Photo: Youtube
Meet this Mafia family from Netflix's new series.
By Nicole Pomarico — Written on Jul 27, 2020
Fans of organized crime and all things Mafia are going to love Netflix's latest documentary series, Fear City: The Mafia vs. New York. Now available on the streaming service, Fear City focuses on the five major crime families in New York, and that includes the Gambino family, whose activity goes all the way back to 1910.
But for those unfamiliar with the Five Families (or the Mafia in general) may be new to these crime groups, and there's a lot to catch up on.
Who is Gambino mafia family from From Netflix's Fear City: New York vs. The Mafia?'
The Gambino family is named for former boss Carlo Gambino.
Though the Gambino family has had several different bosses over the years, they've been named after one of the most successful — not just in terms of their group, but in general: Carlo Gambino, who's pictured in the above photo. Carlo Gambino not only increased the amount of money the mob group was pulling in, but he also managed to keep a low enough profile that he made it to his death in 1976 without ever ending up in jail — or killed — which is a serious feat for someone that heavily involved in organized crime.
John J. Gotti was a part of the Gambino family.
One of the most famous mobsters of all time was John Gotti (whose family inspired all kinds of reality shows, like Growing Up Gotti), and he was the boss of the Gambino family from 1985 until 1992, when he was imprisoned after being convicted of murdering the former boss, Paul Castellanos. From there, his role was passed down to his son, also named John, and then John's brother, Peter, took over when John went to prison. Eventually, Peter Gotti ended up in prison himself after being convicted of crimes including federal racketeering, and he's still there today.
Those involved In the Gambino mafia family have committed and been accused of serious crimes.
Most of the bosses of the Gambino family have ended up in prison, and for good reason. Aside from Peter Gotti's imprisonment for racketeering, the Gambinos have been accused and/or convicted of many serious crimes, including extortion, gambling, money laundering, prostitution, hijacking, murdering, and drug trafficking.
The head of the Gambino family was killed last year.
In March 2019, the current boss of the Gambino family at the time, Frank Cali, was gunned down outside of his home in Staten Island at 53 years old. Later, 24-year-old Anthony Comello was charged with his murder, saying that it was because Cali didn't want him to date his niece — not quite what police expected at the time, since many assumed his death would have something to do with his ties to the Mafia.
Lorenzo Mannino may be the new boss of the Gambino family.
After Cali's death, Mannino is thought to have become his successor, after being known as a "powerful figure" in the group, even while Cali was still the head of the Gambino family. In the '90s, Mannino served out 10 years of a 15-year sentence for drug trafficking and conspiracy to commit murder through his work with the family.
The Gambino family is likely still active today.
Authorities believe the Gambino family is still active in crime now. In December, 11 people thought to be members of the Gambino family were arrested for threatening people who owed them money with violent force, including one $100,000 debt. It seems like we'll continue hearing about them from years to come, especially in documentary series like Netflix's latest.
Nicole Pomarico is an entertainment and lifestyle writer whose work has appeared in Cosmo, Us Weekly, Refinery29, and more.