Ralph Galione

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Ralph "Ralphie Wigs" Galione (August 31, 1936- December 20, 1973^[1]) was a hitman for the Gambino crime family and worked in John Gotti's Bergin Hunt and Fish Club crew.

[edit] James McBratney murder

Galione, Gotti, and Angelo Ruggiero were ordered to murder James McBratney, an Irish-American who was involved in the kidnapping of Emanuel "Manny" Gambino. The hitmen had acquired several phony police badges and walked into a bar on May 22, 1973 and asked for McBratney to come with them. He wasn't fooled, so the gang pointed a gun at the other patrons and ordered them to cooperate with them as they abducted McBratney. One patron didn't comply and, as Galione pushed the patron, the gun accidentally fired. In a panic, Galione shot McBratney three times and left. Due to the enormous heat generated, Galione was seen as a threat by his bosses and shot dead outside his Brooklyn apartment several months after McBratney's murder. ^[2] He is the father of Lucchese crime family mobster James Galione and a suspected relative of Chicago Outfit mobster Frank Galione. Frank Galione was an influential mob associate of Angelo LaPietra who acted as a bodyguard and chauffer for mobster Ronald Jarett. His son James later in his adulthood followed Ralph into a life of organized crime. His son James was only eleven years old when Ralph was murdered in retaliation for his actions taken in the James McBratney murder.