Category: Gambino

Carlo Gambino – The powerful Mobster Boss

Carlo is considered to be a quiet person, who always remained in control and dressed inconspicuously. Having an enigmatic smile and huge hawk nose, he has been regarded to be among the most powerful bosses till date.

His early life

It was on 24th August 1902, in Palermo, Sicily that Gambino was born. The area of his birth Caccamo was regarded to be dominated by the Mafioso, which made the police as well as the military to refrain from entering it.

His entering the Mafia world

It was his mother belonging to a Mafioso family, had introduce him as a teenager to the ‘Men of Respect’. Gambino was able to have his superiors to be impressed with his intellectual skills, ability to undertake tasks that was essential and his calm nature.

He had been rewarded in 1921 by getting inducted into the crime family that was called ‘Honored Society’. However, he along with other Mafioso in Italy and Sicily had flee to the States to escape the Mussolini’s vendetta. The freighter that he caught in late 1921 was SS Vincenzo Florio, which had docked in Virginia region of Norfolk on 23rd December 1921. He came here as an illegal immigrant, where he was met by his cousin Castellano and headed towards New York City.

Activities in the United States

He started his life in the States with illegal bootlegging that was run by Tommy Lucchese and soon joined Masseria’ s crew, who was at that point of time America’s most powerful Mafioso. With issues being created with Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano, the Castellammarese War erupted in New York between 1929-31 killing scores in the process.

The situation was rectified by Gambio, who understanding his side slowly losing the battle approached secretly Maranzano, offering his services to his gang that was agreed readily. The other partners of Gambina like Anastasia, Costello, Genovese and Luciano also joined Maranzano. Masseria was murdered by the gang on 15th April 1931. After this, Carlo Gambino was made the Mangano family’s capital, while Maranzano become ‘Boss of Bosses’. But Maranzano also was murdered after which Lucian became boss of bosses  and Gambino had become a big money maker among all Mafias in the city of New York.

With the Prohibition being repealed in the year 1933, Carlo Gambino had made sufficient money to enter into legal booze business. Over time, he possessed the biggest system of liquor distribution in America’s East Coast.

About the Gambino crime family

About the Gambino crime family

The city of New York is dominated by ‘Five Families’ of which Gambino crime family is one of them. Between the period of 1910 and 1957 saw this mafia family to be dominated under three bosses. This family had derived its name after the family boss ‘Carlo Gambino’ in 1963, during McClellan hearings. The operation of this group extended right from New York to California’s eastern seaboard. The illicit activities carried out by this group included construction and labor racketeering, loansharking, gambling, money laundering, extortion, prostitution, pier thefts, fencing, hijacking and fraud.

Its history

This mafia family was found after the 1931 Castellammarese War. It remained a minor player for majority of the quarter century in organized crime. Albert Anastasia, its underboss was among its prominent members and soon rose to become the Murder, Inc.  Enforcement arm’s operating head. Even after the smash of Murder, Inc. during the late 1940s, he still remained in power and in 1951, he took over the family after murdering Vincent Mangano, the family founder.

Its rise

It was from the year 1957 that Gambino crime family had become powerful in America for a particular period of time, after Anastasia got assassinated. According to the experts, Carlo Gambino, the underboss of Anastasia, is said to have orchestrated the assassination for becoming its leader. For controlling Cuban gambling interests, Gambino made partnership with Meyer Lansky. Through 1976, the fortunes of the family increased, as Paul Castellano brother-in-law of Gambino was appointed as boss on his death. Presently, it is Frank Cali who heads this family.

Its origins

The mafia history of Gambino crime family could be traced to Manhattan’s D’Aquila gang. An influential emigrant who had come from Palermo, Sicily named Salvatore ‘Toto’ D’Aquila had joined East Harlem’s Morello gang, who were New York’s first Italian gang.  However, with the arrest of Giuseppe Morello and Ignazio ‘Lupo-the-Wolf’, his second in command, the Morello family got weakened. It is then that D’Aquila influenced others to form his very own gang and created an influence network and connections to become New York’s powerful force.

By 1920s, Masseria took over the interest of the Morello family and amassed influence and power by the mid 1920s to rival D’Aquilas. But in late 1920s, both were said to be headed for showdown. Salvatore D’Aquila had been assassinated by Masseria on 10th October 1928, outside his home.

Federal authorities had prosecuted successfully the Gambino family from 2005-2008. Currently, the family boasts of having around 150-200 members and more than 1500 associates.