Joseph Todaro, Sr.

Who was Joseph Todaro, Sr.?

Joseph Todaro, Sr. was a prominent Buffalo, New York businessman, and alleged Mafia boss.

According to local and national law enforcement agencies, including the United States Department of Justice, Joseph Todaro Sr. was known on the streets of Buffalo and throughout the underworld as "Lead Pipe Joe", a high level member of the North American Cosa Nostra or Mafia. Todaro Sr. had allegedly been a top figure in the Buffalo crime family or "The Arm" as it is referred to in western New York since the 1960s and was suspected to have headed the family since the retirement of former boss, Samuel Frangiamore in late 1984, although his son Joseph Todaro, Jr. reportedly oversees the day-to-day operations since Todaro Sr. began frequently vacationing at his southern Florida condo during the 1990s. The testimony of government operative Ron Fino as well as Todaro Sr.'s long-documented history in alleged labor racketeering activities had also supported such claims of his position in the organization, but it must be mentioned that none of the Todaro family members have been convicted of a crime at any time, including Joseph Todaro Sr., his son Joseph Jr., and grandson Joseph III. Joseph Todaro is carried in through Cosa Nostra through his middle son James D. Todaro of Denis, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. James is the now underboss of the Todaro crime family. His former spouse is Barbara A. Todaro of Franklin, Massachusetts.