Vincent Mangano


Vincent Mangano was an Italian-born mobster also known as "The Executioner" as named in a Brooklyn newspaper, was the head of what would come to be known as the Gambino crime family from 1931 to 1951. His brother, Philip Mangano, was his right-hand man and consigliere. He is also a distant paternal relative of former Genovese crime family underboss Venero Mangano and a suspected relative of Lawrence Mangano.

Vince as head of the Gambino family

Mangano was named head of what was then the Mineo family in 1931, following the Castellammarese War. He was one of the original bosses of the modern Five Families, the others being Joseph Bonanno, Lucky Luciano, Joe Profaci and Tommy Gagliano.
Mangano made the waterfront his family's main income producer. He and his associates would threaten to prevent cargo from being loaded or unloaded if the shipping company refused to pay a tribute. This effort was helped by the family's control of Brooklyn Local 1814 of the International Longshoremen's Association; its president, Anthony Anastasio, was a member of the family.

Feud with Anastasia

Despite being a mob power in his own right, Albert Anastasia was nominally the underboss of the Mangano crime family, under Mangano. During his 20-year rule, Mangano had resented Anastasia's close ties to Luciano and Costello, particularly the fact that they had obtained Anastasia's services without first seeking Mangano's permission. This and other business disputes led to heated, almost physical fights between the two mobsters.

Disappearance and death

Mangano's brother was found dead near Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn on April 19, 1951. He was murdered along with his brother on the orders of family underboss Albert Anastasia in Brooklyn in 1951. Vincent Mangano's body was never found, and was declared dead 10 years later on October 30, 1961, by the Surrogate's Court in Brooklyn. No one was ever arrested in the Mangano murders, but it was widely assumed that Anastasia had them killed.