Leader of the Kansas City Mafia expeditionary force assigned to acquire the Gerhart's upper Midwest operation by negotiation, or force if required. Joe is probably the only made guy at the head of an eclectic crew of Italians, an African-American, and twin thugs--the Kitchens--who may have been raised Mennonite. Like all made guys of that era, he is very conscious of his appearance--not just clothing, but hair products as well. His accent and knowledge of Yiddish are signs that he was born and raised in Brooklyn - his Henry Hill style apprenticeship may have been to the guys in Murder Incorporated. Those origins may help explain the ease of his friendship with his black enforcer, Mike Milligan. Also, Joe's bosses may think that knowledge of Yiddish would help him with the Gerharts, who may speak a similar type of slang German when not wanting to be understood by outsiders.