The Gambino family was one of the five large and influential criminal clans that controlled the criminal activities of New York and a number of other American cities located on the East Coast. In history, it was one of the largest syndicates of the mafia plan. The Gambino family received income from usury, extortion, gambling, racketeering, illegal dumping of "poisonous" garbage, fraud, contract killings. However, today the authority and influence of the aforementioned clan is not the same as before: the former pressure on the authorities was lost, the population ceased to support family members, and communications in political and law enforcement structures were lost.
History
The Gambino family was well-known to everyone at the beginning of the twentieth century. The homeland of the criminal clan is the American city of New York. Family members were actively in contact with the criminal community with the loud name of the "Killing Corporation", which for a certain amount of money could eliminate any person. The founder of the family was Carlo Gambino, who in the early 20s illegally came to the United States. At the age of 19, he became a member of Cosa Nostra. Theft, murder and robbery became the profile of his work.
The War of Castellamarese
Soon, the confrontation of two criminal bosses began: Joe Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano. They controlled the underworld of New York. This struggle for spheres of influence was called the Castellammar War. It lasted four years. Carlo understood: if you do not stop the confrontation of criminal bosses, then the influence of the Italian-American mafia will seriously decrease. Gambino creates the National Crime Syndicate structure, where Italians and Jewish gangs are accepted. On the orders of Carlo, in one of the restaurants Masseria is murdered. Then the turn came to Maranzano. In the 30s, Gambino worked for the Mogano family, engaged in the protection of businesses and usury. In the late 30s, Carlo was arrested for tax evasion. He is sentenced to prison - 22 months in captivity.
Anastasia
Then at the head of the Killing Corporation was a man nicknamed the Mad Hatter. His real name is Albert Anastasia. In the 50s, he became the main authority in the Gambino family. However, in 1957, the boss was shot dead at the hairdresser at the Sheraton Park Hotel. The place of the leader did not remain vacant for long: he was taken by the assistant to Anastasia - Carlo Gambino. From this moment, the criminal gangs of New York live under the new laws. The Gambino family began to enjoy unprecedented authority in the US criminal community.
Attempt to resolve failed
Naturally, not everyone liked that Carlo was in power. Criminal authority Joseph Bonanno is trying to eliminate a rival and some leaders of criminal gangs. But his plans become known to Gambino, who unleashed the so-called "Banana War." As a result, his position in the hierarchy of the criminal world only strengthened. Carlo Gambino died in 1976 from a heart attack. He lived to the age of an elderly person and in recent years has not been so active in the affairs of the criminal world, although his authority has remained unshakable.
Gotti
After the death of Gambino, the throne was taken by a man known as the Teflon Don. His name was John Gotti. With his coming to power in the Gabino family, difficult times began: the FBI became interested in the criminal community, whose employees began mass arrests. It should be noted that John Gotti did not hide from anyone, which is closely connected with the criminal world. He wore expensive costumes, always in contact with reporters and in full view met with representatives of various mafia clans.
The Teflon Don had an extraordinary quality: it always eluded justice. Three times a criminal case was brought against him, but he got away with it. One day, he still made a mistake. FBI employees managed to mount a listening device in one of the houses where the criminal authority lived. Agents were able to record a conversation on tape in which Gotti said unpleasant things about some of his colleagues in the shop.
Naturally, they rebelled against him after that and began to actively cooperate with law enforcement agencies. In the end, the FBI still managed to handcuff John Gotti. In 1992, the mafioso was sentenced to prison for life, and ten years later he died of cancer. For a long time he managed the criminal syndicate through his son John Gotti Jr. In the last years of his life, Gotti Sr. was forbidden to have any contact with the outside world. In the early 2000s, all the relatives of the mafia went to jail and retired.
Gambino family after the death of Gotti
After the "Tiflon Don" passed away, several mafiosi began to lead the criminal syndicate at once. Law enforcement authorities conducted another series of arrests. And in 2008, they organized a serious operation called the "Old Bridge". As a result, more than fifty leaders of criminal gangs were indicted. Among them were people who stood at the head of the Gambino family. After the operation “Old Bridge”, the clan began to be controlled by the so-called street “capos”: Bartholomew Vernas, Daniel Marino and John Gambino (a distant relative of Carlo).
Law enforcement agencies began a full-scale hunt for mafiosi, arresting a huge number of "godfathers." Among them were big names: Dominic di Fiore, Anthony Manzella, Thomas Orefic, Michael Scotto. Subsequently, the detectives found that the criminal family of Gambino, in addition to extortion, fraud, drug trafficking, was also involved in the organization of prostitution. Naturally, there are strict ethical rules in the criminal syndicate, which even positioned the drug trade as a dirty business. They also place prostitution in this category. But nevertheless, the Gambino family "earns" well on this.
Conclusion
The story of the Gambino family is another strong evidence that the phrase "mafia is immortal" has lost its meaning. The kings of the underworld are also vulnerable to the law, of which there is no doubt. At present, the leaders of criminal communities can no longer, as in old times, give a bribe to the jury and the judge in order to get out of the water dry. Today, they are opposed not only by the formidable Themis, who had previously been distinguished by excessive favor, but also by public opinion: modern pimps do not cause such respect as bandits of the Carlo era. One way or another, but after a long break, a man by the name of Gambino reappeared at the head of the criminal structure. According to law enforcement agencies, he currently has strong ties to the criminal world.