Gaetano Gagliano
Named in the 1963 Senate hearings as the underboss who took over the Reina gang after Reina's killing and recruited Valachi. The only record opened is the subcommittee staff's description of its chart.
- Aliases
- Tom Gagliano
- Rights
- Biography on this page is limited to what the cited federal records state.
On the record
- 1 October 1963 — Duffy, presenting Exhibit 8 (printed p. 162), named "Tom Gagliano, boss of this gang subsequent to Tom Reina being killed." Committee staff, describing its chart.
- 1 October 1963 — Duffy (printed p. 163): "Tom Gagliano, the underboss of this family, wanted to avenge the death of Reina," and recruited new members, among them Valachi. Committee staff.
- 1 October 1963 — Valachi testified (printed p. 156) that the mob he was asked to join was headed by "Tom Gagliano," and (printed p. 157) that "They had to kill Tom Gagliano's boss." Testimony.
- 1 October 1963 — Asked "Was Gagliano one of the Castellemarese?", Valachi answered "No; he was not" (printed p. 166). Testimony.
- 1 October 1963 — Valachi testified (printed pp. 193–194) that "Tom Gagliano invested $140,000 out of his pocket" and that "throughout the whole trouble it cost him $140,000." Testimony.
- 2 October 1963 — Valachi recalled (printed p. 216) that at Maranzano's meeting after the war it was announced: "Tom Gagliano, boss and Tommy Brown underboss." One witness's memory of an announcement. Testimony.
The full name is the one printed on Exhibit 8; Duffy calls him “Tom Gagliano.” Exhibit 8 also carries a death note for Gagliano that the text layer does not render legibly, so no date of death is given.
Duffy’s statements are the staff describing its own chart, and Valachi’s are his recollection thirty-two years later. Neither sets a role here, so the role line is empty, and no family chart on this archive carries his name.
Records
itemOrganized Crime and Illicit Traffic in Narcotics, Part 1 (September 25 to October 9, 1963)The first printed volume of the 1963 Senate hearings: Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy's opening testimony, Joseph Valachi's public testimony, New York police witnesses, Exhibit 8 and Charts A to E.
itemExhibit No. 8: "Masseria-Maranzano War and Evolution of Gang Control—1930 to Present"Staff fold-out chart presented on October 1, 1963: the 1930 to 1931 war in three key-coded groups and the lines of succession drawn from it to five 1963 bosses. Several name boxes are illegible in the scan.
itemHearing of October 1, 1963, pp. 156–157: Valachi joins Gagliano's group and names "the Castellamarese war"Valachi testified that he was persuaded to join a group headed by Tom Gagliano that meant to "fight some big shots," and, asked about the war between Masseria and Maranzano, called it "what we call the Castellamarese war." Testimony, not a finding.
itemHearing of October 1, 1963, pp. 163–165: the killing of Tom Reina, the "undeclared war" and Joseph PinzoloStaff counsel LaVern Duffy named the death of Tom Reina as the first significant date of the 1930–31 war, and Valachi explained why the war was at first "undeclared" and what he was told of the killing of Joseph Pinzolo. Counsel's statements and testimony, not findings.
itemHearing of October 1, 1963, pp. 166–168: "All the Castellemarese were sentenced to death"; the Morello and Pinzolo killings as Valachi told themValachi testified that Masseria had condemned "all the Castellemarese" to death, that Peter Morello was killed "by the Maranzano group," and that the Maranzano and Gagliano sides then joined forces. Counsel put the dates of August 15 and September 9, 1930 from police records. Testimony, much of it hearsay.
itemHearing of October 1, 1963, pp. 193–195: how the war was paid for, and Exhibit No. 10, a Chicago police entry on the killing of Joseph Aiello, October 23, 1930Valachi testified that Tom Gagliano spent $140,000 on the war and that $5,000 a week came from Buffalo and $5,000 a week from Joe Aiello in Chicago. Exhibit No. 10, a photostat of a Chicago police entry, records that Aiello was killed by machine-gun fire in front of 205 N. Kolmar Ave. on October 23, 1930.
itemHearing of October 2, 1963, pp. 214–218: the "score" of the war, Maranzano's meeting on Washington Avenue ("the boss of all bosses, which is myself"), and the banquetValachi testified that the score was "we lost 1 and they lost from 40 to 60," described a meeting of 400 to 500 people in a hall on Washington Avenue in the Bronx where Maranzano declared himself "the boss of all bosses," named the bosses he recalled being designated there, and described a five-night banquet he understood raised $115,000. Testimony, not findings.