“Don” Carlo Gambino was born on 24 of August of 1902 in Caccamo , province of Palermo Sicily dying the 15 of October of 1976 because of a heart myocardium . He had two brothers, Gaspare who was never involved in the Mafia , and Paolo who would eventually work alongside his brother in the American Mafia . He was one of the most powerful Italian-American mobsters of the 20th century . Was it the leader or Donof a criminal organization known as the Gambino Crime Family, which lasts to this day. The family’s businesses included, among others, transportation companies, construction, unions and garbage collection.
In Italy , Gambino’s family belonged to the Honorable Society, an Italian version of the Black Hand in the United States . The Black Hand was a less organized version of Italian gangsters, most of whom immigrated to the United States .
Lifetime
Carlo Gambino was born in Chamelecón , a Sicilian town near Palermo . With his family related to the local mafia , in 1921 the young Gambino had to escape to the United States after the repression unleashed against this organization by the dictator Benito Mussolini .
It has been said that he ate nothing but anchovies and wine during the month-long journey. Once in the United States he joined his cousins, the Castellanos in New York . The Castellanos were already affiliated with D’Aquila’s band , and they quickly introduced Gambino as a new member. At the end of 1921 , at the age of 19, Carlo Gambino became a “grown man” of the American mafia .
In 1951 he became the right arm of the capo Albert Anastasia , whom he ordered the murder in 1957 to enter the headquarters of the Mafia in New York . That year he was elected head of the family that would adopt his name from then on. Gambino was a boss known for his low profile, the secrecy of his actions and for his staunch opposition to drug trafficking . Also recognized were his links with prominent figures in politics and entertainment (such as Frank Sinatra ), contacts that ultimately guaranteed him prestige and protection.
At the same time Gambino also approached an Italian and Jewish band called “Young Turks” in New York . The gang included such notables as Frank Costello , Albert Anastasia , Frank Escalise , Settimo Accardi , Tommy Lucchese , Joe Adonis , Vito Genovese , Meyer Lansky , Bugsy Siegel, and Mickey Cohen . The Turks were led by Charles “Lucky” Luciano , the future creator of the Mafia Commission .
Despite his criminal activities during his life he remained only 22 months in prison ( 1938 -39) and lived until the age of 74, when he died due to a heart attack . He was succeeded in office by his cousin and brother-in-law Paul Castellano .
He had two brothers, Gaspare Gambino , who never got involved in the Mafia , and Paolo Gambino , who became head of one of the branches of the Gambino Family , and three sons, Thomas, Carlo, and Joseph. He never applied for US citizenship because he had the status of a political refugee.
As a curious fact, it is known that Gambino was a person extremely fond of coffee , it is even said that he drank up to 8 cups of espresso in a day, perhaps this was a contributing cause to the heart attack that made him lose his life.
After several years of fighting for territory between different gangs in and around New York , two men emerged with more power. Giuseppe “Joe the Boss” Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano a Palermo mobster who recently arrived in the United States . Maranzano quickly inserted himself into extortion and gambling operations that competed directly with Masseria . The October of October of 1928 Masseria had to rival Toto D’Aquila , once the most powerful mobster in New York, assassinated, clearing the way for him to become the “Chief of Chiefs”. However, Maranzano and the Clan Castellammarese that he brought from Palermo , stood in his way.
In 1931 , Masseria had begun to eliminate the Clan Castellammarense de Maranzano . His goal was to weaken Maranzano and take over New York . However, Maranzano would not go down without a fight and declared war on Masseria and anyone else who aligned himself with him.
Gambino and Alfred Mineo , the new leader of D’Aquila’s band aligned with Masseria . Half of the young Turks joined in as well, with the others lining up with Maranzano . The Castellammarese clan included Joe Bonanno , Stefano Magaddino , and the Profaci crime family, which included Joseph Profaci and José Magliocco . Former allies of Masseria Gaetano Reina , head of the Reina family, and Tommy Lucchese also joined Castellammarese and Maranzano .
The war continued between these two factions for almost 4 years. It was the height of prohibition, where the benefits were great; However, the war almost completely destroyed many of the New York family businesses . Luciano and members of the Young Turks on both sides began to realize that the war was destroying what took them so long to build in New York City and therefore all would be lost. During the war many of the Jewish and Irish families became the dominant families in New York . Meyer Lansky , a Jewish gangster and close confidant of Luciano , felt that Masseriaand Maranzano were old-school mobsters who were too greedy to see the riches that could be had by working with non-Italians. Gambino and the young Turks agreed and decided to end the war and form a national union led by Charles Luciano .
On 15 April as as 1931 Masseria was killed by Luciano associated with Albert Anastasia , Joe Adonis , Vito Genovese and Bugsy Siegel while dining in the restaurant Nuova Villa Tammaro in Coney Island . With Masseria out of the way, Marranzano declared himself the boss of the bosses and with the help of Luciano’s vision , he reorganized the New York gangs into five Mafia families . Vincent Mangano was promoted and took over theMineo de Masseria family . The young Turk, Albert Anastasia became his subordinate and Gambino was promoted to Capo .
The October from September of 1931 Maranzano was killed by gunmen Luciano ending his reign as Chief of Chiefs. With Maranzano dead, Luciano called a meeting of all the bosses in New York and the United States . During this meeting many of the bosses including Al Capone of the Chicago Team expected Luciano to be declared Chief of Chiefs. However, Luciano had another idea and during the meeting he established his plan to create the Commission, a governing panel of crime family leaders who would mediate conflicts between families. The leaders nominated Luciano , Joe Bonanno , Joe Profaci , Tommy Gagliano , and Vincent Mangano as their inaugural members.
With a seat on the Commission , the Mangano family has become one of the most powerful mafia families in the country. Gambino quickly became one of the family’s biggest earners, controlling several illegal businesses, including borrowing, illegal gambling, and protection.
