Castellano's election as boss late 1976

[B.]

- A meeting was held at a Brooklyn residence in October 1976 between "several capos" of the Gambino family. After around a six hour discussion, it was decided that Paul Castellano and Joe N. Gallo would be in charge of the family until Aniello Dellacroce's release from prison, at which point he (Dellacroce) would potentially head the family if he was in good enough health. At this meeting Joe N. Gallo also spoke with each man in attendance about their "activities and payoffs" to be made to the family leadership. They agreed to give all forthcoming payments to Gallo who would keep Castellano in the loop.

Among those in attendance at the meeting:

David Amodeo
Paul Castellano
(Redacted)
Joe N. Gallo
(Redacted)
(Redacted)
Nick Patti
Terri Zappi
Fank Piccolo
Frank Perrone

- It should be noted that a report from before Gambino's death described Castellano as still being acting boss (he was appointed in the late 1960s), with the incarcerated Dellacroce at underboss, and Joe N. Gallo as consigliere, with Jimmy Failla helping to run the family. Castellano was said to represent Gambino when Gambino himself could not attend meetings and Castellano was described as the leader of the family's "Brooklyn faction."

- A month later in November 1976, an informant stated that a boss had still not been selected in the Gambino family but that prior to Carlo Gambino's death, captains in the family had been pushing for Joe N. Gallo to take over as boss but he declined and Gambino was allowed to stay on as boss until his death. This informant stated Gallo was the most "powerful and respected" member of the family and speculated that Dellacroce will probably take over as the new boss upon his release from prison. He said that while this new boss would run the Gambino family, he would not have the same control over other families that Gambino had. Other information from November suggested that the new boss would be Castellano or Gallo.

- Finally, following Dellacroce's release, a meeting was held at a residence in Brooklyn in mid-December 1976 and attended by several captains in the Gambino family. The meeting lasted several hours and each attendee was "greeted individually" by Paul Castellano, Neil Dellacroce, and Joe N. Gallo. The attendees had dinner and afterward Castellano announced that he had been nominated as the new boss of the family. Castellano said he was appointing Dellacroce as underboss and "suggesting" that Joe N. Gallo be named consigliere (remember that a consigliere must technically be voted in, not appointed by boss). The captains in attendance then did a "voice vote" and approved the new administration.

At this meeting Paul Castellano stated that the family was "united", without "friction", and that this new administration would run the family in the same way it had been run under Gambino and reiterated that the family was not to be involved in prostitution and narcotics. He also expressed an interest in developing contacts in Atlantic City and other areas, as they wanted to have "friends in the hotels and casinos in Atlantic City when it opens for gambling." He told those in attendance that any family members investing in Atlantic City should be made known to him, Dellacroce, or Gallo, and that a captain is "not to handle this area on his own without permission from one of them."

To conclude the meeting, Castellano told the attendees that "this would be the last meeting of all the capos" and Castellano instructed Frank Piccolo to visit Ray Patriarca in Providence in the next few days to tell him of Castellano's promotion to boss and to "wish him the very best" from Castellano.

Following the meeting, the informant in attendance told the FBI that David Amodeo and another individual from the Bronx were not happy with Joe N. Gallo as consigliere and would have preferred Joe Zingaro as the new consigliere. The informant felt that several of the captains were unhappy with Gallo because of the way he had run the family for Carlo Gambino during the previous year.

Among those who attended the meeting were:

David Amodeo
(Redacted)
Paul Castellano
(Redacted)
(Redacted)
Frank Piccolo
Terry Zappi
Frank Perrone
Joe Zingaro
Peter Stincone

[Snakes]

Thanks, B. Frustrating that those names are redacted, particularly when the individuals it is "protecting" have probably been deceased for years.

[Pogo The Clown]

Great stuff. Let me add that Jimmy Failla was the Acting UnderBoss during that mid-70s period when Dellacroce was in prison.


Pogo

[Lupara]

At this meeting Paul Castellano stated that the family was "united", without "friction", and that this new administration would run the family in the same way it had been run under Gambino and reiterated that the family was not to be involved in prostitution and narcotics.

Followed by the family being very much involved in prostitution and narcotics... [emoji28]

I'm tempted to bluntly state that Castellano could not have said this and someone just made it up. It's that ridiculous.

I can understand Gotti's resentment...

But great stuff as usual B. This forum would be a lot less interesting lately without your contributions.

[B.]

This "rule" was stated at almost all known induction ceremonies and as a "reminder" in other documented meetings aside from this, so I am sure Castellano said it given that the informant was in attendance at the meeting and reported only the most relevant facts of the meeting(s).

The prostitution rule seems to have been much more closely followed over the years than the narcotics rule. There aren't that many instances of Cosa Nostra members being involved in prostitution and it was one of the original complaints that members had about Camorristi and mainlanders joining the organization, including Al Capone, as many of them had been extensively involved in prostitution.

And you're most definitely welcome... I have a lot more good stuff to post as time allows.

[Lupara]

This "rule" was stated at almost all known induction ceremonies and as a "reminder" in other documented meetings aside from this, so I am sure Castellano said it given that the informant was in attendance at the meeting and reported only the most relevant facts of the meeting(s).

Don't get me wrong, I'm not questioning it. I'm just in awe of the hypocrisy given that the Gambinos at the time may have even been the most pre-eminent in these rackets.

Edit: perhaps I'm confusing prostitution with pornography. But I'm pretty sure the Gambinos were involved in prostitution in recent years. With many of these guys being rapists and some marrying their own cousins, I don't see why prostitution would be such an infamia to them...

[Eline2015]

I read that Gambino was allowed Zingaro a consigliere rank in early 60s, but he refused. And again. I don’t know anything about this Zingaro, except that he possibly run a former gambino crew (massotto, castellano, gambino’s brothers). So he was a really respectful guy

[Wiseguy]

This "rule" was stated at almost all known induction ceremonies and as a "reminder" in other documented meetings aside from this, so I am sure Castellano said it given that the informant was in attendance at the meeting and reported only the most relevant facts of the meeting(s).

Don't get me wrong, I'm not questioning it. I'm just in awe of the hypocrisy given that the Gambinos at the time may have even been the most pre-eminent in these rackets.

Edit: perhaps I'm confusing prostitution with pornography. But I'm pretty sure the Gambinos were involved in prostitution in recent years. With many of these guys being rapists and some marrying their own cousins, I don't see why prostitution would be such an infamia to them...

Yeah, it was mainly pornography at the time. And you're right about there being prostitution cases connected to the Gambinos in recent years, i.e. the Marino crew, Michael Rizzi, etc. It seems the Gambinos have been most heavily involved in the sex trade (including strip clubs) years now.

[B.]

One thing that stood out to me in reading reports from this era is that while there were definitely different factions in the family who had their own interests in mind, the top leaders seem to have gotten along fairly well. This looks to have continued through Dellacroce's death given that Dellacroce himself protested the idea of moving against Castellano in the mid-1980s.

You had Castellano in charge of what the informant called the "Brooklyn faction", which included the Sicilian element and no doubt some other captains outside of Brooklyn, then the Dellacroce faction which was considered particularly dangerous, and it seems Joe N. Gallo had his own faction given that a group had pushed for him to be boss before Carlo Gambino was even dead and he operated from a powerbase independent from Castellano and Dellacroce. All three of these men worked together well from the sound of it, with Gallo more or less acting as street boss during the last year of Gambino's life with Castellano's approval. After Gambino's death, Gallo and Castellano were open to the idea of Dellacroce becoming the new boss and the family waited for Dellacroce's release from prison to finalize the official vote for the new boss once it became clear that Castellano had the majority support.

I'd be curious if this December 1976 meeting was the one described by Dominick Montiglio. It was held in a Brooklyn residence and it appears to have been the first and only boss election meeting attended by Dellacroce after his release from prison, where the vote was confirmed for the new administration under Castellano and the structure was set moving forward. All of these details match Montiglio's description, so whether he lied or not about his role as the "sniper in the attic", he did describe this meeting exactly as it seems to have happened.

[The Greek]

One thing that stood out to me in reading reports from this era is that while there were definitely different factions in the family who had their own interests in mind, the top leaders seem to have gotten along fairly well. This looks to have continued through Dellacroce's death given that Dellacroce himself protested the idea of moving against Castellano in the mid-1980s.

You had Castellano in charge of what the informant called the "Brooklyn faction", which included the Sicilian element and no doubt some other captains outside of Brooklyn, then the Dellacroce faction which was considered particularly dangerous, and it seems Joe N. Gallo had his own faction given that a group had pushed for him to be boss before Carlo Gambino was even dead and he operated from a powerbase independent from Castellano and Dellacroce. All three of these men worked together well from the sound of it, with Gallo more or less acting as street boss during the last year of Gambino's life with Castellano's approval. After Gambino's death, Gallo and Castellano were open to the idea of Dellacroce becoming the new boss and the family waited for Dellacroce's release from prison to finalize the official vote for the new boss once it became clear that Castellano had the majority support.

I'd be curious if this December 1976 meeting was the one described by Dominick Montiglio. It was held in a Brooklyn residence and it appears to have been the first and only boss election meeting attended by Dellacroce after his release from prison, where the vote was confirmed for the new administration under Castellano and the structure was set moving forward. All of these details match Montiglio's description, so whether he lied or not about his role as the "sniper in the attic", he did describe this meeting exactly as it seems to have happened.

Would this mean that one of the redacted name is Nino Gaggi?

[B.]

He could very well be one of the redacted names but if not, he still could have attended and was simply overlooked when the informant listed names. There were many more captains in the family than appear on the listed attendees of these meetings so either some captains were represented by other captains and/or simply didn't attend, or the informant's list of attendees wasn't comprehensive.

[Lupara]

Seems like Montiglio dramatized this event by claiming he, Gaggi and perhaps a few others were loaded and anticipating for things to turn ugly. When in the history of the mob did such a high-level meeting actually turn into a cowboy shootout? Only in movies afaik.

[don-shunter]

I wonder why Neil dellacroce never became boss if you go with what this informant claimed that Castellano and Gallo were prepared to let Neil become boss? Something must have happened between October 76 and November 76 to change castellanos mind and make him want the job and for Neil to let him take it unopposed.

[CabriniGreen]

Terry Zappi is Ettore Zappi? Or no?

[CabriniGreen]

Also, that's the same Connecticut Piccolo Castellano had killed, right?