Carlo Gambino: Mafia Godfather

A master at deception and Machiavellian intrigue , Carlo Gambino would eventually eclipse all he came in contact with as he rose to become the most powerful mafioso of his time.

Carlo (Don Carlo) Gambino - aka “Carl Gambino” - was born in 1902 in Palermo, Sicily. He immigrated illegally to this country in 1921.

He resided at 2230 Ocean Parkway, an all-brick residence in Brooklyn for years. By the late 1950s, he built an oceanfront ranch-style home on Club Drive in Massapequa on Long Island. His next-door neighbor was his close friend and top capo Ettore (Terry) Zappi .

Don Carlo

He had several brothers who would join him in the life. He also had three sons, and many cousins on both sides of the Atlantic, who were active mafiosi.

The closest of these would always be his brother Paolo (or Paul in English), a capo and his closest advisor and partner.

The Gambinos were related to the Castellano, Masotto, Scarpulla, and Guglielmini families, among others, all of whom were well-established mafiosi in their own right.

He would later arrange the marriage of his eldest son Tommy to Gaetano Lucchese’s daughter, Frances, a coup, that would solidify the power of those two mob Families.

FBI # 334450, NYPD # B-128760, NY-DCI # 467576X

Carlo was built small. At approximately 5-foot 7-inches and 140-pounds, with a prominent hawk-like nose and small beady eyes, he was an unassuming presence.

He had a quiet and very reserved demeanor typical of the old-style mafioso of Sicily who he emulated.

Many mistook his appearance and sealed lips as a sign of fear and weakness. They would be among those who would succumb to his sharp wit and mind over his career.

A master at deception and Machiavellian intrigue, Carlo would eventually eclipse all he came in contact with as he rose to become the most powerful mafioso of his time.

He criminal record started in 1930:

1930 - inquiry (suspicious person)

1930 - grand larceny

1931 - suspicion

1934 - grand larceny (fugitive)

1934 - bootlegging ($1,000 fine)

1937 - inquiry

1937 - federal alcohol tax violation (22 months in federal prison)

1940 - still conspiracy (30 days)

1953 - immigration law violations

1958 - deportation proceedings

..... with the exception of his one bootleg conviction where he served a short jail term, Carlo would never again see the inside of a prison.

Carlo was the active head of the borgata named after him for almost 20 years. He had been the underboss for years before that, and a top capo even earlier.

He was arguably one of the most powerful mafioso to ever operate in this country.

At the height of his power, he was considered the “Capo di tutti Capi” or “Boss of all Bosses” of Cosa Nostra in America.

He was a key attendee at the infamous Apalachin Meeting in 1957. It is said that his position as Family Boss was ratified at this meeting.

Known as “The Fox”, Carlo often made the analogy of the Fox and the Wolf, explaining that to be both was optimum in this life, but that the Fox was most important to be able to see the traps and pitfalls in order to avoid them.

He was, indeed, “The Fox” in his machinations and the key maneuvers he made throughout his lifetime.

His personal rackets over the years included bootlegging, ration-stamp thefts and counterfeiting, gambling, shylocking, currency counterfeiting, extortions, and international heroin smuggling.

But as leader of the Family, he had his hands in virtually every racket run by the varied members of his borgata.

Carlo Gambino under arrest.

He held partnership in the Carroll Paper Products Co., of Brooklyn. He also was a partner in SGS Associates, of Manhattan, a labor consulting firm that he utilized in his labor-union racketeering schemes for decades.

Working quietly with his younger brother Paolo for decades, Carlo was said to have become a millionaire early on by the end of the 1920s through major alcohol bootlegging rings he headed.

His minions ran alcohol stills throughout the tri-state area, producing millions of gallons of illicit liquor that made him and his brother a fortune.

He made his SECOND fortune shortly thereafter, with the advent of WWII.

He astutely became the largest supplier of stolen gas ration stamps in NYC. Through burglaries of government OPA offices and the later fencing of stamps from other thieves, he cornered the market.

He also later operated an intricate stamp counterfeiting ring, thereby supplying most of the other mobs in the city with the coveted ration stamps in one form or another.

Besides gas stamps, he also supplied other ration stamps for foods, nylons, tires, and other hard to get items because of the ongoing war in Europe.

It is not an overstatement to say that these two rackets, in which he either dominated or was a major player, made him untold millions. But it is what he did with those millions in the future that set him apart from many of his more “street”-oriented and crude brethren.

He would step back even further into the shadows and allow his rank and file to expand and solidify the borgata. A move that served them all well for years to come.

His brother, Paolo, was said to have overseen a major alien-smuggling ring that the Gambino brothers later orchestrated.

This Sicily to North America pipeline was said to have ferried thousands of illegal Sicilian and Italian immigrants into the New York area over several decades of operation.

Many of these Sicilians were either already mafiosi back in Sicily or became affiliated with the Gambino Family after being brought to America.

This would become his THIRD fortune made, and the rackets they would run for the longest time. It ran for decades.

Immigrants coming to Ellis Island.

Although they may have smuggled in illegals earlier in their careers, it was right after WWII that the Gambino brothers would start in earnest.

Starting in the early 1950s, they would form a network from Sicily into America through Canada, the ports of New York, New Jersey, and Philadelphia among other routes developed.

A duel purpose was the smuggling of packets of heroin which these illegals were obligated to carry on their person or in their luggage as payment for their being ferried to America. THIS became his FOURTH fortune!

It was during this time that many of his Gambino cousins from Palermo, Sicily came to America. Carlo was their sponsor and eased their way into the country, setting them up and helping them to get started.

First settling in Brooklyn, and in later years most relocating to South New Jersey where they became known as the “Cherry Hill Gambinos”.

Well-known today, Giovanni (John) Gambino and his brothers Rosario (Sal), Giuseppe (Joe), and many other cousins and their “amici” were the core mafiosi Carlo utilized for his heroin smuggling operations.

They also brought over millions in top quality counterfeit notes in $10, $20, $50, and $100 denominations that Sicilian “master artists” designed for the wholesale distribution in North America and Canada.

Gambino was a staunch supporter of the “Palermo” faction of the Family. And they, in turn, looked to him as one of their top faction leaders.

Carlo was never known for having been a tough and violent mafioso. In fact, his strength was actually the opposite.

Considered very astute to underworld politics and a tactician, over the decades Gambino would rise from a soldier to capo status, to serve as underboss until he pulled a coup, in concert with his mentor Vito Genovese and several other top mafiosi, to overthrow the violent reign of the Calabrian Albert Anastasia, who Carlo and other Family powers felt didn’t deserve to lead.

Having always been a Palermo-based organization, they collectively wanted a Palermitano to head the borgata.

Vito Genovese

After taking power in 1957, he would run the Family better than it had ever been overseen before. He expanded their influence and control over labor unions, international alien and narcotics smuggling activity from Sicily, and their move into legitimate business.

He did the latter by moving like-minded men into positions of power within the structure.

Business-oriented mafiosi like Ettore Zappi and Pasquale Conte, who although operated key street rackets, were also business savvy thereby leading the overall Family into key industries that strengthened the membership for the future.

Examples were Zappi infiltrating and ultimately taking over ownership of the famed Castro Convertible Co., the mattress/couch manufacturer out in New Hyde Park on Long Island.

And Conte, who after inheriting a string of meat markets in Brooklyn and Queens from his mafioso father, expanded them into the Conte Supermarket chain, a huge conglomerate of full-service food stores sprinkled throughout the city of New York.

Castro Convertible

Other excellent moves he made was his expansion into the garment district, where over several decades, he would become the largest trucker of garments among many mobbed-up trucking firms. A multi-million dollar enterprise later gifted to his sons, Tommy and Joseph.

And his guiding hand over the development and expansion by his brother Paolo, cousins Paul Castellano, Peter Castellana, and several nephews into the wholesale meat industry by Pride Meats, and Western Beef, among many more operations operating under different corporate names.

Or the Blue Star Markets, a chain of retail butcher-meat stores popular within the five boroughs.

And let’s not forget Ferro Foods, Inc., one of the dominant wholesale pizzeria supply distribution firms run by his relatives Frank Gambino and Frank Ferro, the son and son-in-law of his brother Paul.

These are but a few examples of the business acumen of Carlo Gambino.

Carlo Gambino complained of a bad heart for decades.

He used this claim as a successful defense against testifying in court and in various criminal cases the government tried bringing against him over the years.

The FBI always thought it a ruse, but, in fact, he did have a weak heart and in 1976, he finally succumbed to it.

He was 74 years old.

Gambino left a legacy second to none in the underworld.

To this day, blood relatives of his still operate within the borgata he built. And his name lives on in infamy through this Family that is named after him to this very day, some 44 years after his death!

“You have to be like a lion and a fox. The fox is smart enough to recognize traps, and the lion is strong enough to scare away the wolves. Be like a lion and a fox, and no one will ever beat you”. - Carlo Gambino

“Judges, lawyers and politicians have a license to steal.... We don't need one”. - Carlo Gambino

Until next time..."The Other Guy"

Mafia Godfather: Carlo Gambino

You May Also Enjoy

Carmine (Charlie Wagon Wheels) Fatico – The Czar of East New York

Robert (DiB) DiBernardo – “King of Porn”

Anthony (Tony Pepsi) Vitta – “The Pepsi Cola Kid”

Welcome Back!

Create New Account!

Retrieve your password

Are you sure want to unlock this post?

Are you sure want to cancel subscription?