Actor James Caan and the Russos: a family affair

How did the Hollywood actor James Caan (above, right) come to be so close to members of the Colombo crime family, one of the 'five families' who control organised crime in New York? It's a question intriguing bloggers following the actor's offer to stand bail in earlier this week for 'street boss' Andrew Russo.

Russo - or 'Andy Mush' as he's known in Brooklyn and Long Island - was one of the 100-plus New York gangsters picked up in an FBI swoop the previous week.

"I've known Andrew since 1972," Caan wrote to the court, "and in all that time I have known him only as an unbelievable father, grandfather, great-grandfather and as good a friend as any person could ask for.

Caan, still best known for his role as Sonny Corleone in The Godfather, went on: "I'd be willing to put up anything of personal value that the court would accept for bail. I would not hesitate a moment to fly in and be present if the court should so request."

Caan's offer turned out to be one the presiding magistrate, Cheryl Pollak, found it easy to refuse. Having heard a secret tape recording in which Russo is introduced to fellow gangsters as the family's "representante" or "boss," to the sound of applause, Pollak denied him bail, calling Russo "a danger to the community".

What Caan's glowing tribute didn't include was the fact that 'Andy Mush' is the real-life godfather to Caan's son, Scott. Nor did it mention that this is not the first time Caan has gone into bat for a member of the Colombo family.

Five years ago, Caan wrote to the Brooklyn District Attorney, Charles J Hynes, to thank him personally for launching in investigation into the corrupt FBI agent Lindley DeVecchio. Why? Because one of the many men jailed as the result of investigations by DeVecchio was Andrew Russo's son, Joseph 'Jo-Jo' Russo.

According to the New York Daily News at the time, Caan wrote to Hynes: "Joseph Russo is a dear friend of mine and I cannot express enough how pleased I am that your office has taken interest and is in pursuit of correcting this problem, (and) taking the time to evaluate the situation to correct the wrongs that have affected so many lives."

Caan has mentioned in the past that he gets confused for an Italian because of his role in The Godfather, when he is actually of Jewish descent.

"I won Italian of the Year twice in New York, and I'm not Italian," he is reported as saying. "I was denied in a country club once. Oh, yeah, the guy sat in front of the board, and he says, "No, no, he's a wiseguy, been downtown. He's a made guy."

But if he insists on standing up for men like the Russos... well, as Tony Soprano would have said, Whaddya gonna do? ·