1. Law enforcement considered Frank Cali to have been the Gambinos' "ambassador to Sicilian mobsters" and had linked him to the Inzerillo Mafia family from Palermo.
22 Facts About Frank Cali
1. 2.
Frank Cali was born on March 26,1965, in New York City, to Augusto Cesare Frank Cali and Agata Scimeca, both natives of Palermo, Sicily.
3.
Frank Cali's father ran a household goods store in Palermo and a video store in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.
4.
Frank Cali had a clean police record in the United States, even though he was mentioned in the Pizza Connection investigation, when police discovered that he was a partner of Domenico Adamita, allied to Sicilian Mafia boss Gaetano Badalamenti.
5.
Frank Cali was the nephew-in-law of Sicilian mobster John Gambino, and had close ties to the once powerful Sicilian Mafia family led by Salvatore Inzerillo.
6.
Frank Cali was a great-nephew of Bonanno crime family mobsters Giovanni Bonventre and Vito Bonventre.
7.
In January 1997, the FBI reported to Italian authorities that Frank Cali had been "combined" into the Gambino family.
8.
Frank Cali was promoted to acting capo when D'Amico became acting boss.
9.
Frank Cali ran several import-export companies in Brooklyn, including Circus Fruits Wholesale in Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn.
10.
Frank Cali married Rosaria Inzerillo, a sister of Pietro Inzerillo and a relative of Gambino associate Frank Inzerillo, a member of the Palermitan Inzerillo family.
11.
Frank Cali was the contact for Sicilian mafiosi who traveled to New York to meet him, do business, and update him on Sicilian affairs.
12.
Prosecutors claimed that Frank Cali acted as the Gambino "ambassador to the Sicilian mobsters" and as a liaison between D'Amico and the Sicilian connections to the Inzerillo family.
13.
Frank Cali was charged with racketeering, extortion, and conspiracy along with D'Amico and DiMaria.
14.
On June 4,2008, Frank Cali pleaded guilty to conspiring to extort money from Vollaro.
15.
Frank Cali was incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York.
16.
The US Justice Department demanded that Frank Cali avoid all contact with Gambino, except for weddings or holiday celebrations approved in advance by Frank Cali's probation officer.
17.
In October 2012, Frank Cali was identified by New York crime reporter Jerry Capeci as the new underboss of the Gambino crime family.
18.
In July 2013, it was reported that Frank Cali turned down the position of boss of the family.
19.
Frank Cali was buried six days later at Moravian Cemetery in New Dorp, Staten Island.
20.
Surveillance video showed a pickup truck striking Frank Cali's parked Cadillac, a subsequent confrontation between the driver and Frank Cali, and then the shooting.
21.
Frank Cali had tried to evade the killer by using his vehicle as a shield.
22.
In July 2019, Comello's defense attorney stated that Comello had become obsessed with QAnon conspiracy theories, believing Frank Cali was a member of a "deep state".