Gambino crime family - History of the Gambino crime family - Encyclopedia II

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 Masseria, Mineo and Ferrigno were killed in an ambush during the Castellammarese War in 1930 by gunmen Joe Profaci, Nick Capuzzi, Joe Valachi, and a hitman from Chicago known only as Buster.

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 with activities ranging from extortion to union racketeering, as well as illegal gambling operations including horse betting, running numbers and lotteries, the Mangano brothers continued to rule Brooklyn until 1951 when Phil was murdered and Vince disappeared without trace, presumed killed. Albert Anastasia was believed to be the culprit.

Albert Anastasia, a former Mangano member, took over the Mangano operation with little objection from 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". Anastasia became involved in the struggle for control of the Luciano crime family in the mid-1950s. After the attempted assassination of Costello in 1957 Anastasia was killed, with help from Anastasia member Carlo Gambino, in October of that year.

Taking over the organization, Carlo Gambino eventually arranged 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. He was one of only a couple of Mob Bosses to die of natural causes and not in prison.

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.

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 and trials failed to land a conviction. Gotti's attorney Bruce Cutler famously asserted the lifestyle defense in one of his trials to combat the RICO charges in the indictment. Gotti was eventually convicted after Sammy "the Bull" Gravano turned states' evidence and testified against him.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History of the Gambino crime family", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page