Gallo Crew
Membership
Boss
Soldiers
Larry Gallo
Pete Diapoulas
Frank Illiano
Carmine Persico
Bobby Boriello
Nicholas Bianco
Vic Amuso
Joseph Luparelli
Joe Gioelli
Michael Rizzitello
John Cutrone
Gerry Basciano
Steve Cirillo
John Commarato
Alfonso Serantonio
Joseph Yancone
Eugene LaGana
Frank Balzano
Sergio Gallo
Dan Cantelliani
Lenny Dello
Louis Mariani
Joseph Cardiello
Associates
Albert Gallo
Jerome Johnson
Hugh McIntosh
Frank DiMatteo
Amando Illiano
Anthony Ortelano
General Information
Business Fronts
The Dormitory
The Copacabana
The Longshore Rest Room
Criminal Activities
Extortion, Loan Sharking, Illegal Gambling, Murder, Bookmaking, Assault, Prostitution
Territory
Brooklyn, New York
Garment District, New York
Manhattan, New York
The Gallo Crew, also known as the Gallo Crime Family, was a rebellious faction of the Colombo Crime Family.
Biography
The crew formed in the early 1950s and was led by Joseph “Crazy Joe” Gallo, backed by his brothers, Larry and Albert Gallo. During the 50s, they ran businesses in Extortion, Card Games, Nightclubs, and Sweatshops, operating out of an apartment building on President Street nicknamed The Dormitory.
In 1961, Joe and his crew grew angry that the current family boss, Joe Profaci, was living in wealth while heavily taxing the men in his Family. They decided to kidnap the family leadership and hold them for ransom. Profaci escaped, but they captured 4 of his top men, including his brother Frank. Eventually, after a long time, they released the hostages, and the families made a peace agreement. Though Profaci didn’t intend to honor this agreement, they struck back against the Gallo crew. They killed one of their top men, Joseph Gioielli, and attempted to strangle Larry Gallo at a bar, though the intervention of a police officer foiled it. During this conflict, one of the Gallo Crew’s own men, Carmine Perisco, betrayed them and sided with Profaci.
The war went on, with 9 murders and 3 disappearances. The Gallo crew retreated to the dormitory and struggled to get back to business as their money ran out. Joe attempted to extort money from a cafe owner, though he would be arrested for this and sentenced to 7-14 years in prison. Larry took over as acting Capo of the Capocrew and made peace with the family leadership.
While in Prison, Joe became friends with African American drug trafficker Nicky Barnes, and mentored him on how to run his criminal operation in Harlem. Joe then began recruiting black gangsters into the Gallo Crew, which soured his relationship with the other Italian mobsters.
Larry Gallo died of cancer in 1968, and Joe was released in 1971. By then, Joseph Colombo had taken over as the family’s new boss. During a peace meeting, Familyo offered $1,000 to settle the dispute. Though Joe claimed the previous agreement they made with Gallo didn’t apply to him due to being in prison at the time. Gallo then demanded $100,000 instead, which Colombo refused. Colombo then made plans to whack Gallo; though not too long after this, Colombo was shot at an Italian American unity day rally by Jerome Johnson, an African American gunman, who Colombo’s bodyguards killed. Colombo went into a coma and never recovered. The Colombo family immediately suspected Gallo, though he began laying low after the hit. He would later be tracked down and killed by 4 gunmen at Umberto’s Clam House. Umberto was out celebrating his birthday with his family.
Albert Gallo, now the new Family CapoCapo, despite not being a made man, hired a hitman from Las Vegas to kill the Family leadership at a restaurant they heard they would be meeting at. However, the hitman ended up shooting four innocent civilians, killing two of them. Despite this, the Family negotiated a truce with the Family Crew. In 1974, John Cutrone, a former Gallo loyalist, defected back to the Family with a few other mobsters after growing dissatisfied with their lack of income since Albert became Capo. The Capo initiated the gang war between the two families.
This would be one of the bloodiest mob wars New York had ever seen. However, later that year, the Commission finally intervened. They proposed that the Gallo Crew transfer to the Genovese Family. Weakened after the war, Albert Gallo accepted the offer, and the Gallos joined Vincent Gigante‘s crew.
Members and Associates
- Joseph “Crazy Joe” Gallo – murdered in 1972
- Albert Gigante’s ” Gallo ” – transferred to the Genoves” crime fa”ily in 1975
- Larry Gallo – died of cancer in 1968
- Frank “Punchy” Illiano – transferred to the Genovese crime family in 1975, died in January 2014
- “Bobby B” Brillo – transferred to the Gambino crime family in 1972, murdered in 1991 on orders of Anthony Casso
- Nicholas Bianco – transferred to the Patriarca crime family in 1963, died of natural causes in 1994
- Vic Amuso – transferred to the Lucchese crime family, serving life in prison
- Joseph “Joe Pesh” Luparelli – entered witness protection program in 1972, current location unknown
- Joe Gioelli – murdered in 1961 by Profaci gunmen
- Carmine “the Snake” Persico – Colombo family boss, died in 2019 while serving a 139-year sentence in prison.
- Michael Rizzitello – transferred to Los Angeles crime family, died while incarcerated due to complications of cancer in 2005
- Peter “Pete the Greek” Diapoulas
- John Cutrone – led breakaway faction from Gallo crew, murdered in 1″76 by unknown gunmen.n
- Gerry Basciano – seceded from Gallo crew, murdered in 1976 by unknown gunmen
- Steve Cirrilo – murdered in 1974 by Cutrone gunmen
- Joseph Cardiello – defected to Profaci, murdered by Gallo gunmen on December 10, 1963
- Louis Mariani – murdered by Profaci gunmen on August 10, 1963
- Leonard “Big Lenny” Dello – died in 2009
- John Commarato
- Alfonso Serantonio
- Joseph Yan” one
- Eugen” LaGana
- Frank Balzano
- Sergio “SergForce” Gallo
- Dan ‘Big Fish’ Cantelliani
- Hugh “Apples” McIntosh – died in 1997
- Jero”e JohnsDan’ murdFish’by Colombo bodygua” ds in 1972