Joe Bruno's Mobsters - Six Volume Set by Bruno Joe

Author:Bruno, Joe [Bruno, Joe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Knickerbocker Publishing Company
Published: 2014-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Gambino, Carlo

He was a quiet man who dressed inconspicuously and was known to never lose his temper. But there is no doubt Carlo Gambino, with his huge hawk nose and enigmatic Mona Lisa-smile, was one of the most powerful Mafia bosses of all time.

Gambino was born in Palermo, Sicily on August 24, 1902. The area of Palermo, called Caccamo in which Gambino grew up, had such an intense Mafia presence the police and even the military were afraid to enter into its domain. That left the Mafioso to rule the area with impunity, knowing whatever crimes they committed would not be reported to the police; if the police even cared what happened in the first place.

Carlo's mother's maiden name was Castellano, and she used her influence with her family, who were Mafiosos, to introduce Gambino to “Men of Respect” when Gambino was barely a teenager. Gambino, only 5-foot-7 and slight of build, quietly impressed his superiors with his calmness, his intellect and his ability to do whatever was necessary, even if it meant whacking someone whom his bosses said needed to be erased.

In 1921, right before his 20th birthday, Gambino was rewarded for his good work by being inducted into the Mafia, or what was known in Italy as the “Honored Society.” However, because of Benito Mussolini's vendetta against the Mafia (Mussolini had arrested numerous Mafioso, including top Mafia boss Don Vito Cascio Ferro who was sentenced to life in prison), many Mafioso, including Gambino, decided that Sicily was too dangerous for them to exist in the manner in which they had been accustomed. As a result, there was a huge exodus of Mafioso to the mountain of gold across the Atlantic Ocean called America.

In late 1921, Gambino left Sicily on the freighter SS Vincenzo Florio, which was headed for America. For the entire trip, Gambino subsisted on nothing but wine and anchovies, which besides olive oil were the only food substances on the ship.

The SS Vincenzo Florio docked in Norfolk, Virginia, on December 23, 1921, and Gambino disembarked as an illegal immigrant. Wearing a natty three-piece suit and a black fedora, Gambino walked down the gangplank looking for a car, with flashing lights at the end of the dock, he was told would be waiting for him when he landed in America.

Gambino spotted the car, and when he reached the vehicle, he saw a Castellano cousin sitting behind the wheel. The two men embraced, and in seconds they were headed to New York City.

When Gambino arrived in New York City, he discovered that his Castellano cousins had already rented him an apartment on Navy Street in Brooklyn, near the waterfront. They also put Gambino to work in a trucking company owned by his first cousins, Peter and Paul Castellano. Soon, Gambino segued into the illegal bootlegging business, run by his Palermo pal, Tommy Lucchese.

Prohibition was instituted by the passing of the Volstead Act in 1919, which banned the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors, but not the consumption.

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