Why did Carlo Gambino pick Paul Castellano to be his successor? From what I have read, the choice of Castellano did nothing but fracture the Gambino family, leading to the eventual coup d'etat of John Gotti. The rank and file deeply resented Castellano because he was viewed as having become boss solely because he was a relative of Gambino. He was a white collar criminal without experience on the streets. Furthermore, Castellano added insult to injury by refusing to mix with his men and building an opulent "White House." The favored choice to succeed Gambino was underboss Neil Dellacroce, John Gotti's mentor, who was known as a "hoodlum's hoodlum." According to Jerry Capeci, in the years after Gambino's death the family basically split into two branches--the "Paul branch" and the "Neil branch." So why did Gambino do it? For someone who was (and is) considered an excellent godfather, this seems like a glaringly bad decision.