1. Carlo Gambino was born in Palermo, Sicily, Italy, on August 24,1902, to a family that belonged to the Sicilian Mafia from the Passo di Rigano neighborhood.
22 Facts About Carlo Gambino
1. 2.
Carlo Gambino had two brothers: Gaspare, who was not involved with the Mafia, and Paolo, who was a part of what would become the Gambino crime family.
3.
Carlo Gambino's parents were Italian immigrants Tommaso Gambino and Felice Castellano.
4.
Carlo Gambino entered the United States on December 23,1921, at Norfolk, Virginia, as a stowaway on the SS Vincenzo Florio.
5.
Carlo Gambino made his way to New York City to join his cousins, the Castellanos, and worked for a small trucking firm owned by their family.
6.
Carlo Gambino later moved to a modest house located at 2230 Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn; his Long Island residence, located at 34 Club Drive in Massapequa, New York, served as his summer home.
7.
In 1932, Carlo Gambino married one of his cousins, Catherine Castellano, sister of future Carlo Gambino family boss Paul Castellano.
8.
In New York, Carlo Gambino joined a criminal organization headed by Joe Masseria, another Sicilian-born gangster.
9.
In 1930 Carlo Gambino was arrested in Lawrence, Massachusetts, as a suspicious person.
10.
Carlo Gambino called a meeting of crime bosses in Wappingers Falls, New York, where he declared himself capo di tutti capi.
11.
Carlo Gambino was arrested in 1937 for tax evasion related to operating a million-gallon distillery in Philadelphia.
12.
Carlo Gambino served twenty-two months in prison at the United States Penitentiary in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, the only period in his long criminal career during which he was incarcerated.
13.
Carlo Gambino gave the contract to Profaci, who then allegedly assigned the hit to Joseph "Crazy Joe" Gallo.
14.
Carlo Gambino subsequently took over the Mangano crime family, which took his name going forward.
15.
Carlo Gambino appointed Joseph Biondo as underboss, though Biondo was replaced by Aniello Dellacroce in 1965.
16.
Many mafiosi escaped through the woods surrounding the Barbara estate; Carlo Gambino is thought to have attended the meeting, but was not one of the mobsters apprehended.
17.
Over 1,000 guests attended the wedding, at which Carlo Gambino presented Lucchese with a $30,000 gift.
18.
Deportation proceedings against Carlo Gambino were started by the Immigration and Naturalization Service as early as 1953, but made no headway for several years because of his heart condition and constant hospitalizations.
19.
Carlo Gambino was released on $75,000 bail, and was never brought to trial because of his health.
20.
Carlo Gambino died at his Massapequa home in the early morning hours of Friday having watched the television broadcast of the winning the American League pennant the previous evening.
21.
Against expectations, Carlo Gambino had previously appointed Castellano to succeed him over his underboss Dellacroce.
22.
Carlo Gambino appeared to believe that the family would benefit from Castellano's focus on white-collar crime.