Reputed Gambino crime family boss Francesco Cali gunned down outside Staten Island home

(Image credit: iStockphoto)

published 14 March 2019

A gunman in a blue pickup shot dead Francesco (Franky Boy) Cali, the reputed head of the notorious Gambino crime family, outside his mansion in New York City's Staten Island borough on Wednesday night. Cali, 53 was taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Federal prosecutors have referred to Cali as a Gambino underboss in court filings, but police sources tell the New York Post and New York Daily News that Cali was elevated to head of the Gambino organization in 2015, replacing Domenico Cefalu. The Daily News says he was shot six times in the chest.

This was the first murder of a mob boss in New York City since Gambino chief Paul Castellano was gunned down outside Sparks Steak House in Manhattan, on orders from the man who replaced him, John Gotti. Unlike the "Dapper Don," who died in prison in 2002, Cali "was a real quiet old-school boss," a police source told the Post, and "no one ever sees him." Killing Cali outside his house was "disrespectful," another police source told the Post. "Even Gotti had more respect. ... He did it out in Manhattan."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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