Let me first point out that I am not disputing the fact that the Mafia was heavily involved with the narcotics trade. That is not even debatable. What I am trying to say is that during a Commission meeting in 1957, it was decided by the bosses that the Mafia was to get out of the narcotics business. One of the reasons for this was because the US Congress had enacted the Narcotics Control Act, in full effect by mid 1957. This act was designed to facilitate arrests and convictions of heroin importers. This meant not only stiffer sentences for the men involved, but they also faced deportation. And if I am fully informed, this applied also to those who had gained American citizenship. However, the ban did not discourage Mafia members, especially the younger ones, who was set out to quickly enrich themselves.

It´s possible that some of the bosses still allowed their men into the drug trade, Tommy Lucchese for example. But in 1963, according to an informant, Carlo Gambino announced that all members of his Family involved with drug trafficking will be punished. You can find this either in the Scarpa files or in some document found on the Mary Ferrell site. The Armone case was brought to trial in 1965. But the actual conspiracy took place before Gambino´s announcement. Paul Gambino was said to have been into drugs in the 1940s and 1950s. The reputation carried with him into the 1960s. Who can say that he surely was into drugs after Carlo´s announcement? Maybe he was. And if he was, perhaps he felt that being the brother of Carlo, made him safe from punishment if caught. According to an informant, one of the reasons Gambino´s underboss Joe Biondo was demoted and shelved was his involvement with drugs.

The Cherry Hill Gambinos were not made at the time and some rules in the Mafia does not apply to associates in the same way as they apply to made members. The Cherry Hill Gambinos were made much later, in the late 1970s or early 1980s when Paul Castellano was the boss. It´s crystal clear to me that Castellano was against drug dealing. When John Carneglia and Angelo Ruggiero were caught, informants advised the FBI that Castellano had been totally unaware of the two of them dealing.