Gambino Crime Family Set to Name New Godfather

By Murray Weiss
June 25, 2013



NEW YORK CITY — The Gambino crime family is set to name Francesco "Franky Boy" Cali as its new godfather.

Cali — a native New Yorker who traces his roots firmly to Sicily — is to be secretly anointed as the next head of the nation’s largest La Cosa Nostra organization, sources told DNAinfo New York.

The sources say Cali’s ascent from underboss is imminent and will put him in complete control of the 750-member Mafia family that was once ruled by the likes of John “The Dapper Don” Gotti and the group's infamous namesake, Carlo Gambino.

A top New York City law enforcement source said the Gambino capos continue to look up to Cali because of his old-school approach to running a massive crime family, his adherence to traditional Mafia values, personal family ties that stretch across the Atlantic to Italy and his insistence that members maintain a low profile.

The latter continues a break with the flashy, headline-grabbing era marked by Gotti, whose visage once graced the cover of Time magazine. Gotti died of throat cancer in prison in 2002.

Sources say the current boss, Domenico "Greaseball" Cefalu, 76, is a native Sicilian with a long history of heroin smuggling and several stints in prison. He is stepping aside to allow his younger protege to take the reins of the family's lucrative gambling, loansharking and construction rackets.

Cali got his start in the mob by running a fruit store on 18th Avenue in Brooklyn called Arcobaleno, which means "rainbow" in Italian. The feds say it doubled as a front for criminal activities.

His parents immigrated to Brooklyn from Palermo, Italy. He eventually married into mob royalty when he wed the daughter of one of the Inzerillos, who are known as one of the Mafia powerhouses in Italy.

He is also a nephew of John and Joseph Gambino, who are influential hoods connected to the famous “Pizza Connection” drug trafficking case of the 1980s.

Cali made his bones under the Gottis while operating in Manhattan, Brooklyn and New Jersey.

According to the FBI, he officially became the Gambino "ambassador to the Sicilian Mafia" and a rising star when Gotti and Salvatore "Sammy Bull" Gravano roamed the city, ruling rackets and murdering dozens of people.

In 2008, Cali and scores of other hoods were arrested in a massive drug and racketeering investigation dubbed "Operation Old Bridge" that centered on extortion of a Staten Island trucking executive who became an FBI wire-wearing informant.

The case also involved planned NASCAR races on the island. Cali pleaded guilty to racketeering charges and spent a year in jail.

“The Gambinos like Cali because of his low-key profile and old-school values,” a law enforcement source said. “The family wants to keep things that way."

Over the past several decades, and thanks to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act, the feds have severely reduced the influence of the Gambinos and the other four crime families over the past decade, breaking their grip on the billion-dollar labor union and construction industries.

But the mob has remained strong in traditional money-making operations involving gambling, loansharking and prostitution, law enforcement authorities say.

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130625/new-york-city/gambino-crime-family-set-name-new-godfather

Cali — a native New Yorker who traces his roots firmly to Sicily — is to be secretly anointed as the next head of the nation’s largest La Cosa Nostra organization, sources told DNAinfo New York


yea realllll secret

Cali is too young to be what a real traditional Sicilian Godfather is. mid 50's is prime

If this is really true it's unbelievable how quick he got to the top spot without taking out the boss.

Seems like the other factions of the family like this guy too.

Again if true where does Cefalu end up? Retired? Consig?

But is the site that posted this reliable? It's former NY Post reporter Murray Weiss thats saying this. The Post was never the most reliable source of info.

Guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Omerta my ass u have a dry snitch in the upper ranks, so whats gonna be dom's new position?

You very well could be right about that Big Fella.

I was wondering about Dom too. Possible retired or/and consig?

At 76 years old, and after spending some years in prison, if I were Dom, I would take my money to So FLA and work on my golf swing and my tan. Work sucks.

At 76 years old, and after spending some years in prison, if I were Dom, I would take my money to So FLA and work on my golf swing and my tan. Work sucks. ooops sorry for the double

For one thing, the article got Cefalu's age wrong. He is 66.
http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderSer...amp;x=0&y=0

First of all, it makes since cali is the gf, if nobody stopped his rapid climb to ub, who in the world gonna stop him from being gf, half of the family don't want to go to war with this guy and the other half is glad he's willing to take the heat, these days u can be a capo with just as much power as the gf, my only input is he should have let dom keep the title and worked behind the scenes

I agree that the front boss thing would have been a good idea. Maybe Dom has enough juice to say "I ain't gonna be no lightnin' rod for nobody. I'm gonna make bread in my bakery." Or whatever the fuck he 'does' for as living.

I wonder if dom willingly relingished his tittle or was he forced out, not to manny sitting bosses just quit being the boss especially when they havent held that spot for very long, theres something more to this story, I call bullshit!!!

I wonder where the figure "750-member Mafia family" came from. They have about 150 made men, several thousand associates depending on how you define associate.

Why didn't Capeci report this first? My guess it is complete bullshit and/or someone in the gambino family is trying to send out mixed signals on the leadership.

Hope this story is not true,too young to be boss and have he been underboss for a year yet?

Too young to be boss? I think that argument is nonsensical. If a guy has a good head on his shoulders and knows what's what, why not? Look at Lucky Luciano. He had enough foresight to end a war between two men who were very much his senior, realize the benefit to eliminating the capo-di-cappi-tutti and establish an administrative body . . . all by the time he was 34.

It also involves passing up innumerable old timers that probably have far better credentials, service time (either in the rackets or being stand up) and probably connections.

I guess it could be a compromise candidate, considering there seems to be deep rifs in the gambino family.

No disrespect Nicky we go back aways but how the fuck do you know about how many guys the gambinos have being from where we come from?

They are kinda consensus figures from all the usual suspects- but I think we all know it is not a 750 made men family. It shows how out of touch the author of the article is with the actual subject matter, the mafia. He probably doesnt even know what La Cosa Nostra means. Probably thinks it means "italian hoods".

Oh I agree. But you said 150. I dont think I have ever heard a number that low. Again, I meant no disrespect; you and I both know you could school anybody on this board on the current status of the city that Ditka built if you wanted.

I think the 750 number is made men and active connected guys and doesn't include guys the Gambinos just do business with. That's just my guess, though.

That's just one confusing thing about the article. It says the Gambinos are the largest La Cosa Nostra organization, but everyone knows that it's the Genoveses. Maybe just trying to make the story more interesting? As Vinny pointed out, they go Dom's age wrong. And why would Dom be elected boss only to give up the power 2 years later?

Even lower level guys can know about changes in leadership. Or it could just be info picked up on wiretaps.

Hard to take an author serious when his membership info is so off and his certainty that the Gambino are the top family.

From an accuracy perspective this article is terrible .

Basic Errors in the article:
1) Dom's age
2) amount of members in the gambino clan
3) the fact the genovese family is both bigger and more powerful than the gambino clan despite the article saying otherwise.


I'm sure there are more but I'm too lazy to go through it.

What are these deep divides you are talking about within the Gambinos? I do not believe that Family is truly divided any longer. The Gotti guys have lost all power. The former Gambino/Castellano supporters are the ones in charge now. I am sure Danny Marino will welcome Cali as boss when he gets out. Giovanni Gambino and Cefalu clearly would support this decision. Who care what Jackie Nose or the remnants of the Gotti supporters want.

its weird the daily news the day before marzulli drops a article the bonanno's pick new godfather and then the next day we gets this from some fn site. this guy cefulo was picked less then 2 yrs got off of supervised release 6 months ago and all ready is gonna step aside yaeh right. he's not gonna enjoy the fruits of his labor, why round the capo and ask to be boss for this. bs.guys only 66 if this had said he's got cancer and was on his death bed but im not buying my sources said. plus I think it be big news. maybe the family are trying to get back to boss under and consign maybe they got a new consig.

Most of the Gambino/Castellano guys have died, reitred or are near retirement. The Sicilians seem to be in charge now. And there are still some Gotti guys out there with power like the Corozzos and Tommy Sneakers.

The Sicilians are Don Carlo's people. He brought them here and is related to them by blood. Marino has more sway than JoJo Corozzo who was even considered to be a joke by Gotti himself. Marino will also be out far sooner than Little Nicky. I'll give you Sneakers, but come on.

Joseph corozzo 2ill be out in 2 yrs, it will be very interesting

Good point about the Sicilains being Carlo's guys. Didn't think about that. Despite Jo Jo's rep, he is still a major player. Cefalu can also be considered a Gotti guy. Megale was made during Castellano's time, but worked closely with Gotti, so I don't know what he'd be considered. And there's Squitieri whose a Gotti guy but might be retired.

That what I was about to say- and I doubt the Sicilian guys are all on the same page as the old gotti/americanized faction that includes quite a few capos.