Jo Attia
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| Jo Attia | |
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 Jo Attia.jpg Mug shot c.1936 | |
| Born | Joseph Victor Brahim Attia 10 June 1916 La Richardais, Ille-et-Vilaine, France |
| 22 July 1972 (aged 56)22 July 1972 (aged 56) | |
| 🏳️ Nationality | French |
| 💼 Occupation | |
Jo Attia, born Joseph Victor Brahim Attia, (10 June 1916 – 22 July 1972), was a French mobster who was a notorious figure in Le Milieu organized crime syndicate from 1940 to 1970.
Attia committed his first crimes at the end of the 1930s. Sent to the Battalions of Light Infantry of Africa, he fought in the Frankish Corps in 1939–40. Discharged from the military, he practiced extortion and committed various burglaries, thefts and trafficking in Paris. He is said to have been part of a resistance network, but doubts remain about this. Arrested, he was transferred on 16 March 1943 to the premises of the French Gestapo at Rue Lauriston where he was tortured, then handed over to the Germans and deported to Mauthausen. His energetic behavior inside the concentration camp earned him the recognition of other prisoners, including several noteworthy personalities such as Edmond Michelet, who would testify in Attia's favor during the many trials. With Pierre Loutrel, Abel Danos, Georges Boucheseiche, Raymond Naudy and Marcel Ruard, he was part of Tractions Avant gang in 1946. He is also deemed to have participated in operations for the benefit of the Service de Documentation Extérieure et de Contre-Espionnage intelligence agency (SDECE). Arrested and tried on several occasions, he was only sentenced to relatively light sentences, which earned him the nickname "king of the dismissal." He opened nightclubs in Paris and Abidjan while pursuing illicit activities including extortion, fraud, burglary, and possession of weapons. He died of throat cancer in 1972.
Biography
Early Years
Born in La Richardais (Ille-et-Vilaine), Jo Attia is the son of a Breton and a Tunisian who was killed on the front during World War I. Placed in orphanages, he ran away from the age of 14 and committed his first crimes. He tried to enlist in the French Navy, but he failed for lack of sufficient instruction. He took up boxing, which earned him his first nickname: Jo the boxer. At the age of 19, he received his first serious conviction: two years in prison for burglary. On completing his prison sentence, he was sent to do his military service at Tataouine, at the Battalions of Light Infantry of Africa (the Bat d'Af ). There he met Pierre Loutrel, future “Pierrot le Fou”, with whom he became friends.
War and Occupation
In 1940, he fought in the Frankish Corps commandos. Discharged, he returned to Paris where he engaged in various trafficking, burglaries, and extortion activities. He seems to have been close to Charles Cazauba, a member of the Carlingue French Gestapo, with whom he is involved in the trafficking of fake food stamps. At the same time, he approached the "Centurie" network within the Organisation civile et militaire French Resistance organization. Arrested in March 1943, he was transferred to Rue Lauriston where the Carlingue subjected him to ill-treatment and torture. Delivered to the Germans by Henri Lafont, he was deported to Mauthausen in August 1943, where his behavior was considered exemplary by his fellow prisoners. After the war, he was decorated with the Croix de guerre. Several former prisoners from Mauthausen, such as Edmond Michelet, later offered good character testimony during his trials.
The 1950s–60s
When he was released from prison, he met Carmen Cocu, owner of the "Montmartre-bar", located rue Joseph-de-Maistre. Attia rearranged the establishment and called it "Le Gavroche." The bar-restaurant becomes the meeting place for Tout-Paris. Auguste Le Breton and Albert Simonin held dedication sessions there and Attia acquired the reputation of justice of the peace within the community.
At the start of 1956, he was arrested in Tangiers for carrying prohibited weapons. The Spanish authorities demanded his extradition on suspicion of having participated in a bomb attack against Allal El Fassi, one of the leaders of the Istiqlal. This incident may be linked to the SDECE, which, until 1957, occasionally called on Attia for clandestine operations, mainly in Morocco. These missions were entrusted to him by Colonel René Bertrand "Beaumont", research director of the SDECE, whom he met in Mauthausen. These are also rarely successful.
From his prison, Attia claims that he had revelations regarding a double murder committed in Montfort-Lamaury the previous year. The French authorities obtain his extradition. In the judge's office, Attia stated that he belonged to the secret services and suggests that the latter call the SDECE and ask for confirmation from the deputy head of the Action service Didier Faure Beaulieu ("Lefort" ). This initiative led the Minister of Justice to ask for explanations from Pierre Boursicot, director general of the SDECE. This immediately dismissed the head of the Action department Henri Fille-Lambie ("Jacques Morlane").
In June 1957, during the trial linked to the Montfort-Lamaury affair, Attia explained that he freely accused himself of complicity in the affair in order to better escape the jails of Tangiers.
In 1959, he opened a luxurious cabaret in Abidjan (Ivory Coast), "Le Refuge", where the singer Barbara gave a few performances.
He was arrested several times between 1959 and 1965 for extortion, violation of a residence ban, and fraud to the detriment of returnees from North Africa. He was briefly suspected of being involved in the kidnapping of Mehdi Ben Barka, due to the fact that the criminals who participated in the kidnapping (Figon, Boucheseiche, Le Ny, Dubail) were Attia's friends. However, he had no difficulty in being exonerated because he was in prison at the time of the kidnapping. He was also accused by Colonel Antoine Argoud, member of the OAS, of having participated in his February 1963 kidnapping in Munich. Attia sued the officer for defamation.
Daughter's Kidnapping
In June 1967, he was released from prison upon completing his sentence. He had cancer of the larynx. On 5 November 1969, a small-time gangster named Christian Jubin entered Le Gavroche, killed the barmaid and her friend, then forcibly took Nicole Attia, Jo's daughter, and raped her. Jubin was arrested two months later. These events were dramatized in a film by Édouard Molinaro, Le Gang des otages, and a TV movie by Alain Boudet, "La Conciliation ou Anatomie d'un otage." Jubin was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1973; he died in prison in 1990.
Jo Attia died of cancer in July 1972. He is buried in the cemetery of Orsay.
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