Frank Cali | |
|---|---|
 Cali's 2008 mugshot | |
| Born | Francesco Paolo Augusto Cali (1965-03-26)March 26, 1965 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | March 13, 2019(2019-03-13) (aged 53) Staten Island, New York, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Gunshot wounds |
| Resting place | Moravian Cemetery,New Dorp, Staten Island, U.S. |
| Other names | Franky Boy |
| Occupation | Crime boss |
| Spouse | Rosaria Inzerillo |
| Relatives | John Gambino (uncle-in-law)Anastasio Cali (uncle-brother) |
| Allegiance | Gambino crime family |
| Convictions | Racketeering,extortion,conspiracy (2008) |
| Criminal penalty | 10 months' imprisonment |
Francesco Paolo Augusto "Frank"Cali[a] (/ˈkɑːli/,Italian:[franˈtʃeskoˈpaːoloauˈɡustokaˈli]; March 26, 1965 – March 13, 2019),[1] also known as "Franky Boy", was an Americanmobster and the actingboss of theGambino crime family ofNew York City at the time of his death.[2] Law enforcement considered Cali to have been the Gambinos' "ambassador toSicilian mobsters" and had linked him to theInzerillo Mafia family fromPalermo. According to AssistantU.S. Attorney Joseph Lipton, he was "seen as a man of influence and power by organized crime members in Italy."[3] Cali was shot and killed outside his home inStaten Island on March 13, 2019, in connection with the killer's belief in theQAnon conspiracy theory.[4][5][6]
Cali was born on March 26, 1965, inNew York City, to Augusto Cesare Calì and Agata Scimeca,[1] both natives ofPalermo, Sicily. His father ran a household goods store in Palermo and a video store inBensonhurst, Brooklyn. He had a clean police record in the United States, even though he was mentioned in thePizza Connection investigation, when police discovered that he was a partner of Domenico Adamita, allied toSicilian Mafia bossGaetano Badalamenti.[1]
Frank Cali was the nephew-in-law of Sicilian mobsterJohn Gambino, and had close ties to the once powerful Sicilian Mafia family led bySalvatore Inzerillo. Cali was also a great-nephew ofBonanno crime family mobstersGiovanni Bonventre andVito Bonventre.[citation needed]
As a young man, Cali bonded with Gambino mobsterJackie D'Amico, a lieutenant of Gambino bossJohn Gotti who operated a crew on 18th Avenue in Brooklyn. In January 1997, theFBI reported to Italian authorities that Cali had been "combined" into the Gambino family.[1] Cali was promoted to acting capo when D'Amico became acting boss.[7] Cali ran several import-export companies in Brooklyn, including Circus Fruits Wholesale inFort Hamilton, Brooklyn.[1]
Cali also maintained ties with the Sicilian Mafia. He married Rosaria Inzerillo, a sister of Pietro Inzerillo and a relative of Gambino associate Frank Inzerillo,[8][9] a member of the PalermitanInzerillo family.
In the early 1980s, after losing theSecond Mafia War against theCorleonesi ofTotò Riina, the Inzerillo family was forced to flee Sicily.[10] Cali and old Palermo boss Filippo Casamento supported the return of the Inzerillos to Palermo, according to Italian authorities.[7][11]
According to the ItalianPolizia di Stato (State Police), Cali was also a member of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra.[7] He was the contact for Sicilian mafiosi who traveled to New York to meet him, do business, and update him on Sicilian affairs. "He's our friend and he is everything over there", confided Sicilian mobsterGianni Nicchi to his bossAntonio Rotolo, after a trip in 2003. Nicchi is known to be one of Cali's "men of honor" who went back and forth between Palermo and the US for drug trafficking. Nicchi finally settled in Daytona Beach, Florida, where he was known to employ high school students as drug runners.[1][12]
In early 2003, Cali and fellow captainLeonard "Lenny" DiMaria began extorting "mob taxes" fromJoseph Vollaro, the owner of a trucking and contracting company that was involved in building aNASCARspeedway on Staten Island. Vollaro was eventually forced to pay tens of thousands of dollars as tribute to D'Amico and Gambino bossNicholas Corozzo. In 2004, to avoid prison time for acocaine conviction, Vollaro began working with federal authorities as an informant. Vollaro's undercover work led to a massive indictment four years later.
On February 8, 2008, Cali and 61 other New YorkCosa Nostra associates were arrested and charged with federalracketeering charges[7] as part ofOperation Old Bridge. Old Bridge terminated thedrug trafficking between the Sicilian Mafia and the Gambino family. Prosecutors claimed that Cali acted as the Gambino "ambassador to the Sicilian mobsters" and as a liaison between D'Amico and the Sicilian connections to the Inzerillo family.[13] Cali was charged with racketeering,extortion, andconspiracy along with D'Amico and DiMaria.
On June 4, 2008, Cali pleaded guilty to conspiring to extort money from Vollaro. Cali was incarcerated at theMetropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York. Ten months later, on April 6, 2009, he was released from prison.[14]
Around 2009, Cali's uncleJohn Gambino was elevated to the family's ruling panel, according to court papers filed inBrooklyn Federal Court. TheU.S. Justice Department demanded that Cali avoid all contact with Gambino, except for weddings or holiday celebrations approved in advance by Cali'sprobation officer.[15]
In October 2012, Cali was identified by New York crime reporterJerry Capeci as the newunderboss of the Gambino crime family.[16] Brooklyn Federal prosecutors had also referred to him as underboss.[17] Capeci has previously identifiedDomenico Cefalù, a member of the same Sicilian faction as Cali, as the current boss of the group. Though his status remained unclear, the promotion of both men follows a period in which John Gambino was a street boss within the family, showing that the Sicilian group has remained dominant in recent years. In July 2013, it was reported that Cali turned down the position of boss of the family.[18][19]
In August 2015,New York Daily News reported Cali had taken over as acting boss of the Gambino family.[20] A September 29, 2018, report stated that Cali "infused the family with "zips" – hoodlums from the old country – and bulked up its heroin and OxyContin business". A gangster in Italy was quoted as having stated that Cali "is everything over there" (New York).[21] In March 2019, police investigating Cali's death publicly claimed that he had been "the acting boss" of the Gambino organized crime family.[22]
Cali died atStaten Island University Hospital on March 13, 2019, at the age of 53, after being shot at about 9:20 p.m. in front of his home on Hilltop Terrace in theTodt Hill area.[23] He was buried six days later atMoravian Cemetery inNew Dorp, Staten Island.[24] This was the first murder of a New York crime boss since the 1985 assassination ofPaul Castellano, who was also boss of the Gambino family. Surveillance video showed a pickup truck striking Cali's parked Cadillac, a subsequent confrontation between the driver and Cali, and then the shooting. Cali had tried to evade the killer by using his vehicle as a shield.[25] He was hit ten times with bullets from a 9 mm handgun.[22]
On March 16, 24-year-old suspect Anthony Comello was arrested inBrick, New Jersey, by theNew York Police Department andUS Marshals, to face murder charges on Staten Island.[25] Authorities originally believed the crime may have been related to a personal dispute (possibly a romantic matter)[26] and not organized crime activity.[27] On April 3, Comello was indicted and was being held in protective custody at an undisclosed New York City correctional facility.[28] On May 10, Comello pleaded not guilty to murder and weapon possession charges, although he had initially confessed to the murder to police.[29][30] One news report cited unnamed mob experts as stating that he "is almost certainly marked for death". Comello had already texted that his "family is marked".[30]
The reason why Cali was targeted was unclear.[31] Comello gave varying, contradictory reasons to investigators as to the motive behind the killing.[32] In July 2019, Comello's defense attorney stated that Comello had become obsessed withQAnon conspiracy theories, believing Cali was a member of a "deep state". Comello was convinced "he was enjoying the protection ofPresident Trump himself" to handcuff Cali and place him undercitizen's arrest, as Comello had attempted months earlier with New York City MayorBill de Blasio[33] as well as California Member of CongressMaxine Waters.[31]
The New York Times reported that at his first court appearance, Comello "displayed symbols and phrases associated with QAnon scrawled on his hand in pen". The defense attorney sought to prove Comello "not guilty by reason of mental defect".[34] In December 2019, Comello refused to take apsychiatric exam, and was warned by the judge that his refusal could jeopardize his right to use aninsanity defense; the judge also denied a motion to suppress Comello's initial confession.[29][35] In June 2020, Comello was found mentally unfit to stand trial.[36]
In January 2025, it was revealed that Comello had pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the case and was sentenced to an undisclosed prison sentence, at an undisclosed correctional facility, when Supreme Court Justice Alexander Jeong released limited information on the proceedings at the request of theStaten Island Advance news outlet. The case otherwise remains sealed due to "actual and implied" threats from members of organized crime against Comello and his family.[32]
Born in New York on 26. 03.1965 to CALI' Augusto Cesare49 and SCIMECA Agata
Francesco Cali, reputed leader of the Gambino crime family, in a mugshot taken in 2008 by the Italian police.
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn had referred to Cali in court filings in recent years as the underboss of the Gambino organization, related through marriage to the Inzerillo clan in the Sicilian Mafia.
Cali, 53, was a high-ranking member of the Gambino organized crime family and was believed to be the acting boss, a law enforcement source confirmed.
Then at 10:30 a.m. on the dot, cars began racing from the funeral home and headed to the Moravian Cemetery in New Dorp, where Cali was buried.
NYPD cameras positioned on the pair of roadways that lead in and out of Todt Hill ... The two shake hands, the license plate from the suspect's vehicle falls off, the suspect picks up the license, hands it to Cali, then pulls a gun and shoots as Cali puts the license in his own car, according to the source.
Authorities have said the March 13 killing may have been related to a romantic dispute, not mob business.
Cali's wife and child were in the home at the time, which sources say is a highly unusual circumstance in the lore of organized crime -- which, in its heyday, followed certain rules that kept targets from getting whacked in front of their families.
| American Mafia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Gambino crime family Underboss 2012–2015 | Unknown |
| Preceded by | Gambino crime family Acting Boss 2015–2019 | Succeeded by |
