abstract
| - Carmine Fatico was born on January 19th 1910 in the neigbourhood of East New York, Brooklyn, New York City. not much is known about his early life. Fatico was a short, slim man who was known more for his intelligence than his physical power. However, Fatico did not shrink from brutal violence when he deemed it necessary. Fatico quickly became a leading capo in the Gambino family due to his unfailing loyalty and obedience, and his tireless and innovative ability to earn money. Starting in the 1930's, Fatico's arrest record would eventually include grand larceny, bookmaking and felonious assault. In 1951, Capo Albert Anastasia took control of the Mangano crime family by murdering Boss Vincent Mangano and Consigliere Phil Mangano and placed Fatico in charge of all family operations in East New York. Around 1952, a 12 year-old John Gotti started working for the mobsters at Fatico's East New York club house as an errand boy. After Anastasia's murder in 1957, Carlo Gambino took over what was now the Gambino crime family and kept Fatico as the East New York capo. By 1966, Fatico commanded a crew of approximately 120 men, including made and not yet made captains, sidewalk soldiers and mob associates. Fatico's nickname "Charley Wagons" alluded to his penchant for hijacking transport trucks. Fatico conducted the hijacking of cargoes at John F. Kennedy Airport and on the Brooklyn waterfront, dealing in stolen merchandise, loansharking, bookmaking, number-running, floating dice games, illegal casinos, illegal, sports book betting and the operation of a fleet of push-button poker machines. It had been estimated that Fatico's crew grossed approximately $30 million a year.
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