![]() Ruddy remove the words “Mafia, Cosa Nostra and Mafioso” from Francis Ford Coppola’s breakthrough feature before giving the film the Italian-American Civil Rights League seal of approval. In 1971, he even had The Godfather producer Albert S. Never mind the fact that Colombo was the head of a powerful crime family, one of the Five Families that ran New York, he wanted the rest of the world to think that it didn’t exist. Still, whatever the amount, there were a lot of New Yorkers gathered near Central Park to hear Colombo’s message about the supposed mistreatment of Italian-Americans at the hand of the federal government and the entertainment companies that, he believed, viewed the decedents of the boot-shaped country to be Cosa Nostra or Mafioso. Some say there were 150,000 people present while other claim it was more like 5,000. The festivities kicked off at noon and the place was packed. ![]() Across the street was Central Park and, a few feet away, the Paramount Theater was showing The Hellstorm Chronicle, a documentary about insects and the end of mankind. There were numerous vendors selling food and souvenirs as entertainers performed in front of a crowd of thousands. It looked as though the Feast of San Gennaro had moved uptown for a day. As the founder and leader of the organization and event, The Unity Day gathering was a massive occasion decorated with green, white and red banners that represented the Flag of Italy, while actual flags were waved by proud Italians of every age and class. Seconds before the three shots were fired, Colombo walked towards the Columbus Circle stage to deliver a speech at the Italian-American Civil Rights League rally. An hour and forty minutes into The Irishman, we witness the brutal shooting of 48-year-old mobster, Joe Colombo Sr., at the hands of a Black man on Jin the summertime streets of New York City.
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