Paul CastellanoThe Castellanos sponsored new arrival Carlo Gambino in 1921 (and Gambino eventually rose to lead the criminal organization). Paul Castellano grew up as an apprentice to Gambino and took over the powerful Gambino Family - powerful because Gambino didn't adhere to agreements on the limits of Family membership - upon Carlo's death in 1976.
Castellano, who moved into a replica of the White House at 177 Benedict Road on Staten Island, became an important figure on the Commission and is thought to have been boss of bosses in the early 1980s. Castellano's rise to power (and his insistence that New York Mafiosi give up direct involvement in drug trafficking) displeased those in the crime group who had hoped Gambino underboss Aniello Delacroce, a less business-like Mafioso, would lead the family.
John Gotti, later known as the "Dapper Don" and the "Teflon Don," was part of the unhappy faction. While Delacroce was alive, he was able to keep the Gotti wing loyal to Castellano. But when Delacroce passed away, Gotti set up the assassination of Paul Castellano and his bodyguard Thomas Bilotti in front of Sparks Steak House in Manhattan in 1985. Gotti then grabbed the leadership of the Gambino Family for himself.
The hit on Castellano, while personally motivated on Gotti's part, also served the interests of the Mafia as a whole. Castellano had inadvertently supplied federal agents with a wealth of information about the inner workings of the Syndicate and the Commission by speaking openly about such things in a room of his house that had been bugged. Mafiosi also reportedly feared that Castellano, who last served time after a 1934 robbery conviction, wouldn't be able to stomach a long haul behind bars.
Related Links:
