Neil Dellacroce – Underboss of the Gambino Crime Family
Neil Dellacroce may have been given the name of a "lamb", but he would grow up to be one of...
The Gambino Family
The Gambino Family is one of the Five Families of organized crime in America. Its origins started in the city of Palermo, Sicily.
History
Salvatore D’Aquila was the first recognized boss of what is now called the Gambino Family, leading a large Palermitani faction in New York City as they emigrated. Both Upper and Lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx supported a large group of Palermo-bred and Palermo-oriented mafiosi. They would come into conflict with an accomplished mafioso from Lower Manhattan named Giuseppe (Joe the Boss) Masseria.
D’Aquila and his followers would side with Maranzano, his Castellammare troops, and allied sympathizers. By 1931, Vincent Mangano would come to power. He would rule until his disappearance and murder in 1951. Albert Anastasia, a Calabrian and Mangano underboss, would rise to power and rule with an iron fist until his infamous execution in the barber’s chair in 1957, at which time Carlo Gambino came to power.
A long period of stability and prosperity would be enjoyed by this Family for the next 18 years until Gambino’s death in 1975. Paul Castellano, Carlo’s cousin and brother-in-law, would be chosen to lead. The Family would also prosper under Castellano for another decade until John Gotti shot his way to power with Castellano’s infamous gangland hit!
A Dominant Mafia Family
The Gambino Family, with an estimated formal membership of over 250 men and several thousand associates, and such capable leaders through the decades as Francesco (Don Cheech) Scalice, Aniello (Neil) Dellacroce, Ettore (Terry) Zappi, Joseph N. Gallo, James (Jimmy Brown) Failla, and the notorious Carmine (The Doctor) Lombardozzi. They have a very dominant position in the New York and New Jersey underworld.
They also have had many “outposts” in Connecticut, Baltimore, South Florida, California, and Sicily. With extensive street rackets in large gambling, shylocking, extortion, business infiltration, labor-union racketeering, international heroin smuggling and nationwide distribution, and even political influence, this borgata has always ranked among the two largest and most pervasive in the American marketplace.
Gambino Family Capo Toddo Aurello
Toddo Aurello was a low-key Gambino Family capo involved in a notorious underworld murder. He was also a mentor to...
Anthony (Tony) Carubia – “Tony the Hoodlum”
Tony Carubia Carubia was not a well-publicized hoodlum to the general public, but he was very well-known within underworld circles....
Gambino Labor Racketeer “Blackie” D’Agostino
"Blackie" D'Agostino was a Gambino Family associate who specialized in labor union corruption. A WWII veteran who grew up in...
Anthony (Tony West) DeLutro
Tony West DeLutro was a well-known mafia member who, along with his brother Charlie West DeLutro, served in the personal...
Daniel (Danny Wags) Fatico – An Early Mentor to John Gotti
Danny Fatico was a soldier in the Albert Anastasia Family. Years later, after Carlo Gambino became boss, his brother Carmine...
Gaetano (Tommy) Masotto and the Masotto Family – Sleepers in the Gambino Family
Tommy Masotto was a Mafia powerhouse, but a sleeper his entire life. A little-known or written-about blood cousin of Mafia...
Alfonso (Funzi) Mosca – A Rough-and-Tumble Street Guy
Alfonso Mosca was a soldier in the Gambino Family. While he was open to any type of racket opportunities, he...
Mob Hit in Connecticut – The Demise of Capo Frank Piccolo
Frank Piccolo was a caporegime who headed the Connecticut faction of the Gambino Crime Family. It is believed that Piccolo...
Frank (Don Ciccio) Scalisi – An Old-Time Original
Frank Scalisi would become one of the most important and powerful members of the Mafia in New York. He would...
Antonio (Tony) Vanella – The Garment Center “Tough Guy”
Although little-known to the general public, Tony Vanella was widely known on the streets as a formally inducted respected “soldier”...
From city to city and state to state, Button Guys of The New York Mafia breaks down the history of organized crime in America. Through deep-dive biographies and snapshots of mobsters to in-depth stories about mafia regimes and crews, you’ll uncover an underworld you might never have known existed – maybe even in your own hometown!
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