Frank Cali, the new Gambino underboss

Close to a year ago, Ganglandnews learned that the Sicilian born Dom Cefalu runs the Gambino Family. In the latest article, Ganglandnews has learned Cefalu´s underboss is Frank Cali, a Sicilian raised Gambino. (I think Cali was born in the US, wasn´t he?)

Any thoughts?

Cali was indeed born in the US. His parents are from over there.

Ahh finally an interesting piece of news to break the boredom. Well I can say this isn't a huge surprise as Cali was a rising star for a good while now. My only question is what happens to Arnold Squitieri as he gets out in two months

How in the world can Capeci claim such a thing? A friend-of-a-friend told him that? That's it?

Capeci usually has good sources, most of his stuff turns out to be true. I wonder where he gets his info from though.

I don't think this is true.

Haven't heard of this but it would be interesting. I think someone said - and I could be wrong here - that Cali was in good with the Sicilians? Regardless, this is the first I've heard of this possibility.

why is it so far fetchd, the guy was a capo he's was under jackie nose and are tight. he's the perfect choice young, international connections, huge earner. i remember reading he was buying property around brooklyn with italys drug money and construction shit. capeci spot on with everything else he wrte in the last couple yrs. he's gives a broke mobster 500 bucks for his info or a cop with 3 wives 7 kids. or the lawyers he gives advertisements.

cali is related with both gambino's and inzerillo's but i dont know where he was born

Cali's been on the fast track for years. Old Bridge might of slowed him down a little but he's connected big time in palermo and Ny.

I really don't know if this is true or not but it wouldn't shock me if it is.

He was born in NYC.

Not by blood.

care to elaborate...

He married into the Inzerillo family and he's not related to the Gambino's even though everywhere I have read says he's John Gambino's nephew, he's not.

We talked about this before. I think people say he's Gambino's nephew because Cali married a inzerillo who is Gambino's niece. I'm not 100% on that though.So as Carmella said they're not blood related but related through marriage.

We've beaten this over the head so many times. Can we get back to the discussion at hand which is whether or not this has merit?

I think Capeci´s claim has merit. I can´t remember when Capeci actually was dead wrong on something stated in his ganglandnews column. Does anybody remember when this last happened?
I think Capeci´s sources primarily comes from somebody in LE.

gotta agree with this as i can't remember him ever stating anything major without having his ducks in a row. he sees to have many different credible sources as writers like him and george anastasia aren't in the habit of throwing wild accusations out there as they make there living on thier credibility. this is not to say that from time to time they might sensationalize things a bit, but that is to be expected in that line of work. the only problem i have with george is his stupid "make money, not headlines " analogy that seems to have worn out its welcome a long time ago!

how would someone in LE know? its not like they announce when someone gets promoted

Capeci isn't wrong often

yeah, its not like they would have any informants that could pass on any info or anything like that!

Well, LE knows this stuff through informants. And let´s not forget the Stefanelli tapes. Perhaps there is something on them that gave Cali´s new position away. Perhaps Capeci has listened to snippets of those tapes.

are you saying there are many informants in the gambinos right now?

i try to stay away from hypotheticals, but i think its a safe bet that there are informants within all the major families, gambinos included.

Thats why you kill the motherfucker. You can't take the chance of allowing informants to be around. Just kill them. You are going to jail anyway the longer the informant continues to open his mouth. Fuck that shit.

Well I dont know Capeci, never read his article, don't know what he looks like, only know his name from you guys throwing it around. I have no idea who he is and I don't care.
I just threw my 2 cents out there and I think right now Cali doesn't want any heat or attention on himself to be underboss. But if he is, he is.

I think to some degree there is yes. More in some than others. There's a rat in the gambinos once every three years so thats plausible. The genoveses aren't immune either but because of their secrecy when a bust goes down its only a single crew. Everyone else is pretty lax

I have nota clue but I think with Cali's power money ambition and connections cefalu could have very well made him underboss or maybe consliegere..... Like i said i dont really know one way or another but it would make sense in my opinion.... then again i think maybe Cali is too smart to go above skipper because he knows the repercussions of being a boss.

in the late 90tys or early 2000 capeci ran with a story about joe watts being a rat and cooperating cause he got a sweet plea deal on like 3 different murder cases in federal court, the newspaper and him had to write corrections and capeci had egg on his face bad. then he kissed his ass for a long time always complimenting him in in all joe watts story since.

Ive heard Cali is a real force in New York. I think cefalu wanted to strengthen his position by putting a man who not only has power but brains as his number two. Plus if cefalu goes down he's a capable acting boss.

Jerry Capeci accurately said a couple of months ago that Frank Cali is a rising star with the Gambinos. It is the smartest move for Domenico Cefalu having Cali as his number two man and also keeping close with Gambino capo Bartolomeo Vernace due to all their ties tracing back to Sicily. I would be deeply concerned if Capeci's new column on ganglandnews.com is not true and based on solid evidence from his various connections, whether inside the mafia or not.

Some random on wikipedia accurately said that before Operation Old Bridge went down years ago.

I just want to add something else. Of course Capeci's claims have merit. Only HE didn't bring to light the facts about Cali. Anyone who knows, has known that the guy is underboss material and even boss material for that matter. It's not news that he's smart, level headed and totally competent. Please stop giving some writer credit for all that.
What my point is, is that not every guy wants it. Cali happens to be low key, not wanting heat on himself and perfectly fine flying under the radar. So, I'm saying maybe he wouldn't want himself in that position. BUT, if Cefalu wanted him there, that's where he is.
All Capeci did was "out" Cali's alleged position so a bunch of guys that read his column can run to their computers to see who is fast enough to post his crap first. One day he might regret being a "writer" that more or less gets paid to be a snitch to the public. Who knows.

Very nicely put

That random person most likely got it from Gang Land News.
Carmela, your answers and comments on many topics are widely appreciated but if you have never read anything by Capeci and you only know him because of the mass amount of people writing his name here on the forum, I wouldn't go and try correcting someone.

And if you only know Cali from internet articles and what is written about him by Capeci, then you shouldn't dismiss what I say. See what I did there?

A little sarcasm there FiFelonys?

Theirs always informants, probably more than just one. Anyone ever think that high ranking members of the genovese family might be informants because of the fact that they have had less indictments and arrests than the others?

I honestly doubt that Scorsese. If the genovese family had high ranking members as informants they would've been demolished by now. The Feds have been trying to crack them for years and havent. I just dont see that

All families have some level of informants somewhere. To many people to have to keep there mouth shut. Be it talking to the FBI about another crew or family, or talking to the media about something you heard. Just to many people and to much info for something not to come out.

I've thought that before of him too. At least he makes people pay but like you said people re-post what he said on their websites/blogs/etc.

You think any of the familes ask him for a monthly retainer fee for information. Has he ever been threated? George Anastashia being threatned by Stanfa was George just promoting himself, I know it was caught on wiretap and all that but that idiot talks about it like it happend yesterday...
Yeah I bet Capeci doesn't open his door to trick or treaters

anyone got a link on stanfa wiretaps about george anastasia

Well, I just happened to see it on his website. And I think his claim is relevant to the stuff we discuss on here. That´s why I posted it.

Good post hairy.

Forget the Gambinos, I am more interested as to who may be running things on the West Side.

West side? Excuse my ignorance

The West Side is a nickname for the Genovese in the underworld. This generally harkens back to Gigante when he ran things from the Triangle social club on Sullivan St., between West 3rd and Bleeker Streets.

I think personally Bellomo has the most pull, but Leo will remain boss when he gets out, he's currently in a halfway house in Miami

Stanfa wanted one of his guys to throw a couple hand grenades through a window at George Anastasia's house. One of the guys that flipped testified about it.

Anastasia was asked about it and here's his comments on it.

Q: How did you first find out there was a hit on you?

A: When [mobster Sergio] Battaglia started to cooperate [with the FBI] I got a call from his wife and she said, "There's going to be some stuff [coming out] and Sergio wants to let you know it's nothing personal." Then an FBI document surfaced during the second round of the Stanfa trial and there was this page in there about when he was supposed to kill me. When I was doing stories about Stanfa I used to call up Continental Food Distribution Center, where he worked, and ask for him. They usually said he wasn't there, but apparently that pissed him off. I didn't know I was pissing him off. Stanfa has that Sicilian mentality. In Sicily they kill journalists and prosecutors. If you're not with them, you're against them.

gotti sr was caught on a wiretap talking about capeci that they should give him a beating to keep his mouth shut back in the day

Uhh???

Simple. You were the one that wanted to "get back to the discussion at hand" (even though we were still on the topic of Cali at that point), yet you went off and engaged in discussion that has nothing to do with this thread at all.

Well Im sorry if I got off topic and if that somehow irritated you. Dap wondered who was running the genoveses I offered my two cents. But by all means we can continue to discuss Cali

No no no, don't get it twisted ok? What irritated me wasn't about your being off topic, it was your post telling us that we need to get to the discussion at hand, then you don't follow your own advice.

When I said that it was mainly due to the fact that we had discussed Cali's family and ties to Sicily for awhile. I wanted to hear people's opinions on the recent development, didn't mean to get off track with the west side.

Ok, it's fine. I'm a bit cranky for the fact I'm gonna die in a hurricane w/in the next couple days.

Haha no worries. We are all in the same boat. I live in Hyannis Massachusetts and we are supposed to get nailed by this thing.

Stay safe. Cali would want it that way.

Haha you are every bit as funny as they say you are

Are you surprised that Sicilians occupy the leadership of the Gambino family?

Vote in my new poll at

http://www.fivefamiliesnyc.com/

Surprised Cali was named underboss, but not the Sicilians running things. The Gambinos have had high ranking Sicilians for a while now.

Why surprised Ted? I figured this would be a good move for the gambinos

gambino always had a big amount of sicilians among them, so it's not nothing special

I wonder if we'll ever see any Inzerillo among the higher ranks...not just as captains.

Cali is only 47 years old. I thought one of the older guys who have been running things in the past couple of years would of been named underboss. Someone like Arnold Squitieri, Daniel Marino, John Gambino or one of the Corozzo brothers (if they weren't in jail).

Squitieri was underboss I think until this recent development. Marino is in jail and gambino could very well be indicted within the upcoming months. I think Cali who completed his supervised release was a good move.

Why should we be suprised? The Gambinos and Bonannos have always been the most Sicilian from the Five Families.

Not suprisingly they maintain the strongest ties to Sicilian clans in the old country and in Canada.

Being in jail doesn't mean a whole lot. Cefalu could of named an acting underboss until his choice was released from prison. But since he didn't that means he wanted Cali to have the job. I don't doubt Cali's abilities, I just thought Cefalu would of went with an old-timer.

Frankie is solid. Whatever the gambinos position was, it just got better with this recent move. He's a got a rare combination in today's LCN: brains and power

who is consliegre? Joe Corozzo?

But the Gambinos having the entire admin Sicilian is a relatively new development.

Bobby Vernace

Gotti would have a heart attack

Eventually the Sicilian faction and the American faction will have problems with each other. Just a matter of time

leadership requirements
Genovese-Old timers
Gambino-Sicillians
Lucchese-Italian-Americans
Bonanno-Italian-Canadians
Colombo-Anyone behind bars

I thought Anthony Megale was the underboss and Arnold Squitieri acting boss while peter Gotti was the boss.....has Peter been thrown aside and will the genius be demoted back to capo..?

Domenico Cefalu has been boss since last year Arnold Squitieri was underboss till recently according to Gangland News he's been replaced by Frank Cali.

I heard a story that Bobby Vernace murdered two Queens Barkeeps for kicking a mobster out of a restaurant. Was he the shooter or did he just order it?

Probably just ordered it, he's too high up to do the dirty work himself.

im assuming Arnold Squitieri will go down to capo?

Possibly if he's not broke he might retire though he must be nearing 80 now and would've just been released from prison

Squitieri gets released a week before Christmas. With Cali as Underboss I assume he'll go to capo or soldier. He's about 76 so retirement is possible, but I have a feeling he's still valuable to the Gambino's.

You may be right but at that age if i had enough money to leave that life behind ( i don't know if he does ) i would especially if i was to be demoted . Do you know if he'll have that stipulation that he can't associate with known criminals ?

Peter was boss in name only. He wasn't running things in prison.

As far as probation or supervised released is concerned I have no idea. I'm not sure how good of an earner he was while out of jail either but seeing as he was Acting Boss for a time it had to be high. He could stay or leave. I think with Arnold it's entirely up to him.

Those murders were back in 1981, and Vernace was one of the triggermen. He was a very influential member of the Gambinos over the years who for the most part has avoided the headlines...

http://www.fivefamiliesnyc.com/2011/01/feds-vernace-tied-to-mob-weddings-wakes.html

http://www.fivefamiliesnyc.com/2011/02/judge-rules-gambino-boss-to-stay-in.html

http://www.fivefamiliesnyc.com/2011/01/feds-appeal-judges-ruling-to-free-high.html

http://www.fivefamiliesnyc.com/2011/01/new-witness-in-81-mob-slays-at-qns-bar.html

http://www.fivefamiliesnyc.com/2011/01/catherine-godkin-experiences-joy-at.html

http://www.fivefamiliesnyc.com/2011/01/shamrock-bar-killings-key-factor-in.html

http://www.fivefamiliesnyc.com/2011/01/informants-identified-as-mobsters-post.html

i think its retirement for arnold squit. he broke down in tears when he pleady guilty this last time around, not that he not a killer but he said he wanted to spend his last yrs with his wife and kids, he pleady for his friend sisca to get less time cause his kid is sick.i dont understand why you want your consiglier to be in jail thats the guy evryone talks to capo's soldiers other families, you need that guy to feel all the crews out. i read that vernace was to get hit by gotti and crew cause the bartenders death was dumb and peter gotti's daughter was in the bar, paul castellano wouldnt ok that. i bet vernace maybe wasnt a made guy or he would diffently got hit, the other guy had family in the genovese that saved him and he flew in the wind. the families are going to make a killing with all the clean up after this sandy strom, cefulo and cali gonna be rolling in the dough. trash, concrete, construction. kick backs galore.

he must have retired he wouldn't just give up the title without good reason

It seems like the right choice, Frank is what 47 years old? Cefalu is no spring chicken.

Congrats to Francesco Cali - I might take Cali's position as Capo, Cali is the future of La Cosa Nostra, I think someone with his Connection and Business Brain can sort it all, I'd love for him to become Boss.

You sound like Billy Crystal in Analyze This trying to Pronounce "Consigliere". Haha!

If the boss says ´he´s out, then he´s out. That is, he is demoted.

Being "retired" in the Mafia is not the usual way of being retired like when a plumber, banker, salesman, barber or whoever in the legitimate world is being retired. A made guy being retired is still in the mob. He is inactive, but still considered a made guy, still considered a member. So he is still available and can be called upon for tasks. He may not participate in weekly crew meetings or report to his captain or kick up money. But if his captain thinks the retired member is useful for something, the retired member has to oblige.

Pete will die in jail. And like someone said, he was basically the boss in name only.

Tony Megale comes home in the summer or 2014, assuming that no one in that Connecticut Gambino gambling bust a few months ago gives the Feds anything new about him (I doubt it, but you can never say never today).

Who knows what will happen? Even Cali as underboss is still mostly speculation at this point. It makes sense, given his age (not too young, not too old) and earning capability, but the Gambinos are going to be pretty flush in a year or two (for as long as it lasts, anyway). There will be more than a few guys who would fit the bill.

Cefalu need's a New Consigliere! Jo Jo Corozzo has been convicted Four times in the Four years, This can't isnt even good at his Job!, Jo might aswell go down to FBI HQ and turn himself in.

He's not consigliere, Bobby Vernace is.

Where is this?

Why don't you Interview? Then we'll all know, Nobody here is for SURE. Cali is either from New York or Italy but I'm sure that nobody is sure where he is from, just guessing.

Go to FiveFamiliesnyc.com and look up the Gambino Family Charts.

HA, Right. I think I have seen Five Families NYC website copy a piece of Wikipedia Source, I think both are un-reliable. Doesn't Dapper John on here control that website? Where is this source from. Counting that no report on The News, or any Mob Expert has agreed with this, I think Five Families NYC are on their own.

Why don't you ask him yourself? I'm no expert myself but Dap doesn't bullshit. I would certainly trust his charts more than your word. And if he copied from Wikipedia, then what source was it? Just wondering how your jumping to all of these conclusions.

No, No. I said I think, Maybe Dapper John and Wiki's was a Look-a-Like. I know he doesn't bullshit, but I mean.. How does he know this? To my knowledge, He doesn't have any Source of an Expert or maybe he does.

Like I said ask him. I don't know. All I know is that he's a good source of information for the mob. I have a feeling people copy Dap rather than the other way around. He had Frank Cali as the Gambino Underboss at least three days before someone on wikipedia changed it.

Yep, Wikipedia was changed Yesterday.

Find User:Don Calo - He is an AMAZING piece of Source and really know's his shit, He has created over 150 Profile's for The Sicilians and Americans, Great guy.

Originally Posted By: Imamobguy

Originally Posted By: LuanKuci

Cali was indeed born in the US. His parents are from over there.

Why don't you Interview? Then we'll all know, Nobody here is for SURE. Cali is either from New York or Italy but I'm sure that nobody is sure where he is from, just guessing.

Cali was indeed born in the US. His parents are from Italy.

Really? How do you know this, Sorry to be a Bull Braker but I like to question if people really have SOLID evidence.

Cali is born and raised in the US. His parents are from Sicily. How do I know? He has been friends with my husband for years and before that Cali's father and my father in law were friends in Sicily. My husband was born and raised in Sicily, moved to Bensonhurst and was close w Cali there. Cali was a guest at my wedding in 96 at Cotillion Terrace in Bensonhurst. And they remain friends today. Who's my source? Me. Now I have no power and used the last charge of my phone to post this.

Now that's what i call a real hardcore loyalty showin 4 this forum

Your source is your self okay, My Grandfather was certainly born on 1904, He was also born in Sicily same as Charles Luciano. My Grandfather moved to America around the same time as Luciano, Luciano was a Criminal same as my Grandfather and the pair soon met each other in a Meeting, They then later did many business together including with Johnny Torrio and Al Capone. Who's my Source? Me. Lol, You believe that?

It is easy to claim someone is your friend, that is not proof. I'm relying on your word and with no FACTS on a piece of paper, or a website linked to this, then I can't take it as a fact though I think you are right, He was born in Usa.

Even Hurricane Sandy can't stop our Carmela... Best post ever.

Despite the fact that Carmela confirmed it too, I got this info from the indictments of the operation Old Bridge in 08.

My source is called multiple indictments and George Anastasia, it is WELL KNOWN that Vernace succeeded Jojo as the consig. Wikipedia is out of date.

Where have you been? It is common knowledge that Vernace was put in that slot a while ago. As a matter of fact, Vernace was on the three man ruling panel for a numebr of years running the family along with John Gambino and Daniel Marino before Cefalu was named Boss.

Yea, ALOT of other sites have copied my (and mukremin's) leadership charts on their own sites

Well, I didn't know Dapper J, I only thought but I was wrong, Since you are a Boss, please forgive me. , I haven't been looking at Wikipedia, Wiki is made up of References, Say if Vernace was The Real Consigliere, Solid Proof would have to be behind it, I know that Proof is behind it but According to Shity Wiki, Five Families NYC isnt a reliable-source.

Wiki doesnt say I am not a reliable source, WIki just hasnt been updated to reflect the current reality. They still had Amuso listed as Boss months after it was well-known that Crea took over. Wiki is good for historical information, but it is often very wrong when it comes to up-to-date happening particularly about LCN.

The problem is none of us there have Gang Land subscriptions, and we all err on what we can verify.

Not really, a number of us here have gangland subscriptions

here's a blurb from a recent gangland

"Cali’s ascension to the number two slot gives the Sicilians a clean sweep of top Gambino posts. Sources say the family’s consigliere, 63-year-old Bartolomeo (Bobby Glasses) Vernace, a low key, American born Queens-based wiseguy, also has roots in Sicily."

But you don't edit.

edit what?

see my above post

Well, I meant Wikipedia.

I would've added something for Joseph Massino's testimony against Basciano, but I would have wanted a link, and the archive on the site doesn't go up to 2011.

Gotcha, I dont even bother editing on there. If you need any links from original articles on Massino/Basciano,I got a bunch on my site.

Hey! You remember me from Wikipedia? King Genovese.. Lol, About my 13th account banned. -_-, Fuckin' Hypocrites. Why did you even say, I'd usually let the Sock Fills take its course but Copyviv is too far on Wikimedia?

@ Lenin_and_McCarthy - You do Realize, When I became a member in 2011, I was the one who created Frank Cullotta at first, I couldn't reference well and I didn't even understand it. It got speedyed by Vic79 or something like that and another created it. -_-, I also created every single member on Wikipedia's pages of, Lucchese crime family, Colombo crime family, Gambino crime family, Genovese crime family, Bonanno crime family and later I was found that I was King Genovese! I was The Master of Cosa Nostra on Wiki, I have now learnt and they still keep deleting me. If I even go near Cosa Nostra I get banned, I made nearly 50 Articles on Actors and later went into Italian & Italian American Actors..

Hey dapper are you allowed to post gangland articles on here since you have a subscription?

The owner of this site doesn't want to take the chance on copyright infringement, and you can't blame him. It's his decision, so that's that.

Who is the owner?

J Geoff is the owner.

Just like Pizzaboy stated above.