Who Was Joe Profaci? The Olive Oil King
Mobsters DailyJoe Profaci was the founding boss of the Brooklyn crime family that now bears the Colombo name — a Sicilian immigrant who built a legitimate olive oil empire while running one of New York's Five Families from 1928 until his death in 1962. He is remembered as the "Olive Oil King" and as the don whose greed taxed his own men into revolt.
Olive oil, respect, and the family tax
Profaci's Mama Mia Importing Company made him wealthy and respectable; he lived on a Staten Island estate and was known for charitable gestures. Inside the family, though, he charged soldiers a monthly tribute, reportedly $25 a head, plus cuts of every racket. That system survived the era of the Castellammarese War, which left him securely in place.
Profaci understood branding before anyone: olive oil on the storefront, tribute behind the counter. The Tony Soprano Ugly Christmas Sweater leans into that world for the holidays — Tony in black-and-white stencil, gabagool energy, built for November and December parties.
The Gallo revolt and an unbeaten death
In 1961 the Gallo brothers kidnapped Profaci's top men, demanding a fairer split. Profaci promised, reneged, and war followed. Yet he was never convicted of a major crime and never removed. He died of liver cancer on June 7, 1962 — one of very few early bosses to die in office of natural causes, unlike contemporaries in the Masseria murder story.
Frequently asked questions
Why was Profaci called the Olive Oil King? His importing business dominated Italian olive oil sales in New York and fronted his legitimate wealth.
What sparked the revolt against him? His monthly tax on his own soldiers and refusal to share profits drove the Gallo brothers to rebel in 1961.
How did Profaci die? Of liver cancer in 1962, still boss, having never been removed or jailed for a major crime.
Keep reading: Salvatore Maranzano: The Boss Who Crowned Himself Caesar · Lucky Luciano: The Man Who Invented the Modern Mafia · The Five Families · Who Was Joseph Colombo? The Boss Who Put the Mafia on Television
From the shop: Shadows of the Underworld — real mafia history, the bosses and wars behind the fiction.
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