Growing Up Gambino

Don't feel badly. A name is just a name. However, it is also worthwhile to remember no human being is all bad or all good. For example during the recession of the early 1900's, Al Capone fed 5,000 people a day in Chicago. He also rented a basement apartment from a widow, Mrs. Le Vato for $90 a month. He educated her son, Giussippe Salvatore Le Vato, and bought him his first bicycle later sending "Joe" to college. Be proud of your name. Think of all the famous, intelligent Romans and Italians. My ancestors were wearing bear skins when Julius Caesar was a Roman Emperor. Howard M. Rupp, M. D.

Gambino is a beautiful name. Don't ever be ashamed of your name. So what if some mafia group bears that name..it has nothing to do with you.

The Gambino family name has been affiliated with Mafia way to long by the media and the government agencies. When I began teaching in 1959 I had no knowledge of Mafia or the involvement of Carlo Gambino. My pupils began placing newspaper articles on my desk before class. They thought it a joke. It was a cloud that unjustly loomed over me until the present day. There have been countless criminals who's names have not been singled out and retained in the news in connection with crime. I have retained my last name because my parents and my entire family have been hard working and law abiding Americans.

Gambino is a nice name. However, I think Ricci is a better one.

My last name is Gambino and I also was raised in Richmond Hill/ozone park Queens. Just like you said I never knew the power the name had until I was older. I never was stopped to go to a night club( even though I was under age) or when I went out to eat .A lot of people get so impressed about the name and there next question is always the same are you related and my answer was dont ask me any questions and I wont tell you any lies but that was a teenagers response. Now I'm married with kids, and they will sometimes say why cant we have your last name not that anything is wrong with my married name they too are get impressed by the name and ask the same question, "are we related " so now I say ask grandpa and grandma they will tell you the family history from what they know. Gambino is a good strong name and I'm proud to have been born with the name.

My last name is Gambino as well and I love the name. Of course, I get the "any relation?" question all the time as well - but I don't mind. I love my heritage and I'm proud to be a Gambino and will keep that as my last name even if I get married.

Interesting and fun read. Thanks.

Awesome!!! I have to uae a magise articlefor a monolouge project at school and this was the first thing I thought of!!! =^-^=

There needs to be a "Family" reunion in New York for any and all persons born with the name Gambino. I'm a 46 yr old native Houstonian whose parents grew up in New Orleans. I've always loved the mystique of the name and enjoy reading about some of the more notorious clan members. Count me a proud standard bearer for Clan Gambino.

Great story, Megan. I once had a friend, now deceased, Tom Gambino. He wss a wonderful guy - and as far away from Mafia as one could get. However, I once spent an evening in the Maine woods with John Gotti's brother-in-law. It was a very interesting and enlightening evening - one I will never forget. I'm a Maine hick who believes the Smithsonian website and magazine is the best there is.

My last name is Booth, I was teased constantly in Elementary school about being related to the man who shot Lincoln. (not to my knowledge) We all have crosses to carry. But yours is a great story.

I happened to go to high school with one of Carlo Gambino's grandsons back in Brooklyn. I considered him a friend despite the difference in our backgrounds; I come from a middle class African-American family and was originally bussed into an overwhelmingly Italian-American neighborhood - later, lucky enough to win a scholarship to attend a private school that the grandson attended. Being a teenager, I had little to no knowledge of the extent of the Gambino family background at that time - I did find out more later. In addition to the Gambino grandson, I had a number of other friends/classmates whose families also had alleged connections to one of the five families. In my dealings/meetings with these kids' families, I found them to be very similar to my own - they wanted the best for their kids, they hoped that they would be able to have better lives than they or their parents had, and treated others the way that they would want to be treated. Megan, if you are related to THOSE Gambinos, my thought to you would be this - the name doesn't make the person, the person makes the name. No matter what name you may have been born with, the important thing is the person that you are - so wear your name with pride. The Gambinos that I knew (those Gambinos) always treated me well and I was glad to have known them: I judge them by how they dealt with/behaved around me and I hope that they would do the same with me.

Great Story...but I thing Bagabonuts is better...

My last name is Kelly. So who do you think of, Machine Gun or Gene?

I love this piece. It is one of the best I've read in the Smithsonian!

God bless the Italian Americans and their contributions to the American society. There are a lot of Immigrants who have come to this nation and made it a great nation. I have a few good hard working, honest paisian amici with whom I consider family.

Thanks, Megan for the tip on Manhattan restaurant reservations! I hope someone at Gallagher's is reading this so they know why they're getting 5,000 "Gambino" reservation calls! Keep your great sense of humor--we Irish/I-talians need it.

I live in the Phoenix area where there's a car dealership named Gambino Chevrolet. I always wondered...but if I had test-driven a car there, I wouldn't have felt obligated to buy it, just out of the fear that I'd soon be "wearing concrete shoes." Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Mafia members are out to get ordinary people. They focus on people who have done them wrong. Therefore, it's amusing that the names are so intimidating - and it's annoying that people with those names are treated like celebrities out of fear of phantom retribution. (I recently met a man whose last name was Gerber. I asked if he was related to the baby food company and he just rolled his eyes, obviously having been asked that question many times. His answer: "No, but I sure wish I had that family's bank account!"). People are people!

Reading your article really gave me a good second-hand perspective on the name and what it holds to it. I am of Indian & Russian decent, and have never heard or known anything about the Gambino Family, until I met my now fiancé. He introduced me to this world and shared all the information that everyone else has been fascinated by for decades. He too has gone through the questions and had to bear what goes along with the name Gambino. Soon to be married to this man, the question of whether I would want to legally change my name to Gambino came up. I couldn’t help but imagine how my life would change with this name, aside from all the remaining differences that'll come my way. Being very traditional, I know that it is something that I plan on doing and would be very proud to carry on such an infamous title, and someday pass on to our young ones. Despite all the good and the bad that comes along with this name, it would be considered a great honor to me.

I grew up as a Gambino in Brooklyn and was always impressed by my name recognition. I later lived in Italy for 8 years and was never once asked the infamous question "sei uno dei Gambino famosi?" (Are you one of the famous Gambinos?) The Italians knew and did not have to ask. So I did a lot of research on the subject which resulted in my writting and publishing a book intitled "The Scattered Italians" Among other things I endeavor to explain the varius meanings of Mafia from the stand point of its social meaning. IE: not all Mafia personalities belong to the famous organization but rather have a particular way of interacting with others. Read the book and discover your roots. My conclusion is we may not all belong to that famous branch of the family but we all belong to the same tribe. Ciao, Thomas Gambino

I once met a boy who had deep blue eyes he was so hot I was in love with him and he had no idea who I was but I remember one day some people were being cruel to me in class and I started to cry he just got up and punched the guy he told him to think twice before making a girl cry I will never forget him his name was Rosario Gambino he was the son of the Gambino brothers ( the real deal ). What I'm trying to say is I love the last name Gambino because it had my back when I was to weak to stand up for myself. Megan are you related to Rosario?

Our last name is Genovese. One of my brothers is an attorney. When he's asked if he's related, he says, "No, I'm not related to that." It's a fuzzy truth - or not. Both of my brothers and I followed my father's path. We're honest, hard working professionals and executives. So it's not a lie to say we aren't related to the Genovese Crime Family. However, our grandfather was the infamous Vito Genovese, boss and namesake of the Genovese Crime Family. And, oh yes, there's truth and familarity in your anecdotes. We've also had some fun and funny moments. But the only thing our grandfather left us, his name, has also been responsible for the most painful and ugly moments in our lives. Not to worry, though. We've survived it all, as our children and their children. Vito and Carlo and Lucky and their buddies will fade into the grand weaving of what is Americana and roost in that special place we save for our outlaws and scroundrels and pirates. Bad, hard men somehow soften as generations pass and distance their deeds. Me? I never deny it. He was my grandfather. I am because he was. Until recently, I never took advantage of it either. But my first novel was published last fall - something I've always wanted to do . . . It's titled THE GRANDFATHER CLAUSE. It's not a book about him. It's the story of a grandson of an infamous Mafioso. The cover blurb announces that he was my grandfather. I'm sure he helped me sell a few books - did some good for me. Thanks, Pop Pop. I'm also a Shameless Self-Promoter, as unknown author's must . . . . www.philgenovese.com :-)

Young lady, you have led a charmed life. I'm a charter member of the "Gambino" club, and what's more, I had an uncle who was named Al Anastasio. Growing up in Brooklyn, NY and hanging out on Ocean Parkway, not far from Carlos's house, life was pretty interesting. Later in life, getting fed up with all the stupid inquiries, I took to answering, always with a stern look" I'll bet you're no more than a tenth of a yard of concrete, shoe size." It placated the curious.

I think it's a great story! My family name tends to be quite large yet unrecognized as yours would be. There is a Air Force Base in Texas with my last name, a U.S. destroyer with my last name several medal of honor winners and one family member who won the congressional medal of honor and the carnegie medal. As far as I know he is the only human to ever have done so to this day! Brings a lot of curiosity to mind!

Whenever I hear the inevitable comment connecting an Italian-American family to organized crime...I remember the Italian family in Madison,Wisc. giving me a job for 3 years, making it possible for me, a full blooded Scandinavian-American, to work my way through school. There were no mafiosi lurking about the restaurant they owned or portly types visiting with the name "Little Vito from Detroit." But the atmosphere was definitely "family" for customers and employees alike...hardly in an underworld sense though. When they liked you...they cared. When I graduated, preparing to move on for professional school...I received not a card or congratulations from my natural family...but to send me off the ladies in the kitchen baked me a box of special Italian cookies, a card signed by everyone at the restaurant, and a gift. This kindness and love is your real heritage, Megan.

So I was on the phone with customer service at ABC carpet and home.. and I got asked if I was actually the Gambino that wrote the article in the Smithsonian mag. Cute huh....I can relate (literally) to the article. I'm sure there is actually some connection, my grandfather was Salvatore, Anthony (a 3rd cousin), my father Angelo (now deceased) and a hand full of other cousins, lived in the 6th ward down town for eons... I'm also quite a fun mix up of ethnicities....other grandparents are from Barcelona and Valencia....but I could never quite escape the stigma that comes with being so Italian... :)

As a young girl I met my best friend in the 3rd grade, her name was Gina Maria Gambino. I always had a crush on one of her older brothers, Michael Todd Gambino with his half baked smile he stoled my heart. Later he would become "my first love" lasting 10 years. I loved his Grandma Gambino & learned some of the most important rules of the world from her, stand by your man, be a true honest woman & always look chic & I can say it has stuck with me threw the years. More so ther is good & bad in all the world, look beyond there are treasures awaiting in the history of life. God bless all)))CHOW)))

I liked your story. The only famous person in my family tree was the side kick to Captain Kangroo (Lumpy)Hugh Brannum or Mr. Green Jeans.

I came across this site quite by accident but have enjoyed reading it. So many comments say 'it's only a name' or 'name doesn't matter'...let me tell you, IT DOES MATTER! I grew up in N.Y. also, with a proud, strong father who would tell us 'name means everything, be proud of your name, you've got a good name and I expect you to respect it'. It has stayed good!!!! So, BE PROUD OF YOUR NAME, IT'S A STRONG, GOOD NAME! ...fellow New Yorker

Very fun piece, sent it to all my family. Vince

I read this and I want more. You got your Gambino hook into me and I'm not even Italian. So, if you're some kind of female Italian/Irish Woody Allen make this Last Page your first page of a book.( That's an offer no New York publisher will turn down.) You could have been cursed with a name like mine: Norvell Wylie Jones. "Norvell" for a boy is a bully-getter, "hit me" sign. "Jones" sounds like generic and it is. So, I write under the name N. Wylie Jones. There have been a few good writers with the first or last names of Wylie. As a writer, I'd kill for a name like Gambino. Yes, I'm using hyperbole. I hate violence, but I'd love to have a great name. Ray Bradbury would be nice. Maybe Tom Wolf or Tom Wolfe. Megan, if you write that book, let me know I want to buy a copy. But, please Ms. Gambino, no rush. Take your time. N. Wylie Jones

I am trying to locate Joseph Gambino - He attended a wedding that I was at and would like to get in touch with him. Yes, he is the son of Carlo Gambino.

Hi Megan! I see you work at the Smithsonian. Check the old employee records. My father, Frank Gambino and my Mother, Dolores Gambino both worked there in the 1960's. My dad was an exhibits specialist and my mother did alot of behind the scenes artwork, some of which hung in the Agriculture Dept. until the restoration. Regarding the name: I LOVE it. I miss using it so much that I now use it as my middle name. I am proud to be a Gambino! Plus, I have always gotten a great table no matter what time of day or what restaurant I go to! ;)