Gambino crime family
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The Gambino Crime Family is a criminal organization based in New York City, New York, USA within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known familiarly as the Mafia (also known as La Cosa Nostra).
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Impact of the Gambino Crime Family
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The impact of organized crime is generally regarded as a global phenomenon, and the Italian Mafia in the United States is seen as having connections to other ethnic criminal organizations operating within the United States (including the Asian Triad, Russian Mafia, Albanian Organized Crime, Biker Gangs, etc.), to their counterparts in Sicily and southern Italy, as well as to other international criminal organizations including stolen car rings and drug cartels abroad.
The Gambino Crime Family has been connected to narcotics trafficking, labor racketteering, counterfeiting, loansharking and extortion, gambling, and automobile theft among other criminal operations that bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in profit each year, in addition to many legitimate enterprises over which they exercise control.
Law enforcement estimates that the Gambino family consists of approximately 200 members, and perhaps 800 associates, and operates in all five boroughs of New York City, and throughout the country especially in Hartford, Connecticut, Atlantic City and Newark, in New Jersey, Miami, Florida, Atlanta, Georgia, San Francisco, California, Los Angeles, California, Las Vegas, Nevada, Baltimore, Maryland.
History of the Gambino Crime Family
Early Origins
The Gambino family can be traced back to the Prohibition period under Alfred Mineo and Steve Ferrigno during the days of Joe "The Boss" Masseria. Allies of Messeria, Minneo and Ferrigno was killed in an ambush during the Castellammarese War in 1930 by gunmen Joe Profaci, Nick Capuzzi, Joe Valachi, and the hitman known only as Buster from Chicago.
After the Castellammarese War
(more to come) Following the deaths of Mineo and Ferrigno, brothers Vince and Phil Mangano took over the organization as members of the National Crime Syndicate. Controlling the Brooklyn waterfront, ranging from extortion to union racketeering, as well as illegal gambling operations including horse betting, running numbers, and lotteries the Mangano's continued to rule Brooklin until 1951 when Vince Mangano disappeared following Phil Mangano's death by Albert Anastasia.
Albert Anastasia
(more to come) Albert Anastasia, a former Mangano member, took over the Mangano operation with little objection fom the other families. Supported by Frank Costello, Anastasia expanded the organization into illegal gambling, loan sharking, and narcotics. However Anastasia became distracted by insignificant and petty murders such as ordering the death of a witness against bank robber Wille Sutton, who had no apparent connection to the Mafia, solely because he despised "stoolies". Anistasia became involved in the struggle for control of the Luciano crime family in the mid-1950s. After the attempted assassination of Costello in 1957 Anistasia was killed, with help from Anastasia member Carlo Gambino, in October of that year.
Carlo Gambino
(more to come) Taking over the organization Carlo Gambino eventually arrganged for Genovese to be convicted on narcotics charges. The Gambino family, with the retirement of Costello, soon became one of the most powerful famlies in the National Crime Syndicate as Meyer Lansky's main ally. The failure of Joe Bonanno's attempts on Gambino and the lives of other New York crime families in which the aftermath of the Bananna War saw Gambino become the most powerful Don in organized crime known unofficially as "Capo di tutti capi" or "Boss of Bosses".
Paul Castellano
(more to come) The leader of the Gambino family was Carlo Gambino. When he died he left the leadership of the family to his cousin Paul Castellano. The family withered under Castellano's rule and was almost wiped out by the FBI in the mid 1980s.
The Dapper Don
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(more to come) After Castellano was shot to death outside Sparks Steak House in Manhattan, in an internecine coup d'etat. John Gotti assumed power. Gotti was popular with the public, and well known for embracing the spotlight and playing to the media. He earned the nickname "The Teflon Don" after a string of indictments failed to land a conviction. Gotti was eventually convicted after Sammy "the Bull" Gravano turned states' evidence and testified against him.
After the Gotti era
(more to come)
Bosses of the Gambino Crime Family
- 19??–1916 — Pellegrino Morano
- 1916–1928 — Salvatore D'Aquila
- 1928–1930 — Alfred Mineo
- 1930–1931 — Francesco "Frank" Scalise
- 1931–1951 — Vincent Mangano
- 1951–1957 — Albert Anastasia
- 1957–1976 — Carlo Gambino
- 1976–1985 — Paul Castellano
- 1986–1992 — John Gotti
- 1992–1996 — John Gotti, Jr. (acting boss)
- 1996–1997 — Nicholas Corozzo (acting boss)
- 1997–1999 — John Gotti, Jr. (acting boss)
- 1999–2003 — Peter Gotti (acting boss, boss from 2002–2003)
- 2003–2004 — Arnold Squitieri (acting boss)
- 2004–pres — Nicholas Corozzo
The Gambinos in Popular Culture
Movies
- Gotti (1996)
- Boss of Bosses (1999) (tv movie)
- Witness to the Mob (1998) (tv movie)
TV
- Growing Up Gotti (A&E)
Books
- Gotti: Rise and Fall by Jerry Capeci (1996) ISBN 0451406818
- Mob Star: The Story of John Gotti by Gene Mustain and Jerry Capeci (2002) ISBN 0028644166
- Mafia Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the Gambino Crime Family by John H. Davis (1994) ISBN 0061091847
- Underboss: Sammy the Bull Gravano's Story of Life in the Mafia by Peter Maas (1997) ISBN 0061096644
- Boss of Bosses : The FBI and Paul Castellano by Joseph F. O'Brien and Andris Kurins (1992) ISBN 0440212294