Anthony Brancato (July 18, 1914 – August 6, 1951) was an American criminal[1] who served as a freelance gunman to various Mafia and syndicate organizations.
Broncato was briefly considered by police a suspect in a few Hollywood gangland slayings, including that of New York and Los Angeles mobster Bugsy Siegel and Mickey Cohen gunman Hooky Rothman. Brancato was also a suspect in the July 1949 assassination attempt on Cohen himself. Fresno, California police questioned Brancato about the drug-related death of Abe Davidson. He was a relative of Cleveland crime syndicate underboss Frank Brancato who served under Jack Lacovelli in 1972 and later underboss to John Scalish until his death in 1973.[citation needed]
Brancato & Trombino: The "Two Tonys"
Brancato frequently teamed up with fellow Kansas City criminal Anthony Trombino. The two men were arrested 46 times in total, on charges ranging from robbery and rape, to assault.
On May 28, 1951, the "Two Tonys", as they were called, robbed the sports betting operation at the syndicate-controlled Flamingo Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, escaping with $3,500 in cash. Neglecting to wear a mask during the robbery, Brancato was identified by sportsbook manager Hy Goldbaum, who had been held up by Brancato in Beverly Hills two years earlier. He was placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list on June 27, 1951.[3][4] Two days later, with his lawyer present, Brancato surrendered to federal agents in San Francisco. After posting a $10,000 bail, Brancato was rearrested before leaving the building on a Nevada warrant charging him as a fugitive from justice. However, he was now out of money and was unable to post bail.
Brancato's case soon became a minor cause célèbre among students of constitutional law, accusing state and federal authorities of violating Brancato's civil rights. Released without bond on a writ of habeas corpus, Brancato traveled south to Los Angeles to rendezvous with Trombino.
Final days
Having identified the duo as the Flamingo Hotel Casino Las Vegas race and sportsbook armed robbers, the mob was soon looking for Brancato and Trombino. L.A. mob boss Jack Dragna had ordered their deaths, and he personally gave Jimmy Fratianno the assigned duty of setting up the mob-sanctioned hit. In desperate need of cash for their various legal bills, the Two Tonys made their personal situation worse by cheating gambler Sam Lazes out of $3,000, after posing as collectors for a local syndicate bookmaker. Mobster Jimmy ("The Weasel") Fratianno contacted Brancato and Trombino through Sam Lazes and his actor friend, Sam London. Fratianno asked to meet the Two Tonys in mid afternoon at London's Hollywood apartment on August 6, to talk about the proposed robbery of a high stakes cash poker game that night in Hollywood.
However, the real purpose of the late afternoon meeting at London's apartment was to set up both Tony Brancato and Tony Trombino. At the meeting, the duo agreed to meet Fratianno later on Ogden Street, outside London's apartment, at 7:30 pm, to hold up the huge cash poker game. Fratianno said he would bring another mob associate to help with the poker game robbery, and Jimmy helpfully added he would bring the "tools" (the handguns) needed for the armed robbery.[citation needed]
On August 6, 1951, Brancato and Trombino were shot to death about 7:30 pm, while sitting in the front seat of their Oldsmobile on Ogden Street, near Hollywood Boulevard.[5][6] The mobsters involved in the murder: Fratianno, Nick Licata, Charles "Charley Bats" Battaglia, Angelo Polizzi, and Leo "Lips" Moceri, plus Fratianno's brother Warren (who had no part in the murder), were arrested the next day for the crime. Licata had set up a well planned phony alibi for the mobsters at his restaurant, The Five O'Clock Club, in Burbank, California. The Los Angeles mobsters claimed to police they were all attending a friendly "Fish Fry" at the Five O'Clock Club. No suspect was ever charged with the Two Tonys murders, and they remained unsolved. Although the LAPD still strongly suspected the L.A. mob of the murders, The Two Tonys murder case would remain unsolved until Jimmy Fratianno entered the federal Witness Protection Program over 25 years later, and admitted to murdering the duo with Charley Battaglia.[citation needed]
In popular culture
Film
In the 1997 Curtis Hanson film L.A. Confidential, Tony Brancato and Anthony Trombino are shot to death in a 1948 Oldsmobilecoupé parked off Sunset Boulevard. The assailants are reported by Hush-Hush magazine to be working for unknown forces taking over the Mickey Cohen rackets after he was sent to prison for income tax evasion (great Hush-Hush headline "In The Joint With Micky C").[7]
The title of episode 53 of The Sopranos, "Two Tonys" (2004), refers in part to Tony Brancato and Anthony Trombino.
References
^"Anthony brancato: criminal who worked as a hitman..." MARCA English. 2018-03-09. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
^Swierczynski, Duane (2014-02-04). The Encyclopedia of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List: Over Fifty Years of Convicts, Robbers, Terrorists, and Other Rogues. ISBN9781628739060.
^"21. Anthony Brancato". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
^"Ten Most Wanted Fugitives 1 to 100". Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
^"Pulp International - Photos of the death scene of Tony Brancato and Tony Trombino 1951". www.pulpinternational.com. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
^"The Gangster Squad sets a trap for Mickey Cohen". Los Angeles Times. 2008-10-28. Retrieved 2020-12-05.
anthony, brancato, july, 1914, august, 1951, american, criminal, served, freelance, gunman, various, mafia, syndicate, organizations, most, wanted, fugitivechargesrobberydescriptionborn, 1914, july, 1914kansas, city, missouri, united, statesdiedaugust, 1951, 1. Anthony Brancato July 18 1914 August 6 1951 was an American criminal 1 who served as a freelance gunman to various Mafia and syndicate organizations Anthony BrancatoFBI Ten Most Wanted FugitiveChargesRobberyDescriptionBorn 1914 07 18 July 18 1914Kansas City Missouri United StatesDiedAugust 6 1951 1951 08 06 aged 37 Los Angeles California United StatesStatusAddedJune 27 1951CaughtJune 29 1951Number21Captured Contents 1 Early career 2 Brancato amp Trombino The Two Tonys 3 Final days 4 In popular culture 4 1 Film 4 2 Literature 4 3 Television 5 ReferencesEarly career EditBorn in Kansas City in 1914 2 Brancato became involved in armed robbery and drug dealing He later moved to Southern California in 1946 Arriving in Los Angeles during the early stages of the mob feud between Los Angeles crime family boss Jack Dragna and Mickey Cohen Brancato was immediately able to find freelance mob work He soon compiled a criminal record including illegal gambling narcotics and bootlegging citation needed Broncato was briefly considered by police a suspect in a few Hollywood gangland slayings including that of New York and Los Angeles mobster Bugsy Siegel and Mickey Cohen gunman Hooky Rothman Brancato was also a suspect in the July 1949 assassination attempt on Cohen himself Fresno California police questioned Brancato about the drug related death of Abe Davidson He was a relative of Cleveland crime syndicate underboss Frank Brancato who served under Jack Lacovelli in 1972 and later underboss to John Scalish until his death in 1973 citation needed Brancato amp Trombino The Two Tonys EditBrancato frequently teamed up with fellow Kansas City criminal Anthony Trombino The two men were arrested 46 times in total on charges ranging from robbery and rape to assault On May 28 1951 the Two Tonys as they were called robbed the sports betting operation at the syndicate controlled Flamingo Hotel and Resort in Las Vegas Nevada escaping with 3 500 in cash Neglecting to wear a mask during the robbery Brancato was identified by sportsbook manager Hy Goldbaum who had been held up by Brancato in Beverly Hills two years earlier He was placed on the FBI s Ten Most Wanted list on June 27 1951 3 4 Two days later with his lawyer present Brancato surrendered to federal agents in San Francisco After posting a 10 000 bail Brancato was rearrested before leaving the building on a Nevada warrant charging him as a fugitive from justice However he was now out of money and was unable to post bail Brancato s case soon became a minor cause celebre among students of constitutional law accusing state and federal authorities of violating Brancato s civil rights Released without bond on a writ of habeas corpus Brancato traveled south to Los Angeles to rendezvous with Trombino Final days EditHaving identified the duo as the Flamingo Hotel Casino Las Vegas race and sportsbook armed robbers the mob was soon looking for Brancato and Trombino L A mob boss Jack Dragna had ordered their deaths and he personally gave Jimmy Fratianno the assigned duty of setting up the mob sanctioned hit In desperate need of cash for their various legal bills the Two Tonys made their personal situation worse by cheating gambler Sam Lazes out of 3 000 after posing as collectors for a local syndicate bookmaker Mobster Jimmy The Weasel Fratianno contacted Brancato and Trombino through Sam Lazes and his actor friend Sam London Fratianno asked to meet the Two Tonys in mid afternoon at London s Hollywood apartment on August 6 to talk about the proposed robbery of a high stakes cash poker game that night in Hollywood However the real purpose of the late afternoon meeting at London s apartment was to set up both Tony Brancato and Tony Trombino At the meeting the duo agreed to meet Fratianno later on Ogden Street outside London s apartment at 7 30 pm to hold up the huge cash poker game Fratianno said he would bring another mob associate to help with the poker game robbery and Jimmy helpfully added he would bring the tools the handguns needed for the armed robbery citation needed On August 6 1951 Brancato and Trombino were shot to death about 7 30 pm while sitting in the front seat of their Oldsmobile on Ogden Street near Hollywood Boulevard 5 6 The mobsters involved in the murder Fratianno Nick Licata Charles Charley Bats Battaglia Angelo Polizzi and Leo Lips Moceri plus Fratianno s brother Warren who had no part in the murder were arrested the next day for the crime Licata had set up a well planned phony alibi for the mobsters at his restaurant The Five O Clock Club in Burbank California The Los Angeles mobsters claimed to police they were all attending a friendly Fish Fry at the Five O Clock Club No suspect was ever charged with the Two Tonys murders and they remained unsolved Although the LAPD still strongly suspected the L A mob of the murders The Two Tonys murder case would remain unsolved until Jimmy Fratianno entered the federal Witness Protection Program over 25 years later and admitted to murdering the duo with Charley Battaglia citation needed In popular culture EditFilm Edit In the 1997 Curtis Hanson film L A Confidential Tony Brancato and Anthony Trombino are shot to death in a 1948 Oldsmobile coupe parked off Sunset Boulevard The assailants are reported by Hush Hush magazine to be working for unknown forces taking over the Mickey Cohen rackets after he was sent to prison for income tax evasion great Hush Hush headline In The Joint With Micky C 7 Literature Edit In James Ellroy s White Jazz the novel s protagonist David Klein kills Tony Brancato and Anthony Trombino Television Edit The title of episode 53 of The Sopranos Two Tonys 2004 refers in part to Tony Brancato and Anthony Trombino References Edit Anthony brancato criminal who worked as a hitman MARCA English 2018 03 09 Retrieved 2020 12 05 Swierczynski Duane 2014 02 04 The Encyclopedia of the FBI s Ten Most Wanted List Over Fifty Years of Convicts Robbers Terrorists and Other Rogues ISBN 9781628739060 21 Anthony Brancato Federal Bureau of Investigation Retrieved 2020 12 05 Ten Most Wanted Fugitives 1 to 100 Federal Bureau of Investigation Retrieved 2020 12 05 Pulp International Photos of the death scene of Tony Brancato and Tony Trombino 1951 www pulpinternational com Retrieved 2020 12 05 The Gangster Squad sets a trap for Mickey Cohen Los Angeles Times 2008 10 28 Retrieved 2020 12 05 Hush Hush Archived from the original on 2003 04 20 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Anthony Brancato amp oldid 1120064881, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
