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February 12, 2025 55 mins

Carlo Gambino and his rise to the most powerful mafioso ever - Part 3

 

You can watch Part 1 of this series here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPreB1NsRP0

You can watch Part 2 of this series here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Buf14_bUYE&

 

Gambino discouraged narcotics trafficking among his troops, instituting a “deal and die” policy. He was leery of the long sentences they could incur for drug offenses, which could provide reason for them to cooperate with authorities. He preferred instead to stick to traditional Mob rackets such as bookmaking, loansharking, hijacking and extortion, as well as maintaining as much a presence as possible in the labor unions. He married his son off to the daughter of fellow New York Mafia boss Tommy “Three-Finger Brown” Lucchese, and he was cousin and brother-in-law to Paul Castellano, one of his highest-earning crew bosses. Hounded by the FBI for decades, such as in 1970 when he was indicted for masterminding a major East Coast burglary ring, the government never nailed him. He was known for offering arresting FBI agents coffee and dessert at his home before they took him in for booking. Two years later, in 1972, Gambino’s 30-year-old nephew Manny was kidnapped and murdered by an Irish Mob crew led by James “Jimmy from Queens” McBratney. The Irish hoodlums had been kidnapping Italian Mafiosi and extorting six-figure cash ransoms for their release for more than a year when they grabbed the younger Gambino. Demanding swift vengeance, Gambino called on John Gotti, then an up-and-comer in the ranks of his crime family and the protégé of his underboss Neil Dellacroce. Gotti, his best friend Angelo “Fat Angie” Ruggiero and another wiseguy named Ralph “Ralphie Wigs” Galione gunned down McBratney in a Staten Island tavern in May 1973. They all eventually were convicted and imprisoned for the crime. Carlo Gambino battled health problems in his later years, finally succumbing to heart disease on October 15, 1976, at his Long Island waterfront home. Before dying, Gambino controversially bypassed his No. 2 in charge, Dellacroce, in favor of his brother-in-law Castellano, a more corporate-style goodfella, leaving his syndicate on shaky ground in subsequent years. Dellacroce’s death from lung cancer in early December 1985 and Castellano’s decision to skip his underboss’s wake brought about a Gambino clan coup, in which Dellacroce’s pupil, Gotti, staged the murder of Castellano and his right-hand man, Tommy Bilotti, on a crowded Manhattan street in front of the popular Sparks Steak House and grabbed control of the crime family by force. The title character in the most critically acclaimed Mob movie of all time, The Godfather, was inspired in part by Carlo Gambino. More than 40 years after Gambino’s death, the New York crime family is still named for him. Although decimated by the federal crackdown during the Gotti era, the Gambino family is still involved in various criminal activities in Brooklyn and Staten Island.

⏳𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 ⏳

00:00 – Intro & Summary of Part 2

06:52 – The Apalachin Meeting

12:46 – Fighting the first deportation order

23:41 – Why did the government never DO anything about Gambino?

26:40 – Acting boss: Thomas Eboli and the ruling panel while Genovese is in prison

31:32 – Joseph Valachi

40:11 – Thomas Gambino

44:33 – Sammy “The Bull” Gravano

47:54 – What does it mean to be a powerful mafioso?

 

🍁 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐚 🍁

🔔 For collaboration or promotion opportunities:

email: danatruppianamobtimes@gmail.com

https://linktr.ee/danatruppiana

Your source for the life and history of infamous gangsters ... and some other stuff, too. Your go-to resource for information on famous gangsters' lives and histories, as well as other things.

 

🎥𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐚'𝐬 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎𝐒🎥

Big Ang Lonardo - My first informant! He may have flipped at the end, but he had a hell of a ride!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wltuae7f5q8&

Joseph (Joey "The Clown") Lombardo is ANYTHING but a clown in real life - Part 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADrxUrFn7EM&

Nicolo Schiro - The original boss of the Bonanno family & survived wars with all the mafia bosses!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-rtimXFC1M

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