James Failla
American mobster (1919-1999)
James "Jimmy Brown" Failla (January 22, 1919 – August 5, 1999) was an American mobster who was a high ranking caporegime with the Gambino crime family and a major power in the garbage-hauling industry in New York City. Failla's crew was based in Brooklyn, with operations stretching into Staten Island, Manhattan, and New Jersey.
Criminal career
Early days
Failla was raised in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, a neighborhood dominated by New York's La Cosa Nostra families. Failla eventually relocated to a modest home on Staten Island. In 1951, Failla was convicted of bookmaking and illegal gambling charges and paid a $25 fine. During the 1950s, Failla became close to Carlo Gambino, underboss to Albert Anastasia, boss of what would become the Gambino crime family. Failla later served as Gambino's chauffeur/bodyguard. After the 1957 murder of Anastasia, the new boss Carlo Gambino appointed Failla as his point man in the waste-hauling industry.
In 1966, Failla was again fined for bookmaking and illegal gambling. In 1970, Failla was charged with contempt of court for refusing to testify before a grand jury, but the charge was later dropped.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “James Failla” as american mobster (1919-1999). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as american mobster (1919-1999). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1322763. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1919, 1999, 1951 and 1957.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “James Failla”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow James Failla primary sources, James Failla archive and James research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “James Failla”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “James Failla” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.