When Carlo Gambino took control of what became known as the Gambino crime family, the conventional story often credits his ascension to Machiavellian scheming. However, a deeper look at FBI records and informant accounts suggests the transition was more complicated and involved a precarious power-sharing arrangement that ultimately backfired on those who orchestrated it. According to FBI informants, including family soldier Alfred Santantonio, the real architects behind the 1957 murder of Albert Anastasia were Joseph Riccobono, Joe Biondo, and Charles Dongarra. The plot was reportedly set in motion after Anastasia marked Riccobono, Biondo, and Dongarra for death.
Joseph Franco, a captain in the family and a close friend of Anastasia, learned of the plan to kill these three men and warned them. This prompted the three targeted men, along with Andrew Alberti, Joseph N. Gallo, Steve Gramauta, and Joe Cahill, who was not a family member but was highly respected, to meet and decide to kill Anastasia first. The FBI file recounts that at a subsequent meeting of the commission, Riccobono explained the reasoning for the murder.
He said that if he had been wrong in his assessment of the situation, he could be held responsible. At that meeting, all responsible parties were effectively pardoned by the other families, including Cahill and Gramauta. Interestingly, the informant noted that the inquiry by the commission was conducted entirely in English, which was itself a point of interest. During the inquiry, Carlo Gambino was among the speakers.
He addressed the commission to clarify that Anastasia had been “killing people who should not have been killed” and was using members of other families to do so. The informant got the impression that some commission members knew why Anastasia had been killed, while others did not. This account suggests that Riccobono, Biondo, and Dongarra may have briefed Carlo Gambino on their plan and gained his support before the hit, seeking his help to smooth over the political fallout. This has led to ongoing speculation that Carlo Gambino was secretly the puppet master behind the Anastasia murder, with Riccobono’s explanation being a cover story.
However, FBI records indicate that Carlo Gambino was appointed boss of the family on a provisional basis. Buffalo boss and commission member Stefano Magaddino explained that the commission does not normally appoint a family head. Magaddino noted that he had provisionally appointed Gambino, who was then the family’s consigliere—not the underboss, as is often reported—until the borgata could elect him officially. Magaddino also indicated that Joseph Biondo held the family together during the interim period.
After Gambino’s provisional appointment, there was still unrest within the family. This rebellion against Gambino’s leadership only ended after Tommy Rava was killed in Florida several months later. While some theories still hold that Gambino was the mastermind, the evidence suggests he may have been more of a beneficiary of the coup rather than its primary architect, with the true instigators being the Riccobono faction who acted to save their own lives.