Carlo Gambino (Aug. 24, 1902, - Oct. 15, 1976)

Born in Palermo, Sicily, Gambino is believed to have entered the U.S. illegally. A leading figure in the Gambino-Castellano faction within the D'Aquila-Mineo Mafia organization in Brooklyn and the Bronx, Gambino sided with Salvatore Maranzano in the Castellammarese War.

In the 1950s, following Albert Anastasia's rise to command, Gambino was named underboss of the crime family. He was tentatively supported as boss following the murder of Anastasia. Anastasia loyalists continued to resist him. One leader of that cause, Armand Thomas Rava, disappeared. Gambino eventually appointed another, Aniello Dellacroce, as his underboss.

Gambino died of a heart attack at his home on Long Island in 1976.

Albert Anastasia (Feb. 25, 1902, - Oct. 25, 1957)

A native Calabrian, Anastasia entered the U.S. illegally as a teenager. He found work on the docks in New York Harbor and engaged in waterfront racketeering. Following the Castellammarese War, he was recognized as underboss in the organization of Vincent Mangano (later the Gambino Crime Family). He is believed to have had Mangano and his brother murdered in 1951, when he took over the crime family as boss. During the 1950s, Anastasia attempted to establish an independent gambling presence in Cuba. Anastasia was shot to death while sitting in a barber's chair at the Park Sheraton Hotel in New York City. His successor was Carlo Gambino.