Animal (23 page)

Arthur “Tashi” Bratsos. A trusted soldier in Barboza’s crew, Bratsos met a violent end inside the Nite Lite Cafe in 1966.
Courtesy of the Massachusetts State Police
.

Chico Amico. Barboza loved Chico like a brother and vowed revenge for his murder at the hands of La Cosa Nostra.
Courtesy of the Massachusetts State Police
.

Edward “Teddy” Deegan (
mugshot
). A small-time burglar and killer whose murder of Anthony Sacramone put him at odds with the Animal.
Courtesy of the Massachusetts State Police
.

Joseph J. R. Russo. Known as a flashy dresser and a “bleeping genius with a carbine,” Russo was sent to San Francisco to hunt down the Animal.
Courtesy of the Massachusetts State Police
.

The Deegan murder scene. One of the most significant gangland slayings in American history, Teddy Deegan’s murder in March 1965 would trigger a decadeslong court battle, resulting in one of the largest judgments against the federal government in history.
Courtesy of the Massachusetts State Police
.

Joe Barboza, age 22. The former leader of the Cream Pie Bandits, Joe “The Animal” Barboza spent much of his early years in reform school and behind bars.
Courtesy of the Massachusetts State Police
.

The Animal in 1966. The FBI convinced Barboza to provide false testimony in two major mob trials in hopes of destroying the New England Mafia once and for all.
Courtesy of the Massachusetts State Police
.

When Animals Attack. Joe “The Animal” Barboza became the first man ever placed into the Federal Witness Protection Program.
Courtesy of Kevin Cole
.

When Animals Attack. Photos of Barboza would go uncredited in newspapers because photographers were afraid of reprisal from the Animal. Here, Barboza lunges at Boston Herald photographer Kevin Cole for snapping his picture.
Courtesy Kevin Cole
.

Thacher Island. Barboza and his family were guarded on Thacher Island, off Rockport, Massachusetts, as he prepared his testimony against Angiulo and Patriarca. Patriarca sent a hit squad to the island in hopes of silencing the Animal.

The Mafia could not reach Barboza, so assassins tried to kill his lawyer John Fitzgerald with a car bomb in January 1968.
Courtesy of Howie Carr, author of
Hitman.

The powerful bomb blast snapped powerlines and damaged windows in the neighborhood near Fitzgerald’s law office.
Courtesy of Howie Carr, author of
Hitman.