Carlo Gambino: "The Boss" 1

Carlo Gambino: The Boss Of The Gambino Mob

Kyle Lindquist

Grand Island High School

English 9

Kasahara/Albert

January 31st 2011

Carlo Gambino: "The Boss" 2

Carlo Gambino: The Boss of the Gambino Mob Outlaws have always been in the spotlight in American society. The reason that outlaws are cheered on is that the outlaws do what regular people in society do not; they defy authority. Heroes the people sometimes call them, however they must fit the outlaw hero paradigm in order to be considered a true outlaw hero by the people of society. The rules say that the outlaw must rebel against an unjust society, not hurt innocent people while committing his/her crimes, be a good leader and lead his/her men him/herself, be clever enough to elude the authorities for awhile, be betrayed or tricked by authorities (because the outlaw is too clever to be beaten otherwise) and lose their outlaw life style by voluntarily giving it up, being killed or being jailed. Carlo Gambino rebelled against the United Sates government by immigrating into the U.S. illegally, he did kill people while committing his crimes, he led his entire mob by being the Don of the Gambino Mob, he was very secretive about his business and this meant that the police, but he did not fall for it, and he did not give up his life style and become a normal citizen or be jailed. Carlo Gambino is an outlaw hero in the view of some people because he lived a very exciting lifestyle which many wished for. For people to better understand his lifestyle, they much first learn about his Don of the Gambino family life. Biographical Information: Carlo "Don Carlo" Gambino was born August 24th, 1902 in the town Caccamo on the Island of Sicily. He was born into a family that belonged to the Honored Society. Only when Gambino was in his teens he was carrying out murder orders for mob bosses. When he was 19, in 1921 he was inducted into the Cosa Nostra being made a "made

Carlo Gambino: "The Boss" 3

man".(http://mafia.wikia.com/wiki/Carlo_Gambino) The Cosa Nostra means "Our Thing" to the mafiosi.( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Mafia#Omert.C3.A0) He immigrated illegally into the U.S. on a shipping boat. His first mob or group was "The Young Turks", which was made of Americanized Italians in New York and included one of the future's most powerful mob bosses, Charlie "Lucky" Luciano. Fitting the Outlaw Hero Paradigm: I Don't think that Carlo Gambino really fits the outlaw hero paradigm. The standard for an outlaw hero is someone like Robin Hood, who steals from the rich and gives to the poor. Carlo Gambino isn't quite the same as Robin Hood. Carlo Gambino's goal is not for a noble cause, it's just for himself. So I think that Carlo Gambino is not an outlaw hero. The first rule of the outlaw paradigm is that the outlaw must rebel against and unjust political system. When Carlo Gamino is born, his family is already part of the Honored Society, which is like the Black Hand of America (http://mafia.wikia.com/wiki/Carlo_Gambino). So Gambino somewhat rebelled against the unjust Italian Government ruled by Benito Mussolini. But the major government that Gambino rebelled against was the U.S. government, and this is not an unjust one in my opinion. He may have not rebelled against an unjust government, but he definably rebelled against it. Gambino's illegal activites were loansharking, illegal gambling, and protection monet from area metchants when he was in his older years(http://mafia.wikia.com/wiki/Carlo_Gambino) The second rule of the outlaw hero paradigm is that the outlaw much not victimize the common people. Gambino did not fulfill this rule, he victimized the common people with most

Carlo Gambino: "The Boss" 4

of his crimes. When he first immigrated to the U.S which was illegal, the group that he joined "The Young Turks" was involved in robbery, thefts, and illegal gambling. So even when he first joined a mob he was victimizing the common people. The third rule of the outlaw hero paradigm is that the outlaw must be a good leader. Carlo Gambino was a very good leader because he became the boss of the Gambino crime family, that still bears his name today. He orders the Capo's of the family, and they ordered the soldiers of the family. The fourth rule of the outlaw hero paradigm is that the outlaw must possess superior intellect and abilities in order to prevail over the authorities. Gambino possessed the intellect and abilities to outsmart the police investigation in December of 1972 (http://mafia.wikia.com/wiki/Carlo_Gambino). Also that he conducted his business well enough that he was never caught. The fifth rule results from the fourth rule: the authorities rarely triumph over the outlaw in a fair right because the outlaw is too clever for them. Gambino was never convicted on any of the crimes he committed. So the authorities never triumphed over Gambino at all, whether a fair fight or not. The final rule is that the outlaw must inevitably lose or give up his outlaw lifestyle and join the rank and file. Gambino never gave up his lifestyle being a mobster till the day he died. Even when Gambino lived with his family and three children he still ordered his capo's to order other soldiers and do his mobster boss deeds. Since he did not ever give up his lifestyle he does not fulfill this rule.

Carlo Gambino: "The Boss" 5

Reflection on Society's Perception of Outlaws as Heroes Carlo Gambino does not live up to the outlaw hero paradigm, not many do. This outlaw hero paradigm was made and is useful for understanding why so many outlaws are idolized by so many different cultures. The outlaws allow the common people to feel the desire for revenge on authority that do not treat them fairly as they deserve. This way the common people can experience being an outlaw and getting revenge on the authorities in their own mind.