Albert Gallo
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Albert Gallo, Jr. was born in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, New York. Gallo followed his two legendary brothers, Larry and "Crazy" Joe Gallo, into their South Brooklyn gang that ruled President Street, and became known as "Kid Blast". Another member of the crew was future Colombo crime family boss Carmine Persico, who was also known as Junior and the Snake.
Many investigators believe that the Gallos were used by Carlo Gambino as the gunmen that murdered Albert Anastasia, who also grew up in their South Brooklyn area.
The Gallo brothers operated under the then Profaci family, headed by old-school mafioso Joseph Profaci. In 1959, Profaci gave the brothers the order to kill their mafia superior Frank Abbatemarco, who headed a lucrative bookmaking and loan sharking operation. After Abbatemarco's murder, the Gallos were cut out of the former Abbatemarco operation, which were given to Profaci underlings, and led by Crazy Joe, began an all out war against the Godfather. The Gallos had the backing of Genovese crime family capodecina Anthony "Tony Bender" Strollo. The Gallos kidnapped 4 of Profaci's leading mafioso, including underboss Joseph Magliocco, until Profaci agreed to pay the Gallos. Profaci reneged on the agreement, and soon after died of natural causes.
In 1972, while celebrating his 43rd birthday, Joe Gallo was murdered on the orders of Joseph Yacovelli and Carmine Persico, the men suspected that Gallo was involved in the murder of boss Joseph Colombo. In retaliation, and as leader of the defunct Gallo gang, Albert Kid Blast and a team of gunmen found Persico and others eating in a Chinese restaurant and came back with guns, but ended up firing at the wrong table and missing all of the Colombo wiseguys.
Sometime in the mid-1970s, Albert Gallo joined the Genovese crime family. Also joining Gallo and the Genoveses was another Gallo gang members, Frank Illiano. The two men have risen through the ranks of the more powerful Genovese family, and at times Gallo has served on a ruling administration in the absence of official boss Vincent Gigante. Currently, Albert Gallo is listed as an acting captain in the Genovese family, in the crew of the older Illiano. The crew is involved in loan sharking, bookmaking, extortion and protection rackets. Both Gallo and Illiano are still mainstays on Court Street, in South Brooklyn, spending time at the Van Westerhout Cittadini Molesi Social Club, located at Court St. & 4th Place.
[edit] Further reading
- Capeci, Jerry. The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002. ISBN 0-02-864225-2