What is the most famous New York mafia?

Answer 1

There are 5 powerful families Mafia families in the New York area: Gambino, Genovese, Colombo, Bananno, and Luchese. These names come from Joe Valachi. He was a low ranking soldier who was the first man to break the omerta, or code of silence. The family names come from him, because he testified as to who the bosses were of the 5 families at the time of his arrest in 1959. The only difference is the Colombo family. It was under the control of Joe Profaci in 1959, but Joe Colombo became famous in the 1960s and therefore, his name has been used to identify the family since then. GAMBINO: Boss of the Gambino family was Salvatore D'Aquila. He was boss of the Bosses until he was murdered Oct. 1928 in Brooklyn, NY. He was succeeded by Frank Scalise, who was in control until 1931. Vincent Mangano represent stability for the family as he was in control from 1931 - 1951. Albert Anastasia took over in 1951 and ruled until his murder in a barbershop in 1957. He formed Murder, Inc., the group that killed an estimated 400 people in his time as boss of the family. Anastasia's sanity began to be questioned by other members of the family. This led to his murder by the Gallo bros., Larry and Joe, in the hotel babershop. Carlo Gambino took over in 1957 and ruled until 1976. He is generally known as the best boss of the family. He tried to keep a low profile. Carlo Gambino turned the family into the most profitable one in the city. Gambino never served a day of jailtime in his life. When Carlo was on his deathbed in 1976, he chose Paul Castellano to succeed him. Castellano was Carlo's cousin, and brother-in-law, so Carlo thought it was a good choice to let Paul take over. This move upset Aniello "Neil" Dellacroce, who had been family underboss since 1965. Dellacroce thought he would be taking over the family, but he obeyed Gambino's wishes and was rewarded by Castellano by remainiing in the number two spot in the family. Paul Castellano was regarded as more of a businessman than a gangster. He lived in his mansion on Todt Hill on Staten Island, where he rarely ventured out. The soldiers and family began to resent this. They felt that Castellano was losing touch with them. In 1985 Paul Castellano and his bodyguard, Tommy Bilotti were assassinated in front of Sparks Steak House in NYC in a move that was orchestrated by Gambino capo John Gotti. Gotti's mentor, Dellacroce, had died 2 weeks before the assassination. Gotti had waited for Dellacroce to die so he could take out Castellano. Gotti then took control of the family and was known as the "Teflon don" for his acquital in 3 separate trials in the late 80s. In 1991, the feds indicted John Gotti, along with underboss Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano and consigliere Frank "Frankie Loc" Locascio on racketeering and murder conspirary charges. In a shocking move, Gravano turned state's witness and testified against his boss. Gravano was sentenced to 20 years in prison for 19 murders and he served less than 5. In 1992, Gotti was convicted on murder and racketeering charges, and is serving a life sentence in a federal prison in Marion, Il. His son, John Gotti Jr., is currently the acting b oss of the Gambino family. The elder Gotti would like for his son to remain as boss, but the national commission of the LCN will not allow it because John Jr., is known to have a quick temper and not as strong a leader as his father. Gambino capo Nicholas "Little Nick" Corozzo was chosen by the commission to take over for Gotti after 1 last chance for legal appeals. The appeals failed, but Corozzo was then indicted on racketeering charges while in Florida, and he is currently incarcerated in NYC along with fellow Gambino capo Leonard DiMaria. The Gambinos were the strongest family in the city only 7 or 8 years ago, but now they are at a key time that will determine how far they go in the future. Marcy For more info the the other 4 families go to: www.americanmafia.com