Fact vs Fiction: Godfather of Harlem season 4 episode 10 — who shot Joe Colombo?

In the Godfather of Harlem season 4 finale, "Unity Day," Bumpy Johnson (Forest Whitaker) and Joe Colombo (Michael Raymond-James) are at war, with both feeling they must kill the other in order to survive. Unfortunately for them, neither one is successful in their assassination attempts. However, Colombo learns the hard way that he has more deadly enemies than Bumpy, as he’s shot at the infamous unity rally by none other than Delia’s (Roslyn Ruff) son Jerome (Elijah Wright).

As all of this is going on, Bumpy has to come to terms with the fact that one of his most trusted lieutenants has betrayed him — Nat Pettigrew (Elvis Nolasco). When it became obvious that Nat was feeding Colombo information on Bumpy, Nat only narrowly escapes death at the hands of his former allies.

So, did a man named Jerome actually shoot Joe Colombo? And was the real Bumpy Johnson betrayed by Nat Pettigrew? Here’s what happened in Godfather of Harlem season 4 episode 10.

Who shot Joe Colombo?

The fiction
Bumpy, Mayme (Ilfenesh Hadera), Elise (Antoinette Crowe-Legacy) and Margaret (Demi Singleton) are all having breakfast at the diner. Mayme shows her family a photo in the newspaper of her with James Baldwin (Michael Benjamin Washington) and Truman Capote (Steven Boyer) at the previous masquerade party.

At a nearby table, Frank Lucas (Rome Flynn) and Chance (Erik LaRay Harvey) are keeping watch over the Johnson family, when Frank asks about a cop eating at the counter. Chance notes that police officers often come there because they get to eat for free. However, Frank looks at the cop with more scrutiny, pointing out he’s not a cop just before the imposter starts shooting. Although Bumpy, his family and his crew are unharmed, Delia is shot in the crossfire. The attempted assassin turns out ot be one of Colombo’s henchmen.

After getting Bumpy to agree to let Elise take Margaret to the Black Panthers’ Harlem headquarters to keep the teenager safe, Margaret winds up developing a friendship of sorts with Jerome. She assures his mom will be okay, as she had a life-saving surgery. He tells Margaret that when his brother was shot and murdered, there was nothing he could do about it. However, after overhearing Colombo was responsible for his mother almost dying, Jerome vows to kill him. Jerome is undeterred by the fact that Colombo is a leader of one of the Five Families.

Later, Margaret and Jerome talk again, this time, he subtly asks her for help in getting access to the Black Panthers’ gun closet. On the day of Colombo’s Unity Rally, Margaret steals the key to the closet from Elise’s jacket and hands it over to Jerome.

By the time the Black Panthers realize a gun is missing and Jerome is gone, Jerome is already blending in with the big crowd at the Unity Rally. Although the Black Panthers show up at the rally to stop Jerome, they ultimately prove unsuccessful. Shortly after taking the stage in front of a crowd full of people and on national television, Jerome shoots Colombo. Somehow, Jerome is able to flee the scene with the Black Panthers, who later spot him.

The fact
As reported by the New York Daily News, on June 28, 1971, the day of the second Italian Unity Day Rally in Columbus Circle in New York, Jerome A. Johnson shot Joe Colombo three times. In the aftermath, Colombo was left paralyzed and unable to communicate. He passed away seven years later of cardiac arrest.

In terms of Johnson’s motive, that seems to be a bit unclear. However, as described in an episode of Mafia's Greatest Hits, there is a strong running theory that Joe Gallo, a disenchanted member of the Colombo crime family, was behind the killing.

While Gallo was in prison, he allegedly recruited some Black mobsters/affiliates to work with him. Upon being released, Gallo met with Colombo, demanding more respect and money from the family organization. Colombo instead only offered him $1,000 for a welcome-home dinner.

After that meeting, tensions between the mobsters reportedly escalated. Then, as the story goes, Gallo hired Johnson to eliminate Colombo.

Did Nat Pettigrew betray Bumpy Johnson?

The fiction
After Colombo’s hitman botched the murder attempt of Bumpy, the henchman reports back to Colombo, and Nat is present to hear it all. Nat is stunned that the henchman would be so reckless as to shoot at Bumpy in broad daylight in front of his family. Colombo is clearly not pleased by the failed murder plot, and he turns to Nat to do the job. However, Nat doubts he’d be able to get close to Bumpy now that he’s officially betrayed him, and Bumpy likely suspects him.

Nat was right about Bumpy suspecting him. At his headquarters, Bumpy learns that Nat called in sick, and Bumpy immediately believes Nat is the one who's been disloyal. Chance would rather not buy that, but Bumpy recalls that Nat once stole from him to pay gambling debts, and the seed of betrayal has been in Nat’s heart ever since.

Later during the unity rally, before Jerome shoots Colombo, Chance is on a nearby roof, readying to take a shot at Colombo himself. Looking through the gun’s scope, he spots Nat but tells himself he’ll get him later. However, later never came as Jerome shoots Colombo, and Nat escapes in the crowd during the chaos.

The fact
From our research, both Mayme Johnson and the documentary, The Story of the Real Godfather of Harlem (BUMPY JOHNSON), make it sound as if Nat Pettigrew was both a loyal friend and lieutenant of Bumpy Johnson. We found no proof of Nat betraying Bumpy by going to Joe Colomobo or any other member of the Italian-American mafia behind Bumpy’s back.

All episodes of Godfather of Harlem season 4 are available to stream on MGM Plus.