Carlo Gambino was a mafia boss who founded the Gambino crime family. They went on to become one of the major 5 Italian mafia families who controlled New York and other large American cities - THREAD/pic.twitter.com/NdQWPxneBL
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Carlo was born in the early 1900s in Palermo, Sicily, which is an island just off the southern Italian coast. It was home to the original "honored society" which later became the "La Cosa Nostra" AKA Italian mafia. At the tender age of only 19, young Carlo had a reputation -pic.twitter.com/2IW35d8PZY
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For being very shrewd and reserved but also ruthless when required and before he was 21 he had already done several hits for mob bosses in Palermo, he was initiated into the honored society as he had relatives who were also members and he proved his worth on the streets.pic.twitter.com/gMaXB9q3dN
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When Benito Mussolini came into power in the early 1920s Carlo and other mafioso became worried as he wanted to stamp out the organized crime in Italy. Carlo decided to flee to America to avoid prosecution from the authorities. He went via cargo boat.pic.twitter.com/icuLxlVRgL
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For around 6 weeks Carlo survived Purley on anchovies and red wine before finally arriving on the shores of the USA. He was collected from the port by one of his cousins from the Castellano family. Carlo would later go on to marry his second cousin Catherine Castellano.pic.twitter.com/wOyAo1Mcl0
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Like the black nobility families from his native Italy who interbreed, Carlo's reasoning was it was always better to keep things in the family as you could always trust your own blood more. This was very uncommon for a strict Roman Catholic family but Carlo did not care.
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He rose up the ranks working for a local mobster by the name Albert Anastasia who had an infamous crew named "Murder Inc" Carlo ended up taking over the crew when he organized the murder of Anastasia. He was shot dead by a few gunmen in a Barbour shop in what became an iconic hitpic.twitter.com/ESwA4z8gmL
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The fallout from the hit left Carlo in charge of his own crew and renamed it "The Gambino Family" They went from strength to strength and quickly rose in numbers and influence in several areas of NYC. Taking control of gambling, smuggling, racketeering & extortion.
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Carlo reigned as a mob boss for over 20 years and never once faced jail or deportation, he was never an American citizen and kept a very low profile, even though at his peak the Gambinos were making several million per week.
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He lived in a very modest & small house in Queens and he never trusted ANYBODY. Even at meetings in his house between mobsters, he would rarely speak, just nod or shake his head, he knew the FBI would have had his place wired for sound at least. This was the early 80s.pic.twitter.com/5wnPzDnnwY
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His car was even low key and basic, however, he did have a custom registration plate "CG 1" This was the only flash item he had. Local punks one day ran their mouth to him thinking he was just some random old dude. He had them captured by his henchmen and driven to his house.
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The two punks were told exactly who he was, and he let them go and gave them some money after a sincere apology. He was a very humble man Carlo, but if you crossed him, he would have you whacked in a heartbeat. His greatest strength was being able to blend in.
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Every morning he would sit in a small Italian cafe with his top hat on, sipping black coffee, just another old Italian immigrant minding his own business, even though he was a multi-millionaire crime boss. He always managed to keep a low profile.
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When he died, he named his younger cousin Paul Castellano as the name Gambino boss. This angered many members of the family as Paul was not respected on the streets. John Gotti was a capo of the family at the time, he ended up having Paul whacked outside a steakhouse in Manhattanpic.twitter.com/txFuhcHqiO
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John Gotti then became the boss of the Gambino crime family and was known as the "Dapper Don" or "Teflon Don" Due to his flamboyant style and expensive suits. He is regarded as the last real boss of the Italian mafia families from New York.pic.twitter.com/Z4ZZMhEfYf
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