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The Gambino Crime Family

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The Gambino Crime Family

Organized Crime CJA/393

William Nelson Barnes

May 30, 2008

The Gambino Crime Family Criminal groups exist everywhere. However what defines each organized crime group depends upon what ultimate goal each group looks to achieve. In New York City, there has been organized crime in existence since the 1900’s. Although changing names, and rulers throughout the years, this group has always been known as the mafia. Predominantly, it has been known as the Italian mafia. Italian mafia just like it’s counterparts in the Irish and Jewish mafia underwent structural, social, and physical changes in order for it to reach its current status. Many people believe it has existed as long as it has due to the ingenious …show more content…

Capos are usually in charge of different sections of the family. The sections are defined by the geographies of the family or by the specialized racket the capo normally operates. A racket is “a fraudulent scheme, enterprise, or activity” (Webster, 2007). Gambino employed Lucky Luciano and Frank Costello as his capos. Following suit are the “soldiers” (Grabianowski, 2007) of the family. The soldiers are the ones who do the dirty work for the family. They hold little power and make very little money. Names such as John Gotti, Sammy Gravano, and Angelo Ruggierio all fell into the ranks of soldiers before they made into capos. In continuing the line of command, the next group of gangsters is called “associates” (Grabianowski, 2007). An associate is someone who is not actually part of the family, but they actually work with the family on various criminal enterprises. A “consigliere” (Grabianowski, 2007) is someone who is not supposed to be part of the family as well as elected by the family and not appointed by the boss. He acts as an advisor to the under boss and is supposed to make impartial decisions based upon fairness rather than personal feelings or vendettas. However this is not always the reality. A lot of times the consigliere is appointed and is not impartial on decisions. The operations of the Gambino family have become widespread over the years. What once relied heavily upon the docks and ports of New York and

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