The Gambino crime family is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia. The group, which went through five bosses between 1910 and 1957, is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963, when the structure of organized crime first gained public attention. The group's operations extend from New York and the eastern seaboard to California. Its illicit activities include labor and construction racketeering, gambling, loansharking, extortion, money laundering, prostitution, fraud, hijacking, and fencing.
A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high or illegal interest rates, has strict terms of collection, and generally operates outside the law, often using the threat of violence or other illegal, aggressive, and extortionate actions when seeking to enforce the satisfaction of the debt. As a consistent or repeated illegal business operation or "racket", loansharking is generally associated with organized crime and certain criminal organizations.
A shark is a cartilaginous, usually carnivorous fish.
The Westies were a New York City-based Irish American organized crime gang, responsible for racketeering, drug trafficking, and contract killing. They were partnered with the Italian-American Mafia and operated out of the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan.
Nicholas "Little Nick" Corozzo is an American mobster who is a captain in the Gambino crime family of New York City.
Full Contact is a 1992 Hong Kong crime action film directed and produced by Ringo Lam. The film stars Chow Yun-fat, Simon Yam, Anthony Wong, and Ann Bridgewater.
Carmine "Charley Wagons" Fatico was a powerful caporegime in the New York Gambino crime family. Fatico is best known as an early mentor to Gambino boss John Gotti.
Mario Anthony DeStefano was an American mobster and "made" member of the Chicago Outfit who was a leading loan shark in the organization.
Fiore "Fifi" Buccieri was a Chicago mobster and member of the Chicago Outfit who specialized in loansharking.
Benedetto "Benny" Aloi was a New York City mobster who became underboss of the Colombo crime family. Aloi was a main figure in the "Windows Case", Aloi was also a major figure in the Third Colombo War.
Thomas Agro, also known as "Tommy A", "T.A.", "Tipp", and "Thomas Ambrosiano", was a New York gangster with the Gambino crime family who ran lucrative bookmaking and gambling operations in Florida.
Leonard "Lenny" DiMaria, also known as "Prateek" and "the Conductor", is an American mobster and member of the Gambino crime family of New York. He is considered by law enforcement to be a close associate of Nicholas Corozzo and has served as his right-hand-man for almost 30 years.
Philadelphia Greek Mob, also known as the Philadelphia Greek mafia or simply the Greek mafia, are a low-profile criminal organization of ethnic Greek Americans in Philadelphia with alleged connections to the Italian Philadelphia crime family and the Greek Velentzas crime family of New York city.
The Colorado crime family, also known as the Smaldone crime family, the Denver crime family, the Denver Mafia or the Mountain Mafia, was an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in Pueblo and Denver, Colorado. The family originated as a bootlegging organization headed by the brothers Pete and Sam Carlino, which was later taken over by Giuseppe "Little Caesar" Roma. Roma's organization evolved into the Denver branch of La Cosa Nostra, which became known as the Smaldone crime family. Roma expanded the family's criminal operations into extortion, loan sharking, drugs, bookmaking, and other rackets. It is believed by federal authorities that the Denver Mafia went defunct in the 2000s after the death of Clarence Smaldone.
Frank James Calabrese Sr., also known as "Frankie Breeze", was a made man who ran major loansharking and illegal gambling operations for the Chicago Outfit. He is best known as a central figure in Operation Family Secrets and the subsequent federal trial. Calabrese, who was battling multiple ailments, died on Christmas Day 2012 at the Federal Medical Center, Butner, in North Carolina.
Jay Robert Jennings is an American independent filmmaker and author. He has directed two feature films, Loanshark (1999) and Hell to Pay (2014), as well as, an assortment of short films and documentaries. Jennings uses handheld cameras and cinéma vérité techniques, shooting his films among old Hollywood buildings and streets.
Loanshark is a 1999 black-and-white American crime film written and directed by Jay Jennings. The film is a notable forerunner in the digital filmmaking movement.
This is a glossary of words related to the Mafia, primarily the Italian American Mafia and Sicilian Mafia.
- administration: the top-level "management" of an organized crime family -- the boss, underboss and consigliere.
- associate: one who works with mobsters, but has not been asked to take the vow of Omertà; an almost confirmed, or made guy.
- bagman: a person or paymaster designated to collect or distribute illicitly gained money.
- barone: a baron or landlord.
- books, the: a phrase indicating membership in the family. If there is a possibility for membership, then the books are open. If not, the books are closed.
- boss: the head of the family who runs the operation. The boss also gets points from all family business; also see don, chairman.
- bridge: threat of death; e.g. "our former friend is walking across the bridge".
- button or becoming a button man: a mafia hit man; or someone who has become a made man.
- capo: the family member who leads a crew; short for caporegime or capodecina.
- capo dei capi: "boss of all [the] bosses" is a phrase used mainly by the media, public and the law enforcement community to indicate a supremely powerful crime boss in the Sicilian or American Mafia who holds great influence over the whole organization.
- captain: a capo.
- cement shoes: a method of murder or body disposal, usually associated with criminals such as the Mafia or gangs. It involves weighting down the victim, who may be dead or alive, with concrete and throwing them into water in the hope the body will never be found.
- clip: to murder; also to whack, hit, pop, burn, ice, put a contract out on.
- code of silence: not ratting on one's colleagues once one has been pinched -- no longer a strong virtue in organized crime families. Also, see omertà.
- comare: literally "godmother" in Southern Italian slang, usually pronounced "goomah" or "goomar" in American English: a Mafia mistress.
- confirm: to be made; see made guy.
- connected guy: an associate
- consigliere: the family adviser, who is always consulted before decisions are made.
- Cosa Nostra (Our thing): mob term for the family or Mafia
- crank: speed; in particular, crystal meth.
- crew: the group of soldiers under the capo's command.
- cugine: a young soldier striving to be made.
- don: the head of the family; see boss.
- earner: a member who brings in much money for the family.
- eat alone: to keep for oneself; to be greedy.
- family: an organized crime clan.
- forget about it (often pronounced "fuggedaboutit"): An exclamation; as the title character explains in Donnie Brasco:
"Forget about it" is, like, if you agree with someone, you know, like "Raquel Welch is one great piece of ass. Forget about it!" But then, if you disagree, like "A Lincoln is better than a Cadillac? Forget about it!" You know? But then, it's also like if something's the greatest thing in the world, like, "Minchia! Those peppers! Forget about it!" But it's also like saying "Go to hell!" too. Like, you know, like "Hey Paulie, you got a one-inch pecker?" and Paulie says "Forget about it!" Sometimes it just means "Forget about it."
- friend: "a friend of mine" is an associate, "a friend of ours" is a made man.
- G: a grand; a thousand dollars; also see large.
- garbage business: euphemism for organized crime.
- Golden Age: The days before RICO.
- Goodfella: A member of the Mafia.
- goomar or goomah: Americanized form of comare, a Mafia mistress.
- goombah: an associate, especially a senior member of a criminal gang.
- heavy: packed, carrying a weapon.
- hit: to murder; also see whack.
- initiation or induction: becoming a made man.
- juice: the interest paid to a loan shark for the loan; also see vig.
- kick up: give a part of the income to the next up in the command chain.
- lam: To lay down, go into hiding.
- large: a thousand, a grand, a G.
- LCN: abbreviation for La Cosa Nostra.
- lupara bianca: a journalistic term to indicate a Mafia slaying done in such a way that the victim's body is never found.
- made man: an inducted member of the family.
- make one's bones: gain credibility by killing someone.
- mock execution: to whip someone into shape by frightening them.
- mattresses, going to, taking it to, or hitting the: going to war with a rival clan or family.
- message job: placing the bullet in someone's body such that a specific message is sent to that person's crew or family; see through the eye and through the mouth.
- mob, the: a single organized crime family; or all organized crime families together.
- mobbed up: connected to the mob.
- mobster: one who is in the mob.
- oath: becoming inducted as a made man.
- Omertà: to take a vow of silence in the Mafia, punishable by death if not upheld.
- one-way ride or taking someone for a ride: underworld for an execution method
- outfit: a clan, or family within the Mafia.
- old country: refers to Italy when used by members of the American Mafia
- painting houses: murdering someone
- pass: A reprieve from being whacked.
- paying tribute: giving the boss a cut of the deal.
- pinched: to get caught by the cops or federal agents.
- points: percent of income; cut.
- program, the: The Witness Protection Program.
- rat: someone who turns informant, snitches or squeals after having been pinched.
- RICO: Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Passed in 1970 to aid the American government in clamping down on organized crime activities, its scope has since been broadened to prosecute insider traders.
- sent for: to be ordered to a meeting with other mob members and being whacked.
- shakedown: to blackmail or try to get money from someone; also to give someone a scare.
- shy: the interest charged on loans by loan sharks.
- shylock business: the business of loansharking.
- sitdown: a meeting, esp. with another family.
- soldier: the bottom-level member of an organized crime family who is made.
- spring cleaning: cleaning up, hiding or getting rid of evidence.
- straighten out, getting straightened out: becoming a made guy.
- tax: to take a percentage of someone's earnings.
- The Commission and the Sicilian Mafia Commission: two bodies, Italian-American and the Sicilian respectively, of leading Mafia members to decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the Mafia.
- This Thing of Ours (Cosa Nostra): a mob family, or the entire mob.
- through the eye: a message job through the eye to say "We're watching you!"
- through the mouth: a message job through the mouth to indicate that someone WAS a rat.
- underboss: the second in command to the boss.
- vig: Vigorish abbr. the house's or bookie's take in gambling or the interest paid to a loan shark for the loan; also see juice.
- waste management business: euphemism for organized crime.
- whack: to murder; also clip, hit, pop, burn, put a contract out.
- wiseguy: a made man.
- zips: is a slang term often used as a derogatory slur by Italian American and Sicilian American mobsters in reference to newer immigrant Sicilian and Italian mafiosi.
Loan Shark is a 1952 American crime film noir directed by Seymour Friedman and starring George Raft, Dorothy Hart and Paul Stewart.
