Gaetano Reina

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Gaetano "Tom" Reina (1889 – February 26, 1930) was a New York mobster who was a close lieutenant to powerful gang boss Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria. Reina's murder would trigger the bloody Castellammarese War between the Sicilian criminal gangs in the United States.

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[edit] Early years

Born Gaetano Reina in 1889, Reina began running criminal operations based mainly in the Bronx. During an era in which all food stuffs and beverages were refrigerated in iceboxes, Reina acquired a virtual monopoly on ice distribution. Reina's crime group first existed alongside the Morello crime family of the Bronx and Harlem, later under Morello relative Ciro "The Artichoke King" Terranova. Later on during Prohibition, Reina formed an alliance with rising Masseria crime organziation and soon became a high ranking member. Future government informant Joe Valachi married Reina's oldest daughter Mildred, despite the objections of her mother, brother, and uncles.

[edit] Alliance with Maranzano

In the 1920's, Reina became entangled in a high stakes confrontation between Masseria and his bitter rival, Salvatore Maranzano. Arriving in New York in 1925, Maranzano was part of a Sicilian family from Castellammare del Golfo in Sicily. Most of Maranzano's organization came from that Sicilian town and were called "Castellammarese". Naturally, Masseria wasn't planning to turn over any of his operations to a newcomer without a fight. In addition, Masseria was in conflict with the Castellammarese clan regarding disputes in Chicago with Al Capone's Chicago Outfit. Maranzano was soon was hijacking truckloads of Masseria's liquor and taking over Masseria's bars in New York. Masseria soon was making his counterstrikes.

As the conflict began, Reina began to rethink his alliance with Masseria. The main reason was that Masseria had recently started demanding a share of Reina's profits. Reina now considered defecting to Maranzano. Being informed of Reina's defection by Peter Morello, after Reina's gunmen entered the Bronx's Roman Gardens during a fund raising dinner for city Magistrate Albert Vitale on December 27, 1929, as Masseria began planning with Reina lieutenant Gaetano Gagliano to murder Reina and prevent him from allying with Maranzano.

[edit] Assassination

According to Charles "Lucky" Luciano in Martin A. Gosch and Richard Hammer's The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano, Reina was "...a man of his word, he had culture, and was a very honorable Italian." However, Luciano's respect for Reina did not stop him from ordering this murder

On February 26, Reina was leaving his aunt's home in the Bronx after dinner (although other sources claim he had been leaving the apartment of his mistress). [1]. In any case, Vito Genovese approached the 40 year-old Reina on Sheridan Avenue and killed him with a shotgun blast to the head.

[edit] Aftermath

After Reina's death, Masseria installed his ally Joseph Pinzolo as the new head of the Reina organization. Angry over being passed over, Reina lieutenants Gaetano Gagliano and Thomas Lucchese defected to Maranzano. Over time, Masseria continued to weaken as more family members deserted him. Finally, Luciano and other Masseria underlings struck a secret deal with Maranzano to eliminate Masseria. On April 14 1931, Masseria was murdered in a Coney Island, New York restaurant.

The victor in the Castellammarese War, Maranzano, enjoyed a very short reign as boss of all bosses. In September 1931, with the connivance of Luciano and Lucchese, Maranzano was shot and stabbed to death in his office by four men posing as Bureau of Internal Revenue agents. After Maranzano's death, his family eventually became the Bonnano crime family.

[edit] In popular culture

Reina would later be portrayed in film by the following actors:

[edit] References

  • Kelly, Robert J. Encyclopedia of Organized Crime in the United States. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2000. ISBN 0-313-30653-2
  • Sifakis, Carl. The Mafia Encyclopedia. New York: Da Capo Press, 2005. ISBN 0-8160-5694-3

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

Preceded by
N/A		 Lucchese Crime Family Boss
1922-1930		 Succeeded by
Tommy Gagliano
Preceded by
N/A		 Jersey Crew Boss
1922-1930		 Succeeded by
Thomas Lucchese