The Mafia Files: Episode 6 Paul Castellano
Mob boss
Paul Castellano aka
Big Paul was a notorious
Mafia leader known for being ruthless. He was the head of the
Gambino crime family, la
Cosa Nostra's largest
American family at the time. Here's a peek into the
Mafioso's life.
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He was known as “The
Howard Hughes of the Mob” & ran
America's largest Cosa Nostra family during his reign. His name was Paul Castellano & he left behind a bloody legacy within the world of the mafia.
June 26th,
1915: Constantino Paul Castellano is born in
Brooklyn, New York to Concetta &
Giuseppe Castellano. His father worked as a butcher & member of the
Mangano crime family, which was the forerunner to the
Gambino family. Paul dropped out of school in the eighth grade to learn more from his father, which included butchering & collecting numbers game receipts.
Growing up, Paul did not have a bad temper like most other children-turned-mob bosses & he was able to keep a relatively low profile. But being exposed to the criminal underworld at such a young age meant it wouldn't take long for him to serve some time. In July of 1934,
Castellano was arrested for the first time in
Hartford, Connecticut for robbing a haberdasher & stealing a car. He spent three months in federal prison but never revealed the names of his two friends that were also involved. This paid off as his refusal to cooperate with police helped enhance his reputation for his eventual return to the mean streets of
Brooklyn.
In
1937, Castellano married
Nina Manno, the sister-in-law of mafia "Don to be"
Carlo Gambino. He would spend the next several years heavily involved in gambling & bootlegging but nevertheless, still managed to maintain a low profile. It wasn't until the
1940s that Castellano became a “made man,” in what was then known as the Mangano family. But to further explain his rise through the ranks, we must take a closer look at the history of the Mangano/Gambino family.
The Mangano family was founded in the early
1930s by
Vincent Mangano. Along with the Mangano family,
Vincent also established the
City Democratic Club to ostensibly promote
American values. But the
Club, in reality, was as a coverup for
Murder, Inc.—a notorious band of
Jewish hitmen who performed nationwide contract murders for
La Cosa Nostra.
Murder Inc.'s operating head was Mangano family underboss
Albert Anastasia, also known as "
Lord High Executioner".
Anastasia & Mangano worked closely together but were usually arguing. This hit a boiling
point when Anastasia was convinced Mangano wanted to have him killed. He's therefore believed by many to have launched a preemptive strike. So on
April 19th, 1951, Vincent Mangano's brother,
Philip, was found dead while Vincent disappeared without a trace. He was never found but is presumed to have died that same day.
Albert Anastasia was called upon to face the
Commission, where he refused to accept guilt for the Mangano murders. Anastasia had already taken it upon himself to run the family in Vincent's absence.
The Commission was, in fact, intimidated by Anastasia, who gathered support from several other families, the most notable of which includes the
Luciano family. The Commission eventually accepted Anastasia's ascension as boss to what was now renamed the Anastasia crime family.
It was at this same time that Carlo Gambino became underboss of the family and right behind him, Paul Castellano. Castellano & Gambino had grown very close because of Castellano's marriage to Gambino's sister-in-law. As the new boss, Anastasia was ruthless. He had too many enemies & did not realize the importance of turning these enemies into friends. Thus, Carlo Gambino began eyeing the leadership right off bat & was just waiting for the right moment.
His wait was not long as Anastasia quickly butt heads with
Meyer Lansky, who had proven over & over again that despite not being a made man, he was the one guy you didn't want to butt heads with. Lanksy, therefore offered Gambino the position of boss in return for killing Anastasia.
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