Five Families
Origins
The origins of the Gambino family can be traced back to the days of the Brooklyn Camorra - a Neopolitan gang led by Pellegrino "Don Grino" Morano which was taken over by Salvatore "Toto" D'Aquila following the jailing of Morano in 1916. D'Aquila faced up against the forces of Joe "the Boss" Masseria and was killed around 1928, when the gang he had led passed into the hands of Alfred Mineo and Steve Ferrigno, at the height of the Prohibition era. The Castellammarese War, between rival New York bosses Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano, claimed many victims, including Mineo and Ferrigno who were ambushed and killed on November 5, 1930, outside of Ferrigno's home at 759 Pelham Parkway South by Joe Profaci, Nick Capuzzi, Joe Valachi and an unidentified hitman known only as Buster from Chicago (a possible alias of Leo Vincent Brothers of Egan's Rats Gang).
It was the latest in a long line of killings on both sides of the war, which would ultimately end with the deaths of both principals - Masseria in April 1931 and Maranzano five months later. The main beneficiary (and organizer of both hits) was Charles "Lucky" Luciano, who duly set about rearranging New York organized crime and establishing the basis of the five families
Following a brief period under the control of Frank Scalise, the first recognised leader of what would become the Gambino family was Vincent Mangano, an old-school Mafia don in the style of Masseria and Maranzano but one who was tolerated due to his close ties with Emil Camarda, vice-president of the International Longshoremen's Association. Through the association, the family controlled the Brooklyn waterfront with activities ranging from extortion to union racketeering, as well as illegal gambling operations including horse betting, running numbers and lotteries. Mangano and Camarda also established the City Democratic Club, ostensibly to promote bedrock American values but in reality as a cover for Murder, Inc., the notorious band of mainly-Jewish hitmen who would do the bidding of the Italian-American run families, for a price. Vince's brother Phil was a member, as was Albert Anastasia, known as the "Lord High Executioner".
Around this time, Carlo Gambino was promoted within the organization, as was another future boss of the family, Paul Castellano
Mangano brothers murdered
Anastasia and Mangano never entirely saw eye to eye. Mangano resented that Anastasia preferred to keep the company of various members of the other families, and on numerous occasions the two almost came to blows. This was only ever going to end badly for Mangano, and in April 1951, Phil Mangano was discovered murdered, while his brother disappeared without a trace.
Called to answer for the crimes of which he was suspected by the other New York bosses, Anastasia never admitted to his involvement in the deaths of the Manganos but did claim that Vince had been planning to have him killed. Anastasia had since begun running the family himself, and few in the organization found themselves inclined to depose one of the most feared killers of the age. Gambino, a wily character with designs on the leadership himself, duly maneuvered himself into position as underboss to Anastasia.
Anastasia eliminated
The fortunes of the family around this time were closely linked to those of another - that run by Frank Costello, and which is known today as the Genovese family. Vito Genovese was a power-hungry underboss in the family and needed a way to remove the close ties between Costello and Anastasia, which provided solidarity in the National Crime Syndicate for the two bosses.
Genovese thus jumped on the 1952 killing of a Brooklyn man named Arnold Schuster, who Anastasia had had killed for the most minor of indiscretions (acting as a prosecution witness against a bank robber Anastasia didn't even know), as evidence that Anastasia was unbalanced and a threat to the syndicate. With Gambino secretly siding with Genovese against his own boss, the wheels were in motion for the removal of Anastasia.
First, Costello was attacked and wounded outside his apartment building on May 2, 1957. The attack shook Costello to the extent that he soon announced his retirement from the head of his family, turning affairs over to Genovese.
Six months later, on October 25, Anastasia was murdered while sitting in a barber's chair at the Park Sheraton Hotel on West 56th Street. Gambino had ordered the hit himself. For many years the murder was believed to have been committed by "Crazy" Joe Gallo and his two brothers. Later, Colombo boss and Gallo foe, Carmine "Junior" Persico claimed credit. Journalist Jerry Capeci in his online column "Gangland" claims that the murder was committed by a three man hit team organized by Joseph "Joe the Blonde" Biondo. The team consisted of Steven Grammauta, Steven Armone and Arnold Wittenburg, a crew of Lower East Side heroin dealers.
Anastasia's former underboss duly took over the reigns of the family which from then on bore his name. Biondo was rewarded with the underboss position, which he kept until his death in 1966. Grammauta eventually became a capo.
Gambino promotes the family
Genovese was sent to prison for 15 years, where he would eventually die in 1969. The Gambino family soon became one of the most powerful families in the National Crime Syndicate, with close ties to Meyer Lansky's offshore gaming houses in Cuba and the Bahamas, a lucrative business for the Mafia. The failure of Joe Bonanno to kill off Gambino and the heads of other New York crime families in the aftermath of the Banana War saw Gambino become the most powerful leader of the five families.
Gambino allegedly stretched his power as far as to organize the shooting of Joe Colombo, head of the Colombo family, on June 28, 1971. More likely, Colombo shooter Jerome Johnson was a lone nut attracted to Colombo for his Italian civil rights movement. Or as Michael Franchese, an informer later said, it may have been set up by rogue law enforcement. Colombo survived the shooting but remained in a coma until his death in 1977. He was buried next to Joey Gallo. They liked each other immensely. Johnson was killed by Colombo's bodyguard.
In either case Gambino's influence stretched into behind-the-scenes control of the Lucchese family, led by Carmine Tramunti. He also influenced the selection of Frank Tieri as boss of the Genovese family after the murder of Thomas Eboli, which Gambino (allegedly) had murdered over a $4 million dollar drug debt.
On October 15, 1976, Gambino died of a heart attack, and control of the family passed not to the obvious choice, underboss Aniello Dellacroce, but to Gambino's cousin, Paul Castellano. Allies of Dellacroce were thoroughly unhappy at the move, but Dellacroce himself kept his men in line, and was duly kept on as Castellano's underboss.
The FBI closes in
The Dellacroce faction remained displeased, believing that Castellano had inherited the role rather than earning it. Castellano did retain a degree of muscle to keep Dellacroce's allies in check, including a crew run by Carmine "Wagon Wheels" Fatico, which included up-and-coming mobster John Gotti.
It was not a time for the family to be embroiled in inner turmoil and argument, as the Federal Bureau of Investigation had targeted the Gambino family as the easiest of the five families to infiltrate - FBI tapes obtained from a bug planted in a lamp on Castellano's kitchen table caught him discussing illegal deals with his subordinates, and by the early 1980s Castellano was up on a number of charges and faced with conviction. He let it be known that he wanted Carlo Gambino's son Thomas to take over the family should he be sent to jail, with Thomas Bilotti (Castellano's chauffeur and bodyguard) as his underboss, which further enraged the Dellacroce faction.
In 1983, a federal indictment charged 13 members of the Gambino family with drug trafficking. This group included John Gotti's brother, Gene, and his best friend, Angelo "Quack Quack" Ruggiero, who got his nickname for his non-stop talking. The feds had in fact been listening in on his home phone conversations since 1980 - they had Ruggiero on tape discussing family business, making drug deals, and expressing contempt for Castellano. If Castellano knew they were dealing drugs, in violation of his no-drug policy, Ruggerio would be killed. By law, the accused were allowed transcripts of wiretap conversations to aid their defense, and Castellano demanded to be shown them, though Dellacroce did his best to put him off.
Dellacroce was by this time suffering from cancer, but with Ruggerio desperate for help his friend John Gotti duly stood up for him. All the same, Castellano maintained that he wanted the transcripts, or he would have Ruggerio and Gotti removed. Gotti realized he had to act fast, and the death of his mentor Dellacroce on December 2, 1985, paved the way for him to take out Castellano.
John Gotti takes over
On December 16, Bilotti and Castellano were heading for a meeting with capo Frank DeCicco at the Sparks Steak House on East 46th Street, when they were gunned down by four unidentified men in the middle of rush hour. Gotti had organized the hit, and duly took over as the head of the Gambino family.
Known as the "Dapper Don," Gotti was well-known for his hand-tailored suits and silk ties and his willingness to throw out sound bites to the media in a way unlike any Mafia boss before him. He appointed DeCicco as his underboss and promoted Ruggiero to capo in charge of his old crew. He favored holding meetings while walking in public places so that surveillance equipment could pick up visual images but not the matters being discussed. His home in Howard Beach, Queens, was frequently seen on television, and he was often spotted dining at fancy restaurants in town.
Many mob leaders disapproved of his high-profile style, particularly Genovese family boss Vincent "Chin" Gigante, a former ally of Castellano, who put out a contract on Gotti's life. On April 13, 1986, a car bomb meant for Gotti instead killed DeCicco.
Eventually, Gotti's brash demeanor and belief that he was untouchable (he was acquitted on federal charges three times, earning the nickname the "Teflon Don") proved his undoing. The FBI had managed to bug an apartment above the Ravenite Social Club in Little Italy, where an elderly widow let mobsters hold top-level meetings. Gotti was heard planning criminal activities and complaining about his underlings, including Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, who upon hearing the tapes decided to turn state's evidence and testify against Gotti.
On April 2, 1992, Gotti was convicted and received a sentence of life without parole.
The family since Gotti
Gotti continued to rule the family from prison, while day-to-day operation of the family shifted to capos John "Jackie Nose" D'Amico and Nick Corozzo. The latter was due to take over as acting boss but was himself sentenced to eight years in prison on racketeering charges. Gotti's son, John Jr, took over as head of the family, but in 1998 he too was convicted of racketeering and sentenced to 77 months in jail.
When Gotti Sr died in prison in 2002 his brother Peter took over as boss, allegedly alongside D'Amico, but the family's fortunes have dwindled to a remarkable extent given their power a few short decades ago.
On June 6, 2006, Gregory DePalma, a Captain in the Gambino crime family, was convicted on racketeering charges and is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison.
The origins of the Gambino family can be traced back to the days of the Brooklyn Camorra - a Neopolitan gang led by Pellegrino "Don Grino" Morano which was taken over by Salvatore "Toto" D'Aquila following the jailing of Morano in 1916. D'Aquila faced up against the forces of Joe "the Boss" Masseria and was killed around 1928, when the gang he had led passed into the hands of Alfred Mineo and Steve Ferrigno, at the height of the Prohibition era. The Castellammarese War, between rival New York bosses Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano, claimed many victims, including Mineo and Ferrigno who were ambushed and killed on November 5, 1930, outside of Ferrigno's home at 759 Pelham Parkway South by Joe Profaci, Nick Capuzzi, Joe Valachi and an unidentified hitman known only as Buster from Chicago (a possible alias of Leo Vincent Brothers of Egan's Rats Gang).
It was the latest in a long line of killings on both sides of the war, which would ultimately end with the deaths of both principals - Masseria in April 1931 and Maranzano five months later. The main beneficiary (and organizer of both hits) was Charles "Lucky" Luciano, who duly set about rearranging New York organized crime and establishing the basis of the five families
Following a brief period under the control of Frank Scalise, the first recognised leader of what would become the Gambino family was Vincent Mangano, an old-school Mafia don in the style of Masseria and Maranzano but one who was tolerated due to his close ties with Emil Camarda, vice-president of the International Longshoremen's Association. Through the association, the family controlled the Brooklyn waterfront with activities ranging from extortion to union racketeering, as well as illegal gambling operations including horse betting, running numbers and lotteries. Mangano and Camarda also established the City Democratic Club, ostensibly to promote bedrock American values but in reality as a cover for Murder, Inc., the notorious band of mainly-Jewish hitmen who would do the bidding of the Italian-American run families, for a price. Vince's brother Phil was a member, as was Albert Anastasia, known as the "Lord High Executioner".
Around this time, Carlo Gambino was promoted within the organization, as was another future boss of the family, Paul Castellano
Mangano brothers murdered
Anastasia and Mangano never entirely saw eye to eye. Mangano resented that Anastasia preferred to keep the company of various members of the other families, and on numerous occasions the two almost came to blows. This was only ever going to end badly for Mangano, and in April 1951, Phil Mangano was discovered murdered, while his brother disappeared without a trace.
Called to answer for the crimes of which he was suspected by the other New York bosses, Anastasia never admitted to his involvement in the deaths of the Manganos but did claim that Vince had been planning to have him killed. Anastasia had since begun running the family himself, and few in the organization found themselves inclined to depose one of the most feared killers of the age. Gambino, a wily character with designs on the leadership himself, duly maneuvered himself into position as underboss to Anastasia.
Anastasia eliminated
The fortunes of the family around this time were closely linked to those of another - that run by Frank Costello, and which is known today as the Genovese family. Vito Genovese was a power-hungry underboss in the family and needed a way to remove the close ties between Costello and Anastasia, which provided solidarity in the National Crime Syndicate for the two bosses.
Genovese thus jumped on the 1952 killing of a Brooklyn man named Arnold Schuster, who Anastasia had had killed for the most minor of indiscretions (acting as a prosecution witness against a bank robber Anastasia didn't even know), as evidence that Anastasia was unbalanced and a threat to the syndicate. With Gambino secretly siding with Genovese against his own boss, the wheels were in motion for the removal of Anastasia.
First, Costello was attacked and wounded outside his apartment building on May 2, 1957. The attack shook Costello to the extent that he soon announced his retirement from the head of his family, turning affairs over to Genovese.
Six months later, on October 25, Anastasia was murdered while sitting in a barber's chair at the Park Sheraton Hotel on West 56th Street. Gambino had ordered the hit himself. For many years the murder was believed to have been committed by "Crazy" Joe Gallo and his two brothers. Later, Colombo boss and Gallo foe, Carmine "Junior" Persico claimed credit. Journalist Jerry Capeci in his online column "Gangland" claims that the murder was committed by a three man hit team organized by Joseph "Joe the Blonde" Biondo. The team consisted of Steven Grammauta, Steven Armone and Arnold Wittenburg, a crew of Lower East Side heroin dealers.
Anastasia's former underboss duly took over the reigns of the family which from then on bore his name. Biondo was rewarded with the underboss position, which he kept until his death in 1966. Grammauta eventually became a capo.
Gambino promotes the family
Genovese was sent to prison for 15 years, where he would eventually die in 1969. The Gambino family soon became one of the most powerful families in the National Crime Syndicate, with close ties to Meyer Lansky's offshore gaming houses in Cuba and the Bahamas, a lucrative business for the Mafia. The failure of Joe Bonanno to kill off Gambino and the heads of other New York crime families in the aftermath of the Banana War saw Gambino become the most powerful leader of the five families.
Gambino allegedly stretched his power as far as to organize the shooting of Joe Colombo, head of the Colombo family, on June 28, 1971. More likely, Colombo shooter Jerome Johnson was a lone nut attracted to Colombo for his Italian civil rights movement. Or as Michael Franchese, an informer later said, it may have been set up by rogue law enforcement. Colombo survived the shooting but remained in a coma until his death in 1977. He was buried next to Joey Gallo. They liked each other immensely. Johnson was killed by Colombo's bodyguard.
In either case Gambino's influence stretched into behind-the-scenes control of the Lucchese family, led by Carmine Tramunti. He also influenced the selection of Frank Tieri as boss of the Genovese family after the murder of Thomas Eboli, which Gambino (allegedly) had murdered over a $4 million dollar drug debt.
On October 15, 1976, Gambino died of a heart attack, and control of the family passed not to the obvious choice, underboss Aniello Dellacroce, but to Gambino's cousin, Paul Castellano. Allies of Dellacroce were thoroughly unhappy at the move, but Dellacroce himself kept his men in line, and was duly kept on as Castellano's underboss.
The FBI closes in
The Dellacroce faction remained displeased, believing that Castellano had inherited the role rather than earning it. Castellano did retain a degree of muscle to keep Dellacroce's allies in check, including a crew run by Carmine "Wagon Wheels" Fatico, which included up-and-coming mobster John Gotti.
It was not a time for the family to be embroiled in inner turmoil and argument, as the Federal Bureau of Investigation had targeted the Gambino family as the easiest of the five families to infiltrate - FBI tapes obtained from a bug planted in a lamp on Castellano's kitchen table caught him discussing illegal deals with his subordinates, and by the early 1980s Castellano was up on a number of charges and faced with conviction. He let it be known that he wanted Carlo Gambino's son Thomas to take over the family should he be sent to jail, with Thomas Bilotti (Castellano's chauffeur and bodyguard) as his underboss, which further enraged the Dellacroce faction.
In 1983, a federal indictment charged 13 members of the Gambino family with drug trafficking. This group included John Gotti's brother, Gene, and his best friend, Angelo "Quack Quack" Ruggiero, who got his nickname for his non-stop talking. The feds had in fact been listening in on his home phone conversations since 1980 - they had Ruggiero on tape discussing family business, making drug deals, and expressing contempt for Castellano. If Castellano knew they were dealing drugs, in violation of his no-drug policy, Ruggerio would be killed. By law, the accused were allowed transcripts of wiretap conversations to aid their defense, and Castellano demanded to be shown them, though Dellacroce did his best to put him off.
Dellacroce was by this time suffering from cancer, but with Ruggerio desperate for help his friend John Gotti duly stood up for him. All the same, Castellano maintained that he wanted the transcripts, or he would have Ruggerio and Gotti removed. Gotti realized he had to act fast, and the death of his mentor Dellacroce on December 2, 1985, paved the way for him to take out Castellano.
John Gotti takes over
On December 16, Bilotti and Castellano were heading for a meeting with capo Frank DeCicco at the Sparks Steak House on East 46th Street, when they were gunned down by four unidentified men in the middle of rush hour. Gotti had organized the hit, and duly took over as the head of the Gambino family.
Known as the "Dapper Don," Gotti was well-known for his hand-tailored suits and silk ties and his willingness to throw out sound bites to the media in a way unlike any Mafia boss before him. He appointed DeCicco as his underboss and promoted Ruggiero to capo in charge of his old crew. He favored holding meetings while walking in public places so that surveillance equipment could pick up visual images but not the matters being discussed. His home in Howard Beach, Queens, was frequently seen on television, and he was often spotted dining at fancy restaurants in town.
Many mob leaders disapproved of his high-profile style, particularly Genovese family boss Vincent "Chin" Gigante, a former ally of Castellano, who put out a contract on Gotti's life. On April 13, 1986, a car bomb meant for Gotti instead killed DeCicco.
Eventually, Gotti's brash demeanor and belief that he was untouchable (he was acquitted on federal charges three times, earning the nickname the "Teflon Don") proved his undoing. The FBI had managed to bug an apartment above the Ravenite Social Club in Little Italy, where an elderly widow let mobsters hold top-level meetings. Gotti was heard planning criminal activities and complaining about his underlings, including Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, who upon hearing the tapes decided to turn state's evidence and testify against Gotti.
On April 2, 1992, Gotti was convicted and received a sentence of life without parole.
The family since Gotti
Gotti continued to rule the family from prison, while day-to-day operation of the family shifted to capos John "Jackie Nose" D'Amico and Nick Corozzo. The latter was due to take over as acting boss but was himself sentenced to eight years in prison on racketeering charges. Gotti's son, John Jr, took over as head of the family, but in 1998 he too was convicted of racketeering and sentenced to 77 months in jail.
When Gotti Sr died in prison in 2002 his brother Peter took over as boss, allegedly alongside D'Amico, but the family's fortunes have dwindled to a remarkable extent given their power a few short decades ago.
On June 6, 2006, Gregory DePalma, a Captain in the Gambino crime family, was convicted on racketeering charges and is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison.
