Paulo Gambino

I was curious, exactly how powerful was Carlos brother, and when did he die?

Was he a HEAVY guy, or more like Carlo? More. Respected than say Castellano? Was he on the same level as say Dellacroce? Just curious....

he was the H guy..very tough..

He was one of the biggest suppliers of H in the tri-state area. Joe Gambino had a crew, Paul seemed to have a small crew made up of Zips from Palermo, but there is no document of him being a Capo, only that he was close to his brother Carlos. He did get shot in the ass during the Castellammarese War. It is rumored that he he set up Joe Biando in a drug deal in New Jersey, but that does not hold much water as Joe was a strong ally to Carlo.

@ Bronx

That's what I suspected, I keep trying to find some confirmation on a 1948 meeting in Sicily with Luciano. Anti mafia has a post of him meeting with Ontario mobsters in 1970, so I guess he was still alive at least until the early seventies.

One of the reasons I ask, it occurred to me, why not Paulo for acting boss when Carlo was under police scrutiny and getting older? But if he's busy managing an international network, flying here, flying there,I guess he couldn't really run the family. Being that heavy a guy, he HAD to have been more respected than Castellano, or is this wrong?

He MUST have been either still managing the drug network when Carlo died, or he died shortly before Carlo did. It just occurred to me, maybe John Gambino just replaced his uncle as the Gambino drug boss, keeping it in the family.

Any other info anyone has would be greatly appreciated..

He died in 1973. His death among others, coincides with Carmine Galante plan to control all of the H in North America. While he visited Italy, he stayed in contact with Giovanni Scalise, brother of Frank and Joe.

@ Giacomo
Good shit my man.....
See this is what I mean. I don't know what goes on, on the other forums or what not. I don't want to get into any squabbles online, but your info to me seems to be on point lol

We all get shit wrong probably half the time, this stuff is isn't an exact science ya know?

Where did you find info on the Scalise brothers? I've never heard anyone mention them before, but it would be consistent with Scalise's suspected drug ring in the Bronx.
Any thing you feel like posting about the Scalise brothers in Italy, I'm all ears, also guys, if you feel any of this is off or wrong, i would love to hear why, either way really...

GAMBINO-PAOLO 1904 Palermo,Sicily / USA 19? .

Relations – Carlo [Brother], C, B + G.Castellano [Uncles], P.Castellano, T + V.Masotto [Cousins]. L.Giammona [in-law / Lucchese].

Associates – F.Scalici, G.Scarpulla, U.Rossi.

Sources for Carlo’s younger brother are the 1963 Valachi charts, and the Dead by 1973 list. Date of entry unknown, but active in Masotto / Castellano faction by late 1920’s. His record started in 1929 with Suspicion. Lived in Brooklyn, and played small part in Castellamarese War. Mistaken for Carlo, he was wounded in late 1930 by the Maranzano side. Not “made” at that point, but joined at the end of the conflict. Arrested again in 1937 for Bootlegging and Tax Evasion, and fled to Italy. Returned within a year and was later jailed for Counterfeit Ration Stamps, a racket run by Carlo. Registered as an Alien in 1940. Known to have visited “Lucky” Luciano in Italy in the early 1950’s. With Carlo’s rise, became a Capo and supported his brother against a rebellion by Anastasia loyalists. Through-out the 1960-early 1970’s was a very close advisor to Carlo. Died in 19

I have to disagree with that date Furio. Carlo did not enter the US till 1931, after Masseria was killed. Paul was most likely mistaken for one of his cousins Tony Gambino, who was a powerhouse in the late 1920's up to the 1940's in New Jersey, and Brooklyn. Tony was killed in New Orleans in 1976, trying to muscle in on Marcello or so the story goes. Carlo was said to have Vincent Mangano's ear and had his nose up Mangano's ass in the 1940's. As I have stated before, no documents have claimed Paul was a Capo, only speculation, and guess work by the FBI. While the Department of Treasury was uncertain of his rank, as informants claimed that Joe Gambino was a Capo, and Paul was a powerful soldier with direct contacts with other bosses throughout the United State.

Damn, can't believe he Marcellos would kill a Gambino from New York. Is there any more to the story there?

Who are you talking about? Carlo Gambino?

It's common knowledge that he was a player in the American underworld since the early 20's..

very strong relations with N.O. back then.. joe n. gallo was born there i believe..

It was Carlos own words in spring of 1962, where he was staying in a Miami Motel, with his wife. The marriage was prearranged by Joe (I am thinking this is Giuseppe Castellano) who sent word to Carlo that it was safe to enter the states. Listening to Catherine speak, you really can't blame him for going to the tracks,(horses is what I am thinking) and staying away from the house. The bug was planted by the FBI.
Two informants, one with TE, who were close to Gambino, both said he stowed away on a ship in 1931 that landed in Norfork, Virginia.

Two of the key New Orleans guys in on the beef, were Pasquale Marcello, brother of Carlo Marcello, and Onofrio Pecoraro. They had to get the OK from New York before killing Tony Gambino, which they most certainly did, since there was no retaliation against them later.
Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese families all had a long history with N.O.
I'll answer all your questions on Carlo Gambino's arrest by NYPD in 1930. Joe Gambino, brother of Carlo Gambino used his name, as Carlo was still in Sicily and did not have a record like Paul did. My memory is a little fuzzy, but I believe that was for Larceny, violation I&NS laws, and federal liquor laws.

Is there a book where I can read about this stuff, or is it all from wiretapping?

Who in the world is this Tony Gambino, lol I've never really heard of him..

FBI files is where you can find those transcripts. Anthony Gambino, has I think three dates of birth. 1907, 1915, and 1917. Most people go with the 1917 date, but all evidence from the IRS, Bureau of Narcotics, New Jersey State Police, shows 1907. By 1928, Tony was into bootlegging, and gambling. 1934, he was arrested by the Department of Treasury. 1939 investigated for corruption on New Jersey Docks. 1942, investigated for Narcotics. 1944, investigated for black market ration stamps. 1945-1958, blank record. Pops up in Miami 1960-1964 investigated for gambling and smuggling. 1972-1976, living in New Orleans.

Paul Gambino and other members of the Gambino family were also heavily involved in the mozzarella cheese and pizza business. This included factories, distribution and pizza parlors. Before he died, Gambino apparently intended to buy a big dairy farm in South America.

That was from Vicious Circles by Jonathan Kwitny, which investigates how the mob had infiltrated legitimate industries. There is also this:
"Paul Gambino (Carlo's brother) and Frank Ferro briefly took over the business of sharpening knives for retail meat sellers. Their operation, though, amounted to little more than a shakedown of the knife grinders who had previously handled the work. After a brief time in business, the racketeers offered to quit if the knife grinders' organization would pay them $300,000. The organization paid, and the chain stores sent their knives back to the original grinders"

Joe bonanno was big in cheese even bought a company in Wisconsin that pissed off the chicago mob.

frank gam and frank ferro owned ferro foods

https://maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=127560&search=carlo_gambino#relPageId=4&tab=page

"Paul Gambino was referred to by another Federal investigative agency as 'one of the biggest alcohol distillers and distributors in New York, New Jersey and New England.'"


I've also seen him listed as a capo in the 1960s

@ MightyDR

Great find!!

That post pretty much confirms without a doubt what I read about the Gambinos in Mafia Dynasty: The rise and Fall of the Gambino Family.

In it, they say that the Gambinos bought up all the bootlegging interest of mobsters getting out of the liquor business after repeal. And the distillery equipment, everything, as they understood, that there would still be a market for bootleg liquor after it was legal again . They said they had a monopoly on bootleg liquor within a hundred mile radius, or the whole NY region, or something like that. They said it was the source of their First fortune, the ration stamps being the second.

@ Giacomo

Are you sure he was never a Capo? Seems strange that he wouldn't be, but Joe Gambino was, as well as Paul Castellano

Whooooahhh......!!!!!!!!


This thing has the Gambinos with 700-1000 MEMBERS?!!!!


I swear, just when you put your faith in the Feds, lol

What do you guys think about that?

What do you guys think about Charles Chiri as underboss,and Scalise and Consiglieri?

True? Is this off? What happened to Chiri, I mean, I guess he got wacked, but anyone know the circumstances?

This thing also hints at something I've suspected for a long time, that Luchesse was the power behind him. This is not the first legit document I've seen that definitively states that the Gambinos were NOT respected amongst the upper echelons of LCN.

Although, a couples pages later, they still describe him as a force to be reckoned with, he actually seems a lot like Bernardo Provenzano....


This isn't the first time I've heard the nickname " The degenerates", but history tells a different tale, fascinating do stuff, I'm dying to hear you guys opinions....

@ pmac

Yep, that's a forgotten point I think. Bonnano was making moves into not only Milwaukee, but LA as well, so he was really challenging them. He also almost had a third of Saputo, billion dollar dairy company...

He was also challenging his cousin in Canada, and if you consider his ambitions to open casinos in Haiti ( Or was it the Dominican Republic?) he was kinda indirectly challenging Lansky and Trafficante, and the Outfit too I guess for dominance in the Carribean gambling industry. ON TOP OF MEETING WITH LUCKY AND THE SICILIANS AND CONTROLLING ALL THE DOPE.

On top of this, he was battle tested in Gang warfare, and after 25 years on the Commision, STILL I believe the youngest Boss...

THE MAN WAS A SERIOUS PROBLEM, I think Carlo and them got REALLY lucky when Profaci died....

@ MightDR


I also think you are right on with the Gambinos looking to purchase a dairy farm in South America. There are too many connections. You got Tommaso Buscetta, who got protection from the Gambinos when he was in NY, also says he was involved in powdered milk why he was in Brazil..

I just posted this I another thread, check it out...

Only when the Americans and Italians pooled their findings did they grasp what was going on. In 1983 the Italian police summarized their investigations in the Bono+159 report. The report identified [BadWord] and Caruana as the pivot of the well organized network moving heroin up to the US and the money down. It was the first time the clan was thoroughly examined. In fact, the police had uncovered part of the supply line for the Pizza Connection. But, while the US Pizza Connection trial resulted in the conviction of a significant segment of the network the authorities didn't find the real link between North-America and Sicily. (48) That missing link was to be found in Venezuela, where the [BadWord]-Caruana clan had set up their headquarters at the start of the 1970s, buying hotels and founding a string of businesses in Caracas and Valencia.

The most intriguing of the dozens [BadWord]-Caruana enterprises was a cattle-breeding company on an extended ranch in the state of Barinas, close to the Colombian border. It had its own private airstrip. A special task-force of the Venezuelan intelligence-service DISIP looked at this farm called Ganaderia Rio Zapa, established in 1971. (49) The shareholders of the firm represented the creme-de-la-creme of Mafia heroin-movers in those days:

* Salvatore 'Cicchiteddu' Greco, the former head of the overall Commission of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra, and one of the pioneers in the international heroin trade (50);
* Nick Rizzuto, a lieutenant in the Montreal-based Cotroni Family, but highly independent and in fact subordinate to the Sicilian Mafia (i.e. [BadWord]-Caruana);
* Antonio Napoli, a high-ranking made member of the New York Gambino Family and 'the biggest mover of junk to the United States' (51);
* John Gambino, a relative of Carlo Gambino and boss of the Sicilian faction of the New York Gambino Family (52);
* Brothers Angelo and Francesco Mongiovì, figure-heads of the [BadWord] in Caracas and Italy's financial centre Milan. According to a DEA report, Angelo's son Nino Mongiovì married Paolo [BadWord]'s daughter and was the 'super manager for drugs of all kinds passing through Miami'. (53)

The DEA spotted them investigating the Napoli brothers of the Gambino Family in New York. Antonio Napoli had moved to Venezuela and was a partner in a [BadWord] business. At the time DEA headquarters figured the trail irrelevant; nevertheless, special agent Tom Tripodi was sent to Caracas. DEA-analyst Mona Ewell told reporter Claire Sterling that Tripodi "came back with the whole thing." (54)

"We saw the [BadWord] and the Caruanas. The security around their homes was incredible... They had control in Venezuela like you wouldn't believe... We saw their businesses, all fronts for paper-shuffling. What these people handled was the money. Their names had been coming up for years on the money. Historically, they worked the money. They did it for cocaine as well as heroin ... It was a tremendous operation, and it was going on a long, long time... In my opinion, that's still the key. They're the people with the money; they've been in the business of narcotics the longest."



This is why the recent NY arrest to me are so fascinating. People see it as some new thing, I don't. That indictment said the " Gambinos brought their SOUTH AMERICAN CONTACTS TO BEAR" .. It coulda been just hyperbole, but I'm not so quick to dismiss, sorry to get off track....



This WAS supposed to be about PAOLO lol..

Any thoughts guys???!!

Salvatore Charles Chiri, passed away of natural causes in 1968. He was pushing 80 I think when he died. Those files say he is with the Gambino's, but he was with the Moretti brothers, and Joe Adonis according to informants in FBN, so I still place them with Genovese. His brother Giuseppe was made into the Genovese, close to Carmelo Sciortino in San Jose, transfered out to San Jose family right after the Willie Moretti hit, retired in the late 1960's, and passed away in the mid 70's.

Good post CabriniGreen. Paul Castellano took over Carlo Gambino crew, which belonged to the Castellano brothers before Carlo was bumped up to Capo. Joe Gambino took over part of Frank Scalise crew in the Bronx, Tommy Gambino would eventually take over this crew. Which crew would Paul Gambino have taken over? This leads me to the possibility that Paul may have belonged to Palermo, which would explain a lot since he had a small number of Zips around him most of the time.

[quote=Giacomo_Vacari]Salvatore Charles Chiri, passed away of natural causes in 1968. He was pushing 80 I think when he died. Those files say he is with the Gambino's, but he was with the Moretti brothers, and Joe Adonis according to informants in FBN, so I still place them with Genovese. His brother Giuseppe was made into the Genovese, close to Carmelo Sciortino in San Jose, transfered out to San Jose family right after the Willie Moretti hit, retired in the late 1960's, and passed away in the mid 70's.

Another source that says Chiri was Anastasia's underboss is Bill Bonnano and, while he got many things wrong, I think this is something he would have direct knowledge of and no reason to lie about. I think Chiri was appointed underboss after Scalise was killed and not Gambino as popularly thought. I think it unlikely Anastasia would have appointed Gambino, a man he seemingly had no respect for.

Wondering if there may have been 2 mobsters with the same or similar names? Salvatore Chiri/Chirico. Not unheard of in mafia circles. Tony Salerno/Mike Coppola/Mike Genovese etc

I always thought it strange he named Gambino underboss.

What are the chances that Carlo was actually just a capo when he made the move on Anastasia? No chance, or...?


Was he elevated after Chiri was killed?

I believe Carlo was a powerful capo, who along with 2 other capos Biondo and Joseph N Gallo, disposed of Anastasia, with Genovese's and Lucchese's help, and demoted Chiri.

In fact, if I recall correctly, Biondo was consigliere at the time.

@ SonnyD



That's a good read, also I don't know why I keep saying Chiri got killed when two of you have said he died naturally, lol my bad...

@Giacomo

That's also a good read, Paulo might have been, actually it really looks like he was the Gambino Family Narcotics boss, and being that his business seemed primarily be heroin, he probably was tied into the Gambino Palermo faction quite heavily.

You have any idea about his ties to Ontario?

His ties to Ontario (Toronto mainly) are from Salvatore Scalici other brother to Frank, Joe, and Giovanni Scalise. It is murky, but all connections lead to Antonio Macri, head boss of the Calabrians in Toronto. Salvatore did a lot of bootlegging in the 1920s and 1930s with a partner named Domenico LoPresti (I have not seen anything to suggest he was related to the LoPresti of Montreal) who lived in Toronto. In the 1930s and 1940's, Scalici had a Narcotics pipeline into Toronto, with Lorenzo D'Angelo, Jean-Pierre Duvall, the Gennaro brothers, the LuPrezzi brothers, and the Marci family. Antonio once becoming boss did business with Frank Costello of the Genovese Crime family (gambling, unions) and Albert Anastasia of the Gambino crime family. For some reason, Joe Bonanno, Stefano Magaddino, and Joe Profaci declined an invite to Toronto for a meeting. In Bonanno and Maggadino case, I believe Montreal was on their minds, no clue about Joe Profaci, best guess would be cause he was allied with the other two, he declined. Salvatore Scalici and Paul Gambino where close, Paul old stomping grounds was Yonkers, and Slavatore was the Bronx. Salvatore lived in NJ, pretty sure Burlington, Paul lived in New York City.

Biondo was the Gambino Consigliere when Frank Scalise was killed, and Albert Anastasia was killed. Carlo Gambino did not become underboss till September 1957, he had help from Joe Biando, other Mangano loyalists, as well as help from Lucchese dropping his name in certain circles right after Frank Scalise was killed, as a possible candidate for UB in the Gambino family.

SonnyD, it is possible that there were two Salvatore Chiri's, or two mobsters that had similar names, but what are the chances of two being called Salvatore Charles Chiri?

@ Giacomo


Very good stuff my man, you came through in this thread. If this is all made up, I would LOVE TO SEE A REFUTATION.


This stuff sheds so much light on a guy like Scalise who we know next to nothing about. That stuff with Maggadino and them gives credence to at least ONE thing Bonnano talked about in his book, and that's the Factions on the Commision that not a lot of people take into consideration..


Just good shit...

A slim one for sure But then the chances of having 2 Anthony Salerno's in the same Genovese crew would seem pretty remote, but it happened.

Bill Bonanno seems pretty adamant a Salvatore "Tata" Chiricho was a long time member of the Gambino's since the 1920's and Anastasia's UB in the 1950's and that the Commission meeting took place at his home in Pelham Bay 1951.

great thread. appreciate all the info in here fellas.