by B. » Thu Oct 15, 2015 9:26 am
Yeah, it's not 100% what the arrangement was but there was a ton of crossover between early Gambino/Profaci members, with Mineo seeming to have been the boss of both families at different times. It seems impossible by post-1930 standards for a guy to abruptly go from boss of one family to boss of another, but things were a lot more fluid back then. Families were just as defined as they are now, but members (Sicilians in particular) could transfer from family to family easier and even jump to high-ranking positions when they were still new to a city/family. With that in mind it's still pretty surprising but not totally crazy that Mineo could transfer as boss of one family to boss of another.
There is also indication that before Mineo was boss of the Profacis, the future Profaci family may have been a faction under D'Aquila, so there were already shared roots between those families that made Mineo's transition logical. Giuseppe Fontana was a high-ranking member from Villabate who was apparently under D'Aquila but he might have represented a faction that would later become part of the Mineo-DiBella-Profaci family.
Here is a breakdown of the relationship between the Gambinos and Colombos from the early 1910s to present day as I understand it, with a lot of the early info coming from researchers like Angelo, Rick, Dave, etc. but also some of my own interpretations:
- D'Aquila is boss of one family that has interests all over NYC, including South Brooklyn, and influence throughout the country.
- Mineo takes some of D'Aquila's South Brooklyn members into a new family.
- Mineo forms an alliance with Masseria years later, D'Aquila is killed and Mineo returns to the D'Aquila family and becomes the boss, leaving fellow Palermitano Sal DiBella in charge of the family he had been running.
- Mineo is betrayed by a faction of his new family led by Frank Scalise, who may not have liked the fact that Mineo took over their family from the outside.
- Sal DiBella either steps down or is removed from power, most likely sometime after Mineo is killed. Frank Scalise briefly becomes boss before having to step down.
- Mangano becomes boss of the Mineo-D'Aquila family and Profaci becomes boss of the Mineo-DiBella family, with a few members possibly switching between those families during the aftermath.
- After 1931 these two families separate even further, but there is still a strong relationship between Mangano and Profaci, with Mangano still representing a wide territory while the Profaci guys remain concentrated in South Brooklyn.
- Mangano is murdered and the family taken over by Anastasia. I don't know much about Anastasia's relationship with the Profacis, but anti-Mineo faction leader Frank Scalise is killed followed shortly by Anastasia.
- Profaci experiences trouble late in his reign with the rebel Gallo faction who are allegedly backed by Anastasia's replacement Carlo Gambino.
- Profaci dies and his would-be successor Magliocco continues to get grief from the Gambino-backed Gallo faction and also gets involved in a cold war with the Gambinos (and Luccheses) that almost breaks out into violence when capo Joe Colombo forms an alliance with the Gambinos.
- Magliocco dies and the Profaci family becomes completely subservient to the Gambinos under new boss Joe Colombo.
- When Joe Colombo is taken out, Sal DiBella's son Tom becomes boss of the Profaci family, but is operating on behalf of the Persicos. The Persicos are not subservient to the Gambinos and once Carmine Persico is ready, DiBella steps down and lets Persico take over.
- During the 1970s and 80s Persico creates a whole new organic faction within his family with a lot of his own relatives and longtime associates running the show, but prison loosens his grip on the family.
- Acting boss Vic Orena becomes subservient to John Gotti's influence and attempts to become boss with the Gambinos behind him. Civil war erupts and the family is severely damaged while the Gambinos wash their hands of it.
- Seems that the Orena/Gotti relationship was the last significant political exchange between the two families.
Yeah, it's not 100% what the arrangement was but there was a ton of crossover between early Gambino/Profaci members, with Mineo seeming to have been the boss of both families at different times. It seems impossible by post-1930 standards for a guy to abruptly go from boss of one family to boss of another, but things were a lot more fluid back then. Families were just as defined as they are now, but members (Sicilians in particular) could transfer from family to family easier and even jump to high-ranking positions when they were still new to a city/family. With that in mind it's still pretty surprising but not totally crazy that Mineo could transfer as boss of one family to boss of another.
There is also indication that before Mineo was boss of the Profacis, the future Profaci family may have been a faction under D'Aquila, so there were already shared roots between those families that made Mineo's transition logical. Giuseppe Fontana was a high-ranking member from Villabate who was apparently under D'Aquila but he might have represented a faction that would later become part of the Mineo-DiBella-Profaci family.
Here is a breakdown of the relationship between the Gambinos and Colombos from the early 1910s to present day as I understand it, with a lot of the early info coming from researchers like Angelo, Rick, Dave, etc. but also some of my own interpretations:
- D'Aquila is boss of one family that has interests all over NYC, including South Brooklyn, and influence throughout the country.
- Mineo takes some of D'Aquila's South Brooklyn members into a new family.
- Mineo forms an alliance with Masseria years later, D'Aquila is killed and Mineo returns to the D'Aquila family and becomes the boss, leaving fellow Palermitano Sal DiBella in charge of the family he had been running.
- Mineo is betrayed by a faction of his new family led by Frank Scalise, who may not have liked the fact that Mineo took over their family from the outside.
- Sal DiBella either steps down or is removed from power, most likely sometime after Mineo is killed. Frank Scalise briefly becomes boss before having to step down.
- Mangano becomes boss of the Mineo-D'Aquila family and Profaci becomes boss of the Mineo-DiBella family, with a few members possibly switching between those families during the aftermath.
- After 1931 these two families separate even further, but there is still a strong relationship between Mangano and Profaci, with Mangano still representing a wide territory while the Profaci guys remain concentrated in South Brooklyn.
- Mangano is murdered and the family taken over by Anastasia. I don't know much about Anastasia's relationship with the Profacis, but anti-Mineo faction leader Frank Scalise is killed followed shortly by Anastasia.
- Profaci experiences trouble late in his reign with the rebel Gallo faction who are allegedly backed by Anastasia's replacement Carlo Gambino.
- Profaci dies and his would-be successor Magliocco continues to get grief from the Gambino-backed Gallo faction and also gets involved in a cold war with the Gambinos (and Luccheses) that almost breaks out into violence when capo Joe Colombo forms an alliance with the Gambinos.
- Magliocco dies and the Profaci family becomes completely subservient to the Gambinos under new boss Joe Colombo.
- When Joe Colombo is taken out, Sal DiBella's son Tom becomes boss of the Profaci family, but is operating on behalf of the Persicos. The Persicos are not subservient to the Gambinos and once Carmine Persico is ready, DiBella steps down and lets Persico take over.
- During the 1970s and 80s Persico creates a whole new organic faction within his family with a lot of his own relatives and longtime associates running the show, but prison loosens his grip on the family.
- Acting boss Vic Orena becomes subservient to John Gotti's influence and attempts to become boss with the Gambinos behind him. Civil war erupts and the family is severely damaged while the Gambinos wash their hands of it.
- Seems that the Orena/Gotti relationship was the last significant political exchange between the two families.