Joe Colombo — A Historical Profile This brief profile looks at Joe Colombo’s activities in New York during the early 1970s. He became publicly known for promoting the Italian-American Civil Rights League, which he presented as a response to stereotypes in media coverage. His increased visibility drew attention from law-enforcement agencies and created tension within organized-crime circles. In 1971, during a public rally in Columbus Circle, Colombo was critically injured by an attacker posing as