▶The Gambino Family Main Story

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The Gambino 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 family got its start in the late 1800's as the Salvatore "Toto" D'Aquila gang of Manhattan who joined the established Morello gang. They were the first Italian American gang in New York, and possibly the entire United States. Their reign lasted for twenty years until the matriarch of the family, Giuseppe Morello and his underboss, Iganzio Saietta, were sent to prison after a counterfeiting conviction. Realizing the gang was in rough shape; D'Aquila split away from the remaining members and formed his own gang in East Harlem. Using his established connections with other Mafia leders, D'Aquila's gang quickly became a powerful influence in New York.

Gambino increased his family's presence in the Teamster's Union, in Manhattan's garment center, and in the trash disposal business in all five boroughs. He solidified the family's control of the Brooklyn waterfront when one of his capos, Anthony Scotto, rose to power in the AFL-CIO International Longshoreman's Association, which in the late '70s had 100,000 members working ports from Maine to Texas. Scotto also became president of the union's Local 1814 in Brooklyn. Many people found it hard to believe that the well-spoken, college-educated Scotto was a member of the Mafia, and his close ties with elected officials helped him maintain his respectable image. He raised money for New York Gov. Hugh L. Carey's reelection bid in 1978 and for Lt. Gov. Mario Cuomo's unsuccessful run for mayor of New York City in 1977. When Scotto was brought to trial for taking cash payoffs from waterfront businesses, no less than Gov. Carey and two former New York mayors, John Lindsay and Robert Wagner, testified on his behalf. Scotto was ultimately convicted, but the judge imposed a light sentence after receiving pleas for leniency from a number of prominent people in labor, business, and politics.

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