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Gambino crime family
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The Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that controls organized crime activities based in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia (or Cosa Nostra). Based in New York City, the group's operations extend to much of the eastern seaboard and all across the nation to California. Its illicit activities include labor and construction racketeering, gambling, loansharking, extortion, drug trafficking, money laundering, prostitution, murder for hire, solid and toxic waste dumping violations, construction, building and cement violations, fraud and wire fraud, hijacking, pier thefts and fencing.
origins of the Gambino crime family can be traced back to the days of a criminal Neapolitan gang led by Pellegrino "Don Grino" Morano, which was taken over by Salvatore "Toto" D'Aquila following the jailing of Morano in 1916.
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Encyclopedia
The Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that controls organized crime activities based in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia (or Cosa Nostra). Based in New York City, the group's operations extend to much of the eastern seaboard and all across the nation to California. Its illicit activities include labor and construction racketeering, gambling, loansharking, extortion, drug trafficking, money laundering, prostitution, murder for hire, solid and toxic waste dumping violations, construction, building and cement violations, fraud and wire fraud, hijacking, pier thefts and fencing.
History
Origins
The origins of the Gambino crime family can be traced back to the days of a criminal Neapolitan 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 Giuseppe "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 Ferrigno's home at 759 Pelham Parkway South. 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 Charlie "Lucky" Luciano, who duly set about rearranging New York's organized crime and establishing the basis of the "Five Families" of New York, which became known as the Commission of the Cosa Nostra.
After the Castellammarese War
Following a brief period under the control of Frank Scalice, the first recognized leader of what would become the Gambino family was Vincenzo "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, the vice-president of the International Longshoremen's Association. Through the association, Mangano and the family controlled the New York and Brooklyn waterfront with activities including extortion, union racketeering, and illegal gambling operations including horse betting, running numbers and lotteries. Mangano 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. Phil Mangano 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, Gambino's brother-in-law Paul "Big 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. Although it has never been proven, it is generally believed that Vince was murdered by Anastasia.
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. He 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. Carlo Gambino, a wily character with designs on the leadership himself, 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 crime family. Vito Genovese was the 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 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.
Anastasia had too much dissension in his own famly, and his own captains grew tired of his mood swings and temper tantrums.
Six months later, on October 25, 1957, Anastasia was murdered while sitting in a barber's chair at the Park Sheraton Hotel on West 56th Street. For many years, the murder was believed to have been committed by Joseph "Crazy Joe" Gallo. Later, Colombo crime family boss and Gallo foe, Carmine "Junior" Persico claimed credit. However, 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, on the orders of Carlo Gambino. The team consisted of Stephen Grammauta, Stephen Armone and Arnold Wittenburg, a crew of Lower East Side heroin dealers.
Anastasia's former Underboss Carlo Gambino took the reins 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 caporegime in the 1990s.
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 Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno, the head of the Bonanno crime family and Gambino's top rival, to kill off Gambino and the heads of other New York crime families in the aftermath of the Bonanno 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 Joseph Colombo, head of the Colombo crime 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 Franzese, an informer later said, it may have been set up by rogue law enforcement, or by Carlo Gambino himself. Colombo survived the shooting but remained in a coma until his death in 1977. He was buried next to Joseph Gallo. Johnson was killed by Colombo's bodyguard.
In either case, Gambino's influence stretched into behind-the-scenes control of the Lucchese crime family, led by Carmine "Mr. Gribbs" Tramunti. Gambino also allegedly influenced the selection of Frank "Funzi" Tieri as boss of the Genovese crime family, after the murder of Thomas Eboli, whom Gambino, allegedly, had had killed over a $4 million 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 "Mr. Neil" Dellacroce, but to Paul Castellano, who was married to Gambino's sister. Allies of Dellacroce were thoroughly unhappy about that move, but Dellacroce himself kept his men in line, and was 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 the notorious crew run by Anthony "Nino" Gaggi and Roy DeMeo, which was believed to have committed somewhere between 10-15 murders during Castellano's regime from the late 1970s and mid 1980s. While Castellano was still in charge, most of the family affairs were run and controlled unofficially by a 4 man ruling-panel which included powerful Garment District leader and Thomas "Tommy" Gambino, bodyguard and later Underboss Thomas "Tommy" Bilotti, and powerful Queens faction-leaders Daniel "Danny" Marino and James "Jimmy Brown" Failla, all top rivals of 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, particularly John Gotti.
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 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, 1985, Bilotti and Castellano were heading for a meeting with capo Frank DeCicco at the Sparks Steak House on 46th Street, when they were gunned down by four unidentified men in the middle of rush hour. These men were later recognized and identified by Mob expert Jerry Capeci to be Angelo Ruggiero, John Carneglia, Vincent Artuso, Salvatore Scala and Richard Kuklinski who were contracted by John Gotti.
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. Unlike most of his colleagues, he made almost no effort to hide that he was a connected mobster. He appointed DeCicco as his Underboss and promoted Ruggiero to Caporegime in charge of his old crew. At that time, Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano was allegedly elevated to Consigliere. Gotti 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. One of his neighbours during that time was John Favara, who disappeared after hitting Gotti's 12-year-old son with a car while he was riding his bike, killing him instantly. Another neighbor was Gotti's dear friend and associate, Joseph "Big Joe" Massino, who was during the late 1980s recognized as the Underboss of the Bonanno crime family, and a strong candidate for leadership, for the imprisoned Boss Philip "Rusty" Rastelli.
Many mob leaders disapproved of his high-profile style, particularly Genovese crime family boss Vincent "Chin" Gigante, a former ally of Castellano. Ironically, Gigante had been the triggerman in the last unsanctioned hit on a Mafia boss, when he nearly killed Frank Costello in 1957. Gigante allegedly conspired with Lucchese crime family leaders Vittorio "Vic" Amuso and Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso, to 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. In particular, he complained about Gravano, portraying him as a "mad dog" killer. Gravano responded by turning state's evidence and testifying against Gotti.
On April 2, 1992, largely on the strength of Gravano's testimony, Gotti and current Consigliere Frank "Frankie Loc" LoCascio were 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 Nicholas "Little 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 "Junior" Gotti, 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, when they were considered the most powerful criminal organization on earth. Peter Gotti was imprisoned as well in 2003, as the leadership allegedly went to the current administration members, Nicholas Corozzo, Jackie D'Amico and Joseph Corozzo.
As former rivals of John Gotti took completely over the Gambino family, mostly because the rest of Gotti's loyalists were either jailed or under indictments, and that Gotti, Sr died in prison in 2002, then-current head of white collar crimes and caporegime, Michael "Mikey Scars" DiLeonardo turned state's evidence due to increased law enforcement and credible evidence toward his racketeering trial, and was forced to testify against mobsters from all of the Five Families. One of the last Gotti supporters, DiLeonardo testified against among others Peter Gotti and Anthony "Sonny" Ciccone from 2003 to 2005, and disappeared into the Witness Protection Program. At the same time, Sammy Gravano, Gotti's former Underboss, had evaded the program in 1995 and was arrested and jailed for operating an Ecstasy-ring that stretched from Arizona to New York City in 2003. During that same year, he was sentenced to 19 years in prison, ironically due to informants amongst his associates.
In 2005, Nicholas Corozzo and his longtime underling Leonard "Lenny" DiMaria were released from prison after serving ten years for racketeering and loansharking charges in New York and Florida. That same year, US law enforcement recognized Corozzo as the Boss of the Gambino crime family, with his brother Joseph Corozzo as the family Consigliere, Arnold "Zeke" Squitieri as the acting Underboss and Jackie D'Amico as a highly regarded member with the Corozzo brothers.
Operation Old Bridge
On Thursday, February 7, 2008, an indictment and four-year-long FBI investigation only known as Operation Old Bridge was issued, leading to 54 people affiliated with the Gambino crime family being arrested that very day in New York City and its northern suburbs, New Jersey and Long Island. A federal grand jury later that day accused 62 people of having ties to the Gambino crime family and offenses such as murders, conspiracy, drug trafficking, robberies, extortion and other crimes were included in the indictment. By the end of the week, more than 80 people were indicted in the Eastern District of New York. The case is now referred to as United States of America v. Agate et al. It was assigned to Judge Nicholas Garaufis. The FBI was able to collect the needed information through informant Joseph Vollero, the owner of a truck company on Staten Island, who secretly recorded several conversations between him and members of the Gambino family about three years prior to the indictment was handed out.
Among the arrested were the current Gambino crime family leaders John "Jackie Nose" D'Amico, Joseph "Jo Jo" Corozzo and Domenico "Italian Dom" Cefalu, including Gambino family captains Leonard "Lenny" DiMaria, Francesco "Frank" Cali, Thomas "Tommy Sneakers" Cacciopoli. However, recognized captain and co-acting boss Nicholas "Little Nick" Corozzo, one of the main indicted in the case, fled his home on Long Island, acting on prior knowledge, and was considered fugitive by US law enforcement until his arrest after turning himself in on May 29, 2008 after almost four months on the run.
The federal operation broke up a growing alliance between the Gambinos and the Sicilian Mafia, who wanted to get into further ahead into the drug trade. One of those arrested in the raids in the US was Frank Cali, a captain in the Gambino family. He is allegedly the "ambassador" in the US for the Inzerillo crime family.
The name of the police operation, "Old Bridge", refers to the historical ties of an exile group of Sicilian Mafiosi across the Atlantic ocean. After the Second Mafia War in the beginning of the 1980s, the surviving members of the Inzerillo Mafia family had been "allowed" to migrate to New York and the United States to avoid extermination by the Corleonesi faction and then victorious Sicilian "boss of bosses" Salvatore "Toto" Riina. The Inzerillos' American relatives and associates of New York's Gambino family intervened on their behalf. They were allowed to settle in the States in exchange for a pledge: neither they nor their offspring would ever again set foot on Sicilian soil. The became known as gli Scappati, the Runaways. Two decades later, the Runaways were returning to Palermo. The exiles had good reasons: Riina and his successor Bernardo Provenzano were both arrested and are currently serving life terms in Italy. The runaway Inzerillo clan was allegedly rebuilding the "Old Bridge" between America and Sicily, reestablishing the business and drug trafficking ties between the Sicilian and American mobs, in this case, the Gambino crime family.
From the year of 2005 and toward 2008, the federal faty authorities has accomplished the prosecution and conviction of prominent Gambino crime family leaders, including the current administration and several captains, soldiers and associates. Since both federal and New York State authorities rounded up the entire Gambino family hierarchy in early 2008, there is an apparent power-vacuum in the Gambino fat family. Many speculate the new acting boss is the legendary Castellano-loyalist Daniel "Danny" Marino of the Queens faction of the family. Fresh out of jail, Carmine Agnello is also being watched very closely.
A March 2009 article in the New York Post stated that the Gambino family is currently being run by a three-man panel of street bosses consisting of; Daniel "Danny" Marino, Johnny Gambino, and Bobby Vernace while the members of the family's administration serve prison sentences. The article also states that the family consists of approximately 260 "made" members.
Bosses of the Gambino crime family
- 1907–1917 — Pellegrino Morano (Brooklyn Camorra leader, jailed 1917, then deported)
- 1916–1928 — Salvatore "Toto" D'Aquila (what was left of the Brooklyn Camorra aligned with the D'Aquila group, killed by Joe Masseria October 10 or 28, 1928)
- 1928–1930 — Alfred "Al Mineo" Manfredi (killed during Castellammarese War November 5, 1930)
- 1930–1931 — Francesco "Frank/Don Cheech" Scalise (demoted after Salvatore Maranzano was killed)
- 1931–1951 — Vincenzo "Vincent" Mangano (recognized as the first official boss of the family which would be the Gambino Family, disappeared April 15, 1951, allegedly killed by Albert Anastasia)
- 1951–1957 — Albert "Mad Hatter" Anastasia (former head of the infamous death-squad Murder Incorporated, stepped up after Mangano disappeared, killed October 25, 1957, on orders of his Underboss Carlo Gambino)
- 1957–1976 — Carlo Gambino (family godfather, seized also the power of the Commission and recognized as the most powerful boss during his entire regime from the late 1950s and all the way up to the mid 1970s, died October 15, 1976, of natural causes)
- 1974–1976 — Paul "Big Paul" Castellano (acting boss) (Followed orders from his boss, Carlo Gambino, right upon his death in 1976)
- 1976–1985 — Paul Castellano (originally a captain and Gambino's brother-in-law who was promoted by Gambino on his death bed, which triggered a small war between two of the family's factions; killed on the orders of rival John Gotti, December 16, 1985)
- 1986–2002 — John Gotti (most infamous boss recognized in the media, stepped up with younger regimes, caused great rivalry between him and two other families, jailed from 1990-2002, officially recognized boss, died June 10, 2002, while incarcerated)
- 1992–1996 — Ruling Committee/Panel (aides to acting boss) Nicholas "Little Nick" Corozzo 1992-96 (jailed), Leonard "Lenny" DiMaria 1992-96 (jailed), John "Jackie Nose "DAmico 1992-96
- 1996–2002 — Ruling Committee/Panel Jackie D'Amico 1996-98 (jailed), Peter "One Eye" Gotti 1996-1999 (promoted), Louis "Big Lou" Vallario 1996-2002, Stephen "Stevie Coogan" Grammauta 1996-2002, Michael "Mikey Scars" DiLeonardo 1996-2002 (jailed 2002, defected November 2002) (Committee/Panel disbanded 2002, with death of longtime Don and Godfather, John Gotti)
- 1992–1999 — John A. Gotti Jr. also known as "Junior" Gotti (acting boss) (jailed 1999)
- 1999–2002 — Peter "One Eye" Gotti (acting boss)
- 2002–2003 — Peter Gotti (recognized as official boss, jailed 2002)
- 2002–2005 — Arnold "Zeke" Squitieri (acting boss)
- 2005–present — Jackie D'Amico (acting boss), Domenico "Italian Dom" Cefalu (acting underboss), Joseph "Jo Jo" Corozzo (consigliere)
- 2005–2006 — Nicholas "Little Nick" Corozzo (possibly the official sitting boss)
- 2009–present — Peter Gotti (boss, incarcerated), Arnold "Zeke" Squitieri (underboss, incarcerated), Joseph Corozzo (consigliere, incarcerated), Ruling Committee/Panel - Daniel "Danny" Marino, Johnny Gambino, Bobby Vernace
Current family leaders
- Nicholas "Little Nick" Corozzo - Capo, former rival of John Gotti. Brother of Consigliere Joseph Corozzo and the current head of the caporegimes. Named as one of the main defendants in the Operation Old Bridge case, but was tipped off in advance and went for almost four months on the run. Pleaded guilty to enterprise corruption, incarcerated at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) on separate counts of conspiracy to commit murder.
- John "Jackie Nose" D'Amico - Capo, took over the old John Gotti crew in the early 1990s, operated in Queens and Brooklyn with labor racketeering, loansharking, extortion and murder. Currently an alleged Street boss or Acting boss along with the Corozzo brothers. Named as one of the main defendants following the indictments from Operation Old Bridge, he pleaded guilty to an extortion operation at Staten Island and was in August sentenced to 2 years in prison.
- Arnold "Zeke" Squitieri - Underboss, longtime caporegime in the Gambino crime family, used to operate in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn with drug trafficking during the 1980s. Now he's currently promoted to family Underboss. Squitieri was convicted of drug trafficking, illegal gambling and tax evasion in 2006, and is currently serving just over seven years in prison.His projected release date is November 12, 2011.
- Joseph "Jo Jo" Corozzo - Current Consigliere and brother of Nicholas Corozzo, with alleged loansharking and illegal gambling operations in Manhattan and Queens. Held his position since 1992 as a former rival of John Gotti. Named in the Operation Old Bridge indictments along with his brother, Corozzo was arrested and put into custody on February 8 and was in August sentenced to 46 months in prison after pleading guilty to a racketeering conspiracy charge.
Current family Capos
- Nicholas "Little Nick" Corozzo - Capo. Brother of Consigliere Joseph Corozzo, uncle of Joseph Jr. and the current head of the caporegimes. Became a fugitive for almost four months, currently incarcerated.
- John "Jackie Nose" D'Amico - Capo, took over the old John Gotti crew in the early 1990s, operated in Queens and Brooklyn with labor racketeering, loansharking, extortion and murder. Currently an alleged acting boss along with the Corozzo brothers. Pleaded guilty to an extortion operation at Staten Island and was in August sentenced to 2 years in prison.
- Thomas "Tommy" Gambino - Capo, son of former family godfather Carlo Gambino and nephew to Paul Castellano. Crew originally based in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan, New York. Controls labor racketeering in the Garment District.
- Leonard "Lenny" DiMaria - Capo, personal right-hand-man for Nicholas Corozzo since early 1970s. Operates in Brooklyn and Manhattan with racketeering and loansharking. Alleged racketeering operations in Florida.
- Francesco "Frank" Cali - Capo, accordingly the official Gambino "ambassador to the Sicilian Mafia", Cali extorted money with Leonard DiMaria from Joseph Volleros trucking company on Staten Island. A major suspect in the drug trafficking between the Sicilian Mafia and the Gambinos, Cali is currently incarcerated.His projected release-date is May 30, 2009
- Thomas "Tommy Sneakers" Cacciopoli - Capo in the New Jersey faction of the Gambinos.
- Domenico "Italian Dom" Cefalu - Capo and former Underboss. Born in Italy, Cefalu is the Sicilian faction-leader of the family, along with Anthony Megale. Currently imprisoned on violation of his parole and due to the indictments from Operation Old Bridge.
- Daniel "Danny" Marino - Capo of the Gambinos' Queens faction with labor and construction racketeering operations. A longtime rival of John Gotti, Marino was involved in the murder-conspiracy that killed Frank DeCicco instead of Gotti in 1986.
- Anthony "Sonny" Ciccone - Capo. A legend on the Brooklyn waterfront and dock boss.Currently imprisoned on various extortion charges.His projected release date is April 24, 2013.
- Salvatore "Vinny Papa" Ricchiettore - Acting Capo and current dock boss on behalf of Anthony Ciccone on the Brooklyn waterfront. Longtime member of the Gambino crime family.
- George "Butters" DeCicco - Capo and brother of former Gambino Underboss, Frank DeCicco. A loyalist to John Gotti, DeCicco has been operating out of the Staten Island and Brooklyn factions of the family with loansharking since the 1980s. Currently on trial.
- Anthony "Tony Genius" Megale - Capo and co-leader of the Sicilian faction of the family with Domenico Cefalu, Megale was the former acting underboss of the Gambino family after Peter Gotti was sent to prison in 2002. Currently incarcerated.
- Eugene "Gene" Gotti - Capo, imprisoned for drug-trafficking, loansharking, murder and extortion. Brother of John, Peter, Vincent Gotti and Richard. Gene Gotti is serving 50 years in prison, but is in charge of all Gambino family loansharking business in New York.
- Richard "Richie" Gotti - Capo of the Manhattan side. Brother of John, Peter, Gene and Vincent. Controls loansharking, extortion and garbage routes. Waste management consultant in Manhattan.
- Louis "Louie Bracciole" Ricco - Caporegime, controls illegal gambling, loansharking and racketeering in one half of the Bronx, as well as operating out of the New Jersey and Brooklyn factions of the family.
- Salvatore "Tore" LoCascio - Capo - Son of the imprisoned Consigliere, Frank "Frankie Loc" LoCascio. Control of the other half of the Bronx faction. Used to operate within pornography that earned so much as $350 million a year, until he was prosecuted in 2003.On August 1, 2008, LoCascio was released from prison. With the incarceration of Salvatore Scala it must be asumed that the recently released LoCascio is now running Gambino interests in the Bronx
- Ronald "One Armed Ronnie" Trucchio - Capo with control of The Ozone Park Boys, used to operate in Queens with a $30 million-a-year illegal gambling operation. Sentenced to life imprisonment in 2005.
- Stephen "Stevie Coogan" Grammauta - Capo in the Manhattan faction of the Gambino family. Recognized by Jerry Capeci as one of the real shooters in the murder of Albert Anastasia in 1957. Reportedly served as acting boss in the "Ruling Panel" from 1996 to 2002.
- Louis "Big Lou" Vallario - Capo, served from 1996 to 2002 as acting boss in the Family's Ruling Committee/Panel. Took over the crew of Sam Gravano in the 1980s. One of the last aides to John Gotti. Controls crew in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.His projected release date is October 15, 2013.
- Joseph "Sonny" Juliano - Capo in the Brooklyn faction of the Gambino crime family with illegal gambling, loansharking, fraud and wire fraud activities. Used to manage and operate a multi-million-dollar illegal gambling ring in 30 different locations in New York City.
- Vincent "Vinny the Shrimp" Corrao - Capo with illegal gambling and narcotics operations.Took over his father Joseph Corrao's crew originally based in Brooklyn since 2001.Vincent Corrao's projected release date is 27 Oct 2009.
- Dominick "Skinny Dom" Pizzonia - A Gambino family enforcer and hitman with John Gotti since the 1980s, Pizzonia is a captain in the Queens section currently serving a 15-year-sentence for gambling and loansharking conspiracy.
- Vincent "Little Vinny" Artuso - Capo with control of the Palm Beach, Florida faction of the Gambino family. Former drug trafficker and recognized by Jerry Capeci as one of the four designated shooters in the murder of Paul Castellano in 1985.
- Anthony "Tony Pep" Trentacosta - Caporegime in the South Florida faction of the family. Former friend of John Gotti, used to run a gasoline racket that cost the US government $1 billion in tax dollars during the 1980s.
Government informants
Gambino family mobsters
Gambino family Mafia trials
In popular culture
- "Mr. Moran" is a song about Sammy Gravano on the album A Jackknife to a Swan by the ska-core group The Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
- Rapper Raekwon recasts the Wu-Tang Clan as an Italian mafioso family dubbed the "Wu-Gambinos" on his debut album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...
- In his song "Last Real Nigga Alive," Nas raps about his infamous feud with Jay-Z. In one line he says "...'Cause in order for him to be the don/ Nas had to go/ the Gam-b-i-n-o rules, I understood..."
- In the computer game GTA IV which is based in New York the Gambetti family is based on the Gambinos.
- Law & Order commonly references the Gambinos as a literary flourish but does not involve actual persons except to allude to them by the court cases that were inspired by actual events, commonly 'Ripped from the headlines'.
- On the internet forum site Gaia Online there is a family with the last name Gambino notorious for sponsoring illegal and/or secret activites.
- In Frasier season 4 episode 23, Frasier tells Daphne and Martin "It's like Christmas morning in the Gambino's household", at the end of their argument regarding their exchange of gifts.
Further reading
- Capeci, Jerry. The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002. ISBN 0-02-864225-2
- Davis, John H. Mafia Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the Gambino Crime Family. New York: HarperCollins, 1993. ISBN 0-06-016357-7
- Jacobs, James B., Christopher Panarella and Jay Worthington. Busting the Mob: The United States Vs. Cosa Nostra. New York: NYU Press, 1994. ISBN 0-8147-4230-0
- Maas, Peter. Underboss: Sammy the Bull Gravano's Story of Life in the Mafia. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1997. ISBN 0-06-093096-9
- Raab, Selwyn. Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires. New York: St. Martin Press, 2005. ISBN 0-312-30094-8
External links
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