Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles
available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Joseph "Joe"
Colombo Sr. (December 14, 1914 - May 22, 1978) was the boss of the
Colombo crime family, one of the "Five Families" of the Cosa Nostra in
New York. Joseph was born into an Italian American family. His father,
Anthony Colombo, was a Cosa Nostra soldier who was found shot to death
in his car along with his wife. Though he lived a life of crime, as a
Catholic Joseph did not tolerate offenses that others committed against
the church. When a thief stole jewel-studded crown from a Brooklyn
church, Colombo forced him to return it. The thief complied, but kept
three diamonds from the crown. Soon afterwards, the body of the thief
was found with a rosary wrapped around his neck.
