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Inside The Rise Of The Gambino Crime Empire!
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Jun 20, 2025
WARNING: This video contains disturbing content. Viewer discretion is strongly advised. The untold story of America's most FEARED crime family. From Murder Inc. to the fall of the Teflon Don, discover how the Gambinos turned NYC into their personal killing ground. 😱 You won't believe the shocking truth behind the most infamous mob hits that shaped modern America. From Albert Anastasia's barbaric barber shop execution to Paul Castellano's bloody end outside Sparks Steakhouse - we reveal it ALL. Inside The Rise Of The Gambino Crime Empire! 🔥 Want more REAL crime stories? SMASH that like button and hit SUBSCRIBE! Ring that bell to never miss our new uploads! #Mafia #TrueCrime #Gambino #JohnGotti #OrganizedCrime #NYCHistory #Crime #Documentary DISCLAIMER: This content is for educational purposes only. We do not glorify or promote criminal activity. --~-~~-~~~-~~-~--~-~~-~~~-~~-~--~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Like and subscribe will be greatly appreciated! 🙏 -~-~~-~~~-~~-~--~-~~-~~~-~~-~--~-~~-~~~-~~-~- Grow Your YouTube Channel Faster with vidIQ! Want to get more views, subscribers, and take your YouTube game to the next level? I personally use vidIQ to optimize my videos, find the best keywords, analyze trends, and crush the algorithm. Whether you’re just starting out or already growing fast, vidIQ gives you the tools, insights, and strategies you need to stand out.
View Video Transcript
0:00
new York City the city that never sleeps
0:02
right but beneath all that glitz and
0:05
glamour there's always been a dark
0:08
undercurrent
0:09
An underworld ruled by iron fists and
0:13
Tommy guns For decades one name echoed
0:16
louder than all others A name that meant
0:19
ruthless ambition and pure terror
0:22
Gambino But how did they claw their way
0:25
to the top how did they become the most
0:28
feared criminal organization in America
0:31
the answer is as simple as it is brutal
0:34
Murder And not just any murder but a
0:38
relentless strategic campaign of
0:40
bloodshed This is the story of how the
0:44
Gambino family used murder not just as a
0:47
tool but as the very cornerstone of
0:50
their rise to power in New York's
0:53
criminal underworld
0:55
The American Mafia It's a complex story
0:58
isn't it woven with threads of blood
1:01
power and bitter betrayal And right in
1:05
the heart of that story is the Gambino
1:07
Crime Family One of New York City's five
1:10
families that pretty much ran organized
1:12
crime for the best part of a century
1:16
Their tale isn't just about crime It's
1:18
about a dynasty built on a chilling idea
1:22
that violence used smartly was the
1:25
quickest way to get power and keep it
1:28
From the blood soaked docks of early
1:31
20th century Brooklyn to the courtroom
1:33
dramas that screamed from headlines in
1:36
the late 1900s the Gambinos left a
1:40
bloody unforgettable mark on New York
1:43
Their climb to the top was a masterclass
1:46
in brutality A grim dance of bullets and
1:50
betrayal where loyalty was a suggestion
1:53
and life was terrifyingly cheap This is
1:56
the untold story of the Godfathers of
1:59
Gore and how they used murder to rule
2:02
New York City Section 1 the genesis of
2:06
violence early days and the era of
2:09
Anastasia
2:11
The Gambino crime family's roots They
2:14
dig way back to the early 1900s A time
2:18
of massive change and for some
2:20
opportunity in New York's bustling
2:22
immigrant neighborhoods Sicilian
2:24
immigrants chasing the American dream
2:27
also brought over some oldw world
2:29
traditions including the early seeds of
2:32
organized crime Street gangs and small
2:35
factions started to merge and among them
2:38
the group that would eventually carry
2:40
the Gambino name began to form Think
2:43
figures like Salvatoreé Toto Dquila an
2:48
early powerful boss and later Vincent
2:50
Mangano who led the family from the
2:53
1930s until he too met a violent end But
2:57
the real trial by fire The moment that
3:00
stamped the family with its lethal
3:02
reputation came with the rise of one of
3:05
the mafia's most terrifying figures
3:08
Albert Anastasia
3:10
Born Ombberto Anastasio in Italy in 1902
3:14
he landed in New York and quickly found
3:17
his niche in the brutal world of
3:20
organized crime Anastasia was a
3:23
dangerously unpredictable man known for
3:25
his savagery They didn't call him the
3:28
Mad Hatter and even more chillingly the
3:31
Lord High Executioner for nothing
3:34
Anastasia wasn't just another gangster
3:37
He was a key player in one of history's
3:40
most infamous murder machines Murder
3:44
Incorporated
3:45
Operating from the 1920s into the early
3:48
1940s
3:50
Murder Inc was basically the hit squad
3:52
for the National Crime Syndicate a loose
3:55
alliance of Italian and Jewish crime
3:58
groups Initially led by Louisie Lepka
4:01
Bukala and later effectively run by
4:05
Anastasia this outfit was quite
4:08
literally murder for hire on an
4:11
industrial scale We're talking hundreds
4:15
maybe even thousands of contract
4:18
killings across the US Their methods
4:21
anything that worked shootings stabbings
4:24
with ice picks whatever got the job done
4:27
often with brutal efficiency The victims
4:30
were usually fellow mobsters who'd
4:32
stepped out of line skimmed profits or
4:35
were suspected of talking to the cops
4:37
Anastasia's job running Murder Inc
4:40
cemented his power and his fearsome
4:43
image He had an army of killers at his
4:46
beck and call ready to silence anyone
4:49
enforce any rule This period was crucial
4:52
for the family that would become the
4:54
Gambinos
4:55
Even though it wasn't called Gambino yet
4:58
the Mangano family with Anastasia as its
5:01
underboss was neck deep in this culture
5:04
of systematic violence They weren't just
5:07
committing crimes They were learning
5:10
perfecting how to use murder as policy a
5:13
way to wipe out rivals keep discipline
5:16
and grab more turf The lesson was stark
5:21
In the mafia's brutal food chain power
5:24
didn't just come from a gun It was
5:27
carefully grown through fear And fear
5:31
that was Anastasia's specialty He was
5:34
reportedly one of the shooters in the
5:37
1931 assassination of Joe the Boss
5:40
Maseria a huge turning point in the
5:43
Castellamri war that reshaped the
5:46
American mafia Doing that hit ordered by
5:50
Charles Lucky Luchiano showed Anastasia
5:53
would spill anyone's blood to achieve
5:56
his goals Luchiano rewarded Anastasia by
6:00
making him Vincent Mangano's underboss
6:04
The Murder Inc era was a brutal training
6:06
ground It taught these aspiring
6:09
godfathers that no one was safe that
6:12
ambition trumped loyalty and that a
6:15
well- aimed bullet could solve almost
6:17
any problem New York's streets became a
6:21
killing field and Albert Anastasia was
6:25
one of its chief designers He brought a
6:28
level of brutality and efficiency to
6:30
murder that would define the family he'd
6:33
eventually lead A legacy Carlo Gambino
6:36
would later inherit and polish The
6:40
message couldn't have been clearer Cross
6:42
us and you die The seeds of the
6:45
Gambino's bloody reign were planted in
6:48
the blood soaked soil of murder Inc
6:51
Vincent Mangano the family's official
6:53
boss increasingly clashed with
6:56
Anastasia's independent and violent
6:58
streak Then in 1951 Vincent Mangano and
7:03
his brother Philillip just disappeared
7:07
Everyone suspected they were murdered
7:09
and many pointed fingers at Anastasia
7:12
though it was never proven in court With
7:15
the Manganos out of the picture Albert
7:18
Anastasia the Lord High executioner
7:21
himself officially became the boss The
7:24
family was then known as the Anastasia
7:27
crime family The era of unchecked
7:31
terrifying violence had fully arrived
7:33
Section two the bloody ascent and reign
7:36
of terror Carlo Gambino's calculated
7:39
carnage
7:42
Albert Anastasia's time as boss was just
7:45
as fierce as his days leading Murder Inc
7:49
People were terrified of him and for
7:51
good reason But fear as they say is a
7:55
double-edged sword It keeps people in
7:57
line sure but it also breeds resentment
8:01
and ambition in those lurking in the
8:03
shadows One of those men was Carlo
8:07
Gambino Born in Palmo Sicily in 1902
8:12
Carlo Gambino snuck into the United
8:15
States as a stowaway in 1921 and quickly
8:19
dove into Brooklyn's growing Italian
8:22
underworld Unlike the flashy and openly
8:26
brutal Anastasia Gambino was a different
8:29
breed He was quiet calculating with a
8:33
mind like a steel trap for crime He
8:37
understood violence was useful but he
8:40
preferred to use it like a surgeon's
8:42
scalpel not a sledgehammer He'd
8:45
patiently climbed the ranks under
8:48
Vincent Mangano and then served as
8:51
Anastasia's underboss learning watching
8:54
and biting his time
8:57
Gambino knew Anastasia's wild behavior
9:00
and love for violence were making him
9:02
enemies not just in his own family but
9:05
among other powerful mafia bosses
9:08
Anastasia's unsanctioned murder of a
9:10
civilian Arnold Schustster who'd ratted
9:13
on bank robber Willie Sutton really
9:15
ticked off other mafia leaders like Veto
9:18
Genevese
9:19
Genevies saw it as drawing way too much
9:22
heat from the public and the law
9:26
Genevese himself a ruthless and
9:28
ambitious boss of what would become the
9:29
Genevese crime family sniffed an
9:32
opportunity to take out a rival and
9:35
boost his own power He found a quiet but
9:38
very willing partner in Carlo Gambino
9:42
The stage was set for one of the most
9:45
notorious mob hits ever On the morning
9:48
of October 25th 1957
9:51
Albert Anastasia was getting his usual
9:55
shave and haircut at the Park Sheran
9:57
Hotel in Manhattan
10:00
Relaxing in the barber's chair face
10:02
wrapped in a hot towel two gunmen faces
10:05
hidden burst in A hail of bullets ripped
10:09
through Anastasia
10:11
The Lord High executioner was dead His
10:14
reign of terror ending in a bloody heap
10:18
While Veto Genevvesi was a key
10:20
instigator it's widely believed Carlo
10:23
Gambino pulled the strings clearing his
10:26
own path to the top With Anastasia gone
10:29
Carlo Gambino grabbed the reigns and the
10:32
family was soon renamed in his honor His
10:36
rise to power signaled a change in style
10:40
but definitely not a softening of the
10:43
family's capacity for strategic violence
10:46
Gambino got it True power wasn't just
10:50
about making people afraid but about
10:52
wielding that fear intelligently He was
10:56
a master manipulator a quiet puppet
10:58
master who liked to operate from the
11:01
shadows His reign lasting nearly two
11:04
decades until his death from natural
11:06
causes in 1976
11:09
saw the Gambino family become arguably
11:12
the most powerful and profitable
11:14
criminal organization in America Under
11:17
Carlo murder was still a vital tool but
11:21
it was often more thought out more
11:23
discreet He used violence to tighten his
11:26
grip on lucrative rackets gambling lone
11:30
sharking hijacking and especially labor
11:34
racketeering with huge control over
11:36
waterfront unions the garment district
11:39
and trucking He got rid of rivals and
11:42
potential threats with cold efficiency
11:45
but usually without the public drama
11:48
Anastasia had loved He understood the
11:51
value of alliances and held a powerful
11:54
spot on the commission the mafia's
11:56
ruling council often acting as the boss
12:00
of bosses
12:01
One example of Gambino's clever use of
12:04
power and violence even if indirectly
12:07
was his supposed role in the Banano War
12:10
of the 1960s
12:12
When Joseph Banano head of the Banano
12:15
crime family plotted to assassinate
12:17
Gambino and other commission members
12:20
Gambino found out The commission with
12:24
Gambino leading the charge acted fast
12:27
forcing Banano into hiding and
12:30
essentially taking him off the board
12:32
This move only made Gambino stronger He
12:36
was also suspected of setting up the
12:38
shooting of Joseph Columbbo head of the
12:41
Columbbo crime family in 1971
12:45
After Columbbo started attracting too
12:48
much public attention with his Italian
12:50
American Civil Rights League rallies
12:53
Columbbo survived but was left
12:55
incapacitated
12:57
Another rival neutralized Carlo
12:59
Gambino's genius was his ability to
13:03
project this image of a traditional
13:05
almost grandfatherly figure while
13:08
secretly running a massive criminal
13:10
empire built on violence and
13:12
intimidation
13:14
He rarely talked to the press and
13:16
somehow managed to avoid serious prison
13:19
time only doing 22 months in 1937-38
13:24
for tax evasion His reign was long and
13:29
for the family incredibly rich He showed
13:33
that murder when used carefully and
13:35
strategically could not only win power
13:38
but keep it for decades The gore became
13:42
less public But the iron fist was still
13:45
there just hidden inside a velvet glove
13:49
As Carlo Gambino's health started to
13:51
fail in the mid 1970s he made a
13:54
controversial choice for his successor
13:57
He bypassed his longtime underboss
13:59
Angelo Decroce a tough old school
14:03
gangster and instead named his
14:05
brother-in-law Paul Castellano to take
14:08
over Castellano was more of a
14:11
businessman focused on white collar
14:14
crimes and trying to steer the family
14:16
towards more legitimate businesses
14:18
Though of course these were still
14:20
propped up by the family's criminal
14:23
muscle This decision planted seeds of
14:26
resentment that would explode into
14:29
spectacular violence a decade later
14:32
Carlo Gambino died of a heart attack in
14:36
his Long Island home on October 15th
14:40
1976
14:41
leaving behind a powerful wealthy and
14:45
increasingly divided family The era of
14:48
calculated quiet was about to give way
14:51
to a storm of open bloodshed
14:55
Section three the Gotti era violence
14:58
unleashed and the price of gore Paul
15:01
Castellano big Paul took over the
15:04
Gambino family in 1976
15:07
inheriting a colossal and powerful
15:10
criminal machine Castellano Carlo
15:13
Gambino's brother-in-law had a different
15:16
vision for the family He wanted to focus
15:19
on sophisticated white collar crime
15:22
things like extortion controlling unions
15:26
and musling into legitimate businesses
15:28
like construction and food distribution
15:31
He wasn't so keen on the grittier street
15:34
level stuff like drug dealing which he
15:37
officially banned though many including
15:40
guys in John Goty's crew ignored him He
15:43
preferred the boardroom to the back
15:45
alley often running things from his
15:48
lavish Staten Island mansion famously
15:50
known as the White House Now Castellano
15:54
wasn't afraid of violence and he could
15:57
certainly greenlight it when he thought
15:59
it was necessary but his leadership
16:01
style created a major split in the
16:04
family Many of the everyday members
16:07
especially the faction loyal to Angelo
16:10
Decroce the underboss who'd been passed
16:13
over felt ignored by Castellano's
16:16
standoffish ways and his apparent
16:18
dislike for the traditional mafia street
16:21
life Delicroce's crew which included a
16:24
charismatic and very ambitious captain
16:28
named John Goty was deep into hijacking
16:31
gambling and importantly drug
16:34
trafficking Something Castellano
16:36
publicly condemned but privately
16:38
tolerated as long as he got his cut The
16:42
tension just simmered for years John
16:46
Goty a product of Queen's tough streets
16:50
was everything Castellano wasn't Flashy
16:54
street smart and openly dismissive of
16:57
Castellano's leadership Goti was a
17:00
throwback to the more openly aggressive
17:03
bosses of the past and he built a loyal
17:06
following among the family's soldiers
17:09
The breaking point came when Angelo
17:12
Decroce died of cancer on December 2nd
17:16
1985
17:18
Castellano
17:19
in a move seen as a massive insult by
17:22
Delro's followers didn't even show up to
17:25
his under boss' wake That plus rumors
17:29
that Castellano was going to break up
17:31
Goty's crew because of their drug
17:33
dealing and maybe even have Goty killed
17:36
pushed Goty to make a move He reportedly
17:39
worried Castellano would use the drug
17:41
charges as an excuse to eliminate him
17:45
Goty with help from other unhappy Kos
17:48
like Frank Dico and Salvatorei Sammy the
17:52
Bull Graano started planning
17:54
Castellano's assassination
17:57
It was an incredibly bold highstakes
18:00
move Killing a mafia boss without the
18:04
commission's okay was a cardinal sin
18:07
punishable by death But Goty always
18:10
audacious decided the prize was worth
18:13
the risk On the evening of December 16th
18:17
1985
18:18
Paul Castellano and his newly appointed
18:21
under boss and bodyguard Thomas Bilotti
18:24
were heading to a dinner meeting at
18:26
Spark Steakhouse in Midtown Manhattan As
18:30
their black Lincoln pulled up and
18:32
Castellano and Bellotti got out a team
18:35
of four assassins wearing identical
18:38
trench coats and Russian fur hats to
18:41
hide their faces opened fire Both
18:44
Castellano and Belotti were gunned down
18:46
in a barrage of bullets Their bodies
18:49
left sprawling on the cold pavement in
18:52
front of the busy restaurant John Goti
18:55
and Sammy Graano supposedly watched the
18:58
whole thing unfold from a car parked
19:01
across the street then drove by the
19:03
scene to make sure their targets were
19:05
dead The Castellano hit sent shock waves
19:08
through the mafia world It was a public
19:11
execution a blatant challenge to the
19:14
established order Within weeks Goti was
19:18
declared the new boss of the Gambino
19:21
crime family His reign marked a dramatic
19:25
return to open violence and a public
19:28
image unlike any mafia boss before him
19:32
The media dubbed him the dapper dawn for
19:36
his expensive suits and charismatic
19:39
almost celebrity-like persona He also
19:42
earned the nickname the Teflon Dawn
19:45
after getting acquitted in a string of
19:48
high-profile trials often thanks to
19:51
witness intimidation and jury tampering
19:54
However Goty's unauthorized hit on
19:57
Castellano didn't just go unnoticed
20:02
Vincent the Chin Gaganti the eccentric
20:05
but powerful boss of the Genevese crime
20:07
family was furious about Goty's breach
20:10
of mafia rules and plotted revenge On
20:14
April 13th 1986
20:16
a car bomb went off outside a Brooklyn
20:20
social club Goty and his crew often
20:22
visited Goty was the target but he
20:26
changed his plans at the last minute His
20:29
new underboss Frank Diko who had helped
20:32
plan the Castellano hit was killed in
20:34
the blast Using a car bomb a tactic
20:38
generally frowned upon in mafia circles
20:41
because of the risk to innocent people
20:43
showed just how much hatred Goti had
20:46
stirred up Despite the attempts on his
20:48
life and constant police attention Goti
20:51
continued to rule with an iron fist His
20:55
time at the top was marked by violence
20:58
and a ruthless chase for profit But the
21:01
Teflon wasn't going to last The FBI
21:05
armed with powerful laws like the
21:07
Rakateeer influenced and corrupt
21:09
organizations RICO act relentlessly went
21:13
after Goty and the Gambino leadership
21:16
Wiretaps informants and intense
21:19
surveillance started to break the
21:21
family's code of silence The ultimate
21:24
betrayal the one that would finally
21:26
bring Goty down came from inside his own
21:30
inner circle Sammy the bull Gravano
21:35
Goty's underboss and a prolific killer
21:37
himself got fed up with Goty's
21:40
leadership and worried Goty might try to
21:42
blame numerous murders on him Facing
21:45
serious charges and confronted with FBI
21:49
recordings of Goty badmouthing him
21:51
Gravano made a deal In 1991
21:56
he turned states witness agreeing to
21:59
testify against his boss Gravano's
22:02
testimony was absolutely devastating He
22:06
confessed to 19 murders and tied Goty to
22:10
several including the Castano
22:12
assassination
22:14
The courtroom drama was a sensation The
22:17
once untouchable Dapper Dawn was laid
22:21
bare In 1992 John Goty was convicted of
22:25
murder rakateeering and a whole list of
22:28
other charges He was sentenced to life
22:31
in prison with no chance of parole The
22:34
Teflon Dawn as the FBI quipped had
22:37
finally become the Velcro Dawn Goty's
22:40
conviction and Gravano's betrayal hit
22:43
the Gambino crime family hard The
22:46
leadership was gutted and the myth of
22:48
mafia the code of silence was shattered
22:52
While the family kept operating its
22:54
power and influence were drastically
22:57
reduced Goti died in prison from cancer
23:00
in 2002
23:02
The era of Gambino dominance built and
23:05
maintained through decades of strategic
23:08
and often spectacular violence had come
23:11
to a bloody and shameful end The price
23:14
of all that gore ultimately was the
23:17
family's own downfall
23:20
Though it's worth noting arrests as
23:23
recent as 2023
23:26
still show Gambino family members trying
23:28
to use extortion and violence to control
23:32
industries A sign that the legacy
23:36
however weakened still flickers The
23:39
Gambino family's bloody history is a
23:41
brutal reminder of the true cost of
23:44
organized crime What do you think was
23:47
the most pivotal murder in their rise to
23:48
power
23:50
was it Anastasia Castellano maybe
23:53
someone else let us know your thoughts
23:56
in the comments below And if you want to
23:59
dive deeper into these dark sagas of the
24:02
underworld
24:03
make sure to like this video and
24:06
subscribe for more true crime chronicles
24:09
The story of the Gambino crime family is
24:12
a brutal epic isn't it a chilling
24:15
account of how murder was systematically
24:18
used to carve out and control a criminal
24:22
empire right in the heart of New York
24:25
City From the raw savage violence of
24:28
Albert Anastasia and Murder Inc where
24:31
killing was practically a daily chore to
24:34
the calculated strategic assassinations
24:37
under Carlo Gambino that cemented the
24:40
family's dominance and finally to the
24:43
brazen headline grabbing hits of John
24:46
Goti that marked both their peak and the
24:48
start of their fall Violence was the one
24:52
constant the unwavering currency of
24:55
power They really were the godfathers of
24:59
gore Their path to the top was paved
25:02
with the bodies of rivals informants and
25:05
even their own
25:07
Every murder was a message a strategic
25:11
move in a deadly chess game played out
25:14
on the city's streets The assassinations
25:17
of bosses like Vincent Mangano Albert
25:21
Anastasia and Paul Castellano weren't
25:24
just acts of violence They were brutal
25:26
coups reshaping the underworld and
25:29
pushing new ruthless leaders into the
25:32
spotlight Internal betrayals like Sammy
25:36
Gravano's just highlighted how unstable
25:39
a world built on broken loyalties and
25:42
the constant threat of death truly is
25:45
Eventually law enforcement using
25:48
powerful tools like the RICO Act managed
25:51
to exploit these internal weaknesses
25:54
ending the reigns of figures like Goti
25:57
and seriously cutting back the family's
25:59
once unstoppable power Yet the Gambino
26:03
crime family's legacy lingers It's a
26:06
testament to a time when organized crime
26:10
had an iron grip on huge parts of
26:13
American life Their story is like a dark
26:16
mirror reflecting the violent ambitions
26:19
that confester just beneath society's
26:21
surface It's a stark reminder that for
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some the road to power isn't paved with
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innovation or smarts But with the cold
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calculated shedding of blood the streets
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of New York might be safer now but the
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echoes of the Gambino's reign of gore
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still hang in the air a chilling chapter
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in the city's complex an often violent