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James Failla


James "Jimmy Brown" Failla (January 22, 1919 – 1999) (pronounced FYE-lah) was a senior caporegime with the Gambino crime family who was a major power in the garbage-hauling industry in New York City. Failla's crew was based in Brooklyn, with operations stretching into Staten Island, Manhattan, and New Jersey.

Failla was raised in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, a neighborhood dominated by New York's La Cosa Nostra families. Failla eventually relocated to a modest home in Staten Island. In 1951, Failla was convicted of bookmaking and illegal gambling charges and paid a $25 fine. During the 1950s, Failla became close to Carlo Gambino, underboss to Albert Anastasia, boss of the Gambino family. Failla later served as Gambino's chauffeur/bodyguard. After the 1957 murder of Anastasia, the new boss Carlo Gambino appointed Failla as his point man in the waste-hauling industry.

In 1966, Failla was again fined for bookmaking and illegal gambling. In 1970, Failla was charged with contempt of court for refusing to testify before a grand jury, but the charge was later dropped. By 1971, Failla had become a caporegime in the Gambino family.

Failla was one of the most respected and feared racketeers in New York, and one of the all-time top earners. A resident of Ocean Breeze, Staten Island, Failla's nickname "Jimmy Brown" derived from his fondness for brown clothes. Despite his power and wealth, Failla lived modestly.

Law enforcement agents characterized Failla as being extremely cautious and constantly wary of electronic surveillance. Failla had a reputation as being one of the most discrete mobsters. During 1983, when the FBI was bugging Castellano's house, Failla was present for hundreds of hours of meetings. During that six-month period, Failla barely spoke ten words on all the tapes combined. To avoid electronic surveillance, Failla did not have a landline telephone in his social club in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. He did hang a poster on the wall showing a cockroach wearing a headset with the caption "Our bugs have ears". Failla's cautious habits allowed him to avoid criminal prosecution for many years.


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