Gaetano Lucchese
Born	December 1, 1899 Palermo, Sicily, Italy
Died	July 13, 1967 New York City, New York, USA

Gaetano "Tommy" Lucchese (December 1, 1899 - July 13, 1967) was the boss of the Lucchese crime family, one of the five Mafia families ruling the New York underground. Image File history File links 2-3-Gaetano-Lucchese. ... December 1 is the 335th (in leap years the 336th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Nickname: Palermu Motto: Official website: http://www. ... Sicily (Sicilia in Italian and Sicilian, Σικελία in Greek) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,700 sq. ... July 13 is the 194th day (195th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 171 days remaining. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... Nickname: Big Apple Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area    - City 1,214. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ... December 1 is the 335th (in leap years the 336th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1899 (MDCCCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... July 13 is the 194th day (195th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 171 days remaining. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... The Lucchese crime family is one of the Five Families that controls organized crime activities in New York City, USA, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia (or La Cosa Nostra). ...

Early life

Tommy Lucchese was five-foot-two with a slight build, but any idea that this may make him less of a threat was quickly dispelled by his ruthless use of extreme violence. He was born in Palermo, Sicily, and moved to the United States some time during the first decade of the 20th century. He lost a finger following an industrial accident in 1915, which earned him the nickname "Three-Finger Brown" (after a popular baseball player at the time, Mordecai Brown). Lucchese started his own window cleaning company when he was 18, which eventually became an extortion racket. As a young man he racked up a long list of arrests including some for homicide, but he managed to avoid conviction in every case, but for a single grand larceny charge in the early 1920s. Nickname: Palermu Motto: Official website: http://www. ... Mordecai Brown of the Chicago Cubs at the West Side Grounds in 1903. ...

The Castellammarese War

In 1930, the Castellammarese War was being fought between two rival crime bosses, Giuseppe Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano. Lucchese began the war as the right-hand man of Gaetano "Tom" Reina, the head of which was at that time a branch of Masseria's organisation but would ultimately become the Lucchese crime family. The Castellammarese War is the name given to a bloody internal power struggle between two factions of Italian-American mafia figures that took place in 1930 and 1931. ... REDIRCT:Joe Masseria ... Salvatore Maranzano (1868-1931) Salvatore Maranzano (1868-September 10, 1931) was an organized crime figure from the town of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, and an early Mafia boss in the United States. ... Tom Reina (1889-February 26, 1930) was an Italian-American mobster and capo to Joe Masseria. ...

Reina was killed in February 1930 by Vito Genovese, the future head of the Genovese crime family, and was replaced in the Masseria organisation by Joseph Pinzolo. Lucchese resented Pinzolo from the outset as he had been brought in as an outsider by Masseria. Lucchese's ill will towards Pinzolo ultimately led to the former murdering the latter (though others have been suggested as suspects) - luckily for Lucchese, Masseria attributed the killing to Maranzano. Vito Genovese (November 27, 1897 – February 14, 1969) was a mafioso who rose to power in America during the Castellammarese War to later become leader of the Genovese crime family. ... Bonaventura Joseph Pinzolo was the head of the Lucchese crime family in New York City for a brief period during 1930. ...

Though events had not yet been fully played out, Charles "Lucky" Luciano would ultimately come out on top at the end of the Castellammarese War having played both sides superbly and ultimately had both Masseria, his own boss, and Maranzano killed. Tommy Lucchese, along with Gaetano "Tommy" Gagliano, had been convinced by Luciano to switch from the Masseria camp to Maranzano's, but without telling their current employer. Maranzano thought he now had two spies in the opposing camp - in fact, Luciano was the man who could now claim the two Tommys' loyalty. Lucchese became one of Luciano's favoured hitmen, and is alleged to have been involved in at least 30 murders. Lucky Luciano. ... Tommy Gagliano Gaetano Tommy Gagliano was the head of the Lucchese crime family between 1931 and 1953. ...

Head of the family 1953-67

When the war was finally brought to a bloody end with the murder of Maranzano on September 10, 1931, Tommy Gagliano became boss of Reina's gang, with Tommy Lucchese as his underboss. Gagliano remained boss until his death by natural causes in 1953. Having served for 22 years as the loyal underboss to Gagliano, Lucchese finally took control of the organization himself. Concentrating on the core Mafia values of making money and not getting caught, Lucchese took the family into new rackets in Manhattan's garment district and in the related trucking industry, taking control of key union officials and trade associations.

Reputation

He was popular and well-liked among his men, and known to value their welfare highly. Lucchese also enjoyed close relations with mayors and other politicians, including Mayor William O'Dwyer and Mayor Vincent Impellitteri. He ultimately became one of the most well-respected Mafia bosses of the era. William ODwyer (July 11, 1890 – November 24, 1964) was Mayor of New York from 1946 to 1950. ... Vincent Richard Impellitteri (February 4, 1900 - January 29, 1987) became mayor of New York City upon the departure, in disgrace, of Mayor William ODwyer. ...

Death

Lucchese led a quiet, stable life until he developed a fatal brain tumour and died in 1967. His funeral at the Calvary Cemetery in Queens, New York, was attended by over 1,000 mourners, including politicians, judges, policemen, racketeers, drug pushers, pimps, and hitmen. He was succeeded as boss by Carmine Tramunti, and subsequently Antonio "Tony Ducks" Corallo. Calvary Cemetery is located in Woodside, Queens County, New York. ... Carmine Gribbs Tramunti was the head of the Lucchese crime family for seven years between 1967 and 1974. ... Antonio Corallo also know as Tony Ducks served some jail time for trafficking narcotics as a kid and then became a big shot in the Gagliano-Lucchese crime family in New York. ...

Obituary

A New York Times obituary on July 14th, 1967, read: The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ...

" 3-Finger Brown, 67, Rackets Boss, Dies.

Gaetano Lucchese, the dapper little rackets boss known to the police as Thomas (Three Fingers Brown) Lucchese, died yesterday at his home in Lido Beach, L.I. His family requested that the undertakers handling the funeral arrangements not make public any details about the service." Lido Beach is a census-designated place located in Nassau County, New York. ...