Joe (Joe Dip) Dipollito

Joseph Dipollito was a dangerous mafioso affiliated with the Jack Dragna Family of Los Angeles who got his hands dirty in more ways than one!

Giuseppe (Joe Dip) Dipollito - aka Joseph Dippolito, Joseph Dipollito, Joseph Di Polito, Joseph D’Ippolito, Joseph Dapolito, and Joseph Polito - was born in New York on December 28, 1914. His father was a notorious California-based mafioso by the name of Calogero (Charlie Dip) Dipollito.

For many years he resided at 3193 Mayfield Avenue, in the San Bernardino section of California, just east of Los Angeles.

FBI #1413807, L.A. County Sheriffs Office #241443

At six feet tall and nearly 250 pounds, Joe Dipollito was a menacing hoodlum with an intimidating presence. He had jet-black hair, dark brown eyes, and was built like a linebacker.

Joe was first introduced and brought into Cosa Nostra as a young man by his father Charlie, who later sponsored his son for formal induction into the ranks of the Mafia as a soldier.

Both, before, and certainly after, he formally became a soldier in the Los Angeles Family of Ignazio (Jack) Dragna , Joe was his father’s constant sidekick, partner, and immediate subordinate.

In fact, over the years it was widely known throughout the Los Angeles underworld that father and son were a very close-knit team. The Dipollitos were deeply engaged in a wide variety of business activities, both legitimate and illegitimate. The Dipollito family was considered to be very wealthy. Years earlier, the elder Dipollito had purchased extensive acres of property that he converted into what later become a thriving wine vineyard.

As Joe came of age, Charlie introduced his son to the winemaking industry which eventually turned into a lucrative multimillion-dollar a year business for them. Based in San Bernardino Valley, Dipollito Vineyards became a major grower and producer of quality grapes which were later converted into red and white wine. It was a very profitable business model.

In addition to their vineyards, the Dipollitos also owned and operated the popular Arrowhead Liquor Store also located in San Bernardino, where they featured and promoted their products. Joe was officially listed on the books of this company as its “general manager.”

But despite any inclinations he may have had toward legitimate business ventures, “Joe Dip” as he was known in the underworld, was a devout hoodlum and mafioso through and through. In fact, he was considered one of the most dangerous gangsters in the State of California.

A Dangerous Gangster

His criminal arrest record dated all the way back to 1937 when he was only 23 years old and included violations of the Internal Revenue Laws, several bootlegging convictions, and arrests for assault among other entries.

But local and federal authorities say that Joe was involved in a whole lot more than just bootlegging and tax evasion. Over the years, they documented his intimate involvement in bookmaking and gambling , shylocking, and extortion. The Federal Bureau of Narcotics (FBN) also listed Joe and his father as suspected interstate heroin traffickers.

They also described Joe Dipollito as a known strong-arm man and killer for the Dragna Crime Family. Over the years, through their informers, the FBI gathered information that Joe Dipollito had been an active participant in several gangland slayings ordered by the Mafia’s hierarchy. In fact, he was said to have been the actual triggerman and killer on a number of occasions. Among other victims, Dipollito was involved in the plot and actual murder of mobster Louis (Russian Louie) Strauss, which he committed along with the infamous Jimmy (The Weasel) Fratianno and Frank (The Bomp) Bompensiero.

So, it seems that our man Joe was no wilting flower when it came to getting his hands dirty. And we’re not just talking about toiling in the fields and getting his fingernails dirty while picking grapes. We’re talking blood on his hands here!

The FBI compiled a list of known hoodlums and organized crime figures that he was known to be associated with over the years. The list reads like a who’s who of Southern California’s underworld and includes such Mafia luminaries as Family boss Jack Dragna, and his brother, Gaetano (Tom) Dragna, Tom’s son, Louis Tom Dragna, future underboss Nicola (Nick) Licata, capos Girolamo (Momo) Adamo and Giuseppe (Joe) Adamo , and regime soldiers Marco (Mimi) Li Mandri, his son, Joseph Li Mandri, Louis (Dago Louie) Piscopo, Frank (Frankie Rocco) Fiorello, Gaspare (Jasper) Matranga, Joseph (Joe) Sica, Frank (The Bomp) Bompensiero, and the notorious Aladena (Jimmy the Weasel) Fratianno.

Of noted importance was Dipollito’s close association in both the grape-producing business and his suspected partnership with fellow mafioso Frank Fiorello in the narcotics racket. In particular, the clandestine conversion of opium smuggled in from Mexico to produce morphine and heroin for later resale on the open wholesale market.

The FBN had once said this about Joe: “He is a high-ranking member of the Mafia in the San Bernardino area, having taken over the position relinquished by his father who has had to curtail his activities because of advanced age.”

Until next time…”The Other Guy”

Joe (Joe Dip) Dipollito

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