Gaetano Reina (; September 27, 1889 – February 26, 1930) was an Italian-American

gangster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix ''-ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

. He was an early American Mafia boss who was the founder of what has for many years been called the

Lucchese crime family The Lucchese crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian-American Italian-American Mafia, Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, in the United States, within the nationwide crimi ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. He led the family until his murder on February 26, 1930, on the orders of Joe Masseria.

Early years

Reina was born on September 27, 1889 in

Corleone Corleone (; scn, Cunigghiuni or ) is an Italian town and ''comune'' of roughly 11,158 inhabitants in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, in Sicily. Several Mafia bosses have come from Corleone, including Tommy Gagliano, Gaetano Reina, Jack D ...

, Sicily to Giacomo Reina and Carmela Rumore. Critchley p. 86 In the early 1900s, the Reina family moved to New York City and settled on 107th Street in

East Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, F ...

. Reina along with his brother Antonio began working with members of the Morello crime family. In July 1913, Reina's sister Bernarda married Vincenzo Terranova. He married Angelina Olivera, and the couple had nine children; five sons, Giacomo, became a member of the Lucchese family, Capeci p. 61 Henry, Sam, John and Bernard, and four daughters, Anna, Carmela "Mildred" Valachi, married

Joe Valachi Joseph Michael Valachi (September 22, 1904 – April 3, 1971) was an American mobster in the Genovese crime family who is notable as the first member of the Italian-American Mafia to acknowledge its existence publicly in 1963. He is credited wit ...

in 1932, Rose Bongrieco and Lucy Sterling. The family lived in a home on Rochambeau Avenue in the Norwood, section of

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

DeStefano DeStefano is an Italian surname with Greek origin. People with the surname include: * Cosmo P. DeStefano, American author *Sam DeStefano, American gangster * Mike DeStefano, American comedian *Chris DeStefano, American singer *Mario Anthony DeStefa ...

p.127 In November 1914, wealthy poultryman,

Barnet Baff Barnet Baff (c. 1863 – November 24, 1914) was a poultry dealer in New York City who was murdered by organized crime that represented the "poultry trust" in New York that extorted $10 per truckload of poultry from merchants. His death led to an i ...

, was murdered in a plot staged by a cabal of Jewish competitors who hired Sicilian gunmen to commit the crime. The investigation and trial, which dragged on for years, became known as the most sensational killing in New York history. At one point, Reina and

Jack Dragna Jack Ignatius Dragna (born Ignazio Dragna, ; April 18, 1891 – February 23, 1956) was an American Mafia member and Black Hander who was active in both Italy and the United States in the 20th century. He was active in bootlegging in Califor ...

were implicated as the actual gunmen; however, it was later determined they were merely red herrings.

Mafia boss

Reina had long been a captain in the Morello family, being in charge of many men and operations within the Morello organization. As the Morello family fell into chaos during the 1910s, Reina, along with

Salvatore D'Aquila Salvatore "Toto" D'Aquila (; November 7, 1873 – October 10, 1928) was an early Italian-American Mafia boss in New York City of the D'Aquila crime family, what would later become known as the Gambino crime family. Early life and career Salv ...

and Joe Masseria, split off to form their own families. Thus, by 1920, he ruled as boss of his own crime family controlling criminal operations in The Bronx and parts of East Harlem. His crime family held a monopoly over the ice box distribution in The Bronx.The American Mafia - Gaetano Reina (www.onewal.com)
Reina's underboss was Tommy Gagliano, a former Morello gang member. In the late 1920s, Reina formed an alliance with Masseria, who had absorbed into his now powerful organization the remnants of the much weakened Morello family. In 1925,

Salvatore Maranzano Salvatore Maranzano (; July 31, 1886 – September 10, 1931) was an Italian-American mobster from the town of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, and an early Cosa Nostra boss who led what later would become the Bonanno crime family in New York City. ...

arrived in New York City and took over the Castellammare family that operated out of the

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. As of the 2020 Unit ...

. Reina switched sides and began supporting Maranzano.Critchley, (2008). p. 175 Masseria learned of Reina's betrayal and ordered Charles "Lucky" Luciano to arrange Reina's murder.

Murder

On the evening of February 26, 1930, Reina left his mistress Marie Ennis' apartment on Sheridan Avenue in the Claremont section of the Bronx Critchley p. 174-175 (other sources claim he was leaving his aunt's apartment after dinner) Milhorn p. 221 when he was ambushed (some suspect

Vito Genovese Vito Genovese (; November 21, 1897 – February 14, 1969) was an Italian-born American mobster who mainly operated in the United States. Genovese rose to power during Prohibition as an enforcer in the American Mafia. A long-time associate and ch ...

while others suspect Joseph Pinzolo) and shot in the head with a double barreled shotgun, instantly killing him. The two hit men left the weapon under a parked car and escaped. On his body, police found a handgun and $804 in cash. Reina's death helped lead to the

Castellammarese War The Castellammarese War () was a bloody power struggle for control of the Italian-American Mafia that took place in New York City, New York, from February 1930 until April 15, 1931, between partisans of Joe "The Boss" Masseria and those of Salv ...

between Masseria and Maranzano. Reina is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

, New York.

In popular culture

Films *In '' The Valachi Papers'' (1972), Reina is portrayed by

Amedeo Nazzari Amedeo Nazzari (10 December 1907 in Cagliari – 5 November 1979 in Rome) was an Italian actor. Nazzari was one of the leading figures of Italian classic cinema, often considered a local variant of the Australian–American star Errol Flynn. A ...

. *In '' Gangster Wars'' (1982), Reina is portrayed by Joe Tornatore. *In '' Mobsters'' (1991), Reina is portrayed by

Chris Penn Christopher Shannon Penn (October 10, 1965 – January 24, 2006) was an American actor. He was the brother of actor Sean Penn and musician Michael Penn. Noted as a skilled character actor from a prominent acting dynasty, he was typically cast ...

. Novels *In Martin A. Gosch and Richard Hammer's ''The Last Testament of Lucky Luciano'' (1975) According to Charles Luciano, Reina was: "...a man of his word, he had culture, and was a very honorable Italian."

References

Notes Sources * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Reina, Gaetano 1889 births 1930 deaths 1930 murders in the United States American crime bosses American gangsters of Italian descent Bosses of the Lucchese crime family Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) Deaths by firearm in the Bronx Gangsters from Corleone Lucchese crime family Gangsters killed during the Castellammarese War Murdered American gangsters of Sicilian descent People from East Harlem People murdered by the Genovese crime family People murdered in New York City Male murder victims Prohibition-era gangsters Italian emigrants to the United States