Vincent Mangano
Encyclopedia
Vincent Mangano born Vincenzo Giovanni Mangano, also known as "The Executioner" as he was named in a Brooklyn newspaper, was the head of the Mangano crime family from 1931 to 1951. His brother Philip Mangano
was his right hand man and de facto, or substituto, underboss
of the crime family which eventually became the Gambino crime family
. He is also a distant paternal relative of current Genovese crime family
Underboss Venero Mangano
and a suspected relative of Lawrence Mangano
.
. He was one of the original bosses of the modern Five Families
, the others being Salvatore Maranzano
, Lucky Luciano
, Joe Profaci
and Tommy Gagliano
.
Mangano was an older mafioso who was very much steeped in the Old World ideals of "honor," "tradition," "respect" and "dignity." While he was still in many ways a Mustache Pete
, he was more forward-looking than Maranzano and Joe Masseria
, and was thus allowed to stay in power after Luciano and the other "Young Turks" eliminated Maranzano.
Mangano and Camarda established the City Democratic Club, which promoted bedrock American values in the front room, while illegal activities were planned in the backroom. It became a regular meeting place for the members of Murder, Inc.
, the infamous gang of assassins who, for a price, did the bidding of syndicate mobsters. Vincent's underboss, Albert "Mad Hatter" Anastasia
, was also operating head of Murder, Inc. and was a frequent patron of the club, as was Phillip Mangano.
Mangano made the waterfront his family's main income producer. He and his associates would threaten to prevent cargo from being loaded or unloaded if the shipping company refused to pay a tribute
. This effort was helped by the family's control of Brooklyn Local 1814 of the International Longshoremen's Association
; its president, Anthony Anastasio
(Albert's brother; he kept the original spelling of his last name) was a member of the family. Mangano would force workers to pay a fee for every day they worked on the docks - because of this, the mob knew exactly what was on each ship and could choose what to steal.
Other prominent members during Mangano's time were Carlo Gambino
, Aniello "Neil" Dellacroce
and Paul Castellano
.
and Louis "Lepke" Buchalter. Likewise, Mangano grew to resent and mistrust Anastasia. The two men regularly argued and fought, having to be pulled apart - possibly for the protection of the elder Mangano who was no physical match for his younger underboss.
In 1951, Anastasia is believed to have heard of a plot to kill him being formed by his boss, and decided to take pre-emptive action in what he ultimately described as "self defense." Philip Mangano was found murdered near Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn on April 19, 1951. Vincent also vanished the same day without trace. His body has never been found. Though Anastasia never admitted to having a hand in the Mangano murders, he managed to convince the heads of the other families that Vincent Mangano had been plotting to have him killed (a claim backed up by Frank Costello), and he was named as the new boss of the family.
Philip Mangano
Philip "Phil" Mangano was consigliere of the Gambino crime family in New York City from 1931 to 1951 when his brother, Vincent Mangano, was boss....
was his right hand man and de facto, or substituto, underboss
Underboss
Underboss is a position within the leadership structure of Sicilian and American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the boss...
of the crime family which eventually became the Gambino crime family
Gambino crime family
The Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963...
. He is also a distant paternal relative of current Genovese crime family
Genovese crime family
The Genovese crime family , is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia . The Genovese crime family has been nicknamed the "Ivy League" and "Rolls Royce" of organized crime...
Underboss Venero Mangano
Venero Mangano
Venero Frank "Benny Eggs" Mangano is the Underboss of the Genovese crime family. Since boss Daniel "Danny the Lion" Leo was imprisoned in 2007, Mangano has been the family's senior leader outside prison. The nickname "Benny Eggs" came from his mother running an egg farm...
and a suspected relative of Lawrence Mangano
Lawrence Mangano
Lawrence "Dago Lawrence" Mangano was a Chicago mobster and member of the Chicago Outfit during the 1920s to the 1940s...
.
Vince as head of the Gambino family
Mangano was named head of what was then the Mineo family in 1931, following the Castellammarese WarCastellammarese War
The Castellammarese War was a bloody power struggle for control of the Italian-American Mafia between partisans of Joe "The Boss" Masseria and those of Salvatore Maranzano. It was so called because Maranzano was based in Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily...
. He was one of the original bosses of the modern Five Families
Five Families
The Five Families are the five original Italian-American Mafia crime families which have dominated organized crime in America since 1931. The Five Families in New York remain as the powerhouse of the Italian Mafia in the United States.-History:...
, the others being Salvatore Maranzano
Salvatore Maranzano
Salvatore Maranzano was an organized crime figure from the town of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, and an early Cosa Nostra boss in the United States. He instigated the Castellammarese War to seize control of the American Mafia operations, and briefly became the Mafia's "Boss of Bosses"...
, Lucky Luciano
Lucky Luciano
Charlie "Lucky" Luciano was an Italian mobster born in Sicily. Luciano is considered the father of modern organized crime in the United States for splitting New York City into five different Mafia crime families and the establishment of the first commission...
, Joe Profaci
Joe Profaci
Giuseppe "Joe" Profaci was a New York La Cosa Nostra boss who was the founder of what is today known as the Colombo crime family. Established in 1928, this was the last of the Five Families to be organized. He was the family's boss for over three decades.-Family ties:Profaci's sons were Frank...
and Tommy Gagliano
Tommy Gagliano
Gaetano "Tommy" Gagliano was an American gangster who founded the Lucchese crime family, one of the powerful "Five Families" of New York City, and served as its low-profile Boss for over two decades...
.
Mangano was an older mafioso who was very much steeped in the Old World ideals of "honor," "tradition," "respect" and "dignity." While he was still in many ways a Mustache Pete
Mustache Pete
Mustache Petes was the name given to members of the Sicilian Mafia who came to the United States as adults in the early 1900s.-History:...
, he was more forward-looking than Maranzano and Joe Masseria
Joe Masseria
Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria was an early Mafia don in the United States. He was boss of what is now called the Genovese crime family, one of the New York Mafia's Five Families, from 1922 to 1931.-Early days:...
, and was thus allowed to stay in power after Luciano and the other "Young Turks" eliminated Maranzano.
Mangano and Camarda established the City Democratic Club, which promoted bedrock American values in the front room, while illegal activities were planned in the backroom. It became a regular meeting place for the members of Murder, Inc.
Murder, Inc.
Murder, Inc. was the name given by the press to organized crime groups in the 1920s through the 1940s that resulted in hundreds of murders on behalf of the American Mafia and Jewish Mafia groups who together formed the early organized crime groups in New York and...
, the infamous gang of assassins who, for a price, did the bidding of syndicate mobsters. Vincent's underboss, Albert "Mad Hatter" Anastasia
Albert Anastasia
Albert Anastasia was boss of what is now called the Gambino crime family, one of New York City's Five Families, from 1951-1957. He also ran a gang of contract killers called Murder Inc. which enforced the decisions of the Commission, the ruling council of the American Mafia...
, was also operating head of Murder, Inc. and was a frequent patron of the club, as was Phillip Mangano.
Mangano made the waterfront his family's main income producer. He and his associates would threaten to prevent cargo from being loaded or unloaded if the shipping company refused to pay a tribute
Tribute
A tribute is wealth, often in kind, that one party gives to another as a sign of respect or, as was often the case in historical contexts, of submission or allegiance. Various ancient states, which could be called suzerains, exacted tribute from areas they had conquered or threatened to conquer...
. This effort was helped by the family's control of Brooklyn Local 1814 of the International Longshoremen's Association
International Longshoremen's Association
The International Longshoremen's Association is a labor union representing longshore workers along the East Coast of the United States and Canada, the Gulf Coast, the Great Lakes, Puerto Rico, and inland waterways...
; its president, Anthony Anastasio
Anthony Anastasio
Anthony "Tough Tony" Anastasio was a New York City mobster and labor racketeer for the Gambino crime family who controlled the Brooklyn dockyards for over thirty years...
(Albert's brother; he kept the original spelling of his last name) was a member of the family. Mangano would force workers to pay a fee for every day they worked on the docks - because of this, the mob knew exactly what was on each ship and could choose what to steal.
Other prominent members during Mangano's time were Carlo Gambino
Carlo Gambino
"Don" Carlo Gambino, was a Sicilian mafioso who became Boss of the Gambino crime family, that still bears his name today. After the 1957 Apalachin Convention he unexpectedly seized control of the Commission of the American Mafia. Gambino was known for being low-key and secretive...
, Aniello "Neil" Dellacroce
Aniello Dellacroce
Aniello John "Mr. Neil" Dellacroce , also known as "Father O'Neil" and "The Tall Guy", was an Italian-American gangster and underboss of the Gambino crime family. A capo of his own crew for many years he rose to the position of underboss when Carlo Gambino moved Joseph Biondo aside.-Early...
and Paul Castellano
Paul Castellano
Constantino Paul "Big Paul" Castellano , also known as "The Howard Hughes of the Mob" and "Big Paulie" , was an American Mafia boss in New York City. He succeeded Carlo Gambino as head of the Gambino crime family, at the time, the nation's largest Mafia family...
.
Feud with Anastasia
Mangano was the only one of the bosses who retained the old ways so resentment grew from a new breed of mob leaders, including Anastasia. Anastasia grew to prefer the company of other mob bosses such as Charlie "Lucky" Luciano, Frank CostelloFrank Costello
Frank Costello was an Italian New York City gangster who rose to the top of America's underworld, controlled a vast gambling empire across the United States and enjoyed political influence.Nicknamed the "Prime Minister of the Underworld", he became one of the most powerful and influential Mafia...
and Louis "Lepke" Buchalter. Likewise, Mangano grew to resent and mistrust Anastasia. The two men regularly argued and fought, having to be pulled apart - possibly for the protection of the elder Mangano who was no physical match for his younger underboss.
Disappearance
Although it ultimately took a full 20 years of working together for matters to come to a head, Mangano eventually met his end at the hands of Anastasia, or so it is believed.In 1951, Anastasia is believed to have heard of a plot to kill him being formed by his boss, and decided to take pre-emptive action in what he ultimately described as "self defense." Philip Mangano was found murdered near Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn on April 19, 1951. Vincent also vanished the same day without trace. His body has never been found. Though Anastasia never admitted to having a hand in the Mangano murders, he managed to convince the heads of the other families that Vincent Mangano had been plotting to have him killed (a claim backed up by Frank Costello), and he was named as the new boss of the family.
Further reading
- Bonanno, Joseph. A Man of Honor: The Autobiography of Joseph Bonanno. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2003. ISBN 0-312-97923-1
- Capeci, Jerry. The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002. ISBN 0-02-864225-2
- Davis, John H. Mafia Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the Gambino Crime Family. New York: HarperCollins, 1993. ISBN 0-06-016357-7
- Jacobs, James B., Christopher Panarella and Jay Worthington. Busting the Mob: The United States Vs. Cosa Nostra. New York: NYU Press, 1994. ISBN 0-8147-4230-0
- Mannion, James. 101 Things You Didn't Know About The Mafia: The Lowdown on Dons, Wiseguys, Squealers and Backstabbers. Avon, Massachusetts: Adams Media, 2005. ISBN 1-59337-267-1
- Milhorn, H. Thomas. Crime: Computer Viruses to Twin Towers. Boca Raton, Florida: Universal Publishers, 2005. ISBN 1-58112-489-9
- Raab, Selwyn. Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires. New York: St. Martin Press, 2005. ISBN 0-312-30094-8
- Schatzberg, Rufus, Robert J.Kelly and Ko-lin Chin, ed. Handbook of Organized Crime in the United States. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1994. ISBN 0-313-28366-4