Constantino Paul Castellano (Italian: [kastelˈlaːno]; June 26, 1915 – December 16, 1985) was an American crime boss who succeeded Carlo Gambino as head of the Gambino crime family of New York City. Castellano ran the organization from 1976 until his assassination on December 16, 1985.
Paul Castellano was born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York, on June 26, 1915. His parents, Giuseppe and Concetta Castellano (née Cassata), were both Italian immigrants; his father was a butcher and an early member of the Mangano crime family, the forerunner of the Gambino crime family.[1]
Castellano dropped out of school in the eighth grade to learn butchering and collecting numbers game receipts, both from his father.[2] In July 1934, 19-year-old Castellano was arrested for the first time in Hartford, Connecticut, for robbing a haberdasher.[3] He refused to identify his two accomplices to the police and served a three-month prison sentence. By refusing to break the oath of omertà and cooperate with authorities, Castellano enhanced his reputation for mob loyalty.[2]
Castellano's sister Catherine had married one of their cousins, future Mafia boss Carlo Gambino, in 1932. In 1937, Castellano married his childhood sweetheart, Nina Manno; the couple had three sons and a daughter.[4] Manno died in 1999.[5] He was of no relation to actor Richard S. Castellano from The Godfather, despite claims made by Richard's wife after his death.[6]
Castellano often signed his name as "C. Paul Castellano" because he hated his first name, Constantino. His first name at birth has been cited as both Constantino and Costantino.
