Joseph Campisi

Joseph Campisi
Born(1918-10-11)11 October 1918
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Died12 January 1990(1990-01-12) (aged 71)
Dallas, Texas
Other names
  • Joe Campisi
  • "Egyptian Joe"
OccupationsRestaurateur
(The Egyptian Lounge)
Years active1960s—1990
Known forDallas mafia
SpouseEdith
Children4

Joseph Campisi, also known as "Egyptian Joe", was an American restaurateur who ran The Egyptian Lounge. Campisi was the head of the Dallas mafia from the 1970s until his death in 1990.[1][2]

Biography

Campisi was born on 11 October 1918 in Dallas, Texas.[3]

Campisi was the underboss to then head of the Dallas mafia, Joseph Civello.[4] He accompanied him when he travelled to New York to attend the Apalachin meeting in 1957.[5] After Civello's successor Joe Ianni died in 1973, Campisi succeeded him as head of the mafia in Dallas.[6] Campisi and his brother Sam were associated with Carlos Marcello and made trips to New Orleans where they would socialize with members of the Marcello crime family, including Marcello's brothers.[4] Every Christmas he sent Marcello 260 pounds of Italian sausage.[7] He also attended the wedding of Michael Marcello.[8] Through Campisi, Vincent LoScalzo attempted to strengthen ties between the Trafficante crime family and Marcello.[9]

Other friends included Benny Binion and Henry Wade, the District Attorney of Dallas for 30 years.[8] Campisi had contacts with both judicial and law enforcement persons in Dallas. He was reportedly acquainted with state judges and officials in the Dallas County District Attorney's office. When William Decker was set to step down as Dallas Sheriff, Campisi hoped that Clarence Jones would serve as his replacement, as it would have meant that his bookmaking operations could have continued unhindered.[3] Campisi was never convicted of any offence; although he was arrested for murder in 1944, which the grand jury found was self-defense.[10]

He inherited The Egyptian Lounge when his father Carlo died.[2] Civello was a frequent visitor to the restaurant;[11] as was Jack Ruby, the killer of Lee Harvey Oswald. Ruby was a friend of Campisi's and Campisi was likewise a visitor to Ruby's strip club.[12] Ruby dined at Campisi's restaurant the night before Kennedy was assassinated and Campisi was later Ruby's first visitor in jail.[13][8] Campisi was interviewed by the FBI on 7 December 1963 but was not called to testify before the Warren Commission.[14] However he did provide a deposition to the House Select Committee on Assassinations on 29 May 1978.[15][7]

Campisi married Edith and they had four children.[3] He died at his restaurant on 12 January 1990 from a heart attack, aged 71.[16][4]: 272  Descendants of Joseph Campisi have built The Egyptian Lounge into a pizzeria chain, called Campisi's Restaurant.

References

  1. ^ Smith, Lydia (November 21, 2014). "Anniversary of John F Kennedy Assassination: Who Was Jack Ruby, the Forgotten Assassin's Assassin?". International Business Times. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  2. ^ a b Smith-Ruehle, Sarah (September 3, 2020). "Did Campisi's have ties to organized crime? Curious Texas looks at the history". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved February 6, 2026.
  3. ^ a b c Appendix to Hearing Before the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives Ninety-Fifth Congress Second Session: Volume IX. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1979. p. 335.
  4. ^ a b c Deitche, Scott M. (2004). Cigar City Mafia: A Complete History of the Tampa Underworld. Barricade Books. p. 180.
  5. ^ Newton, Michael (2014). The Mafia at Apalachin, 1957. McFarland. p. 100.
  6. ^ Sublett, Jesse (2015). 1960s Austin Gangsters: Organized Crime That Rocked the Capital. Arcadia Publishing. p. 157.
  7. ^ a b Blakey, G. Robert (November 7, 1993). "Murdered by the Mob?". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c Stephenson, Tom (December 1, 1989). "LOW PROFILE: The Godfather of Greenville Avenue". D Magazine.
  9. ^ Deitche, Scott M. (2004). Cigar City Mafia: A Complete History of the Tampa Underworld. Barricade Books. p. 240.
  10. ^ Moldea, Dan E. (1989). Interference: How Organized Crime Influences Professional Football. William Morrow & Co. p. 105.
  11. ^ Summers, Anthony (1994). Official and Confidential: The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover. Pocket Star Books. p. 381.
  12. ^ Reppetto, Thomas A. (2007). Bringing Down the Mob: The War Against the American Mafia. Henry Holt. p. 121.
  13. ^ Fairbank, Katie (February 14, 1999). "A Dallas Restaurant Cashes In on Mob Connection". LA Times.
  14. ^ Appendix to Hearing Before the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives Ninety-Fifth Congress Second Session: Volume IX. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1979. p. 337.
  15. ^ Appendix to Hearing Before the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives Ninety-Fifth Congress Second Session: Volume IX. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1979. p. 417.
  16. ^ "The Campisi Squeeze". D Magazine. March 1, 1990.
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