Joseph Biondo

Joseph Biondo (April 16, 1897, Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, Italy – June 10, 1966, New York City), (pronounced "bee-ON-doh") also known as "JB", "Joe Bandy", "Joe the Blonde", and "Little Rabbit", was a New York City mobster with the Gambino crime family who was heavily involved in gambling activities. Biondo was also the family underboss for approximately eight years.

Born in Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto in Sicily, Biondo emigrated to New York City. He lived on New York's Lower East Side, where he became involved with future top Cosa Nostra members. Biondo stood at 5'4" and weighed 150 pounds. Biondo lived in the Jackson Heights section of Queens and owned a stately summer cottage in Long Beach, New York. He was married to Louise Volpe.

Biondo's early criminal record included arrests for extortion, homicide, and illegal firearms possession. He was known to be a soldier in the Salvatore D'Aquila mafia family and was a bootlegging confederate of Umberto Valenti. In 1919, Biondo was convicted on a narcotics charge. In August 1922, Biondo was indicted on murder charges from a gang fight in which another gangster died, but the charge was later dismissed. In 1930, he was convicted of possessing a revolver and received a sentence of probation. During the Prohibition era, Biondo became involved in bootlegging. Biondo became close associates with bootlegger Dutch Schultz and mobster Charles "Lucky" Luciano, and frequently served as an intermediary between them. In 1931, Biondo assisted Luciano in the assassination of Cosa Nostra boss Salvatore Maranzano.

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