Anthony Joseph Giacalone, known as Tony Giacalone and by the nickname Tony Jack (January 2, 1919 – February 23, 2001) was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 organized crime

Organized crime

Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...

 figure in Detroit, serving as a capo

Caporegime

A caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to just a capo, is a term used in the Mafia for a high ranking made member of a crime family who heads a "crew" of soldiers and has major social status and influence in the organization...

 in the Detroit Partnership

Detroit Partnership

The Detroit Partnership, also known as the Detroit crime family, Detroit Combination, Detroit Mafia, Detroit Outfit or Zerilli crime family is an American Mafia crime family based in Detroit, Michigan...

. He came to public notice during the 1970s during investigations into the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa

Jimmy Hoffa

James Riddle "Jimmy" Hoffa was an American labor union leader....

, as he was one of two Mafia

Mafia

The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...

 members – the other being Anthony Provenzano

Anthony Provenzano

Anthony Provenzano also known as Tony Pro was a Caporegime in the Genovese crime family of New York City...

 – that Hoffa was to meet the day he disappeared. Giacalone was later jailed for ten years in 1976 for income tax fraud.

Biography

Giacalone was born on January 2, 1919 to Giacomo and Antonina Ciaramitaro, one of three children, Vito and Charles and Rose. He stood at 6 ft and weighed 230 pounds with a large build. He worked as a bartender and real estate salesman and broker.

Early involvement in crime

Dan E. Moldea, author of The Hoffa Wars, detailed Giacalone's early career in the Detroit Mafia "running errands for bookmakers" before becoming an enforcer for crime boss Joseph Zerilli

Joseph Zerilli

Joseph Zerilli was a Prohibition-era Detroit gangster who led the crime family known as the Detroit Partnership from the 1930s through the 1970s.-Early life:...

. He earned a reputation as a "tough guy and a natty dresser" with a stare of "cold intensity" according to Mike Wendland

Mike Wendland

Mike Wendland is a technology reporter for the Detroit Free Press. He also has published several books on the internet, appears frequently on Detroit radio stations and has features distributed to NBC affiliates....

.

Death

Giacalone died on February 23, 2001, aged 82. He had been admitted to St. John's Hospital and Medical Center in Detroit for heart failure and complications arising from kidney disease.