Hey guys, maybe i'm in the minority on this but i think Neil Dellacroce was overrated from the standpoint that many people believe that "he should have been boss" but it is overblown that the Majority of the Gambinos wanted O'nell. There is also a belief that Neil would've went to war against Carlo after Anastasia got clipped.

with all due respect i disagree. i am a fan of Dellacroce. He was a true gangster, shylock/strong-arm. A Murder Inc/Anastasia disciple. But never the Boss of the Gambinos.

Don Carlo made the right choice, if you consider that Castellano was his cousin. Big Paul was a wealthy and business smart man. Didn't have Neil's legal troubles and had a strong following in the Family (not necessarily, loyalist but the familial ties and the people attached to his businesses) and Carlo didn't know Castellano was screwing his maid.

After the Anastasia hit, Gambino whacked out Armand Rava, John Robilotto and James Squillante but Dellacroce, Tony Anastasia and others were left. It was no need to go after the rest. By the time you get to 76', it probably not many people who were from Anastasia camp and the guys who respected Neil, weren't going against Carlo/Paul.
plus you have to take in too account, how many guys choose to sit on the fence/play the middle during Family wars.... I just don't see a realistic path were Nell would've been boss IMO
most of the reverence for Dellacroce is because Gotti thought so highly of him.

Neil Dellacroce was well respected no doubt but if you look at his career as a whole he made a lot of mistakes. I honestly don’t think he would have made a great boss. Like I said he was well respected as a street guy but was constantly under indictment and surveillance. He also didn’t know anything about labor rackets or white collar rackets. His biggest mistake was obviously helping Gotti rise through the ranks. I mean to a smaller extent Carmine Fatico but it was mostly Neil

Dellacroce is a Little Italy guy and it was he who bought the Ravenite. I assume the Gambino presence in Little Italy during the Gotti era was due to him.

This thread is blasphemous

I think he would have been Ok(not great) as boss but the only way he would've got it was by pulling a coup on Castellano. The second question would be, who on the Commission would have backed Neil against Paul?

That's it in a nutshell. And, he was in prison for tax evasion when Carlo died. Carlo and Castellano avoided prison by being careful. Tough to run a big family from prison and/or when every law enforcement agency is on your ass.

How the hell do you even decide if a mafia figure is overrated? They're not some athlete whos stats are available. No one knows how much money he brought in or anything. Sure he was under surveillance alot but so was Castellano. Castellanos greed and being out of touch cost the family quite a bit. Would he had been better boss than Paul? No one will ever know.

The Ravenite was owned by Armand Rava. When Rava went missing, Dellacroce took over ownership. The Gambino family had a strong presence in Manhattan long before Rava became a capo.
Early members in Manhattan.
Frank Alberti, Stefano, Joe, Albert Armone, Eduardo Aronica, Vincent Aversa, Joe Biondo, John Busso, Bartolo Castellano, Salvatore Chiri, Vincent Corrao, Salvatore Curto, Calogero Deleo, Calogero DiCarlo, Accursio DiMino first faction boss of the Gambino crime family in Manhattan killed in 1922, Rosario Dongarra, Pietro Fria, Olympio Garafola, Nicola Gentile, Giuseppe Gennaro, Leo Grillo, Calogero Grisafi, Dominic Ida, Joe and Antonio LiCalsi, Phil LiCastri, Marco LiMandri, Vincent LoCicero, Ignazio Mannino, Costantino, Gaetano and Salvatore Masotto, Pasquale Matranga, Giosue Meli, Rosario Mezzasalma, Onofrio Modica, Giuseppe Parlapiano, Nick Patti, John and Michael Pecoraro, John, Joseph, and Salvatore Riccobono, John Salica, John Sciasia, Joe Silesi, Anthony Spallino, Joseph Stassi, Pietro Stincone, Gaetano Trupia, and Anthony Vanella.
Some of these members moved to other boroughs, states, or back to Italy, and there were other members who did business or had operations in Manhattan but lived in another borough, Connecticut or New Jersey. Most of Manhattan Gambino faction can be trace to Agrigento region. There are a number of mysterious mobsters during that time. The Capo before Armand Rava was a former member of the Camorra in Manhattan and a good friend to Vito Genovese and Aniello Parretti. The mobster who setup Salvatore D'Aquila had allegedly operated from Manhattan.
As far as Dellacroce being overrated, why would Gambino go out of his way to save him during the fallout after Albert Anastasia and then appoint him as his underboss? I guess only Carlo Gambino can answer that.

maybe overrated is a bad choice of word but i disagree with some people who believe that Dellacroce actually would've been the Boss.

Agreed. Overrated is the wrong word. Like I’ve always said Neil was one of the more respected mob figures BUT like I mentioned earlier I don’t think he would have been a great boss. He was in jail when Carlo was sick/dying and Paul was being used as acting Boss. Plus Neil knew nothing about the white collar rackets. He was also constantly under surveillance. Specifically in 1979 when the FBI had video surveillance of the Ravenite for months. He was also indicted for murder in that same year along with Tony Plate but was only able to get off when the Bergin crew murdered Plate. Say what you want about Paul but for most of his reign he was able to avoid heat from the govt and make the Gambinos powerful/profitable

In defense of Neil, Carlo break many rules when he took over. One of the reasons for the Appalachian meeting was to acknowledge Carlo as head of Anastasia's Family. It didn't happen then, a later meeting happened between Tommy Luchesse, Joe Bonanno, Jerry Catena and Richie Boiardo (for Genoveses) Carlo Gambino and Armand Rava. (some other members were also present but these were the main players). It was decided that Carlo would be a "temporary" Boss until the full Commission could meet once the heat from Appalachian calmed down. It was also agreed that nobody could get whacked without bringing it to the Commission.
So Carlo made his power moves, and by the 1962/63 meeting that was supposed to happen, Carlo removed all the major threats in the family. With the Valachi hearings, Joe Profaci's death/Colombo wars and beginnings of Joe Bonanno's problems in his family, Nobody could do anything about it.

The criteria for being a boss is being both respected and feared. Thats about it. Financial statements are not part of the calculation.

Not really true. Yes anybody can be boss by being feared/respected but they most likely won’t be as good or last long if they don’t know other rackets besides the basic ones. I mean Gotti is the perfect example if a boss built on the two principles you laid out yet was the guy who destroyed the mob

Yeah but Nobody can deny joe smart Carlo was not only with dealing with the rackets but how he insulated himself and didn’t draw any attention. I mean I understand the govt didn’t have the Resources it does in modern times but still 20 years as the most powerful boss without going to jail it a feat not many can claim. I don’t think Neil had those same qualities that would have made him last long. Say what you want about Paul but it wasn’t until the end when his reign started to crumble and a lot of it stemmed from the activity of the Bergin crew

Carlo gave Paul a multi-million dollar and well organized business. Paul was perfect, on paper, to be the Boss. But Paul didn't necessarily ruin the Family. He maintained and expanded to an extent what Carlo built but he dug his own grave. The greed and ego got to him.

. Yeah I’m not arguing that he was t set up well by a Carlo but I think he deserves some credit too. I agree his greed and the thing he was doing with the maid lost him a lot of respect. But I think we can agree he was much better than the guy who followed him 😂

Gotti, scarfo, amuso, basciano, persico. The bigger the rackets, the more likely to get sent away.
If carlo was around with the technology law enforcement had in the late 80’s, he would have lasted about 5 minutes on the street.
The newer bosses arent involved in a fraction of the money/ rackets that were common in the 70’s and 80’s hence more longevity. Even then, they are still going away. Ask steven crea about that. Being smart gets you an extra year of freedom. Chin did time the day he started that crazy act.

Again not really true. The smarter ones who avoid attention have longer reigns it’s just a fact

Gotti- do I even have to explain? Just an idiot. Making the whole family have to come to the Ravenite was just a gift to the Feds. Other than being a hijacker he didn’t know things like construction and labor rackets. He most likely would have gone down earlier if Sammy hadn’t been able to bribe that juror

Scarfo- similar to Gotti although a little smarter. He at least proved to be an earner in Atlantic City and had the construction company Scarf Inc. his biggest issue was his paranoia and need to violence. He was also in and out of jail for most of his reign



Amuso- lets be honest according to most he was basically just a puppet boss. Casso had a lot of say in what went on. Like Scarfo both Vic and Gas the operated on fear and violence and predictably it didn’t last more than a few years and they were done

I guess maybe Neil didn't pretend to be anything else
Than what he was. He understood what he brought
To family. He knew his limitations.
Now Gotti on the other hand it seemed like always
Had to be the smartest guy in the room.
He was in love with himself.
He didn't like Big Paul cause Big Paul was everything
Gotti wasn't .

. Neil was old school. Paul gave him pretty big power despite being the underboss. He had control of several crews so I honestly don’t think he was bitching about it. Neil’s biggest mistake was helping Gotti rise. As respected as Beil was he wasn’t the brightest guy lol. Between the drug dealing and the gambling addiction Gotti had he was causing a lot of issues that in testrospext would have been better for the family if he was put down

Gotti made way more money than scarfo. I dont know how someone can say scarfo was smarter than gotti, it makes no sense. Scarfo wasnt known for his intellect.
All those old time so called “ smart bosses” had to talk. If law enforcement had the technology they had in the late 80’s there would of been no such thing as a smart boss.

. Sure the Gambino Family made more money but I was talking about individually. Scarfo was successful in Atlantic City before he became a boss. Also I don’t mean this disrespectfully but I’ve notice many of your posts are very pro Gotti. I’m just trying to understand why you think he was such a success when the majority of us would disagree? I mean if you count success as being well known by the media/public sure BUT that does not make a good or even competent mob boss

Scarfo actually infiltrated Unions in Atlantic City. Scarfo knew how to politic in the mob, using his connections to Bobby Manna, to fill the power vaccum after Testa gets blown up. Scarfo was probably more powerful then Angelo Bruno but he killed the Family off.

Gotti was just a charismatic thug. Got respect for the guy doing his time and keeping his mouth shut but he should've never been Boss.

Does anyone have that photoshop picture of Gottis face on Lexington Steele body?

Absolutely. He was a tough guy but basically a thug. He was able to connect with the right people like Fatico and Neil who are responsible for him rising. Let’s be honest the guy wasn’t a good earner other than being a hijacker but even that he wasn’t great at since he got caught and went to jail. He was also a degenerate gambler who pissed away the crew’s profits which in part forced them into the heroin business

In the 80’s, the gambino family was the largest in the US. Philly was a small family.
Years ago an fbi agent was being interviewed and a reporter asked him about Gotti and how he wasnt smart.
The fbi agent turned to the reporter and said “ you dont become boss of the Gambino crime family by being stupid”.

I don't think Dellacroce ever aspired to head the Famliy.

In effect he already was a Boss,having been given absolute authority by Gambino over some very profitable rackets in one of the most lucrative territories in America.

He was one of the last of the old school who took the oath seriously. He would never attempted or sanctioned a hit on a sitting Boss.I have no doubt that if Gotti would have made a move on Paul, Neil would have taken him out personally.

To take it further,if Paul would have moved quicker and gave Neil the contract on Gotti, he would do it in a heartbeat.Neil managed to stall Paul over the Ruggiero tapes,and maybe he knew he was dying and figured that after he was gone,Gotti could do what he wanted. Paul's mistake was not having the stones to tell Angelo,"I want the tapes,you have 24 hrs". If it was Carlo,that whole tape nonsense would not have occurred.

Who said Philly was ever more powerful/ profitable than Gambinos. I never said that. In fact I said the Gambinos was more powerful but it had nothing to do with Gotti. I said Scarfo on his own was a better earner than Gotti was on his own which is a fact. You act like a Gotti pulled off the Castellano hit on his own. The fact was that the only reason is succeeded was because he begged for help from a very respected Gambino member Frankie Decicco and Sammy Gravano. He was an awful boss. I know you are obviously a big fan of him but you can’t say with a straight face he was a good boss.

of course, any NY Family is bigger/stronger than Philly every was. and I don't think anyone here would want either as Boss lol. But at least Scarfo could take over union locals and have some front business (Scarf inc) set up, Gotti was just a hijacker/gambler (i mean before both were boss.) Gotti was street smart but we can't even say that when you make your caporegime come to a central location on a weekly basis. some of those guys were probably low on the radar brought to the spotlight by their smart Boss... It's amazing he didn't get whacked.

Good Post. From all the studying I’ve done on Neil I never got the sense that he was obsessed with being boss. I mean he would have done it but he seemed fine being the underboss especially given the fact that Paul gave him exclusive control over a number of crews. Paul made a lot of mistakes no doubt but Paul fit the mold of what Carlo wanted. Say what you want about Paul but he had a long mostly successful reign until the end where he made errors in judgment