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With the Prohibition being repealed in the year 1933, Carlo Gambino had made sufficient money to enter into legal booze business.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.