[citation needed] He returned to San Francisco after World War II and started an antitrust practice, representing Walt Disney and Samuel Goldwyn, among others, eventually becoming a millionaire.

[citation needed] In 1980, he represented Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders in a landmark antitrust case entitled Los Angeles Coliseum Commission v. The NFL.

An article in the September 23, 1969, issue of Look magazine claimed that Alioto had business and personal ties to the Los Angeles Mafioso boss Jimmy Fratianno.

[1] In the course of the litigation, Alioto proved that Look, desperate and on the verge of bankruptcy, simply conjured up (with no proof) an alleged mob meeting in Vacaville, California, at the Nut Tree Restaurant.

The state and other groups sued to have the entire $2.3 million returned; Alioto successfully sought a change of venue from Washington to San Francisco.

[citation needed] Alioto was also indicted by a federal grand jury in March 1971 on bribery charges because of the means by which the fees were awarded.

When the case went to court, Alioto was cleared of the federal charges by a judge who ordered acquittal because he was convinced a jury would not convict when it considered the evidence.

In April 1975 the California Supreme Court ordered the city controller to pay the salaries, with Justice Mathew Tobriner finding that contracts secured through illegal strikes are still legally enforceable.

[9] Major crime became a problem with the Zodiac Killer, the Symbionese Liberation Army attacks and the Black Power Zebra Murders all occurring during Alioto's mayoralty.

[16] Heavy drinking on the picket line became common and after striking police officers started shooting out streetlights the ACLU obtained a court order prohibiting strikers from carrying their service revolvers.

Mayor Alioto then immediately declared a state of emergency, assumed "legislative powers", and granted the strikers’ demands.

Alioto died of prostate cancer in San Francisco on January 29, 1998, and was interred at Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Colma, California.

Events that occurred during his tenure as mayor included strife in the Haight-Ashbury with the drug culture, anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, the start of the gay Castro District, Black Panther marches, the Zebra murders and Zodiac killings.

Alioto put his energy behind the development of three major building projects: the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system; the Transamerica Pyramid; and the Embarcadero Center.

These efforts engendered opposition in the development stage but were eventually built, transforming the quality of life and skyline of San Francisco.

The Joseph L. Alioto Recreation Center at his alma mater, Saint Mary's College in Moraga, California, opened in 2015 and is named after him.

The privately funded facility cost $23.5 million, and includes an outdoor aquatics center, indoor exercise equipment, a rock climbing wall, and a cafe.

[20] After his death, the Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco was dedicated as the "Joseph L. Alioto Performing Arts Piazza" [21] on October 28, 1998.

His second wife, Kathleen Sullivan Alioto, was a member of the Boston School committee and a candidate for a United States Senate seat in Massachusetts in the 1978 primary.

[29] Angela Alioto, the daughter from his first marriage, served eight years as a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, two as its president.