Carlo Gambino, de facto boss of bosses of the American Mafia, died of natural causes at age 74 on Oct. 15, 1976. He had a history of heart problems.

Gambino took over the New York-based crime family that came to bear his name after boss Albert Anastasia was assassinated in 1957. The family was previously run by the Mangano brothers and appears to trace its roots back to 1910 boss of bosses Salvatore "Toto" D'Aquila. (See New York Crime Bosses.)

Gambino is believed to have meddled in the affairs of other crime families, particularly the Profaci / Colombo and Bonanno families. Gambino reportedly installed his loyal supporter Joseph Colombo as head of the Profaci clan after Profaci successor Joseph Magliocco (implicated in a Bonanno plot to assassinate Gambino) retired in 1963. After Gambino and Colombo had a falling out, Colombo was mortally wounded in a 1971 shooting.

Law enforcement officials feared that a bloody power struggle would follow the death of crime boss Carlo Gambino in fall of 1976. Two factions were known to exist in the Gambino Family. One was led by Gambino relative Paul Castellano. The other was led by Gambino underboss Aniello Dellacroce, finishing up a prison term at the time of the boss's death.

Without the expected gang civil war, Castellano ascended peacefully to power. Dellacroce reportedly threw his support behind Castellano and demanded that the members of his faction, including future boss John J. Gotti, cause no trouble.