| abstract
| - Nicholas “Jiggs” Forlano (died 1977) was a capo in the Colombo crime family. Forlano ran a largescale loan-sharking operation along with Jewish mobster Ruby Stein, and they were said to have had millions of dollars out on the streets earning them interest. Forlano was also heavily involved in the numbers racket for the Colombo family. In 1960 Forlano, along with the Gallo brothers and Carmine Persico, revolted against Profaci. The cause of the revolt was money - and the lack of it dispensed to their group by Profaci. The anti-Profaci forces kidnapped several of the enemy and barely missed snatching Profaci himself. Profaci secured the release of his men by making promises to the anti-Profaci revolt and then split the group by making promises to Forlano and Persico and some others if they turned on the Gallo brothers, the main driving force of the revolt. The result was Forlano joining Profaci against the Gallos. Forlano served under bosses Joe Profaci, Joseph Magliocco and Joseph Colombo. On January 5, 1962 Forlano attacked a loanshark victim who owed him money (and was also an associate of the Joey Gallo crew) inside the Copacabana club, almost taking his eye out with a newspaper hook he had on his ring finger. Forlano allegedly told the victim that he was lucky to escape with his life. A waiter later identified Forlano, Carmine Persico and Dominic “Donny Shacks” Montemarano as those seated with victim shortly before the attack took place. The three were later called before a grand jury and were charged with assault. However like many mob cases the case dragged on until 1968 when it was knocked down to ‘simple assault’ and ‘time served’ and were set free. In the 1970s, Forlano moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida and started operating there. In Florida he became close to Joseph “Joe Dogs” Iannuzzi, who was a Gambino crime family associate and partner of Gambino soldier Thomas Agro in a loansharking operation in Miami. Forlano was once allegedly offered the top spot in the family following the attempted murder and subsequent incapacitation of family boss Joseph Colombo but declined, according to Iannuzzi who later became a government informant. While in Florida Forlano also Allegedly helped Tom Farese, a cousin of Carmine Persico to form Olympic Corporation, which owned realty, restaurants, freight holdings and a motion picture production company in Broward, and was a front for a drug smuggling and money laundering operation. Forlano had met Farese in prison in the early ’70s. In 1977, Forlano died of a heart attack at the Hialeah race track in Florida.
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