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A philanthropist mobster has died. Thomas Gambino passed away last week from natural causes, it was revealed. He was 94.
Gambino was the son of the legendary crime boss Carlo Gambino.
He and his brother Joseph joined forces to seize control of trucking business in the Manhattan neighborhood west of Seventh Ave., imposing a 7% “mob tax” on goods manufactured and shipped from local businesses. The two were later charged with enterprise corruption and 52 counts of larceny, extortion, coercion and restraint of trade, which meant a possibility of 25 years in prison if convicted.
Then-assistant district attorney Eliot Spitzer led the investigation, for which the brothers agreed to enter into a plea deal. Spitzer told the New York Post this week “I send my condolences to his family".
A year after he agreed to give up part of his trucking company, Gambino went on trial on charges that he engaged in racketeering in Connecticut by controlling major gambling and loan-sharking operations there. The Gambino family ran a successful sports betting business in that state.
"The gambling business handled several hundred thousand dollars worth of bets each week," said Geoffrey Mearns, an assistant United States attorney.
Gambino would go on to serve a four-year prison stint.
Gambino, once described as the “quintessential Mafia prince of New York City,” lived for many years on the Upper East Side with wife, Frances, who herself was the daughter of mob boss Tommy Lucchese.
- Nagesh Rath, Gambling911.com
