Information on certain figures named in an FBI membership list of the Gambino Family from early November 1984.
The majority of the list is similar to those presented in the Senate Hearings from 1983 and 1988.
A total of 181 members and 83 'unverified' members are listed.
The majority of the list is similar to those presented in the Senate Hearings from 1983 and 1988.
A total of 181 members and 83 'unverified' members are listed.
Members
1. Michael Caiazzo Jr.
The son of Michael 'Mike Tali' Caiazzo (1912-1994), who is included in the 1984 list as a Captain, Caiazzo Jr. was born September 1940 in Manhattan.
His father, a native of Angri comune of Salerno, Campania, took over Aniello 'Neil' Dellacroce's crew after Dellacroce was made the Family's official Underboss in the late 1960s. The pair's relationship went back at least to the late 1930s, when Dellacroce witnessed the elder Caiazzo's marriage to Adelina Stefanelli.
In June 1985 Caiazzo Sr. was demoted and shelved after appointing an Acting Captain without first consulting the ailing Dellacroce, who died a few months later.
2. Angelo Frank Calanna (1927-1986)
Born May 1927 in Brooklyn to a family probably from Gallina, Reggio Calabria, Calanna was a nephew of Gambino Member Dominick 'Mimi London' Lagana (1903-1977).
Grew up in South Brooklyn and worked for Dorothy & Lynn ship rigging company as a young man before opening a restaurant at 303 Court St in the Cobble Hill neighborhood.
In 1973 among several indicted and subsequently acquitted on charges relating to fixed horse races.
Codefendants included Bruno Facciolo and Peter 'Rugsy' Vario, Lucchese Associates who were both inducted into that Family in the late 1970s. (Rugsy was the son of Lucchese Captain Paul Vario.)
Calanna was himself likely made into the Gambino Family around the same time.
Shortly before Dominick Lagana's death in March 1977, an FBI informant reported that Calanna 'runs the gambling business for his uncle' from his restaurant.
Died March 25, 1986 in Broward, Florida and waked at Raccuglia Funeral Home in South Brooklyn's Carroll Gardens neighborhood.
3. Louis 'Gene' Rucci (1921-2010)
Born June 1921 to a father from Vasto comune of Chieti, Abruzzo, Rucci grew up in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.
In October 1948 he married the daughter of Constantino Castellano (1900-1968), a Palermo-born Gambino Member and uncle of the Family's Future Boss 'Big Paul' Castellano (1915-1985).
Caught up in a mid-1970s loansharking-perjury case, Rucci pleaded guilty and was sentenced in early 1976 to three years NYS imprisonment. He is also believed to have additionally served Federal time; his Bureau of Prisons entry notes a August 29, 1980 release date.
Died in August 2010.
'Unverified' Members
The large majority of the unverified section consists of names taken from an NYPD list that was shown as part of the Senate Hearings in 1983.
A few notable exceptions are the following, all of whom were likely included in this category after being named by only one FBI source. (By this time the Bureau typically required identification from at least two verifiable sources before labeling an individual a made member.)
1. Carmello Richard 'Bass' Basciano (1925-2017)
Born in Baltimore to a father from Castel Frentano in Chieti, Abruzzo, by the early 1980s Basciano resided in New York and was affiliated with Show World, an x-rated business headquartered on 42nd St in Times Square.
Others involved in the business were Gambino Soldier Robert 'D.B.' DiBernardo and Gus Kalevas, an Associate of the Gambino Family's DeMeo crew; at least one DeMeo victim was actually killed and dismembered in Show World's eleventh-floor office in 1981.
Kalevas was among those indicted in the DeMeo crew case of the 1980s. He pleaded guilty and, following his release in May 1988, was convicted on unrelated heroin charges and incarcerated until 1995.
Within a few years Basciano sold the Times Square property for approximately $14 million.
He died May 2017 in New York.
2. John Bianco
No date of birth or other identifying details provided for this entry.
Possibly related to the John Bianco affiliated with B & B Jewelers in Manhattan's Diamond District, who was described in the 1960s as an associate of Gambino Soldier John Rizzo (1919-1988).
3. Frank Busteriano
No date of birth or other identifying details provided for this entry.
4. Filippo Casamento (1926-2016)
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| F. Casamento Gang Land News |
A member of the Sicilian Mafia, Casamento possibly transferred to the Gambino Family by the mid-1980s, when he was convicted in the Pizza Connection case and given thirty years.
Deported after serving approximately two-thirds of the sentence, Casamento was convicted in 2008 for sneaking back into the country and sentenced to ten months imprisonment and fourteen months home arrest, after which he was again deported.
Died January 2016 in Palermo.
4. George DeCicco (1929-2014)
Deported after serving approximately two-thirds of the sentence, Casamento was convicted in 2008 for sneaking back into the country and sentenced to ten months imprisonment and fourteen months home arrest, after which he was again deported.
Died January 2016 in Palermo.
4. George DeCicco (1929-2014)
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| G. DeCicco |
Confirmed member who succeeded his nephew Frank DeCicco (1935-1986) as Captain in early 1986 and held the position for the next two decades.
Full bio here.
5. Paul 'Legs' DiCocco (1924-1989)
Full bio here.
5. Paul 'Legs' DiCocco (1924-1989)
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| P. DiCocco |
Born June 1924 in Schenectady, New York to a family from Fontechiari comune of Frosinone, Lazio, DiCocco was a made member of the Bonanno Family and was identified as such in an FBI report from August 1982.
He died July 1989 in Phoenix, Arizona; his name was subsequently included in the deceased column of a Bonanno induction list about two years later, a copy of which was seized in a 1997 law enforcement search. (See here for the breakdown of another list recovered at the same time, this one for the Genovese Family.)
6. Michele 'Mike' Lanza (1916-1992)
Born February 16 in New York to a father from Ottaviano, Naples and a mother from Guardiagrele in Chieti, Abruzzo, by the 1960s Mike owned Lanza's Restaurant located on First Ave in Manhattan's East Village.
He died July 1989 in Phoenix, Arizona; his name was subsequently included in the deceased column of a Bonanno induction list about two years later, a copy of which was seized in a 1997 law enforcement search. (See here for the breakdown of another list recovered at the same time, this one for the Genovese Family.)
6. Michele 'Mike' Lanza (1916-1992)
Born February 16 in New York to a father from Ottaviano, Naples and a mother from Guardiagrele in Chieti, Abruzzo, by the 1960s Mike owned Lanza's Restaurant located on First Ave in Manhattan's East Village.
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| J. Armone (M) outside Lanza's with crew member Thomas Agro (L) and Associate Paul Principe (Feb. 28, 1981) |
The location was a hangout for members of the Gambino Family crew headed by Captain Charles Dongarra (1896-1973) and later by Dongarra's successor Joseph 'Piney' Armone (1917-1992). In 1979 one informant noted that Armone could be contacted at the restaurant daily.
Lanza died May 1992.
7. Anthony 'Shorty' Mascuzzio (1944-1987)
Lanza died May 1992.
7. Anthony 'Shorty' Mascuzzio (1944-1987)
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| A. Mascuzzio (L) with Gambino Soldier Robert DiBernardo in South Brooklyn (1980s) |
Born November 1944, Mascuzzio came up in South Brooklyn and was affiliated with Gambino Underboss Aniello Dellacroce by the mid-to-late 1970s.
A couple of months before his inclusion in this list, Mascuzzio was indicted in Brooklyn for attempting to extort a shop owner at gunpoint and assaulting both the owner and others inside the store.
In June 1985 surveilled at Dellacroce's residence in Concord, Staten Island.
By 1987 Mascuzzio, now a confirmed member, operated a social club at Court and Sackett Sts in Carroll Gardens. An informant described the location as being frequented by individuals involved in gambling and loansharking, as well as 'dealing some cocaine at or near the club'. He also held a financial interest in Montana's discotheque in Hewlett, Long Island.
In July 1988 shot to death in the basement of a Midtown Manhattan club owned by David Fisher, who confessed to firing the shots and claimed he was being extorted by Mascuzzio.
8. Antonino Napoli (1926-2012)
Born October 1926 in Palermo, Napoli is believed to have been a member of the Gambino Family by the late 1970s.
Possibly reported to Captain John Gambino in the mid-to-late 1980s.
Died November 2002.
A couple of months before his inclusion in this list, Mascuzzio was indicted in Brooklyn for attempting to extort a shop owner at gunpoint and assaulting both the owner and others inside the store.
In June 1985 surveilled at Dellacroce's residence in Concord, Staten Island.
By 1987 Mascuzzio, now a confirmed member, operated a social club at Court and Sackett Sts in Carroll Gardens. An informant described the location as being frequented by individuals involved in gambling and loansharking, as well as 'dealing some cocaine at or near the club'. He also held a financial interest in Montana's discotheque in Hewlett, Long Island.
In July 1988 shot to death in the basement of a Midtown Manhattan club owned by David Fisher, who confessed to firing the shots and claimed he was being extorted by Mascuzzio.
8. Antonino Napoli (1926-2012)
Born October 1926 in Palermo, Napoli is believed to have been a member of the Gambino Family by the late 1970s.
Possibly reported to Captain John Gambino in the mid-to-late 1980s.
Died November 2002.
