Jimmy Fratianno

Jimmy "The Weasel" Fratianno (1913-1993) was a Cleveland mobster and later acting head of the Los Angeles crime family before becoming a government informant. Fratianno was the highest ranking mobster to become a federal witness until Sammy "the Bull" Gravano during the early 1990s.

Born Aladena Fratianno on November 14, 1913 in Naples, Italy, Fratianno was brought to Cleveland, Ohio by his parents 4 months later. He began stealing from fruit stands as a child. He supposedly earned his nickname "the Weasel" from outrunning policemen on the streets of the Little Italy section of Cleveland. As a young man, Fratianno became in the city's organized criminal syndicate and earned a reputation as a prominent hitman. Eventually finding his way to the West Coast he frequently worked with fellow hitman Frank "The Bomp" Bompensiero. Fratianno later claimed responsibility for at least 11 gangland slayings under Los Angeles crime boss Jack Dragna.

In the 1970's, Fratianno learned that his family had put out a murder contract on his life. At that point, Fratianno agreed to become a government informant within the family. As it turned out, Fratianno was not murdered, but instead rose through the ranks to eventually become acting boss of the crime family for a brief time. Unlike New York informant Joe Valachi, who was a low-level "soldier" limited to knowledge within 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 plans to assassinate Cuban dictator Fidel Castro as part of the CIA Operation Mongoose.

After testifying against the Los Angeles syndicate, Fratianno entered the federal Witness Protection Program in 1981. However, he was eventually dropped from the program for violating its rules. Fratianno later wrote an autobiography with author Ovid Demaris entitled The Last Mafioso and Vengeance is Mine with Michael J. Zuckerman. He enjoyed his years as a criminal celebrity with appearances on CBS's 60 Minutes news program and various documentaries.

In 1993, Jimmy Fratianno died of natural causes.

References

• Sifakis, Carl. The Mafia Encyclopedia. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. ISBN 0-8160-5694-3
• Sifakis, Carl. The Encyclopedia of American Crime. New York: Facts on File Inc., 2005. ISBN 0-8160-4040-0
• Demaris, Ovid. The Last Mafioso: "Jimmy the Weasel" Fratianno. Bantam Books, 1981. ISBN 0-553-27091-5

Further reading

• Moldea, Dan E. Dark Victory: Ronald Reagan, MCA, and the Mob. New York: Penguin Books, 1987. ISBN 0-14-010478-X
• Neff, James. Mobbed Up: Jackie Presser's High-Wire Life in the Teamsters, the Mafia, and the FBI. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1989. ISBN 0-87113-344-X
• Pizzo, Stephen; Fricker, Mary; and Muolo, Paul. Inside Job: The Looting of America's Savings and Loans. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1989. ISBN 0-07-050230-7