Joseph Lombardo
| Joseph Lombardo | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Giuseppe Lombardi January 1, 1929 |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Joey the Clown |
| Occupation | Racketeer |
| Spouse(s) | Marion |
| Children | Nicholas |
| Allegiance | Chicago Outfit |
| Conviction(s) | Bribery, Racketeering, murder |
Joseph Patrick “Joey the Clown” Lombardo Sr. (born Giuseppe Lombardi; January 1, 1929), also known as "Joe Padula," "Lumbo," and "Lumpy", is an imprisoned American mafioso and a high-ranking member of the Chicago Outfit crime organization. He is currently alleged to either be the Consigliere or Boss of the Outfit.
Born Giuseppe Lombardi, Lombardo was one of 11 children born to Italian immigrants, Mike Lombardi, a butcher, and Carmela Lombardi. The family, which immigrated from Bari, Italy, was known to be very poor. Lombardo, a high school dropout, at some point changed the final letter of his last name. He joined the Outfit in the 1950s.
Lombardo began his Outfit career as a jewel thief and as a juice loan collector. In 1963, Lombardo was arrested and charged with kidnapping and loan sharking, but he was acquitted after a factory worker who had owed $2,000 and who was behind on his payments could not positively identify Lombardo. Lombardo hung out with other Italian mobsters at the "Red Velvet" in Palos Hills, Illinois. The acquittal was Lombardo's 11th in 11 arrests. Lombardo, who by the late 1960s was referred to as an "up-and-comer" in the Chicago Outfit along with Angelo J. LaPietra (known as "The Hook"), would take over the Outfit's operations in Las Vegas in 1971.
In 1974, Lombardo was charged with embezzling $1.4 million from the Teamsters Union pension fund, along with Allen Dorfman, Anthony Spilotro and several others. However, the charges were dropped after the main witness, Daniel Seifert, was killed outside his plastics factory in Bensenville, Illinois two days before his scheduled court appearance. In 1974, Lombardo was implicated by government informant Alva Johnson Rodgers in the deaths of Seifert (the Teamsters' witness), Robert Harder, Sam Annerino, and Raymond Ryan, over a 15-year period. Lombardo was also accused of personally murdering disgraced police officer and turncoat informant, Richard Cain. Lombardo managed to escape even an arrest on all these charges, except for his conviction in the Seifert murder, in 2007.
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