Episode 223- Gambino Associate Willie Boy Johnson

The Sit Down: A Crime History Podcast

Jeff Nadu

True Crime, Society & Culture, History

4.5 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 13 August 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Wilfred "Willie Boy" Johnson was a Gambino Crime Family associate. He was a longtime friend to John Gotti. He was also a longtime government informant and was extremely destructive to Gotti and the Mafia itself.

If you enjoy our show, please hit the like button and make sure if you're new around here you subscribe as well!

GO CHECK OUT PROPHET X AND GET INVOLVED- https://t.co/hnCEZoj1Sd
USE REFERRAL CODE- JEFFNADU

Jeff Nadu is an American Mafia and organized crime researcher, podcaster and content creator. He has worked at Barstool Sports and was hired personally by Dave Portnoy. His podcast "The Sitdown" with Jeff Nadu has put out hundreds of biographies on various mobsters, gangsters and criminals. He's also personally interviewed mobsters like Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, Dom Cicale, Anthony Ruggiano Jr, Gene Borrello and others as well as US Prosecutor John Gleeson and FBI Agents Joaquin "Jack" Garcia and Michael Campi. He has been personally endorsed by former Gambino mob captain Michael "Mikey Scars" DiLeonardo, esteemed author RJ Roger, and former Colombo Crime Family captain Michael Franzese.

DISCLAIMER: My videos and podcasts are meant for entertainment and educational use. All material found in my videos reflect this use. ANY opinions and or statements of any guest is merely he/her's opinion.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Welcome to the Sit Down, a Mafia History podcast.
0:16.0	Here's your host, Jeff Nadeo.
0:20.9	What's up, everybody, and welcome in to another edition of The Sit Down.
0:25.9	Today, ladies and gentlemen, we're going to get into another organized crime topic.
0:30.2	And one of the people that I see discussed on YouTube a lot is Willie Boy Johnson.
0:36.5	Now, the question is, why would I do a video on
0:39.4	Willie Boy? I've talked about him before. That said, I wanted to go further in to why
0:45.9	Willie Boy Johnson decided to cooperate against the mafia. It goes back to the old adage.
0:54.7	If you don't take care of your troops, they will rebel against you.
0:59.5	Did Willie Boy actually believe that he would never be killed by his old friend,
1:04.4	John Gotti?
1:05.0	I want to delve into the history of Willie Boy and why he did what he did.
1:14.4	And why in the end he did it. The story of Willie Boy Johnson next on the sit down.
1:18.6	Willie Boy Johnson was born Wilford Johnson on September 29th, 1935 in Brooklyn, New York.
1:26.3	According to census records, at the time of his birth, his family lived at 1772 Pacific
1:35.2	Street in Brooklyn.
1:37.8	Now, it was said Willie Boy Johnson's father, John, who was obviously the head of the household,
1:45.7	was unemployed.
1:51.2	And according to the 1940 census, he was, quote, unable to work. It was also said that John Johnson was a alcoholic and very rarely provided for his family.
2:00.0	He and his wife, Lillian, had five total children.
2:04.2	They would include obviously Willie Boy, four sons, one daughter, a daughter, Clara,
2:10.5	who was the oldest child of John and Lillian Johnson.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 26 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jeff Nadu, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Jeff Nadu and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.