Chronicles of Events and Biographies Related to the American Mafia
Anthony M. Scotto was born on May 10, 1934, in Brooklyn, New York, into a family deeply embedded with labor unions and the mob. His mother, Marion Anastasio Scotto, was the sister of Albert Anastasia, who controlled Murder Incorporated and later became boss to what would be called The Gambino Crime Family. His father, Anthony…
Family Ties to the Old Country Frank Cali was born in New York City in 1965 to Sicilian immigrants. Cali’s connection to Sicily would play a key role in both his personal life as well as his career as a mafioso. He married Rosaria Inzerillo, who was from a reputed Mafia family in Palermo. Cali…
In the Mafia, your friends can be a double-edged sword. Who you know can help you rise through the ranks of the mob, sometimes faster than someone with no close relationship to Mafia leadership. At the same time, being a close associate of a godfather or some controversial mafia figure can put a target on…
Loyal to Castellano, even in death. Few Mafia bosses had careers as short as Thomas Bilotti did. The unfortunate Bilotti spent two paltry weeks as a key underboss in the Gambino Family, only to be gunned down execution style in one of the last big Mafia wars of the 20th Century. Bilotti fell victim to…
John Gotti was one of the most well-known and notorious gangsters of the 20th Century. Gotti, as the leader of New York’s Gambino Family, eschewed the shadows that mafiosos typically operated in. Instead, the so called Teflon Don was brash, loud, and out front. He was a sharp dresser, and with his outspoken ways, ability…
On July 13, 1967 Gaetano “Tommy” Lucchese developed a fatal brain tumor and died at his home in Long Island. Over 1000 mourners attended his funeral including several levels of Mafia associates, politicians, and placement. Gambino organized the funeral and hand-picked Carmine “Gribbs” Tramunti as Lucchese’s successor. On June 28, 1971 Joe Colombo boss of…
Aniello “Neil” Dellacroce was born in New York on March 15, 1914 to Italian American immigrants named Francesco and Antoinette Dellacroce. He had had one brother, Carmine and grew up in Little Italy, a section of Manhattan. As an adult he would sometimes wear a priest uniform to throw off law enforcement as he climbed…
The Gambino crime family is the most publicized family of the American Mafia. It’s one of “Five Families” based out of New York that dominates organized crime in the United States. The Gambino family got its name from previous boss Carlo Gambino who controlled the family from 1959 until his death in October 1976. The…
“Don” Carlo Gambino was born on August 24, 1902, in Caccamo, a province of Palermo Sicily. He had two brothers, Gaspare who was never involved in the Mafia, and Paolo who would eventually work alongside his brother in the American Mafia. In Italy, Gambino’s family belonged to the Honored Society, an Italian version of the…
Roy Albert DeMeo was born on September 7, 1942 in Bath Beach Brooklyn to working class Italian immigrants. In 1959 DeMeo graduated from James Madison High School with an accomplished loan shark business bringing in hundreds of dollars each week. After leaving James Madison High School DeMeo married and fathered three children. He also continued…
Constantino Paul Castellano was born on June, 26 1915 in Brooklyn, New York. His mother’s name was Concetta and his father, a butcher and early member of the Mangano crime family, was named Giuseppe. Castellano had a sister, Kathryn who married Carlo Gambino, Castellano’s cousin and future boss of the Gambino crime family. Castellano had…
Spring 1942 Anastasia, who was under constant scrutiny from the FBI and local law enforcement secretly ordered the murder of associate Anthony Romeo. Like Reles, Romeo had been arrested and was talking to authorities to implicate Anastasia in several murders. By the end of June, Romeo’s body was found beaten and shot multiple times near…
Born in Calabria, in southern Italy on September 26, 1902, Albert’s birth name was Umberto Anastasio. His parents were Raffaelo Anastasio and Louisa Nomina de Filippi. Raffaelo was a railway worker who died after World War I, leaving behind nine sons and three daughters. Albert’s brothers included Salvatore, Frank, Joseph, Gerardo, and Tony Anastasio who…
Early 1962 was the start of a Profaci family battle. Joe Gallo and his brothers battled with ailing Profaci crime boss Joseph Profaci over, among other things, the amount of money Profaci demanded from his family as tribute. In February 1962, the Gallo’s kidnapped Profaci underboss Joseph Magliocco and capo Joe Colombo in an attempt…
Salvatore D’Aquila was born in November 1877 Palermo, Sicily and immigrated to America in 1906 at the age of 29. Before leaving Sicily, D’Aquila was already heavily involved with organized crime. He’s known as a “Mustache Pete”, which unlike the younger Sicilian-Americans known as the “Young Turks”, the Mustache Pete’s’ had usually committed their first…