Carlo Gambino
Carlo Gambino | |
---|---|
Born | [nb 1] | August 24, 1902
Died | October 15, 1976 Massapequa, New York, U.S. | (aged 74)
Resting place | Saint John Cemetery Queens, New York |
Other names |
|
Occupation | Crime boss |
Predecessor | Albert Anastasia |
Successor | Paul Castellano |
Spouse |
Caterina "Catherine" Castellano
(m. 1932; died 1971) |
Children | 4, including Joseph Gambino, Thomas Gambino, Carlo Gambino and Phyllis Gambino Sinatra |
Relatives | Paul Castellano (cousin and brother-in-law) |
Allegiance | Gambino crime family |
Conviction(s) | Tax evasion (1937) |
Criminal penalty | 22 months' imprisonment |
Signature | |
Carlo Gambino (Italian:
Early life and family
Carlo Gambino was born in Palermo, Sicily, Italy, on August 24, 1902,[nb 1] to a family that belonged to a Sicilian Mafia gang from Passo di Rigano.[3] He had two brothers: Gaspare, who was not involved with the Mafia, and Paolo, who was a part of what would become the Gambino crime family. His parents were Italian immigrants Tommaso Gambino and Felice Castellano.
Gambino entered the United States on December 23, 1921, at Norfolk, Virginia, as a stowaway on the SS Vincenzo Florio.[4] He made his way to New York City to join his cousins, the Castellanos, and worked for a small trucking firm owned by their family.[2] Gambino later moved to a modest house located at 2230 Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn; his Long Island residence, located at 34 Club Drive in Massapequa, New York, served as his summer home. The two-story brick house, surrounded by a low fence with marble statues on the front lawn, was at the end of a cul-de-sac in Harbor Green Estates, overlooking the South Oyster Bay.
In 1932, Gambino married one of his cousins, Catherine Castellano, sister of future Gambino family boss Paul Castellano.[5] They raised four children – sons Thomas, Joseph (March 28, 1936 – February 20, 2020[6]) and Carlo (born 1934) and a daughter, Phyllis Gambino Sinatra (September 22, 1927 – February 19, 2007).
Criminal career
Castellammarese War and The Commission
In New York, Gambino joined a criminal organization headed by Joe Masseria, another Sicilian-born gangster.[2] In 1930 Gambino was arrested in Lawrence, Massachusetts, as a suspicious person. That charge was dismissed, but he was seized a month later in Brockton, Massachusetts, on a larceny charge. A warrant was issued for his arrest when he failed to show up in court.[7] Four years later, he was arrested in Manhattan as a fugitive and was returned to Brockton, where the larceny charge was dropped when he made restitution of $1,000.[7]
By the early 1930s, Masseria found himself in a fierce rivalry with Salvatore Maranzano, the head of the Castellammarese clan, which eventually escalated into the bloody Castellammarese War. Masseria and Maranzano were so-called "Mustache Petes": older, traditional Mafia bosses who had started their criminal careers in their home country and believed in upholding the supposed "Old World Mafia" principles of "honor", "tradition", "respect" and "dignity". The Mustache Petes refused to work with non-Italians and were skeptical of working with non-Sicilians. Some of the most conservative bosses worked only with men having roots in their own Sicilian village.[8]
When the war began turning poorly for Masseria, his second-in-command,
With Masseria gone, Maranzano reorganized the Italian gangs of New York into
By September 1931, Maranzano, realizing the threat Luciano posed, hired Irish hitman
Later in 1931, Luciano called a meeting in
Mangano family
After Masseria's death, Gambino and his cousins became soldiers in the family headed by Mangano. Despite being a mob power in his own right, Albert Anastasia was nominally the underboss of the Mangano family.[18] During his twenty-year rule, Mangano had resented Anastasia's close ties to Luciano and Costello, particularly the fact that they had obtained Anastasia's services without first seeking Mangano's permission. This and other business disputes led to heated, almost physical fights between the two mobsters.[19]
Gambino was arrested in 1937 for tax evasion related to operating a million-gallon distillery in Philadelphia. He served twenty-two months in prison at the United States Penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, the only period in his long criminal career during which he was incarcerated.[2][7]
In 1951, Mangano and his brother
Anastasia murder
In 1957, Genovese decided to move against Costello and Anastasia, enlisting Gambino–Anastasia's underboss– in the murder conspiracy.[24][25] Genovese ordered Vincent Gigante to carry out the hit on Costello, which was attempted outside Costello's apartment building on May 2, 1957.[26] Although the wound was superficial, the brush with death persuaded Costello to relinquish power to Genovese and retire. Although a doorman identified Gigante as the gunman, Costello claimed to not recognize him at Gigante's 1958 trial; Gigante was acquitted on charges of attempted murder.[27]
With Costello gone, Genovese and Gambino allegedly ordered Anastasia's murder. Gambino gave the contract to Profaci, who then allegedly assigned the hit to Joseph "Crazy Joe" Gallo. Anastasia was murdered on October 25, 1957, in the barbershop of the Park Sheraton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan.[28]
Gambino subsequently took over the Mangano crime family, which took his name going forward.[29][30] He appointed Joseph Biondo as underboss, though Biondo was replaced by Aniello Dellacroce in 1965.[31]
Apalachin and Genovese's fall
Shortly after Anastasia's murder, Genovese took control of
Edgar D. Croswell, a trooper with the
When the mobsters discovered the police presence, they started fleeing the gathering by car or by foot. Many mafiosi escaped through the woods surrounding the Barbara estate; Gambino is thought to have attended the meeting, but was not one of the mobsters apprehended.[40][7] The police stopped a car driven by Pennsylvania boss Russell Bufalino, whose passengers included Genovese and three other men. Bufalino said that Genovese had come to visit a sick Barbara.[41] while Genovese himself said he had come to attend a barbecue. The police let him go.[42]
Gambino and Luciano allegedly helped pay part of $100,000 to a Puerto Rican drug dealer to falsely implicate Genovese in a drug deal.[43] On April 17, 1959, Genovese was sentenced to fifteen years in prison for drug offenses;[44][45] he died in custody on February 14, 1969.[46]
On January 26, 1962, Luciano died of a heart attack at
Boss
After Genovese's imprisonment, Gambino took control of The Commission. Under his leadership, the Gambino crime family had 500 soldiers and over 1,000 associates.[50]
In 1962, Gambino's oldest son, Thomas, married Lucchese's daughter Frances.
Conspiracy against the Commission
In 1963, Joseph Bonanno, the head of the Bonanno crime family, made plans to assassinate several rivals on The Commission—bosses Gambino, Lucchese, and Stefano Magaddino, as well as Frank DeSimone.[56] Bonanno sought Joseph Magliocco's support, and Magliocco, bitter over being previously denied a seat on The Commission, readily agreed. Bonanno promised to make Magliocco his right-hand man in exchange for his assistance.[57]
Magliocco was assigned with killing Lucchese and Gambino, and he gave the contract to Joseph Colombo, one of his top hit men. However, the opportunistic Colombo revealed the plot to his intended targets. The other bosses quickly surmised that Magliocco and Bonnano were colluding, and summoned both men to explain themselves.[57] Fearing for his life, Bonanno went into hiding in Montreal, leaving Magliocco to deal with the Commission. Badly shaken and in failing health, Magliocco confessed his role in the plot. The Commission spared his life but forced him to retire as boss of the Profaci family and pay a $50,000 fine. As a reward for turning on his boss, Colombo took over Magliocco's family, which was subsequently renamed the Colombo family.[57]
Health and deportation order
Colombo assassination
On June 28, 1971, Colombo was shot three times by Jerome A. Johnson, one being in the head, at the second Italian Unity Day rally in Columbus Circle sponsored by the Italian-American Civil Rights League; Johnson was immediately killed by Colombo's bodyguards.[58] Colombo was permanently paralyzed from the shooting, and later died in 1978.[58]
Although many in the Colombo family blamed Gallo for the shooting, the police eventually concluded that Johnson was a lone gunman after they had questioned Gallo.[59] Since Johnson had spent time a few days earlier at a club run by the Gambino family, one theory was that Gambino organized the shooting. Colombo had refused to listen to Gambino's complaints about the League, and allegedly spat in Gambino's face during one argument.[60] However, the Colombo family leadership was convinced that Gallo ordered the murder after his falling out with the family.[61] Gallo was murdered on April 7, 1972.[62]
Tommy Eboli murder
After Genovese's death, Gerardo Catena became the new boss of the Genovese family. However, he was indicted and jailed in 1970.[63] Thomas Eboli then became the "front boss" of the family for the next two years. However, Eboli wanted to run the family for real and borrowed $4 million from Gambino to finance a new drug trafficking operation.[64] However, law enforcement soon shut down Eboli's drug racket and arrested most of his crew. Gambino allegedly ordered Eboli's murder. While it was initially thought that this was due to Eboli's failure to pay back the loan, it is now believed that Gambino actually wanted to replace Eboli with Frank "Funzi" Tieri, and that Gambino used the loan as a pretext.[64] On July 16, 1972, Eboli left his girlfriend's apartment in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and walked to his chauffeured Cadillac. As he sat in the parked car, a gunman in a passing truck shot him five times. Hit in the head and neck, Eboli died instantly.[65][66] No one was ever charged in this murder.
Death
Gambino died at his Massapequa home in the early morning hours of Friday October 15, 1976, aged 74.
Aftermath
Against expectations, Gambino had previously appointed Castellano to succeed him over his underboss Dellacroce. Gambino appeared to believe that the family would benefit from Castellano's focus on white-collar crime.[73] Dellacroce, at the time, was imprisoned for tax evasion and was unable to contest Castellano's succession.[74]
Castellano's succession was confirmed at a meeting on November 24, with Dellacroce present. Castellano arranged for Dellacroce to remain as underboss while directly running traditional Mafia activities such as
In popular culture
- In the 1995 TV film Between Love and Honor, Carlo Gambino is portrayed by Robert Loggia.
- In the 1996 TV film Gotti, Carlo Gambino is portrayed by Marc Lawrence as the head of the Gambino family towards his death in 1976.
- In the 2001 TV film Cosa Nostra till his death, when Paul Castellano was chosen to succeed him. His younger self is portrayed by William DeMeo.
- In the 2015 AMC mini series The Making of the Mob: New York, Carlo Gambino is portrayed by Noah Forrest.
- In the 2018 biopic Gotti, Carlo Gambino is portrayed by Michael Cipiti.
- He is portrayed by Anthony Skordi on the 2022 TV series The Offer.
- He is portrayed by Arthur J. Nascarella in Season 3 of TV Series Godfather of Harlem
Notes
References
- ^ Organized Crime and Illicit Traffic in Narcotics: Hearings. United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Government Operations. Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. 1963.
- ^ a b c d e f g Gage, Nicholas (October 16, 1976). "Carlo Gambino, a Mafia Leader, Dies in His Long Island Home at 74". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
- ^ "Da Lucky Luciano a Charles Gambino i boss del mare tra Sicilia e America" (in Italian). repubblica.it. October 21, 2008.
- ISBN 0-06-016357-7.
- ISBN 9781479735402.
- ^ Jerry Capeci (March 20, 2020). "Joseph Gambino, Mafia ruler of NYC's Garment District, dead at 83". New York Post. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Gambino Arrested and Charged With Plotting $3-Million Theft". The New York Times. March 24, 1970.
- ^ a b Sifakis
- ^ ISBN 9781429907989. Retrieved June 22, 2008.
- ^ Pollak, Michael (June 29, 2012). "Coney Island's Big Hit". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
- ^ Sifakis, (2005). pp. 87–88
- ISBN 978-0-316-32140-2.
- ISBN 0-375-70547-3.
Genovese maranzano.
- ^ "Lucky Luciano: Criminal Mastermind," Time, Dec. 7, 1998
- ^ "The Genovese Family," Crime Library, Crime Library Archived December 14, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "The Commission's Origins". The New York Times. 1986. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
- ^ Capeci, Jerry. The complete idiot's guide to the Mafia "The Mafia's Commission" (pp. 31–46)
- ISBN 0-671-63173-X.
- ^ Davis, pp. 62-64
- ^ New York| Family - Gambino (Mangano)
- ^ Gage, Nicholas (October 16, 1976). "Carlo Gambino, a Mafia Leader, Dies in His Long Island Home at 74" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 30 December 2011.
- ^ "Aide of Joe Adonis is Found Shot Dead" (PDF). The New York Times. April 20, 1951. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
- ^ "showDoc.html". www.maryferrell.org. 11 February 1965. Retrieved 2018-10-28.
- ^ Davis, pp. 78-79
- ^ Sifakis, Carl. The Mafia Encyclopedia (p. 15)
- ^ "Costello is Shot Entering Home; Gunman Escapes Wound" (PDF). The New York Times. May 3, 1957. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
- ^ Vincent Gigante, Mob Boss Who Feigned Incompetence to Avoid Jail, Dies at 77, by Selwyn Raab, The New York Times, December 19, 2005
- ^ Berger, Meyer (October 26, 1957). "Anastasia Slain in a Hotel Here; Led Murder, Inc". The New York Times.
- ISBN 978-0-312-36181-5.
- ^ Gage, Nicholas (July 10, 1972). "The Mafia at War". New York Magazine. p. 44. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
- ISBN 9781592573059.
- ^ Glynn, Don (November 11, 2007). "Glynn:Area delegates attended mob convention". Niagara Gazette. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
- ^ "Narcotic Traffic Called Topic In Apalachin Talks". Toledo Blade. Associated Press. February 28, 1960. p. 1. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
- ^ "Narcotics Agent Calls Racketeers Black-Handers". Toledo Blade. July 1, 1958. p. 2. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
- ^ Fitchette, Woodie; Hambalek, Steve (1957-11-15). "Top U.S. Hoods Are Run Out of Area After 'Sick Call' on Barbara" (PDF). Binghamton Press. Binghamton, NY. p. 1.
- ^ Fitchette, Woodie; Hambalek, Steve (1957-11-15). "Hoods Run Out of Area--" (PDF). Binghamton Press. Binghamton, NY. p. 8.
- ^ Blumenthal, Ralph (July 31, 2002). "For Sale, a House WithAcreage.Connections Extra;Site of 1957 Gangland Raid Is Part of Auction on Saturday". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
- ^ a b Narvaez, Alfonso A. (November 21, 1990). "Edgar D. Croswell, 77, Sergeant Who Upset '57 Mob Meeting, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 May 2012.
- ^ "Host To Hoodlum Meet Dies Of Heart Attack". Ocala Star-Banner. Associated Press. June 18, 1959. p. 7. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
- ^ "Apalachin Raid on Mafia Reverberates 50 Years Later" Archived 2010-02-12 at the Wayback Machine Mafia News
- ^ "United States of America, Appellee, v. Russell A. Bufalino, Ignatius Cannone, Paul C. Castellano, Joseph F. Civello, Frank A. Desimone, Natale Evola, Louis A.larasso, Carmine Lombardozzi, Joseph Magliocco, Frank T.majuri, Michele Miranda, John C. Montana, John Ormento, James Osticco, Joseph Profaci, Anthony P. Riela, John T.scalish, Angelo J. Sciandra, Simone Scozzari and Pasquale Turrigiano, Defendants-appellants, 285 F.2d 408 (2d Cir. 1960)". Justia Law.
- ^ Perlmutter, Emanuel (June 17, 1959). "Genovese Depicts Apalchin Visit" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 14 January 2012.
- ^ Sifakis, p. 186
- ^ Feinberg, Alexander (April 18, 1959). "Genovese is Given 15 Years in Prison in Narcotics Case" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
- ^ Grutzner, Charles (December 25, 1968). "Jersey Mafia Guided From Prison by Genovese" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2012.
- ^ Grutzner, Charles (February 16, 1959). "Ruled 'Family' of 450. Genovese Dies in Prison at 71. 'Boss of Bosses' of Mafia Here". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 November 2011.
Vito Genovese's throne, from which he ruled as "Boss of All Bosses" of the Mafia in the New York area, rested on the coffins of several predecessors -- in whose murders he is believed to have conspired. ...
- ^ "Luciano Dies at 65. Was Facing Arrest in Naples" (PDF). The New York Times. January 27, 1962. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
Lucky Luciano died of an apparent heart attack at Capodichino airport today as United States and Italian authorities prepared to arrest him in a crackdown on an international narcotics ring.
- ^ "300 Attend Rites for Lucky Luciano" (PDF). The New York Times. January 30, 1962. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
- ISBN 9781782198031.
- ^ Mustain, Gene; Capeci, Jerry. Mob Star: The Story of John Gotti (p. 295)
- ^ The Gambino Crime Family — A Squirrel of a Man — Crime Library on truTV.com Archived 2013-05-20 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Raab, Selwyn (March 20, 1990). "Police Say Their Chinatown Sting Ties Mob to the Garment Industry". The New York Times.
- ^ Sullivan, Ronald (February 5, 1992). "Gambino Gained 'Mob Tax' With Fear, Prosecutor Says". The New York Times.
- ^ Barron, James (December 2, 1992). "Thomas Gambino: It's All in the Name". The New York Times.
- ^ "Jailed Capo Out 2m Stuck In Stock Scam, Gambino Charges - New York Daily News". New York. Archived from the original on June 8, 2009.
- ^ Staff (September 1, 1967) "The Mob: How Joe Bonanno Schemed to kill – and lost" Life p.15-21
- ^ a b c Bruno, Anthony. "Colombo Crime Family: Trouble and More Trouble". TruTV Crime Library. Archived from the original on 14 September 2008. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ a b "Joseph A. Colombo, Sr,. Paralyzed in Shooting at 1971 Rally, Dies". The New York Times. May 24, 1978.
- ^ Gage, Nicholas (April 8, 1972). "Grudges with Gallo Date to War with Profaci" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
- ^ Ferretti, Fred (July 20, 1971). "Suspect in Shooting of Colombo Linked to Gambino Family". The New York Times.
- ISBN 978-0-495-59966-1.
Joseph Colombo.
- ^ Gage, Nicholas (May 3, 1972). "Story of Joe Gallo's Murder" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
- ^ Catena Now Expected to Meet Gambino. The New York Times August 21, 1975 [1]
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4381-1914-4.
- ^ Pace, Eric (July 23, 1972). "Funerals Aren't What They Used to Be" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
- ^ Perlmutter, Emanuel (July 17, 1972). "A Key Gang Figure Slain in Brooklyn" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
- ^ "Reputed U.S. crime boss, 74, dies". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. October 16, 1976. p. 3A.
- ^ "Top organized crime 'Godfather' dies". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. October 16, 1976. p. 1.
- ^ "1976: Funeral of Mafia boss held in NY". On This Day. BBC. Retrieved August 11, 2013.
- ^ "Services held for Mafia boss". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. October 18, 1976. p. 3A.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
- ^ ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
- ^ O'Brien, Kurins, pp. 104–105
- ^ Davis, p. 176
- ^ a b O'Brien, Kurins, pp. 106–108
External links
- Capeci, Jerry; Mustain, Gene (1996). Gotti: Rise and Fall. New York: Onyx. ISBN 0-451-40681-8.
- Davis, John H. (1993). Mafia Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the Gambino Crime Family. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-109184-7.
- Bonanno, Joseph (2003). A Man of Honor: The Autobiography of Joseph Bonanno. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-97923-1.
- Capeci, Jerry (2002). The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia. Indianapolis: Alpha Books. ISBN 0-02-864225-2.
- Jacobs, James B.; Panarella, Christopher; Worthington, Jay (1994). Busting the Mob: The United States v. Cosa Nostra. New York: NYU Press. ISBN 0-8147-4230-0.
- Mannion, James (2005). 101 Things You Didn't Know About the Mafia: The Lowdown on Dons, Wiseguys, Squealers and Backstabbers. Avon, Massachusetts: Adams Media. ISBN 1-59337-267-1.
- Milhorn, H. Thomas (2005). Crime: Computer Viruses to Twin Towers. Boca Raton, Florida: Universal Publishers. ISBN 1-58112-489-9.
- Selwyn, Raab (2005). Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-30094-8.
- Kelly, Robert J.; Chin, Ko-lin; Schatzberg, Rufus, eds. (1994). Handbook of Organized Crime in the United States. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-28366-4.
- Turkus, Burton B.; Feder, Sid (1992) [1951]. Murder, Inc.: The Story of the Syndicate. New York: Farrar, Straus and Young. ISBN 978-0-306-80475-5.
- "Federal Bureau of Investigation – Freedom of Information Privacy Act". Foia.fbi.gov. Retrieved 2009-03-16.
- https://web.archive.org/web/20071203045421/http://www.americanmafia.com/images/Frank_Gambino284x152.jpg
- "The Gambino Crime Family – Crime Library on". Trutv.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-16. Retrieved 2009-03-16.
- "Federal Bureau of Investigation New York Division – Press Release 2007 – Department of Justice". Newyork.fbi.gov. 2007-01-30. Archived from the original on April 8, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-16.
- "Fact and Fiction in The Godfather movie Crime Library – Crime Library on". Trutv.com. Archived from the original on 2011-10-02. Retrieved 2009-03-16.
- Blumenthal, Ralph (20 November 1986). "Verdict Is Termed A Blow To The Mafia". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
- Sibley, John (May 5, 1967). "GAMBINO FACING LOSS OF HIS BAIL; Forfeiture of $100,000 Is Ordered". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-16.
- "The Gambino Crime Family". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2012-05-24.
- "Carlo Gambino". Find a Grave. Retrieved June 14, 2013.