Photograph was edited for publication purposes. 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 March 1, 1950 reads "Nabbed in dope ring killing." Brancato is seated, holding a cigarette. Brancato, indicted with 16 others on narcotics charges, was questioned by police about the murder of the government's key witness in that case.
Type
image
Format
1 photographic print :b&w ;26 x 21 cm. Photographic prints
Brancato, Tony Brancato, Tony--Trials, litigation, etc Crime--California--Los Angeles Criminals--California--Los Angeles Organized crime--California--Los Angeles Smoking--California--Los Angeles Men--California--Los Angeles Los Angeles Evening Herald and Express photographs Herald-Examiner Collection photographs
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