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Italian-American Mafia crime family
- The Gambino crime family (pronounced [ɡamˈbiːno]) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia.
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The Gambino crime family (pronounced [ɡamˈbiːno]) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia.
Mar 14, 2019 · Though the crime organization in question had been operating for decades, the Gambino family’s name came from Carlo Gambino, who was the family’s boss from 1957 to his death in 1976. The...
The Gambino Crime Family is one of the most recognizable criminal organizations in America. The family originated in the early 1900s under the leadership of Salvatore D’Aquila. They became one of New York’s “Five Families” and participated in “The Commission,” the governing board for organized crime families established by Charlie ...
Nov 10, 2023 · Gambino crime family. What John Gotti’s Gambino crime family looks like now in New York. The days of the Five Families ruling New York and sharp-suited John Gotti mingling with the stars appear...
- Overview
- Background and formation
- Lucchese family
- Bonanno family
- Colombo family
- Gambino family
- Genovese family
- The Five Families in American culture
Five Families, moniker given to the five major Italian American Mafia families in New York City: Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese. The families and their inner workings were publicly revealed in 1963, when a Mafia soldier testified at a congressional hearing. The heyday of the Five Families is confined to roughly four decades, from...
The Five Families were organized after the end of the Castellammarese War, the name given to a violent power struggle between Joe Masseria and Maranzano. In 1931 Maranzano’s faction made the decision to assassinate Masseria. The plot was devised and overseen by Lucky Luciano, Maranzano’s lieutenant. In the power vacuum created by Masseria’s murder, Maranzano reorganized the Mafia’s power structure. He recognized the groups that would become the Five Families—then known as the Luciano, Gagliano, Mangano, Maranzano, and Profaci outfits—and demarcated their respective territories. Each family now had, in descending order of authority, a boss (or don), an underboss, lieutenants, and soldiers. Maranzano also declared himself capo di tutti i capi, or “boss of all bosses,” essentially making himself the supreme authority of the Mafia.
Later in 1931 Luciano had Maranzano murdered, disavowed the capo di tutti i capi title (though he maintained much of the power), and organized the Commission, which initially consisted of the heads of the Five Families, the Buffalo (New York) Mafia, and the Chicago Outfit; Luciano served as the chairman. They met to discuss shared issues and mediate internecine conflicts. This arrangement, albeit constantly tenuous and outright hostile at times, ushered in a new era of cooperation and success for the Italian American Mafia. Over some three decades the Five Families amassed great power and wealth. However, with the enactment of the RICO Act in 1970, the Mafia and the Five Families entered a period of decline. Hugely effective in combating organized crime, the act resulted in numerous convictions. In addition, the prospect of lengthy prison sentences led many Mafia members to become informants.
The Lucchese family was originally called the Gagliano family after Thomas (“Tommy”) Gagliano, who rose to power following Gaetano (“Tommy”) Reina’s death in the Castellammarese War. When Gagliano died in 1951, Thomas (“Tommy” or “Three-Finger Brown”) Lucchese became boss and renamed the family. The Luccheses, alongside the Gambinos, controlled the...
The Bonanno family is named for Joseph (“Joe Bananas”) Bonanno, who became leader after the death of Maranzano. One of the longest-serving bosses in Mafia history, Bonanno was in power for more than 30 years, during which time the family rose in prominence. It was largely engaged in loan-sharking, gambling, narcotics, and prostitution. Bonanno atte...
The group that eventually became the Colombo family was first controlled by Joseph Profaci, who served as boss until his death in 1962. His brother-in-law, Joseph Magliocco, assumed power and plotted with Joseph Bonanno to assassinate the leaders of the Gambino and Lucchese families. The plan, however, was revealed to the Commission by their top assassin, Joseph Colombo. As a reward, he was made leader of the family in 1964. Colombo publicly accused the FBI of racial profiling after the RICO Act was passed, and he later founded the Italian American Civil Rights League. As with other families, the Colombos made their money from myriad illicit activities, including extortion and drug trafficking. In 2011 the Colombo family was decimated by a series of arrests, leaving the family without an apparent boss.
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The Gambino family’s origins date to the early 1900s, with Salvatore D’Aquila as the first leader. After he was killed in 1928, there were a series of bosses, including Vincent Mangano, who assumed control in 1931 when the Five Families were first recognized. Twenty years later he was killed, reportedly by Albert Anastasia, head of a notorious murd...
The Luciano family, as it was then known, was initially headed by Lucky Luciano, whose second-in-command was Vito Genovese. After Luciano was deported to Italy in 1946, Frank Costello took over but faced opposition from Genovese. The latter ordered a hit on Costello in 1957. Although he survived, Costello was replaced by Genovese, who renamed the f...
The Five Families, despite wielding only a small fraction of the power they once held in the mid-20th century, maintain an enduring place in American culture. They have appeared in hugely influential films and television shows in the 20th and 21st centuries. Notable movies include Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather: Part ...
Apr 10, 2024 · Carlo Gambino (born Sept. 1, 1902, Palermo, Sicily, Italy—died Oct. 15, 1976, Massapequa, N.Y., U.S.) was the head of one of the Five Families of organized crime —the Bonanno, Colombo, Genovese, Lucchese, and Gambino crime families—in New York City from 1957 to 1976, with major interests in Brooklyn, and reputedly the “boss of bosses ...
Nov 12, 2020 · Photo: Getty Images. John Gotti. A longtime rival to the Genovese family as the dominant entity of the Commission, the Gambino family offers a roster of some of the more colorful figures in mob...
