by B. » Mon Oct 30, 2023 9:32 pm
The ones I've been the most confused about are the two Frank Castellano/Castellanas. This gives me a chance to look back into them.
- The one who was father-in-law of Leo Giammona was also the father of member Pete Castellana and he was born in 1895 and died in 1941. In 1940 his mother-in-law Nancy Masotto was living with him, however her daughter Carmela was originally a Guglielmini as evenced by her marriage record to Frank Castellana and son Alessandro/Alexander's Social Security file.
- Comparing this to what Felice shared, Frank's wife Carmela must have been the daughter of Pietro Guglielmini and Nancy Vella, making her the sister of the Guglielmini brothers who joined the Gambinos. This makes sense as Pete Castellana was the second son and would have been named for Pietro Guglielmini. Carmela's mother Nancy later remarried a Masotto and became the mother of the Masotto brothers who also joined the Gambino Family. So if this is true at least two of Carmela Guglielmini Castellana's full brothers (Guglielmini) were Gambino members and at least two of her half-brothers (Masotto) were members too. It would also mean the Guglielmini and Masotto brothers were half-brothers themselves. With Frank Castellana's mother-in-law originally being a Vella, she's probably a relative of Paul Castellano's grandmother who was also a Vella.
- I incorrectly said earlier that I thought this Frank Castellana was the one identified as an early Gambino captain. The Valachi chart only says Frank Castellano was a previous captain who was deceased. Joe Castellano's brother Frank died in 1959 and their apparent cousin Frank died in 1941. Both continued using the original Castellana spelling of the name. One one hand it seems more likely the Valachi chart refers to Joe's brother since his death was more recent but he was also a decade older so it's not clear if he was still a captain when he died in 1959. One informant makes it more clear as he said the Frank who was a captain was the brother of Benny Castellano, who he said had also been a captain. Benny was the brother of Joe Castellano, so this is in reference to their brother Frank, not the one who married Carmela Guglielmini. However, Joe and Benny's brother Frank was married to Carmela's sister Providenza Guglielmini. The two Frank Castellanas married sisters just to fuck with researchers 100 years later.
- As Felice posted, Joe and Benny's brother Frank lived 1886-1959 and he was the father-in-law of Paolo Gambino. We have the three brothers Joe, Benny, and Frank all identified as captains at various points. One source said Carlo Gambino succeeded his father-in-law Joe Castellano and many of us have believed for years that Frank ran a separate decina anyway. Was Benny part of this succession, did he have his own decina, or is the informant's info accurate? Some have assumed that Paul Castellano took over Frank's crew but did a source ever say that? There is also Carlo Gambino's promotion to consigliere sometime before 1957, so something became of his decina as well and others assume Paul Castellano took this over, but did a source ever say that either? We have Frank's son-in-law Paolo Gambino becoming a captain as well as Paolo and Carlo's brother Giuseppe and later their younger relative(?) Giuseppe in the Bronx. Crew succession is often non-linear and indirect but I'm sure most of these crews in some way can be traced back to Joe and Frank's crews.
- Giuseppe "Joe from the Bronx" Gambino is another question as he's said to have come from Passo di Rigano as a young man but I'm not sure the actual relation to Carlo. People in the Family were told he was related, though. His presence in the Bronx is a reminder that Carlo and Paolo originally lived in the Bronx for years where they were very close to Frank Scalise. Dave Amodeo told the FBI that Frank Scalise and Carlo Gambino's fathers were related. Wonder if that can be substantiated, as Amodeo is a person who would know. Frank Scalise's brother Salvatore told the FBI that his family were next door neighbors of Tommaso Gambino and his sons in Sicily and he grew up knowing them but didn't mention a relation that I'm aware of.
- Another confusing point is that Joe's brother Frank was naturalized under the name "Giuseppe Francesco Castellana". His brother was named Giuseppe but there are examples of two Sicilian sons having the same first name and one going by a middle name so I'm not sure the story. Maybe his true name was Francesco Giuseppe Castellana? Their father was Francesco Paolo Castellana and went by Paolo but that's very common with Sicilians named Francesco Paolo.
- Going back to Giammona's father-in-law Frank, even though he doesn't appear to be the captain mentioned by sources it's pretty clear he was a member. At least four brothers-in-law were members, his son-in-law and son were members, and his cousins were Family leaders. Though some clans were more selective about which relatives they made, the Gambino-Castellano-etc. clan is one of those like the Profaci and Bonanno-Magaddino-Bonventre clan where at one point in their history they made just about every male relative.
The ones I've been the most confused about are the two Frank Castellano/Castellanas. This gives me a chance to look back into them.
- The one who was father-in-law of Leo Giammona was also the father of member Pete Castellana and he was born in 1895 and died in 1941. In 1940 his mother-in-law Nancy Masotto was living with him, however her daughter Carmela was originally a Guglielmini as evenced by her marriage record to Frank Castellana and son Alessandro/Alexander's Social Security file.
- Comparing this to what Felice shared, Frank's wife Carmela must have been the daughter of Pietro Guglielmini and Nancy Vella, making her the sister of the Guglielmini brothers who joined the Gambinos. This makes sense as Pete Castellana was the second son and would have been named for Pietro Guglielmini. Carmela's mother Nancy later remarried a Masotto and became the mother of the Masotto brothers who also joined the Gambino Family. So if this is true at least two of Carmela Guglielmini Castellana's full brothers (Guglielmini) were Gambino members and at least two of her half-brothers (Masotto) were members too. It would also mean the Guglielmini and Masotto brothers were half-brothers themselves. With Frank Castellana's mother-in-law originally being a Vella, she's probably a relative of Paul Castellano's grandmother who was also a Vella.
- I incorrectly said earlier that I thought this Frank Castellana was the one identified as an early Gambino captain. The Valachi chart only says Frank Castellano was a previous captain who was deceased. Joe Castellano's brother Frank died in 1959 and their apparent cousin Frank died in 1941. Both continued using the original Castellana spelling of the name. One one hand it seems more likely the Valachi chart refers to Joe's brother since his death was more recent but he was also a decade older so it's not clear if he was still a captain when he died in 1959. One informant makes it more clear as he said the Frank who was a captain was the brother of Benny Castellano, who he said had also been a captain. Benny was the brother of Joe Castellano, so this is in reference to their brother Frank, not the one who married Carmela Guglielmini. However, Joe and Benny's brother Frank was married to Carmela's sister Providenza Guglielmini. The two Frank Castellanas married sisters just to fuck with researchers 100 years later.
- As Felice posted, Joe and Benny's brother Frank lived 1886-1959 and he was the father-in-law of Paolo Gambino. We have the three brothers Joe, Benny, and Frank all identified as captains at various points. One source said Carlo Gambino succeeded his father-in-law Joe Castellano and many of us have believed for years that Frank ran a separate decina anyway. Was Benny part of this succession, did he have his own decina, or is the informant's info accurate? Some have assumed that Paul Castellano took over Frank's crew but did a source ever say that? There is also Carlo Gambino's promotion to consigliere sometime before 1957, so something became of his decina as well and others assume Paul Castellano took this over, but did a source ever say that either? We have Frank's son-in-law Paolo Gambino becoming a captain as well as Paolo and Carlo's brother Giuseppe and later their younger relative(?) Giuseppe in the Bronx. Crew succession is often non-linear and indirect but I'm sure most of these crews in some way can be traced back to Joe and Frank's crews.
- Giuseppe "Joe from the Bronx" Gambino is another question as he's said to have come from Passo di Rigano as a young man but I'm not sure the actual relation to Carlo. People in the Family were told he was related, though. His presence in the Bronx is a reminder that Carlo and Paolo originally lived in the Bronx for years where they were very close to Frank Scalise. Dave Amodeo told the FBI that Frank Scalise and Carlo Gambino's fathers were related. Wonder if that can be substantiated, as Amodeo is a person who would know. Frank Scalise's brother Salvatore told the FBI that his family were next door neighbors of Tommaso Gambino and his sons in Sicily and he grew up knowing them but didn't mention a relation that I'm aware of.
- Another confusing point is that Joe's brother Frank was naturalized under the name "Giuseppe Francesco Castellana". His brother was named Giuseppe but there are examples of two Sicilian sons having the same first name and one going by a middle name so I'm not sure the story. Maybe his true name was Francesco Giuseppe Castellana? Their father was Francesco Paolo Castellana and went by Paolo but that's very common with Sicilians named Francesco Paolo.
- Going back to Giammona's father-in-law Frank, even though he doesn't appear to be the captain mentioned by sources it's pretty clear he was a member. At least four brothers-in-law were members, his son-in-law and son were members, and his cousins were Family leaders. Though some clans were more selective about which relatives they made, the Gambino-Castellano-etc. clan is one of those like the Profaci and Bonanno-Magaddino-Bonventre clan where at one point in their history they made just about every male relative.