louis Strauss - Strauss was a mobster trying to extort money from Las Vegas casino owner Benny Binion, a friend of Dragna's. Bompensiero and Fratianno strangled Strauss with a rope. (1953)