| rdfs:comment | - DeSimone was born in 1909 in Pueblo, Colorado where his father Rosario was reportedly involved with the early Denver crime family organization. As a child his family moved to California. Desimone graduated from the University of Southern California Law School and became a lawyer in May 1933. Soon after he turned to a life in crime. DeSimone was involved in one of the botched assassination attempts on Mickey Cohen as a getaway driver. Jimmy "the weasel" Fratianno signaled DeSimone after a meeting with Cohen and DeSimone pulled up in a car with Frank Bompensiero, Leo Moceri, and another armed man. By the time they got past Cohen's bodyguards, Cohen had hidden in the bathrrom escaping harm, but two of his associates were injured and another, Harold "Hooky" Rothman, was killed. With a job as a
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| abstract | - DeSimone was born in 1909 in Pueblo, Colorado where his father Rosario was reportedly involved with the early Denver crime family organization. As a child his family moved to California. Desimone graduated from the University of Southern California Law School and became a lawyer in May 1933. Soon after he turned to a life in crime. DeSimone was involved in one of the botched assassination attempts on Mickey Cohen as a getaway driver. Jimmy "the weasel" Fratianno signaled DeSimone after a meeting with Cohen and DeSimone pulled up in a car with Frank Bompensiero, Leo Moceri, and another armed man. By the time they got past Cohen's bodyguards, Cohen had hidden in the bathrrom escaping harm, but two of his associates were injured and another, Harold "Hooky" Rothman, was killed. With a job as an attorney, DeSimone was able to avoid police scrutiny. His lawyer career was no front job however. In the 1940s and 1950s DeSimone served as lawyer for mobsters such as Jimmy "the weasel" Fratianno and Johnny Roselli as well as providing legal aid to others. After Jack Dragna died of a heart attack in 1956, DeSimone was elected as the new official Boss of the Los Angeles crime family. Jimmy Fratianno believed he had rigged the election by making deals and promises with members of the family to have them vote in his favor to be able to overstep Dragna underboss Girolamo "Momo" Adamo and become boss. According to an informant shortly after he became boss, DeSimone allegedly raped the wife of his underboss, Girolamo Adamo, in front of her husband. The humiliated "Momo" later shot his wife and committed suicide in their San Diego home. Marie Adamo survived her wounds and later married Frank Bompensiero. It is uncertain if DeSimone actually committed the actions that caused "Momo" to kill himself. By all accounts DeSimone was a straight laced and sober character. One of his first acts as boss was attending the 1957 Apalachin mob convention in upstate New York along with his new underboss Simone Scozzari. When the conference was raided by law enforcement, DeSimone was outed as a mobster, and his underboss was deported to Italy for being an illegal immigrant.
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