Gambino: The Rise

Summary

Fleeing a murder charge in his native homeland of Palermo, Sicily, in Italy, young Carlo Gambino finds refuge in the United States of America. It is the Roaring Twenties, and New York is a melting pot of decadence and excess. As well as unprecedented violence. The Volstead Act creates a new and booming black market for booze, one which gangsters of all denominations seek to control. While Jewish and Irish gangsters carve out a nominal niche for themselves in the liquor trade, the dominant players remain the Italian-American Mafia, also known as La Cosa Nostra. Carlo joins a Cosa Nostra crew run by his cousins, the Castellanos, who in turn work for arising Mafia upstart by the name of Charles “Lucky” Luciano. Carlo’s business smarts increase the crew’s earnings substantially, garnering the attention of Lucky Luciano, who promotes Carlo, and takes the younger Gambino under his wing. But soon, Luciano, Gambino, and their entire outfit find themselves in the middle of a brutal gang war between Salvatore Maranzano and Joseph “Joe the Boss” Masseria, the current kingpins of the New York Mafia underworld. The bloody skirmish litters the streets of New York. Carlo must use all of his cunning, not only to stay alive, but also to go on the offensive, as he helps Luciano devise a plan, thereby putting an end to the Castellammarese War. But no sooner is this goal accomplished, than Carlo finds himself in another predicament. When Luciano is exiled back to Italy by the U.S. Government, a power vacuum is created in the New York Mafia, one which forces Carlo to pit his wits against the likes of such stalwart mobsters as Albert “The Lord High Executioner” Anastasia, as well as the bloodthirsty Vito Genovese. Counted out by the rest of the mob due to his meek and silent nature, Gambino must put his Machiavellian prowess on display, as he looks to rise to the top of the Cosa Nostra hierarchy, while also navigating the uncharted territories of newfound love and fatherhood.