| |
| Joseph Zasa | |
| Biographical Information | |
| Aliases | Joey Za-Za |
| Gender | Male |
| Born | August 20, 1931 Brooklyn, New York City |
| Died | September 19, 1980 Little Italy, New York City |
| Affiliation |  Zasa Crew
|
| Title(s) | Capo |
Joey Zasa was an Italian-American mobster who was a Caporegime in the Corleone crime family, Don of the Clemenza crime family, and captain of the Zasa Crew. Zasa was "the most elegant gangster", appearing on the cover of TIME Magazine, compared to John Gotti. His empire was influenced heavily by the drug trade, and he began to deal cocaine and marijuana, and was murdered by his bosses as a result.
Biography[]
Zasa was born in Brooklyn, New York City, in 1944 to a Sicilian family. Zasa became associated with the Corleone crime family in 1960, and was an associate under the Pentangeli Crew. After the death of Frank Pentangeli that year, he became an associate of Capo Dominic, and in 1970, after Dominic moved to Miami, he became the leader of operations in New York City as a Corleone proxy.
Zasa created the Zasa Crew, which controlled the Little Italy neighborhood, and was known for his flashy behavior in public and his popularity. He was on TIME Magazine one day, and most of the time, he walked the streets of Little Italy and people would give him free food. He was respected by the people, especially after he began recruiting Hispanics and African-Americans into his empire as enforcers.
However, this respect was lost when he became involved with the cocaine trade, and one day in August 1979, an old woman came up to Zasa's associate Vincent Mancini and said that she was afraid to go out on the streets at the time, and that someone had to stop him. Mancini hated Zasa, and bit a part of his ear off when he called him a bastard, as he was the illegitimate son of Santino Corleone and the nephew of Don Michael Corleone. Zasa lost the favor of Michael Corleone, and in revenge Zasa collaborated with Osvaldo Altobello to kill all of the bosses in The Commission, resulting in the Atlantic City Massacre, where men in a helicopter gunned down every don except for Corleone and Matty Parisi. Afterwards, Mancini got the go-ahead to murder Zasa from Connie Corleone and Al Neri, since Corleone had a stroke shortly after the massacre and was hospitalized.
Death[]
Joey Zasa is killed
On September 19, 1979, during the Feast of San Gennaro in Little Italy, Zasa was murdered by the Pennino Crew., Zasa dn his lieutenant Anthony Squigliaro saw Corloene associate Lou Pennino scratching a car that was going to be raffled off, and Squigliaro tried to stop him, but Al Neri, disguised as one of the people in the parade, blasted him with a Lupara, and some of Pennino's crew killed the rest of the crew.
Zasa tried to enter a closed shop, banging on the door, but Mancini, dressed as an NYPD horse patrolman, shot him three times in the back, killing him. His death was welcomed by Altobello, since he was embarassing to Altobello and Licio Lucchesi.