Carmen Milano

Carmen Joseph Milano was an American lawyer who eventually became a member of the American Mafia, serving as underboss of the Los Angeles crime family. The criminal organization he served was headed by his older brother Peter Milano. His nickname was "Flipper", after the TV dolphin.

Biography Early life Carmen Milano was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1929 to Anthony and Josephine Milano (née DiSanto). His family was of Calabrian origin and he had three brothers, John, Frank, and Peter. His father was Mafioso Anthony Milano, who was underboss of the Cleveland crime family from 1930 until his retirement in 1976. His uncle, Frank Milano was boss of the Cleveland family and sat on the original Commission from 1930 until 1935, when he fled the country to avoid charges for tax evasion. Carmen moved with his mother and siblings to Beverly Hills, California when he was a teenager after his mother developed cancer. His father, who had rackets and business interests in both Ohio and California, split time between the two states. When the brothers graduated high school, Peter decided to stay in Los Angeles and work with Jewish gangster Mickey Cohen.

Carmen decided to attend Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and after graduating was accepted to Loyola Law School. During his attendance, he was a member of the Phi Delta Phi fraternity. While in law school, he became engaged to Geraldine Giesler, the daughter of prominent criminal defense lawyer Jerry Giesler. On January 5, 1955, Milano was admitted to the State Bar of California. The club was owned by Carmen's father and were attended by mobsters, businessman, and politicians alike. During the 1970s, Milano was paid a retainer for few, if any, legal services to Teamsters Local 410 and 436, which are labor unions that were allegedly controlled by Milano's father. Milano eventually was disbarred from practicing law in an incident involving fraudulent workers' compensation claims. Kenny Gallo described him as the tougher of the two brothers.

L.A. mobster turned government witness Anthony Fiato once described Milano after their first encounter: I thought he was a fucking hobo. His shirt's open, he has a big potbelly, scuffed shoes. He tells me to call him Flipper, like the dolphin. My first impression of this guy was that he was a down-at-the-heels hobo, more so than some high-level Mafia member. He was more of an albatross than a dolphin. But he was tougher than he looked. He had a reputation and wasn't afraid to mix it up. In exchange for the plea, he received a six-month prison sentence and 3 years probation, but never admitted to being a part of the Mafia. In 2000, he was sentenced to 21 months in prison by federal judge Philip Martin Pro. Despite this Peter Milano sought no reprisals for his brother's betrayal, who continued to remain underboss when released from prison.

During the investigation, former FBI agent Bob Hammer was quoted as saying:

Hammer, however, was also impressed by his manners and intelligence:

Milano was released from prison on February 27, 2002. Milano died January 3, 2006, at Spring Valley Hospital of cardiac arrest and renal failure.