Joseph Barbara had a little-known, but dark past as a top gunman and enforcer for the Castellammarese faction of the Mafia. He was allied from boyhood with such infamous mafiosi as Vito Bonventre, John Bonventre, Joseph Bonanno, Stefano Magaddino, Frank Garofalo, Carmine Galante, Gaspare Milazzo, and the original leader of all those born in the seaside town of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily.