Carlo Gambino

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Carlo Gambino in the 1930s

Carlo Gambino , also known as Don Carlo (born August 24, 1902 in Caccamo ( Sicily ); † October 15, 1976 in Long Island , New York ), was an Italian, US-based mobster of the American Cosa Nostra and head of the after named him Gambino family from New York City . He was one of the most powerful mafiosi in the history of the Cosa Nostra and yet he did not spend a single day in prison.

biography

Early years

Carlo Gambino was born on August 24, 1902 in the province of Palermo , Sicily, into a family that belonged to the so-called Honorable Society - an Italian version of the Black Hand from the USA . Gambino initially made a name for himself in the Cosa Nostra at a young age . But since there were huge profits in the USA in view of the alcohol prohibition , Gambino arrived as an illegal immigrant in Norfolk (Virginia) in November 1921 , went to his relatives, the Castellanos , in New York City and worked for the gang with his uncle Giuseppe Castellano -Chef Salvatore D'Aquila . In late 1921, at the age of 19, he was accepted into the American Mafia as a “ made man ”.

Gambino's rise

At that time he worked with the so-called Young Turks ; a young generation of Italian-born members of the US mafia. The group was involved in robbery, theft, and illegal gambling. With their future partner Arnold Rothstein , they turned to the illegal smuggling of alcohol during the prohibition period in the early 1920s. Gambino allied with Lucky Luciano early on and made significant profits during World War II by bribing officials from the Office of Price Administration and selling their ration stamps on the black market.

Vincent Mangano became the new boss of the family in 1931 after a bloody argument, and this appointed Carlo one of his capos , who from then on could command his own troop; among them was his loyal cousin Paul Castellano .

In 1926 he married his first cousin or Paul Castellano's sister named Catherine , with whom he had three sons named Thomas , Joseph and Carlo , and a daughter named Phyllis Sinatra .

In 1951, Vincent Mangano mysteriously disappeared and his underboss , Albert Anastasia , became the new head of the family, naming Carlo his new underboss in 1956. Gambino was now on the verge of being the most powerful mobster in the country, with a crew making profits through blackmail, illegal gambling, kidnapping, smuggling and murder. He controlled more companies and territories than other families combined.

It wasn't long before several aspiring bullies started questioning Anastasia's policies. Anastasia had drawn the hostility of the boss of the Genovese family , Vito Genovese , and - after the influential Meyer Lansky had withdrawn his support - was murdered in 1957.

Don Carlo

Gambino took over his leadership role and became boss of one of the five families of New York, which was referred to under him as the "Gambino family". He wasted little time and quickly expanded his business across the United States. No part of the country was out of his reach; including Los Angeles , Las Vegas , Chicago , Miami and Boston . With the help of his capos, Aniello “Mr. Neil "Dellacroce and" Big Paul "Castellano, Gambino took control of Manhattan . Gambino has also been a long-time partner of SGC Associates , a company dedicated to improving employee-employer relationships. In the 1960s, at the height of his power, Gambino controlled over 90% of New York City's ports including the New York Longshoreman Union . At that time, the family had around 800 soldiers in almost 30 branches, spread across the country. All told, the family made more than $ 500 million a year in sales.

Gambino also made his own family policy: "Deal and Die". According to allegations, Gambino's message was to every Gambino member; " Heroin and Cocaine are highly lucrative, but were dangerous, and would attract attention. The punishment for dealing drugs is death ".

While the mafia had abolished the title of Capo di tutti i capi (it .: boss of all bosses), Gambino's position granted him the right to claim such a title, since he is now the head of the largest, richest and most powerful crime family in the country and from 1959 the chairman of the so-called American Mafia Commission .

In 1962 his eldest son Thomas Gambino married the daughter of the Lucchese boss Thomas "Tommy Brown" Lucchese . More than 1,000 people, relatives, friends and bullies were present at the wedding ceremony. It was rumored that Gambino gave Lucchese $ 30,000 as a "welcome to the family". In turn, Lucchese Gambino participated in airport operations that were under Lucchese's control, particularly at John F. Kennedy International Airport , where all unions, management and security were controlled by Lucchese himself.

In addition to the illegal activities, Carlo Gambino was involved in pizzerias, night clubs, textile, construction and transport companies.

All in all, Carlo operated in secret, lived humbly despite his million dollar empire and attracted no attention. It was said of Gambino's way of operating: very intelligent, very quiet, but with extreme brutality. A particularly notorious case is that of Dominick "Mimi" Scialo - a feared and respected soldier in the Colombo family who became very arrogant, loud and disrespectful under the influence of alcohol. One day in October 1974, Scialo was in a popular Italian restaurant, discovered Carlo Gambino and began harassing and insulting him in front of others. Gambino remained calm as he always was and didn't say a word. Scialo's concrete-encased body was found in a ditch in South Brooklyn not long after .

Last years

In 1969, Gambino was charged with a robbery at Kennedy Airport, but his lawyers repeatedly managed to postpone the process due to health problems. The authorities later wanted to deport him to Italy, but he managed to negotiate a deal with two influential congressmen that allowed him to stay in the country for a monthly fine.

Carlo Gambino's health deteriorated in the 1970s, but he still ruled his and the other New York families with an iron fist without attracting much public attention. At that time, a van marked "Organized Crime Control Bureau" began to park permanently in front of his Brooklyn home. In the van, the FBI monitored what was going on in the house with cameras, lip readers, and audio surveillance devices; including microphones that were secretly placed in Gambino's apartment. The FBI kept the van on duty 24/7 in hopes of linking Gambino to organized crime; however, Gambino continued to conduct business conversations indoors using a combination of silent gestures and coded language. The tapes remained worthless.

At this time, due to his state of health, he built up his brother-in-law and cousin Paul Castellano as his successor and appointed Castellano as acting boss from 1974. Large parts of the Gambino family agreed that underboss Neil Dellacroce would be Gambino's successor. Nevertheless, on his deathbed in 1976, Gambino named Castellano as his successor. Castellano represented rather the new type of mafioso, who dealt primarily with white-collar crime. Gambino confirmed - to calm the minds - that Dellacroce remains underboss and controls the street activities of the family in Manhattan, such as racketeering etc., but de facto the family split when Castellano became boss.

Gambino died of natural causes at his Long Island home in the early hours of October 15, 1976 . His funeral mass was held on October 18, 1976 at the Church of Our Lady of Grace in Brooklyn. Some sources say that Gambino's funeral was attended by at least 2,000 people, including even police officers, judges and politicians. He left three sons and a daughter.

His eldest son, Thomas "Tommy" Gambino , also became a member of the Gambino family in the early 1980s under the rule of Paul Castellano and was later promoted to capo.

Movies and movie quotes

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ John H. Davis: Mafia Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the Gambino Crime Family . HarperCollins, New York 1993, ISBN 0-06-016357-7 , p. 27.
  2. ↑ American Mafia History - Carlo Gambino - American Mafia Made Man at 19 Part 1 of 4
  3. ↑ a b c d National Crime Syndicate - Carlo Gambino
  4. ↑ a b American Mafia History - Carlo Gambino - A Low Profile Rise to Power Part 2 of 4
  5. ↑ Sifakis, Carl. The Mafia Encyclopedia (p. 15)
  6. ↑ Jerry Capeci: Frank Perdue Meets The Godfather . In: New York Magazine , July 5, 1983, pp. 28-29. 
  7. ↑ Gambino Is Called Heir to Genovese As 'Boss of Bosses'; Gambino Called 'Boss of Bosses' Of 6 Mafia Families in the Area by Charles Grutzner (March 15, 1970) New York Times
  8. ^ Mafia gangsters - Carlo Gambino
  9. ↑ O'Brien, Kurins, pp. 104-105
  10. ↑ O'Brien, Kurins, pp. 106-108
  11. ↑ Nicholas Gage: Carlo Gambino, a Mafia Leader, Dies in His Long Island Home at 74 . In: The New York Times , October 16, 1976. Retrieved August 21, 2007. “Carlo Gambino, the pre-eminent figure in organized crime in the country died early yesterday morning in his Massapequa, LI, home of natural causes. He was 74 years old. " 
  12. ↑ 1976: Funeral of Mafia boss held in NY . In: On This Day , BBC. Retrieved August 11, 2013. 
  13. ↑ "Gambino Gained 'Mob Tax' With Fear, Prosecutor Says" By RONALD SULLIVAN New York Times February 5, 1992
  14. ^ "Thomas Gambino: It's All in the Name" By JAMES BARRON New York Times December 2, 1992
  15. ↑ Salvatore Arena: JAILED CAPO OUT 2M STUCK IN STOCK SCAM, GAMBINO CHARGES . In: New York Daily News , May 6, 1999. Retrieved April 12, 2012. 
  16. ↑ NY Daily News - A look at the Gambino Crime family tree, from their early roots to serving as inspiration for 'The Godfather'
predecessor Office successor
Albert Anastasia Head of the
" Gambino family " of the American Cosa Nostra
1957–1976 		Paul Castellano


personal data
SURNAME Gambino, Carlo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American mobster, boss of the Gambino family
DATE OF BIRTH August 24, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH Caccamo , Sicily , Italy
DATE OF DEATH October 15, 1976
Place of death Long Island , New York