Gambino Sicilian Faction General Discussion

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Re: Gambino Sicilian Faction General Discussion

Post by Confederate »

B. wrote: Thu Mar 15, 2018 4:34 pm
jimmyb wrote: Thu Mar 15, 2018 1:47 pm
TommyGambino wrote: Thu Mar 15, 2018 11:56 am
JeremyTheJew wrote: Thu Mar 15, 2018 11:16 am there i believe was also a third Cherry Hill Gambino wasn't there? Gieuseppe or is that Rosario?

the book Octopus: The Sicilian Mafia International Reach (not sure on exact title) by Claire Sterling was a pretty good book explaining the Heroin trade as well not just the Bonanno, but Gambino Zip factions. The info might be out of date, she was also a believer in the Red Invasion.

its interesting bc she brings up the Sicilians having a crew in Philly that was infiltrated by DEA.
-also interesting to note that the guy who flipped and intro the DEA to sicilian mafia members was more scared of the Philly mob (lead by Bruno at the time) then the Sicilians
Yeah, Joe Gambino is a third brother, he's made with the Gambinos, never gone above soldier though
Yeah you guys are right on. It's interesting (and a bit confusing), but in terms of the CH Gambinos John and Joe are members of the NY Gambino crime family, while Rosario is a member of the Passo di Rigano cosca I believe. Rosario is def made guy in Sicily, not NY either way. A number of government documents and news articles described Rosario as a made member of the NY Gambinos, but we know now that's not true.

And right, DEA infiltrated the CH Gambinos in South Jersey/Philly. The agent was Frank Panessa. I've talked to him quite a few times. He also dealt with Amato and Bonventre from the Bonanno org. So yeah, the Bonannos and Gambinos were part of the same trafficking networks at times. Interesting note about Panessa: he would deal with Rosario directly, but John Gambino would never speak w/Panessa. Panessa was not "a friend of mine or ours" in others words, so John kept his distance (pretty smart actually).
According to Leonetti, Scarfo told him that he was introduced to Rosario Gambino in the 1970s as an amico nostra by, I believe, Angelo Bruno, which led to Scarfo incorrectly believing that Rosario was a member of the Gambino family. Later, in the 1980s, Rosario was involved in a beef with members of the Philly family which led to a sitdown between Scarfo and Gotti, where Gotti told him that Rosario was in fact a member of the Sicilian mafia, not the Gambino family. Leonetti claimed that John Gambino was always known to him as a member of the Gambino family.

I'm not sure if Gotti recognized Sicilian membership, but we know that Angelo Bruno recognized Sicilian membership as "the same thing" during his travels in Sicily as well as when Sicilian mafiosi visited Philadelphia. In addition, Bruno allowed John Stanfa to transfer from the Caccamo family to the Philadelphia family*. I'd be curious if Paul Castellano also recognized Rosario as an amico nostra, though it doesn't seem Rosario ever transferred. I believe that Castellano, himself from a line of Sicilian immigrant mafiosi, did recognize Sicilians like the Inzerillos and their people, which would include Rosario Gambino.

What's interesting is that aside from John Stanfa, the Philadelphia had virtually no zips in their family despite Bruno's open attitude toward the Sicilian mafia and the extensive contacts he made in Sicily during his stay there in the 1960s. He describes having dinner with dozens of high-ranking Sicilian mafia members in Palermo, for example.

* - An early 1980s government report claims that John Stanfa was originally inducted into the Sicilian mafia. Two decades later, his relative Nino Giuffre of the Caccamo family would flip and testify that John Stanfa sponsored him into the Caccamo family in the 1980s, when Stanfa was on the run following Bruno's murder I believe. Stanfa's brothers, father, and I believe other relatives were of course members of the Caccamo family as well.
Great Info B.
This is probably the main reason at least a couple of the New York 5 Families will last for quite awhile because the more they recruit actual Sicilians or Neapolitans or Calabrians directly from Italy into the American new York 5, the longer they will survive. The Zips are the real fucking deal in my opinion as opposed to some of these New York Italian American younger guys. I can see where Philly has virtually no Zips because most of their newer guys come from South Philly.
Question for B:
Does your research inform you of any Neapolitans or Calabrians directly from Italy being members of a the New York 5 or Philly? i would think maybe the Genovese Family might have a few from the Camorra.
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Re: Gambino Sicilian Faction General Discussion

Post by Teddy Persico »

Confederate wrote: Thu Mar 15, 2018 8:06 pm Great Info B.
This is probably the main reason at least a couple of the New York 5 Families will last for quite awhile because the more they recruit actual Sicilians or Neapolitans or Calabrians directly from Italy into the American new York 5, the longer they will survive. The Zips are the real fucking deal in my opinion as opposed to some of these New York Italian American younger guys.
They also provide the high level drug connetions that could be vital to their continued existence.
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Re: Gambino Sicilian Faction General Discussion

Post by jimmyb »

SILENT PARTNERZ wrote: Thu Mar 15, 2018 2:07 pm
jimmyb wrote: Thu Mar 15, 2018 1:47 pm
TommyGambino wrote: Thu Mar 15, 2018 11:56 am
JeremyTheJew wrote: Thu Mar 15, 2018 11:16 am there i believe was also a third Cherry Hill Gambino wasn't there? Gieuseppe or is that Rosario?

the book Octopus: The Sicilian Mafia International Reach (not sure on exact title) by Claire Sterling was a pretty good book explaining the Heroin trade as well not just the Bonanno, but Gambino Zip factions. The info might be out of date, she was also a believer in the Red Invasion.

its interesting bc she brings up the Sicilians having a crew in Philly that was infiltrated by DEA.
-also interesting to note that the guy who flipped and intro the DEA to sicilian mafia members was more scared of the Philly mob (lead by Bruno at the time) then the Sicilians
Yeah, Joe Gambino is a third brother, he's made with the Gambinos, never gone above soldier though
Yeah you guys are right on. It's interesting (and a bit confusing), but in terms of the CH Gambinos John and Joe are members of the NY Gambino crime family, while Rosario is a member of the Passo di Rigano cosca I believe. Rosario is def made guy in Sicily, not NY either way. A number of government documents and news articles described Rosario as a made member of the NY Gambinos, but we know now that's not true.

And right, DEA infiltrated the CH Gambinos in South Jersey/Philly. The agent was Frank Panessa. I've talked to him quite a few times. He also dealt with Amato and Bonventre from the Bonanno org. So yeah, the Bonannos and Gambinos were part of the same trafficking networks at times. Interesting note about Panessa: he would deal with Rosario directly, but John Gambino would never speak w/Panessa. Panessa was not "a friend of mine or ours" in others words, so John kept his distance (pretty smart actually).
I remember seeing Frank Panessa on some TV documentaries. He definitely mentioned the CH Gambino's,
but he talked about two other Sicilians that he dealt with regularly. They did show film of a guy going to
Brooklyn and getting a key to bring back to Philly. The survelillance team said he was carrying it in a wrapped birthday present box, which I thought was a good thing to carry it in. The guy who delivered the key disappeared he said, and was never heard from again? Anyway, you speaking to Agent Panessa is very cool. Think you could get him to post stories here?
Right, Alberto Ficalora and Paolo LaPorta were Panessa's main contacts. Yeah he's a real interesting guy. He was the DEA's handler for Tommaso Buscetta. I think he met Judge Falcone too. He's the one who told me Amato and Bonventre were loyal to Joe Bonanno, even late in the game.
I haven't talked to him a few yrs though. I left him a message awhile back; I wanted to fly out east and meet in person, but I never heard back, and then I was too busy to follow up. I'm not sure what he's situation is now---has to be pretty old dude at this point. Anyhow, I hope to re-connect w/him at some point.
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Re: Gambino Sicilian Faction General Discussion

Post by aleksandrored »

Guys I found thi picture in a book about Tommaso Buscetta on Brazil in 1972:

Left to Right: Lelio Paolo Gigante, François Antoine Canazzi, José Antonio de Sá neto, Claude Andre Pastou, Tommaso Buscetta and Michel Nicoli arrested in Brazil in 1972
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Re: Gambino Sicilian Faction General Discussion

Post by jimmyb »

Forgot to mention something else interesting: Salvatore Greco was busted in Germany recently. He's a high ranking drug guy in the Passo di Rigano org (Inzerillo). According to the article, Greco is close with Tommaso Gambino (allegedly LA family underboss and son of Rosario Gambino). Article also states Tommaso (Tommy) Gambino met with Greco and Claudio Lo Piccolo (Salvatore's son) in Palermo.

http://palermo.repubblica.it/cronaca/20 ... 169347829/
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Re: Gambino Sicilian Faction General Discussion

Post by JeremyTheJew »

did not realize Rosarios son was LA UB. Was he always w LA Fam? or part of the "Gambino Crew" out there?

Also.... its been said that John Gambino when he was capo in bensonhurst had roughly 5 made guys under him


what about when he was CH. S.Philly/Jersy capo?
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Re: Gambino Sicilian Faction General Discussion

Post by SILENT PARTNERZ »

jimmyb wrote: Sun Mar 18, 2018 6:16 pm Forgot to mention something else interesting: Salvatore Greco was busted in Germany recently. He's a high ranking drug guy in the Passo di Rigano org (Inzerillo). According to the article, Greco is close with Tommaso Gambino (allegedly LA family underboss and son of Rosario Gambino). Article also states Tommaso (Tommy) Gambino met with Greco and Claudio Lo Piccolo (Salvatore's son) in Palermo.

http://palermo.repubblica.it/cronaca/20 ... 169347829/
JimmyB, thanks for the info. Regarding Tomasso Gambino, is there any recent info
as to whether he is still in L.A.? Seems there is no one left in the L.A. Family, but
is he still considered an L.A. Family member. Or would he have gravitated to his
other family members orgs>either the US Gambino's or a Sicilian Family.
Thanks, SP
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Re: Gambino Sicilian Faction General Discussion

Post by TommyGambino »

I think the talk of him being underboss in LA was born out of wikipedia? Probably with the Gambino's now
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Re: Gambino Sicilian Faction General Discussion

Post by johnny_scootch »

JeremyTheJew wrote: Sun Mar 18, 2018 7:26 pm
what about when he was CH. S.Philly/Jersy capo?
Jeremy I don't think he was ever considered captain of that area. Pretty sure the gambinos never had a south philly captain lol.
'The Cherry Hill' gambinos was never an official crew. The gambino members who lived there were officially part of the 18th Ave crew.
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Re: Gambino Sicilian Faction General Discussion

Post by SILENT PARTNERZ »

jimmyb wrote: Thu Mar 15, 2018 1:47 pm
TommyGambino wrote: Thu Mar 15, 2018 11:56 am
JeremyTheJew wrote: Thu Mar 15, 2018 11:16 am there i believe was also a third Cherry Hill Gambino wasn't there? Gieuseppe or is that Rosario?

the book Octopus: The Sicilian Mafia International Reach (not sure on exact title) by Claire Sterling was a pretty good book explaining the Heroin trade as well not just the Bonanno, but Gambino Zip factions. The info might be out of date, she was also a believer in the Red Invasion.

its interesting bc she brings up the Sicilians having a crew in Philly that was infiltrated by DEA.
-also interesting to note that the guy who flipped and intro the DEA to sicilian mafia members was more scared of the Philly mob (lead by Bruno at the time) then the Sicilians
Yeah, Joe Gambino is a third brother, he's made with the Gambinos, never gone above soldier though
Yeah you guys are right on. It's interesting (and a bit confusing), but in terms of the CH Gambinos John and Joe are members of the NY Gambino crime family, while Rosario is a member of the Passo di Rigano cosca I believe. Rosario is def made guy in Sicily, not NY either way. A number of government documents and news articles described Rosario as a made member of the NY Gambinos, but we know now that's not true.

And right, DEA infiltrated the CH Gambinos in South Jersey/Philly. The agent was Frank Panessa. I've talked to him quite a few times. He also dealt with Amato and Bonventre from the Bonanno org. So yeah, the Bonannos and Gambinos were part of the same trafficking networks at times. Interesting note about Panessa: he would deal with Rosario directly, but John Gambino would never speak w/Panessa. Panessa was not "a friend of mine or ours" in others words, so John kept his distance (pretty smart actually).
Frank Panessa picture (from TV, his head is not really this shape)
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Re: Gambino Sicilian Faction General Discussion

Post by jimmyb »

TommyGambino wrote: Mon Mar 19, 2018 3:58 pm I think the talk of him being underboss in LA was born out of wikipedia? Probably with the Gambino's now
Here's your "wiki" information:

According to LAPD 'Gambino is considered by Southern California organized crime investigators to be a rising star in the Los Angeles underworld'
'The police and FBI . . . suspect young Gambino is a rising underboss in the Los Angeles La Cosa Nostra scene'"

p. 739 "Justice undone: clemency decisions in the Clinton White House : second report, Volume 1" United States Congress, House Committee on Government Reform

The report also linked Tommy Gambino to an Ecstasy ring in 2001.
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Re: Gambino Sicilian Faction General Discussion

Post by jimmyb »

SILENT PARTNERZ wrote: Mon Mar 19, 2018 8:48 am
jimmyb wrote: Sun Mar 18, 2018 6:16 pm Forgot to mention something else interesting: Salvatore Greco was busted in Germany recently. He's a high ranking drug guy in the Passo di Rigano org (Inzerillo). According to the article, Greco is close with Tommaso Gambino (allegedly LA family underboss and son of Rosario Gambino). Article also states Tommaso (Tommy) Gambino met with Greco and Claudio Lo Piccolo (Salvatore's son) in Palermo.

http://palermo.repubblica.it/cronaca/20 ... 169347829/
JimmyB, thanks for the info. Regarding Tomasso Gambino, is there any recent info
as to whether he is still in L.A.? Seems there is no one left in the L.A. Family, but
is he still considered an L.A. Family member. Or would he have gravitated to his
other family members orgs>either the US Gambino's or a Sicilian Family.
Thanks, SP
Not sure what Tommy Gambino's current status is. The intel about him being a high ranking member of the LA crime family is a bit dated. IMO these guys don't quit the life, so if the LA family is now defunct, then I suspect he's active member of the NY Gambinos. I think he was born here, so I doubt he's a member of a Sicilian cosca, but his meeting with Greco and Lo Piccolo is def intriguing.
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Re: Gambino Sicilian Faction General Discussion

Post by Wiseguy »

jimmyb wrote: Tue Mar 20, 2018 3:48 pm
TommyGambino wrote: Mon Mar 19, 2018 3:58 pm I think the talk of him being underboss in LA was born out of wikipedia? Probably with the Gambino's now
Here's your "wiki" information:

According to LAPD 'Gambino is considered by Southern California organized crime investigators to be a rising star in the Los Angeles underworld'
'The police and FBI . . . suspect young Gambino is a rising underboss in the Los Angeles La Cosa Nostra scene'"

p. 739 "Justice undone: clemency decisions in the Clinton White House : second report, Volume 1" United States Congress, House Committee on Government Reform

The report also linked Tommy Gambino to an Ecstasy ring in 2001.
Yeah, Gambino was identified in one government report as underboss. But pretty meaningless concerning the state of the family then, to say nothing of now. As far as the ecstasy ring, the guy running it reportedly sought out financing from Gambino.

Anyway, more recently it seems he's been involved in one of his own business endeavors or another, like "Gambino Lite Vodka" and "Royal Entertainment." Not sure if any of these got off the ground.
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Re: Gambino Sicilian Faction General Discussion

Post by TommyGambino »

jimmyb wrote: Tue Mar 20, 2018 3:48 pm
TommyGambino wrote: Mon Mar 19, 2018 3:58 pm I think the talk of him being underboss in LA was born out of wikipedia? Probably with the Gambino's now
Here's your "wiki" information:

According to LAPD 'Gambino is considered by Southern California organized crime investigators to be a rising star in the Los Angeles underworld'
'The police and FBI . . . suspect young Gambino is a rising underboss in the Los Angeles La Cosa Nostra scene'"

p. 739 "Justice undone: clemency decisions in the Clinton White House : second report, Volume 1" United States Congress, House Committee on Government Reform

The report also linked Tommy Gambino to an Ecstasy ring in 2001.
I said I think, wasn't aware of this report, but be a cunt about it :mrgreen:
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Re: Gambino Sicilian Faction General Discussion

Post by Pogo The Clown »

According to Kenji Carmen Milano was the last LA UnderBoss (demoted in 1996). He was asked and said that Gambino was never the UnderBoss.


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