Over on the Community Page of our Mob Fireside Chat YouTube Channel, we regularly post interesting questions to our subscribers. Recently, we posed this question:
The five Cosa Nostra bosses listed below all had brothers who were close to them, who they later placed in key positions within their respective Families. The question is, in your opinion, which brother was the most powerful and influential during his underworld career?
A) Salvatore Profaci Sr. (brother of Joseph Profaci)
B) Michael “Gumba Mike” Genovese (brother of Vito Genovese)
C) Paolo “Paul” Gambino (brother of Carlo Gambino)
D) Joseph “Joe Brown” Lucchese (brother of Thomas Lucchese)
E) Anthony “Tough Tony” Anastasio (brother of Albert Anastasia)
Here’s our take:
Each brother of the five Cosa Nostra bosses we listed were powerful in their own way. But in my opinion I would probably choose either Salvatore Profaci Sr. or Paolo Gambino as the most powerful mafiosi of the bunch. And here is my thinking;
Salvatore Profaci Sr. was the official consigliere of the Joseph Profaci Family, and as such, wielded tremendous power. Not only did he hold significant influence within their Brooklyn-based borgata, but his status as the brother of Joe Profaci and the number three man within the Family hierarchy also extended his power throughout all of Cosa Nostra. Sal Profaci also oversaw a vast policy-numbers and Italian lottery racket for the borgata, in addition to owning a myriad of legitimate businesses both with and without his brother Joe. These enterprises included dress factories, food import firms, and a large real estate portfolio.
Paolo (Paul) Gambino was a longtime Family veteran, dating back to the Castellammarese War, and a top official capodecina within his brother Carlo’s Family. He was a very low-key but accomplished mafioso in his own right. During his underworld career, he was a major bootlegger, ration-stamp and currency counterfeiter, top international heroin trafficker, and operated a Sicilian-alien smuggling ring. He also owned several large food companies and meat stores.
In my humble opinion, the other three mafiosi listed never held the type of power or commanded the overall respect of a Profaci or Gambino.
Michael (Gumba Mike) Genovese, although the brother and confidant of arguably one of the most powerful bosses in Cosa Nostra, held only the rank of a soldier. He primarily operated as a shylock from an ostensibly legitimate front company that offered second mortgages and business loans, which was, in reality, a usurious money-lending racket. He also shared in some Italian lottery profits with his brother Vito. However, Mike was only respected because of the fear others had for his brother Vito. On his own, Mike commanded no such respect.
Joseph (Joe Brown) Lucchese was an official capodecina within his brother’s Family for several decades. Tommy installed Joe as the resident overseer for the Corona, Queens area. Joe controlled extensive bookmaking, policy, and dice games in Corona and throughout a good portion of Northern Queens County for his brother. However, once Tommy died, Joe was quickly demoted to a soldier and soon faded into the background. He commanded no such respect on his own.
Anthony (Tough Tony) Anastasio served for years as an official capodecina within his brother Albert’s Family. During his brother’s tenure as boss, Tough Tony was an extremely powerful figure as the head of the International Longshoremen’s Union, Local #1814, and by extension, became the kingpin over the Brooklyn docks and waterfront. However, like Joe Lucchese, he lost his power and much of his respect following Albert’s assassination in 1957. Carlo Gambino quickly sidelined Anastasio and replaced him with Anastasio’s young son-in-law, Tony Scotto.
What do you think? Head on over to YouTube, check out what others had to say, and share your opinion!
Until next time…”The Other Guy”
