Giosue GallucciGallucci was a "connected" businessman and local political influence before 1910, establishing a string of successful businesses through Camorra- and Mafia-approved monopolies and with the aid of local gangs he kept on the payroll. Among his legal enterprises were a coffeehouse and a bake shop located near each other on East 109th Street.
He appears to have cooperated with the Sicilian Lupo-Morello mob, which ran underworld activities in East Harlem, the Little Italy of the Lower East Side and some sections of Brooklyn, and to have had the support of Brooklyn-based Neapolitan Camorra groups.
Gallucci's brother, Gennaro, and family friend Joe Strapone, were reportedly early members of East Harlem underworld. Gennaro and Strapone were gunned down in 1909.
When Ignazio Lupo, Giuseppe Morello and other top members of that organization were jailed for counterfeiting in 1910, Gallucci was prepared to step in and fill the void in Harlem. He became the unofficial mayor of the village, ensured a non-competitive business climate for merchants who paid their "taxes," and administered a lucrative lottery. He was often seen in the company of political leaders for whom he was expected to deliver the East Harlem vote.
Though he was apparently from central Italy, Gallucci seems to have had solid alliances - or at least good working relationships - with the local Sicilian Mafiosi of the time. Morello's and Lupo's kin, Vincent and Ciro Terranova, appear to have been considered lieutenants in Gallucci's group. However, it is more likely that they were chiefs of a street gang that got regular work from the "king." It was fairly common practice for political and business leaders of the time to employ street toughs for their own protection and for the harassment of rivals.
Gallucci was himself harassed by a gang of Neapolitan extortionist thugs run by Aniello "Zopo" Prisco. Gallucci's brother (this one seems not to have been Gennaro but another named Giuseppe) and several members of entourage were gunned down by Prisco men when the king refused to make "protection" payments in 1911.
To resolve matters, Gallucci set up a meeting with Prisco on the evening of Dec. 16, 1912. Prisco probably did not expect an ambush as the meeting was planned for a barbershop run by his allies, the DelGaudio brothers. But Gallucci became suddenly ill and could not leave the back room of his bake shop at 318 East 109th Street. He sent a messenger to find Prisco and bring him to the shop.
When the terrible Zopo arrived, he was promptly shot in the head by Gallucci aide John Russomano. The king told the police the killing was in self-defense. He asserted that Prisco had come to rob him of $100. Russomano, he said, drew a pistol. Prisco turned to fire at Russomano, and Russomano got off the first shot. The police accepted the explanation - not surprising, considering Gallucci's political clout - but Russomano and Gallucci were marked for death by the survivors in Prisco's gang.
Gallucci was probably unaware that he was also in jeopardy from the Sicilian Mafiosi in Harlem. The Sicilians had had just about enough of working for someone else.
Gallucci's prestige began to wither in 1913, as a gang war with Prisco's old outfit stretched on, and he was scrambling to maintain control of the underworld in 1914 and 1915. Rival lotteries were springing up right under his nose.
Gallucci and his son Luca were gunned down at their coffeehouse at 336 East 109th Street on May 17, 1915. The assassins remain unknown.
Gallucci lingered for a few days at a local hospital before succumbing to his injuries. His death would spark a new round of Sicilian-Neapolitan warfare in New York and would elevate Vincent and Ciro Terranova to the boss status in the Harlem underworld.
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