Domenico Cefalù (; born January 10, 1947) is a Sicilian-born

mobster A gangster (informally gangsta) 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 ...

and is currently the boss of the

Gambino crime family The Gambino 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, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia. ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, since July 2011.

Biography

Cefalù was born in

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, in 1947. After moving to the United States, Cefalù became involved in organized crime and started smuggling

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

for the

. In March 1982, Cefalù was convicted of heroin smuggling along with 10 other men, including his uncle and cousin, and served six years in prison. In 1990, Gambino boss

John Gotti John Joseph Gotti Jr.Capeci, Mustain (1996), pp. 25–26 ( , ; October 27, 1940 – June 10, 2002) was an American '' mafioso'' and boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City. He ordered and helped to orchestrate the murder of Gambin ...

inducted Cefalù as a

made man In the Sicilian and American Mafia, a made man is a fully initiated member of the Mafia. In order to become eligible to be "made", an associate must fulfill several requirements, such as being Italian or of Italian descent and sponsored by ...

, or full member, into the Gambino family. Cefalù was a member of the Sicilian " Zip" crew headed by

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Pasquale Conte and operated in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

and

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. In 1992, a New York

grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...

summoned Cefalù to testify in an investigation of Conte. After answering a few questions, Cefalù refused to testify. The judge sentenced Cefalù to 18 months in jail for

civil contempt Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the co ...

. On February 23, 1993, Cefalù was summoned to testify in Conte's trial, but again refused. On February 6, 1994, Cefalù was released from jail. However, on February 6, 1994, Cefalù was

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an indi ...

on criminal contempt for refusing to testify at Conte's trial. In 1996, convicted of criminal contempt, the court sentenced Cefalù to 33 months in prison. In 2005, Cefalù was named family

underboss Underboss () is a position within the leadership structure of certain organized crime groups, particularly in Sicilian Mafia, Sicilian and Italian-American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the Crime boss, boss. The un ...

by street boss and former ally of John Gotti, Jackie D'Amico. One of his main responsibilities was overseeing the Sicilian faction of the Gambino family. On February 7, 2008, Cefalù was indicted on multiple charges of

racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercion, coercive, fraud, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. ...

conspiracy and

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

as part of the Operation Old Bridge investigation of the Gambino family. The extortion charges came from the trucking industry, which hauls away dirt excavated from construction projects. He accepted a

plea agreement A plea bargain, also known as a plea agreement or plea deal, is a legal arrangement in criminal law where the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a charge in exchange for concessions from the prosecutor. These concessions can include ...

from the prosecution in exchange for a guilty plea that could have resulted in his spending up to three years in prison. He was sentenced to two years in prison and was released on November 3, 2009. In July 2011, he became the official boss of the Gambino crime family. His ascension was seen as a return to the old-fashioned way of running a Mafia family. He replaced Peter Gotti, who had been sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

in 2002 while a series of acting bosses and ruling panels was used to run the family. This also marked the end of the Gotti era of the Gambino family as since 1985 a Gotti family member had either held the position of official boss or acting boss.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cefalu, Domenico 1947 births American gangsters of Italian descent People of Sicilian descent Bosses of the Gambino crime family Gambino crime family Living people American prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government Italian emigrants to the United States American people convicted of drug offenses People convicted of racketeering