Joseph Abate
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joseph F. "Joey" Abate (1902-1994) was a New Jersey mobster involved in extortion, loansharking and illegal gambling as a caporegime for the Lucchese crime family.
During Prohibition, Abate was a gunman for Al Capone. By the 1970's, Abate headed Lucchese interests in New Jersey, commanding over 100 mobsters. In June 1976, Abate helped induct Anthony "Tumac" Accetturo into the Lucchese family. In 1979, Abate went into semi-retirement and Accetturo succeeded him as boss.
In 1992, Abate's daughter, Catherine M. Abate, was appointed New York City Corrections Commissioner. When reporters confronted her about her father's past, Catherine denied that he was ever involved in organized crime and said that he was now senile.
Joseph Abate died in 1994 of natural causes. He was 92 years old.
[edit] References
- Raab, Selwyn. Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires. New York: St. Martin Press, 2005. ISBN 0-312-30094-8
[edit] External links
- New York Times, series of articles investigating ties to organized crime between Joseph Abate and his daughter New York City Corrections Commissioner Catherine Abate
