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| '''Francesco Paolo Augusto Calì''' ({{IPA-it|franˈtʃesko kaˈli|lang}}; March 26, 1965 – March 13, 2019),<ref name=rep080208>, La Repubblica, February 8, 2008</ref> known as "'''Frank'''" or "'''Franky Boy'''", was an American crime boss of the ].<ref name=nydn210815>, New York Daily News, August 21, 2015</ref> Law enforcement considered Cali to have been the Gambinos' "ambassador to ]" and had linked him to the ] from ]. "Cali |
'''Francesco Paolo Augusto Calì''' ({{IPA-it|franˈtʃesko kaˈli|lang}}; March 26, 1965 – March 13, 2019),<ref name=rep080208>, La Repubblica, February 8, 2008</ref> known as "'''Frank'''" or "'''Franky Boy'''", was an American crime boss of the ].<ref name=nydn210815>, New York Daily News, August 21, 2015</ref> Law enforcement considered Cali to have been the Gambinos' "ambassador to ]" and had linked him to the ] from ]. "Cali seen as a man of influence and power by organized crime members in Italy", according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Lipton.<ref name="mob cash">{{cite news|last=Marzulli|first=John|title=Reputed Gambino crime capo's house bought with mob cash?|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/reputed-gambino-crime-capo-house-bought-mob-cash-article-1.310000|accessdate=12 April 2012|newspaper=New York Daily News|date=February 20, 2008}}</ref> | ||
| Cali was killed outside his home on Staten Island on March 13, 2019.<ref name=rep130319>, New York Daily News, March 13, 2019</ref> | Cali was killed outside his home on Staten Island on March 13, 2019.<ref name=rep130319>, New York Daily News, March 13, 2019</ref> | ||
Revision as of 06:13, 15 March 2019
For the Swiss and later Italian professional football player and coach, see Francesco Calì.| Frank Cali | |
|---|---|
| Born | Francesco Paolo Augusto Calì (1965-03-26)March 26, 1965 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | March 13, 2019(2019-03-13) (aged 53) Staten Island, New York, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Multiple gunshots |
| Other names | "Franky Boy" |
| Occupation | Boss of the Gambino crime family |
| Criminal status | Released April 6, 2009 |
| Criminal charge | Racketeering, extortion, and conspiracy (2008) |
| Penalty | 10 months |
Francesco Paolo Augusto Calì (Template:IPA-it; March 26, 1965 – March 13, 2019), known as "Frank" or "Franky Boy", was an American crime boss of the Gambino crime family. Law enforcement considered Cali to have been the Gambinos' "ambassador to Sicilian mobsters" and had linked him to the Inzerillo Mafia family from Palermo. "Cali seen as a man of influence and power by organized crime members in Italy", according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Lipton.
Cali was killed outside his home on Staten Island on March 13, 2019.
Early years
Frank Cali was born in New York City to Augusto and Agata Cesare, both natives of Palermo, Sicily. His father ran a household goods store in Palermo and a video store in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. He had a clean police record in the United States, even though he was mentioned in the Pizza Connection investigation, when police discovered that he was a partner of Domenico Adamita, allied to Sicilian Mafia boss Gaetano Badalamenti.
Frank Cali was the nephew-in-law of Sicilian mobster John Gambino, and had close ties to the once powerful Sicilian Mafia family led by Salvatore Inzerillo. Cali was also a great-nephew of Bonanno crime family mobsters Giovanni Bonventre and Vito Bonventre. Cali was also related to Gambino boss Paul Castellano.
As a young man, Cali bonded with Gambino mobster Jackie D'Amico, a lieutenant of Gambino boss John Gotti who operated a crew on 18th Avenue in Brooklyn. In January 1997, the FBI reported to Italian authorities that Cali had been "combined" into the Gambino family. Cali was promoted to acting capo when D'Amico became acting boss. Cali ran several import-export companies in Brooklyn, including Circus Fruits Wholesale in Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn.
Sicilian Mafia ties
Cali also maintained ties with the Sicilian Mafia. He married Rosaria Inzerillo, a sister of Pietro Inzerillo and a relative of Gambino associate Frank Inzerillo, a member of the Palermitan Inzerillo family. In the early 1980s, after losing the Second Mafia War against the Corleonesi of Totò Riina, the Inzerillo family was forced to flee Sicily. Cali and old Palermo boss Filippo Casamento supported the return of the Inzerillos to Palermo, according to Italian authorities.
According to the Italian Polizia di Stato (State Police), Cali was also a member of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra. He was the contact for Sicilian mafiosi who traveled to New York to meet him, do business, and update him on Sicilian affairs. "He's our friend and he is everything over there", confided Sicilian mobster Gianni Nicchi to his boss Antonio Rotolo, after a trip in 2003. Nicchi is known to be one of Cali's 'men of honour' who went back and forth between Palermo and the US for drug trafficking. Nicchi finally settled in Daytona, Florida, where he was known to employ high school students as drug runners.
Arrest
In early 2003, Cali and fellow captain Leonard "Lenny" DiMaria began extorting 'mob taxes' from Joseph Vollaro, the owner of a trucking and contracting company that was involved in building a NASCAR speedway on Staten Island. Vollaro was eventually forced to pay tens of thousands of dollars as tribute to D'Amico and Gambino boss Nicholas Corozzo. In 2004, to avoid prison time for a cocaine conviction, Vollaro began working with federal authorities as an informant. Vollaro's undercover work led to a massive indictment four years later.
On February 8, 2008, Cali and 61 other New York Cosa Nostra associates were arrested and charged with federal racketeering charges. as part of Operation Old Bridge. Old Bridge terminated the drug trafficking between the Sicilian Mafia and the Gambino family. Prosecutors claimed that Cali acted as the Gambino "ambassador to the Sicilian mobsters" and as a liaison between D'Amico and the Sicilian connections to the Inzerillo family. Cali was charged with racketeering, extortion, and conspiracy along with D'Amico and DiMaria.
On June 4, 2008, Cali pleaded guilty to conspiring to extort money from Vollaro. Cali was incarcerated at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York. On April 6, 2009, he was released from prison.
Around 2009, Cali's uncle John Gambino was elevated to the family's ruling panel, according to court papers filed in Brooklyn Federal Court. The U.S. Justice Department demanded that Cali avoid all contact with Gambino, except for weddings or holiday celebrations approved in advance by Cali's probation officer.
Underboss
In October 2012, Cali was identified by New York crime reporter Jerry Capeci as the new underboss of the Gambino crime family. Capeci has previously identified Domenico Cefalu, a member of the same Sicilian faction as Cali, as the current boss of the group. Though his status remains unclear, the promotion of both men follows a period in which John Gambino was a street boss within the family, showing that the Sicilian group has remained dominant in recent years. In July 2013, it was reported that Cali turned down the position of boss of the family.
Boss
In August 2015, Daily News reported Cali had taken over as acting boss of the Gambino family.
Death
Cali died on March 13, 2019, at the age of 53 at Staten Island University Hospital after being taken there following a violent incident in front of his home. Reports at the time indicated Cali was shot six times in the chest by an unknown assailant, and run over by a blue pickup truck on Hilltop Terrace near Four Corners Road in Todt Hill about 9:15 p.m. Cali's murder occurred mere hours after reputed acting boss of the Bonanno crime family Joseph Cammarano Jr. and his consigliere John Zancocchio were acquitted of racketeering and conspiracy to commit extortion charges.
References
- ^ Franky Boy, the invisible boss who wanted to have Palermo back, La Repubblica, February 8, 2008
- Staten Island mobster takes Gambino leadership: report, New York Daily News, August 21, 2015
- Marzulli, John (February 20, 2008). "Reputed Gambino crime capo's house bought with mob cash?". New York Daily News. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
- ^ Gambino crime family boss Frank Cali shot and killed outside Staten Island home: sources, New York Daily News, March 13, 2019
- ^ Feds bust Gambino bigs, New York Daily News, February 8, 2008
- Lemire, Jonathan (February 28, 2008). "Sicilian mobsters may become New York's latest big Italian import". New York Daily News. Retrieved 12 April 2012.
- The Case of the Exiled Mobsters, Time, February 7, 2008
- Dozens Arrested in Italy and US in Major Mafia-busting Operation, La Repubblica, February 7, 2008
- 'Mafiosi' held in US and Sicily, BBC News, February 7, 2008
- Federal Bureau of Prisons
- Feds trying to stop reputed capo Frank Cali's rise, New York Daily News, May 29, 2009
- Gambinos Mine Their Sicilian Roots To Find New Underboss, Gangland News, October 25, 2012
- Mob Pick for Gambino Godfather Turns Down the Job Archived 2013-07-20 at the Wayback Machine, DNAinfo New York, July 18, 2013
- Franky Boy Cali Turns Down Offer To Be New Mob Godfather, Business Insider, July 18, 2013
- https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/staten-island-mobster-takes-gambino-leadership-report-article-1.2332886
- Francesco Cali, Reputed Gambino Crime Boss, Shot and Killed on Staten Island, The New York Times, March 13, 2019
External links
- Cosa Nostra-Lcn Connections: The Documents from Palermo Antimafia, La Repubblica, February 7, 2008
| American Mafia | ||
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| Preceded byArnold "Zeke" Squitieri | Gambino crime family Underboss 2012–2015 |
Succeeded byUnknown |
| Preceded byDomenico Cefalù | Gambino crime family Boss 2015–2019 |
Succeeded byUnknown |
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- 1965 births
- 2019 deaths
- Gambino crime family
- Inzerillo-Gambino Mafia clan
- American extortionists
- American mobsters of Sicilian descent
- American prisoners and detainees
- Criminals from New York City
- Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government
- Deaths by firearm in New York (state)
- Murdered American mobsters of Sicilian descent