John Pate
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John Pate was a Colombo crime family gangster and later a mentally troubled turncoat.
Born in New York, Pate graduated in 1964 from Wagner College in Staten Island, New York with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. Pate later attended art design classes at Columbia University and the New York University Institute of Fine Arts in Manhattan. However, his real interests were in organized crime. Pate started participating in organized crime activities in the Great Kills and New Dorp sections of Staten Island. In 1982, Pate became a made man, or full member, of the Colombo family. In 1985, Colombo boss Carmine Persico ordered Pate to kill Persico's son-in-law, Steven Piazza. Piazza's decomposed body was later discovered in the trunk of his car in Coney Island, Brooklyn.
In 1986, Persico was convicted of murder and sent to prison for life. In his absence, Persico designated Victor Orena as the acting boss of the family. As time passed, Orena decided that he should become the official Colombo boss. In 1991, working on behalf of Persico, family consigliere Carmine Sessa recruited Pate to be part of a team to kill Orena at his Long Island, New York home. However, Orena spotted the team at his house before they could set up an ambush and escaped unharmed. This attempted assassination provoked a war between the family's two factions. Pate supplied the Persico loyalists with firearms and ammunition. At one point, Pate and four other mobsters used black Hasidic- Jewish Rekel coats as disguises in an attempt to ambush Orena supporter William Cutolo. However, this hit was also a failure.
In 1993, Pate was convicted of murder conspiracy and sentenced to 15 years in prison. At this point, Pate started exhibiting signs of mental illness, claiming that his grandmother was telling him to commit suicide. After a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation, Pate was sent to a mental facility. However, in October 1993 Pate contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He claimed that his mental problems were faked and asked to become a government witness. Pate's family would receive threats from Persico backers, which including an attempt to blow up his Staten Island home. In 1994 Pate testified at the trial of Alphonse Persico, but did not provide any compelling testimony for the prosecution. In 2001, citing his deceitful performance at the Persico trial, the FBI dropped him from their witness program and Pate was given 13 years in prison with credit for time served.
On October 22, 2003, Pate was released from prison.
