Title supplied by cataloger.; Photograph was edited for publication purposes.; Original photograph has creases on the right side of the photo. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Tony Brancato moved to Los Angeles and became involved in the organized crime scene, including illegal gambling, narcotics, and bootlegging. He was a suspect in many mob murders, including that of New York mobster Bugsy Siegel, and in a botched attempt to kill Mickey Cohen. Anthony Trombino, also from Kansas City, became Brancato's partner in crime and they became known as "the two Tonys." After robbing the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, the men became wanted by the mob and the FBI. Jimmy "the weasel" Fratianno set up a meeting with the two to discuss a bank robbery. On August 6, 1951, Brancato and Trombino were found shot to death in the front seat of a car on Ogden Drive near Hollywood Boulevard. Though many mobsters were arrested, phony alibis allowed all of them to escape punishment. Over 25 years later, after entering the federal Witness Protection Program, Fratianno confessed to murdering the pair. Photograph caption dated August 7, 1951 reads "This was the grim scene in front of 1648 North Ogden drive following the rub-out of Tony Brancato (left), 26 and Tony Trombino, 31 (right) whose bodies are shown upright in front of their sedan. Three slugs, apparently from a .38 caliber pistol, had pierced windshields (arrows) of the car, which carried Missouri license plates. The car radio was still playing when police arrived. At left, deputy chief Thad Brown and Detective Lieut. George Stoner point in direction which the killer is believed to have fled."
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Image
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1 photographic print :b&w ;26 x 33 cm. Photographic prints
Brancato, Tony--Death and burial Trombino, Anthony--Death and burial Dead persons--California--Los Angeles Shooting--California--Los Angeles Bullet holes Murder victims--California--Los Angeles Murder--California--Los Angeles Crime--California--Los Angeles Criminals--California--Los Angeles Organized crime--United States Automobiles--California--Los Angeles Police--California--Los Angeles Men--California--Los Angeles Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.) Postmortem photographs Night photographs Los Angeles Evening Herald Express photographs Herald-Examiner Collection photographs
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