How did Thomas Gambino die? Former New York City 'mafia prince' was 94
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Thomas Gambino, the oldest son of the legendary crime boss Carlo Gambino, died of natural causes at the age of 94.
Once known as New York City's 'Mafia Prince,' he reportedly earned more than $75 million in cash bonds and blue chip stock while surviving one of the bloodiest crime eras in history, according to the Daily Mail.
The work of Thomas Gambino
In partnership with his brother Joseph, Thomas had seized control of the trucking business in the Manhattan neighborhood west of Seventh Avenue. Their competition reportedly found themselves with flat tires, or worse, if they ever parked their vehicles in the area.
The brothers also imposed a 7% “mob tax” on goods manufactured and shipped from local businesses.
They took a plea deal in 1992 after being charged with enterprise corruption and agreed to pay $12 million in restitution and fines.
Joseph Gambino died in 2020 at the age of 83
According to authorities, Thomas became the head of the Gambino crime organization after his father, while Joseph played the role of its top operating officer after dropping out of New York University in the 1950s.
The empire of the Gambinos crashed when state authorities charged the brothers with racketeering in October 1990.
The conviction of the Gambino brothers
Investigators went undercover and used surveillance technology to gather evidence, which yielded scores of criminal charges, including enterprise corruption, larceny, extortion, coercion, and restraint of trade.
During the trial, the prosecution reportedly presented evidence which included tapes of conversations secretly recorded with Mafia traitor Salvatore Gravano.
Then-Assistant District Attorney Eliot Spitzer, who was one of the prosecutors in the case, devised a plan to set up a competing sweatshop in the Garment District that produced shirts, pants, and sweaters.
The shop manager managed to get close enough to the Gambino brothers to plant a hidden microphone in the ceiling of their office.
Spitzer went on to become attorney general and then governor of New York. He had to eventually resign when it was revealed he frequented prostitutes.
Speaking to the New York Post, Spitzer said, "I send my condolences to his family."
Thomas was later convicted on racketeering charges in relation to loan sharking operations in Connecticut, for which he spent four years in prison from 1996 to 2000.