- Mini Bio
- Name: Joseph Gallo
- Born: 7th April 1929, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
- Died: 7th April 1972, Manhattan, New York, U.S.
- Occupation: Self employed gangster
- Nicknames: Joey the Blond and Crazy Joe
- Famous friends: Bob Dylan wrote the song 'Joey' dedicated to him
- Cause of death: Died in a hail of bullets in Umberto's Clam House in Little Italy in Manhattan
- Trivia: His story was the subject of a book and a movie called 'The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight'
"I respectfully decline to answer because I honestly believe my answer might tend to incriminate me"
Joey Gallo"A dog's a pain in the neck if you're trying to bust in some place. Even if you kill him, it makes a lot of noise, some dogs are hard to shoot. They move pretty good. Then you've got to shoot again, and pretty soon you've woken up the whole neighborhood"
Joey Gallo"They ring the bell for breakfast, all the cell doors open up - but Joey Gallo don't go out and march down to the mess hall with a guy in front and a gut behind. He waits. I'm in no hurry. When everybody's passed, then I go out"
Joey GalloSame as in prison. You got to go right to what it takes to get by. You got to do what you have to do to survive. But it's got to be for a reason, right? I mean it's not just to stay alive no matter what"
Joey Gallo"How could I be any different. I travelled with bums from the time I was nine, you know what I mean? At thirteen I was running with the gang, and anything we couldn't steal we busted"
Joey Gallo"Me, I can't even get to run a crap game. Why? Ya need a college education to run a crap game? When you want someone hit, we're good enough. But not good enough to come to the house"
Joey Gallo"It's the only way to go. By your own hand. I honour him for that. He was a brave man. When it's all over and there's nothing more, you kill yourself" [about Abner Zwillman]
Joey Gallo"This guy meets me in the machine shop and he's coming at me with a wrench, and I know this is a contract. So you know what I did? I jumped up and bit his tit off"
Joey Gallo"I read. I go see the Rabbi - he's a straight shooter. I don't bother with the Priest - a bull artist - but I saw a lot of the Rabbi"
Joey Gallo"No, the difference between you and me is that I can kill you. But you can't kill me"
Joey Gallo"I could have worked my way up to head soda jerk at Whelan's Drugstore, but what kind of life is that for a guy like me?"
Joey Gallo"You know, I never in my whole life sat with my back to that much window"
Joey Gallo"A lot of people think I look like Richard Widmark"
Joey Gallo"Nice carpet you got here. Good for a crap game"
Joey GalloGreat quotes are not where you find great wisdom. It's where you share this knowledge that counts
Sharing Is Caring
Joey Gallo Biography
Orson Welles once quipped that "the classy gangster was a Hollywood invention"
, well if it was maybe he had not yet met Joey Gallo. Gallo was as sharp tongued as they come and he successfully charmed his way into the upper echelons of New York society.
In 1958 he was summoned to Washington to testify to a select committee about organised crime, however Gallo declined to answer questions and his visit became more notable for him informing Robert F. Kennedy that he had a fine carpet that would be good for a Crap (dice) game.
Heralding from the mean streets of Brooklyn he became a hero to many and editorial gold dust to tabloid editors, however his style was not appreciated by all and in true New York gangster style he died in under a hail of gun fire in a Little Italy eatery on the morning of his 43rd birthday.
As you would expect from a New York wise guy he was never short of a quick quip or two, this is my compilation of 14 of the best Joey Gallo quotes
Quotes About Joey Gallo
The hard nosed New York detective Albert Seedman described Gallo as: "That little guy with steel balls"
Sina Essary described Joey after his 1971 release from prison: "He looked like an old man. He was a bag of bones. You could see the remnants of what had been a strikingly handsome man in his youth. He had beautiful features--beautiful nose, beautiful mouth and piercing blue eyes"