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Anthony Provenzano


Anthony Provenzano also known as Tony Pro (May 7, 1917 – December 12, 1988) was a Caporegime (or captain) in the Genovese crime family of New York City. Born May 7, 1917, in the Lower East Side of Manhattan to Sicilian immigrants, Rosario and Josephine Provenzano. Provenzano was known for his connections to Teamsters Union leader Jimmy Hoffa and President Richard Nixon due to Provenzano's position as an International Brotherhood of Teamsters vice president for Teamsters Local 560 in Union City, New Jersey.

With Hoffa's blessing, Provenzano used his position as Teamsters vice president to take union funds for his personal use. To solidify his support among the criminal elite, Hoffa had encouraged the Mafia's heavy-hitters who were involved with the union to use their locals as personal accounts. Hoffa and Provenzano were eventually jailed for their activities; their sentences at the federal prison in Lewisburg overlapped. The two initially were close allies, with the Capo exercising his rank at Lewisburg and demanding the loyalty of prisoners, which made him the major power within the prison. Provenzano provided Hoffa with protection, but their relationship soured after Hoffa was unable to secure a Teamsters loan for a restaurant he wanted to open. The two became enemies after Hoffa insulted Provenzano, telling him “It’s because of people like you that I got into trouble in the first place.”

After their sentences were over, the two allegedly had a violent confrontation during a chance meeting at an airport. In the book Desperate Bargain: Why Jimmy Hoffa Had to Die, Lester Velie wrote that “Hoffa and Provenzano went at it with their fists, and Hoffa broke a bottle over Provenzano’s head.” Provenzano vowed he would retaliate against Hoffa’s grandchildren, saying “I’ll tear your heart out!”

Hoffa had been pardoned from prison by President Richard Nixon in 1971, allegedly after the payment of a large bribe from the Mafia, with the provision that he could not engage in union activity. Provenzano was forbidden to engage in union activity for five years as part of his parole, though he remained a power inside the union. Hoffa opposed Provenzano’s desire to assume his old post at Local 560 after his five-year exclusionary period was up, while "Tony Pro" was adamantly against Hoffa's intent to be reelected president of the Teamsters. In the contest of wills, while Hoffa had the hearts of many of the union's rank and file members, Provenzano had the power of a Mafia capo.


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