Title supplied by cataloger.; Photograph was edited for publication purposes. Modica, Raspona and Fratianno were charged in an extortion case involving an oilman and his partner who had recently found oil in Ventura County. The victims complained to police that the trio had threatened them with death if the gangsters were not given a 2% royalty interest in their drilling company. Recorded telephone conversations were played in court. "Jimmy the Weasel" Fratianno was born Aladena James Fratianno in Naples, Italy and brought to the United States as an infant. Fratianno went by the name "Jimmy" because he believed "Aladena" sounded like "a broad's name." He was based in Cleveland, Ohio and later became acting head of the Los Angeles crime family before becoming a US government witness. Fratianno gave the government inside information in the early1970s which led to no convictions. In 1981, after testifying for the government in a trial that led to the racketeering convictions of five reputed Mafia figures, he was entered into the federal Witness Protection Program. The government dropped him from the program after his second biography, Vengeance is Mine, was published. The FBI determined that Fratianno could support himself. Fratianno spent his later years as a criminal celebrity with appearances on television news programs and various television documentaries. Dominic T. Raspona, James B. Modica and James Fratianno seated in court during their extortion trial. Photograph dated January 19, 1954.
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;21 x 26 cm. Photographic prints
Fratianno, Jimmy,--1913- Fratianno, Jimmy,--1913--Trials, litigation, etc Raspona, Dominic Raspona, Dominic--Trials, litigation, etc Modica, James Modica, James--Trials, litigation, etc Trials (Extortion)--California--Los Angeles Men--California--Los Angeles Organized crime--United States Gangsters--United States Criminals--California--Los Angeles Crime--California--Los Angeles Courtrooms--California--Los Angeles Los Angeles Evening Herald Express photographs Herald-Examiner Collection photographs
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
