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 The American Mafia, commonly referred to in North America as the Italian American Mafia, the Mafia, or the Mob, is a highly organized Italian American criminal society and organized crime group. The organization is often referred to by its membe ...

boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, a ...

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 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 criminal phenomenon known as ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

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

Joe Masseria Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria (; January 17, 1886April 15, 1931) was an early Italian-American Mafia boss in New York City. He was boss of what is now called the Genovese crime family, one of the New York City Mafia's Five Families, from 1922 t ...

Early years

Reina was born on September 27, 1889 in Corleone, 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 The Morello crime family () was one of the earliest crime families to be established in the United States and New York City. The Morellos were based in Manhattan's Italian Harlem and eventually gained dominance in the Italian underworld by defea ...

. In July 1913, Reina's sister Bernarda married

Vincenzo Terranova Vincenzo "the Tiger of Harlem" Terranova (May 1886 – May 8, 1922) was a gangster and an early Italian-American organized crime figure in the United States. He succeeded Nicholas Morello as boss of the then Morello Gang in 1916 and was succeed b ...

. 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 Y ...

. DeStefano p.127 In November 1914, wealthy poultryman, Barnet Baff, 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 Californ ...

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 and

, 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 An icebox (also called a cold closet) is a compact non-mechanical refrigerator which was a common early-twentieth-century kitchen appliance before the development of safely powered refrigeration devices. Before the development of electric refrig ...

distribution in The Bronx.The American Mafia - Gaetano Reina (www.onewal.com)
Reina's underboss was

Tommy Gagliano Thomas Gagliano (born Tommaso Gagliano; ; May 29, 1883 − February 16, 1951) was an Italian-American mobster and boss of what U.S. federal authorities would later designate as the Lucchese crime family, one of the " Five Families" of New York ...

, 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 Neighborhoods in Brooklyn, neighborhood in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Bedford–Stuyvesant to the s ...

. Reina switched sides and began supporting Maranzano.Critchley, (2008). p. 175 Masseria learned of Reina's betrayal and ordered

Charles "Lucky" Luciano Charles "Lucky" Luciano (, ; born Salvatore Lucania ; November 24, 1897 – January 26, 1962) was an Italian-born gangster who operated mainly in the United States. Luciano started his criminal career in the Five Points gang and was instrument ...

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 Past member(s) Joseph Abate Joseph "Joe" Abate (July 8, 1902 – 1994) was a capo in the family's New Jersey faction. In the 1920s, Abate served as an enforcer for Al Capone in Chicago before settling in New Jersey.Raab, p.1-3 In June 1976, Aba ...

) 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 Y ...

, New York.

In popular culture

Films *In ''

The Valachi Papers The Valachi Papers may refer to: *'' The Valachi Papers (book)'', 1968 book by Peter Maas *''The Valachi Papers (film) ''The Valachi Papers'' is a 1972 Italian-French crime neo noir directed by Terence Young. It is an adaptation of the 1968 no ...

'' (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. Al ...

. *In ''

Gangster Wars ''The Gangster Chronicles'' is a 1981 American crime drama television miniseries starring Michael Nouri, Joe Penny, Jon Polito, Louis Giambalvo, Kathleen Lloyd, Madeleine Stowe, Chad Redding, Markie Post, Allan Arbus, James Andronica, Robert Da ...

'' (1982), Reina is portrayed by Joe Tornatore. *In ''

Mobsters 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 a ...

'' (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 as ...

. 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