Gaetano Lucchese
Named in 1963 by Valachi and by New York police as boss of the family that bears his name. Police testimony said he took Frank Costello's place when Costello went to jail.
- Born
- 1899
- Aliases
- Tom Lucchese, Tommy Lucchese, Thomas Lucchese, Three-Finger Brown, Tommy Brown, Thomas Luckese, Thomas Arra
- Family
- Lucchese family, as the 1963 testimony names it (testimony, 1963)
- Role
- Boss, as Valachi agreed with counsel and Shanley answered the committee (testimony, 1963)
- Rights
- Biography on this page is limited to what the cited federal records state.
On the record
- 9–11 September 1930 — New York police record, read by Sgt. Ralph Salerno on 1 October 1963 (printed p. 175): Joseph Pinzolo was found dead in suite 1007 of the Brokaw Building, 1487 Broadway, and "The lessee of these premises was Thomas Lucchese." Two days later, on September 11, he "was arraigned in homicide court," was "held without bail," and "The evidence was presented the grand jury which failed to return an indictment" (printed pp. 175–176). Asked his other name, Salerno said "Three-Finger Brown, Tommy Brown." Police record, read aloud; an arraignment is not a finding.
- 26 February 1931 — The FBI identification record furnished on April 3, 1956 (Vault, Lucchese Part 01, viewer pp. 38 and 44, OCR) lists a New York police arrest of "Thomas Luckese" in September 1930 on a homicide charge, disposition "dismissed," February 26, 1931. The day of the arrest is not legible. FBI identification record.
- 1 October 1963 — Valachi testified (printed p. 176) that Pinzolo's killer was "Bobby Doyle. Santuccio, Bobby Doyle, not Lucchese." Testimony.
- 8 October 1963 — Counsel (printed p. 246): "Tom Lucchese is the boss; is that right?" Valachi agreed. Testimony, confirming counsel's question.
- 8 October 1963 — Asked who is the boss of this family, Shanley answered (printed p. 275): "This is Gaetano Lucchese, also known as Tommy Lucchese" (cleaned from the OCR). He testified that Lucchese "took Frank Costello's place at the time Costello went to jail" for contempt of Congress, and that "He had an income tax levied against him of $162,000" for 1947–1951 (cleaned from the OCR). Testimony.
The birth year is from Shanley’s testimony: “born in 1899, in Italy.” No opened record gives his death. The FBI Vault titles his file “Thomas Lucchese”; Part 01 has 240 pages withheld. The only entries taken from it are those of the identification record above, read from OCR. The aliases “Three-Finger Brown” and “Tommy Brown” are Salerno’s; “Thomas Luckese” and “Thomas Arra” are names in the FBI identification record. The 1930 arraignment and the 1931 dismissal are a charge and its disposition, not a finding; the police record does not say why the case was dropped beyond the grand jury’s failure to indict.
The nickname printed on the staff chart is not legible in the text layer; the aliases on this page come from Salerno’s testimony and the FBI record, not from the chart.
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.
itemFBI Vault: Thomas Lucchese, Part 01Part 01 of the FBI's Lucchese file, 1946–1962. The deleted-page sheet lists 240 pages withheld. The readable serials concern 1940s and 1950s investigations; nothing is taken from them here.itemFBI identification record of Thomas Lucchese, furnished April 3, 1956: a New York homicide arrest of September 1930, dismissed February 26, 1931An FBI New York report (file NY 92-305) in the Lucchese file reproduces the Identification Division's record of April 3, 1956. Among its entries is a New York police arrest of "Thomas Luckese" in September 1930 on a homicide charge, disposition "dismissed," February 26, 1931. Read from the viewer's OCR.
itemHearing of October 1, 1963, pp. 174–179: Sgt. Ralph Salerno reads the police records of the 1930 killings of Reina, Morello, Pinzolo, Ferrigno and MineoA New York police sergeant read into the record the department's entries on five killings of 1930, with the time and street of each: Reina at 1522 Sheridan Avenue, Morello at 362 East 116th Street, Pinzolo in the Brokaw Building, and Ferrigno and Mineo on Pelham Parkway. Every case was still open in 1963.
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.