The reputed leader of the Gambino crime family, once headed by infamous mobster John Gotti, was gunned down in a "well-thought-out execution" outside his New York City home late Wednesday -- sparking an investigation into whether the hit was sanctioned or the revival of a "mob war," sources told ABC News. Francesco "Franky Boy" Cali, 53, was found with multiple gunshot wounds to his body outside his home on Staten Island, according to the New York Police Department. "This was not some fly-by-night thing," a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation told ABC News. "This was a well-thought-out execution." At a news conference Thursday afternoon, NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said the killer fired 12 shots at Cali with what is believed to be a 9mm handgun, striking him six times. Shea said detectives have obtained video of the shooting, which occurred at 9:17 p.m. "Mr. Cali was home at his residence ... with members of his family," Shea said. "He exits his house. He has a conversation in front of the residence and that individual ... only about a minute into it pulls a firearm and shoots." He said Cali appeared to run and attempted to hide under his SUV. Shea also said that prior to the shooting, there was a vehicle crash in front of the home in which Cali's SUV was backed into by a pickup truck believed to have been driven by the killer. He said detectives are trying to determine if the crash was meant to draw Cali out of his house. "It appears with what we know at this point in time it's quite possible that was part of the plan," Shea said. He described the man who shot Cali as being between 25 and 40 years old. Cali is the first reputed mob boss murdered in New York City in 35 years. Cali's wife and children were inside his home when he was shot, a source told ABC News. Paramedics took Cali to Staten Island University North hospital after responding to the shooting, police said. He was pronounced dead less than 40 minutes later. A male witness who was driving nearby when the attack occurred told police he heard multiple gunshots that, at first, he thought were fireworks, a source told ABC News. The witness also told police he saw an individual run toward the driver's side of a blue pickup truck while simultaneously keeping one hand near his waistband, the source said. Additional witnesses told police they saw the pickup truck driving through the neighborhood around the time of the shooting. A 911 caller reported a blue pickup truck driving away from the scene, New York ABC station WABC reported. Shea said investigators believe it is the same pickup truck that struck Cali's vehicle. No one has been arrested and an investigation is ongoing. No gun has been recovered, authorities said. New York defense attorney Harlan Protass, who represented Cali in a 2008 criminal case, said he was stunned and saddened by Cali's death. "As a client, Frank was smart, mild-mannered and low-key," Protass told ABC News. "I feel terrible for his wife and children, who I know he loved very much." A law enforcement official briefed on the investigation told ABC News that detectives are attempting to determine if Cali's killing signaled the revival of a "mob war." The shooting outside Cali's home, the source said, suggests the killing was meant to send an ominous message. Last October, Sylvester Zottola, 71, reportedly of the Bonanno crime family, was gunned down at a McDonald's drive-thru in the Bronx. Zottola's son, Salvatore, survived an apparent assassination attempt in July outside his home, also in the Bronx. A source told ABC News that investigators are also looking into whether Cali received either a call or text message on his cell phone prior to him going outside his home. As part of the probe, investigators are attempting to collect cell phone records to analyze as they attempt to identify the killer or killers, the source said. Detectives are also urgently reviewing security video from neighboring homes and other surveillance cameras that might show the killer coming or going from Cali's home in the Todt Hill area of Staten Island. The NYPD has also served a search warrant on Cali's home to remove security camera footage from the house, Shea said. Aerial footage from the crime scene taken by a WABC-TV helicopter showed police searching a silver SUV outside Cali's home with at least 17 evidence markers around it, some apparently noting the location of spent shell casings. Cali is the highest-ranking alleged member of a crime family to be murdered in New York in decades. The last mob boss to be killed was Paul Castellano, also the leader of the Gambino crime family at the time, who was murdered outside Sparks Steakhouse in Midtown Manhattan in 1985. That hit was ordered by Gotti, who later took over the family until being convicted in 1992 of racketeering and Castellano's murder. Gotti died of cancer in prison in 2002. In February 2008, Cali was among 62 alleged New York mafia associates indicted in a massive federal racketeering case. Cali pleaded guilty to one count of extortion conspiracy and was sentenced to 16 months in prison. He was fined $30,000, according to federal court records, and ultimately released in on April 6, 2009. Meanwhile, a federal indictment was unsealed Thursday against Anthony Pandrella, an alleged Gambino family associate, charging him with murder in the killing of 78-year-old Vincent Zito, who prosecutors said was Pandrella's friend. Federal prosecutors alleged that Pandrella shot Zito point-blank in the back of the head on Oct. 26 at Zito's home in Brooklyn, New York, then attempted to clean up the murder scene. Prosecutors claim that Pandrella returned to Zito's house to console his loved ones and quiz them about the police investigation of the slaying. After allegedly killing Zito, Pandrella, according to federal prosecutors, stole assets of Zito's loan business.<doc-sep>A mural of George Floyd is shown in the intersection of 38th St & Chicago Ave on March 31, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Community members continue preparations during the third day in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged with multiple counts of murder in the death of George Floyd. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 01: President Donald Trump's lawyer and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani talks to journalists outside the White House West Wing July 01, 2020 in Washington, DC. Giuliani did an on-camera interview with One America News Network's Chanel Rion before talking to other journalists about Vice President Joe Biden and the news that Russian intelligence may have paid Taliban operatives to kill U.S. troops in Afghanistan. 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(Photo by Philip Pacheco/Getty Images) A healthcare worker prepares to administer a Pfizer/BioNTEch coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine at The Michener Institute, in Toronto, Ontario on December 14, 2020. - Ontario, Canada's most populous province and one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, had 1,940 new cases and 23 deaths on Monday. The province is expected to give its next doses to nursing home workers as a priority, according to media reports. (Photo by CARLOS OSORIO / POOL / AFP) (Photo by CARLOS OSORIO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) 'Never seen levels like this': Union president on airline passenger misconduct Memorial Day weekend will bring rain and cool air for much of the East (CNN) — A reputed New York crime boss was shot and killed outside his home Wednesday night. Francesco Cali, 53, was found with multiple gunshot wounds to the torso in the borough of Staten Island, the NYPD said. A law enforcement official confirmed to CNN that Cali was a high-ranking member of the Gambino organized crime family and is believed to be the acting boss. Debbie Egan-Chin/NY Daily News/Getty Images Francesco "Frank" Cali is shown in federal custody in 2008, the year he was sentenced in New York for extortion conspiracy. Police are searching for a pickup truck that fled the scene, NY Police Chief of Detectives Dermot F. Shea said. No one has been arrested and the investigation is ongoing. Cali was home with family members when the truck hit a car outside the residence, Shea said. It’s “quite possible” that the incident was staged to draw Cali outside and into a confrontation with the suspected shooter, he said. About a minute into the confrontation, the suspect pulled out a gun and began shooting at Cali, Shea said. When Cali tried to take cover behind his car, the pickup truck drove into it and “rocked” it significantly, possibly damaging the truck, Shea said. Medics arrived at the scene and transported Cali to Staten Island University Hospital North, where he was pronounced dead. Who was Frank Cali? Cali had been considered a unifying figure in the years after then-Gambino boss John Gotti, “Dapper Don,” was convicted of murder and racketeering in 1992 and sent to prison for life, CNN affiliate WPIX reported. Unlike the well-dressed Gotti, Cali kept a low profile. Seth Wenig/AP Police on Thursday work near the scene where Cali was killed on Staten Island. Cali was the first New York crime family boss shot in 34 years, according to WPIX. In 1985, Paul Castellano was shot dead as he arrived at Sparks Steakhouse in Manhattan – a killing organized by Gotti, authorities said. Gotti, who then assumed control of the family, reportedly watched the action from nearby with his eventual underboss, Sammy “Bull” Gravano. But Gravano would eventually testify against Gotti, leading to Gotti’s 1992 conviction in five murders – one of several major convictions that thinned the Mafia ranks in the 1980s and ‘90s. Cali served prison time last decade Cali was an associate in the Gambino family, according to court documents, when he was indicted in 2008 with more than two dozen other Gambino members for a range of alleged crimes. Later that year, he pleaded guilty to extortion conspiracy related to the planned construction of a NASCAR speedway on Staten Island – a plan that eventually was scrapped. Authorities alleged Cali and others arranged, through force and threat of force, to receive cash payments from someone who had worked on the project. Cali was sentenced to 16 months in prison and was released in 2009. CNN’s Jason Hanna contributed to this report.<doc-sep>The suspected assassination of an alleged mob boss is raising questions about why he was targeted and the internal struggles in what — once — was one of the most powerful American mafia families. Francesco "Franky Boy" Cali was gunned down outside of his Staten Island home Wednesday evening in what experts view as "a true hit." "We’re back to the '90s," said Rich Frankel, a former FBI special agent in charge of the criminal division in New York and current ABC News contributor. "We haven’t had a hit like this in at least 30 years." Robert Boyce, the former New York Police Department chief of detectives who is now an ABC News contributor, said that Cali was a protégé of John "Jackie the Nose" D'Amico — a former prominent figure in the Gambino family. "He’s an interesting man because he came up in the organization without many arrests," Boyce said of Cali. Cali was arrested and convicted at least once, which pales in comparison to other mob leaders. In 2008, Cali was sentenced to 16 months in prison after pleading guilty to extortion conspiracy, according to federal court records. "This guy was really good. He kept a low profile," Boyce said. Beyond his own deep ties to the Gambino family, Cali had another important connection: his wife, Rosaria Inzerillo, of the Sicilian Inzerillo Mafia clan. Boyce said Cali’s wife "is steeped in mafia family — [they] both are." The mob family tree While the Gambino family is arguably one of the best known mafia entities in the U.S. — because of the publicity that the now-late boss John Gotti received — they are only one of the several biggest in the country. In New York City, there are five prominent families — Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Luchese — that make up La Cosa Nostra, which the FBI describes as an "alliance of criminals." The families are distinctly different with unique histories and members, but oftentimes they would dabble in similar criminal circuits which focus on: racketeering, drug trafficking, loan sharking, corruption, extortion and murder, among other things, according to the FBI. "The 'Five Families' are not what they were, especially the Gambinos," said Boyce, adding, that the Gambino’s "profile in New York has been significantly reduced since John Gotti." Beyond that, Boyce said that the various mob families are all facing competition on the drug trafficking front from outside their realm. "Most of the heroin in this country comes from Mexico now — not from the mid-east, which the mob once controlled," Boyce said. Looking for clues in Cali’s shooting Joe Cantamessa, a retired FBI special agent in charge from the New York division’s special operations, was involved with a key mob boss case: he was responsible for installing the microphone in the home of Paul Castellano, the Gambino family boss whose assassination was orchestrated by his successor, Gotti. The Castellano hit in 1985 prompted drama within the Gambino family, and Cantamessa said that such a blatant shooting of another Gambino leader — Cali — will prompt it’s own share. "If a senior guy gets hit and if it's not a sanctioned hit, it's bad news for somebody," Cantamessa told ABC News. "You’ve got to get permission to take out a 'made' member, somebody who's actually a member of a family," he said, noting that Cali fit that bill. "If anybody within the family or in a rival family steps outside the bounds then there would be consequences. It's all about permissions: nobody does anything to a made member without permission." Law enforcement sources tell ABC News that shortly before Cali was shot he received something via his phone — either a call or a text — that lured him outside onto his front terrace on Wednesday. Frankel, who was an agent on the FBI's Gambino squad in the late 1990s, said that whatever prompted Cali to step outside is going to be critical to the investigation. "That’s a great piece of evidence, because whoever made that [call or text], unless it was a spoof [where the number is distorted], that's the person who drew him out," said Frankel, who now works as a contributor for ABC News. "Because of the way he was shot and who he is — he’s a high ranking member of the Gambino family, he was shot 10 times on the street — it wasn't something that was hidden. Someone was definitely trying to say 'Franky’s dead and he deserved to die.' That’s the way I'm taking it," Frankel said. Unanswered questions While some of the optics of the latest hit seem to point to some obvious conclusions, there are still quite a few questions that investigators will have to tackle. "Are they hitting him because he did something or are they hitting him to get rid of him? Did he go somewhere he shouldn't have gone? Did he go outside his crew or his family and cause trouble with another family?" Frankel said. Past precedent seems to be an indicator for Boyce’s best guesses. "This was probably a schism within this family, because that’s what history tells us," Boyce said, referencing the Gotti hit on Castellano. Boyce also speculated that Cali’s family ties and possible subsequent actions could have been a factor. Specifically, Boyce suggested that "old time mobsters, and 'Franky' Cali was brought up like an old school mobster" who value loyalty from family and people they can trust. That led Boyce to posit that Cali’s ties to the Sicilian mob through his wife could have led to him bringing in new crew members from Sicily. "Is he bringing outsiders into the organization? Is there resentment that comes up from that?" Boyce said.<doc-sep>New York City police on Thursday were investigating the bold, fatal shooting of alleged Gambino crime boss Francesco “Franky Boy” Cali outside his Staten Island home. Officers responding to a 911 call Wednesday night found Cali, 53, who was shot multiple times, police said in a statement. An emergency medical team rushed him to Staten Island University Hospital North, where Cali was pronounced dead. "There are no arrests and the investigation is ongoing," police said in a statement. Federal prosecutors have described Cali as a top leader of New York’s notorious Gambino crime family. His murder marked the most notable killing of a Gambino boss since 1985, when Paul Castellano was shot dead in front of the Sparks Steak House in Manhattan. Cali lived less than a half-mile away from Castellano’s Staten Island mansion. John Alcorn, who teaches a course on the history of the Mafia at Trinity College in Connecticut, said the New York Mafia doesn't make news as it did 20 or 30 years ago, when John "Dapper Don" Gotti and others splashed across the headlines. Technology, globalization and the rise of drug syndicates from around the world have trimmed the Mafia's impact, he said. "Generally, they are in decline, but my hunch is that in some industries they can still have an impact by creating cartels that restrict competition among legitimate firms," Alcorn said. Witnesses told the New York Post and other local media that Cali's killer fled the scene in a blue pickup. “I’ve seen the (mob) movies," neighbor Prashant Ranyal, 39, told the Post. "But I’ve never seen any activity that we feel at all that there’s something strange about this area." Start the day smarter:Get USA TODAY's Daily Briefing in your inbox Cali was a native of Sicily, and his wife is the niece of Gambino head John Gambino. The New York Daily News and other media outlets in the city have reported that since 2015, Cali had ascended to the top spot in the gang, although he never faced a criminal charge making the claim. Cali's only mob-related criminal conviction came a decade ago, when Cali pleaded guilty in an extortion conspiracy involving a failed attempt to build a NASCAR track on Staten Island. He was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison and was released in 2009. The Gambino family was once among the most powerful criminal organizations in the United States, but federal prosecutions in the 1980s and 1990s sent its top leaders to prison and diminished its reach. Iconic Gambino leader John Gotti died in federal prison in 2002. Gotti's brother, Gene, 71, was released from prison last year after serving almost 30 years for dealing heroin. Another former leader of the group, Carmine John "The Snake" Persico Jr., died last week while serving a 139-year prison sentence. He was 85. The names that were once commonly known are aging or dying, Alcorn said. He acknowledged that he no longer keeps up with the Mafia, having moved on to other research projects. "Maybe the fact that so many scholars have moved on, that we don't hear about these guys anymore, shows that the Mafia has moved well past its prime," Alcorn said. Contributing: The Associated Press<doc-sep>
Gambino family mobster Francesco "Frank" Cali has been murdered in what local media say is the first major New York gang killing in more than 30 years. Key points: Frank Cali was shot six times outside his home on Staten Island and was pronounced dead in a nearby hospital Frank Cali was shot six times outside his home on Staten Island and was pronounced dead in a nearby hospital His was the first killing of a Gambino family boss since Paul Castellano was shot dead outside the Sparks Steakhouse in 1985 His was the first killing of a Gambino family boss since Paul Castellano was shot dead outside the Sparks Steakhouse in 1985 It is believed Cali took over as acting boss of the family in 2015, and kept a low profile throughout his reign New York media reported that 53-year-old Cali was shot multiple times outside his car on Staten Island after 9:00pm (local time) by an unidentified man who then fled the scene in a blue car. Witnesses told local media of hearing at least six shots coming from outside, and seeing Cali's family members rushing outside and crying next to his body. No arrests have been made at this time. Police confirmed the identity of Cali, who was pronounced dead at Staten Island University Hospital. He was reputed to be the boss of the Gambino crime family. After Gotti and 'Greaseball', Gambinos turned to Cali Cali was believed to have been elevated to the position of acting boss in 2015, taking over from Domenico "Greaseball" Cefalu. Frank Cali, pictured in 2008, after being arrested during Operation Old Bridge. ( Supplied He had long ties with the Sicilian mafia and the Gambino family, and was said to have intentionally kept a low profile during his time in charge. His murder is the first of a New York mob boss since Paul Castellano was famously assassinated at Sparks Steakhouse in 1985. John Gotti, who organised the hit, then took power at the helm of the Gambino family. The influence of the Gambinos waned in the 1990s after a number of members turned government informers and several leaders were imprisoned. Cali himself was jailed for 16 months for his connection to an extortion scheme surrounding an attempt to build a NASCAR track on Staten Island. Cali was considered the opposite of Gotti (pictured), because "no-one ever sees him". ( Reuters: Greta Pratt Born into the mob, 'Franky Boy' rises quickly Otherwise known as "Franky Boy", Cali was considered the de facto godfather of the Gambino crime family, having served on its ruling panel for several years. After reportedly taking the reins in 2015, Cali was described by mafia watchers as the opposite of Gotti because "no-one ever sees him", the New York Post reported. It was a marked change from the Gotti era, which brought with its unnecessary attention and exposure. Frank Cali was the nephew-in-law of Sicilian mobster John Gambino, pictured in this undated mugshot. ( Wikipedia Cali, who was born and raised in New York, was the nephew-in-law of John Gambino and the great-nephew of Bonanno mobsters Vito Bonventre and Giovanni Bonventre. He also had close ties through marriage to the Inzerillo family in Palermo, Sicily, having married Rosaria Inzerillo, a sister of Pietro Inzerillo and a relative of Gambino associate Frank Inzerillo. According to local media, Cali ascended through the ranks, becoming a powerful capo of organised crime before turning 40 — less than 10 years after becoming an inducted member. In 2008, he was arrested and hit with federal racketeering charges as part of a major mob bust called Operation Old Bridge, which took down over 60 mobsters and associates. The investigation exposed a drug trafficking partnership between the Gambinos and the Sicilian Mafia. Prosecutors claimed that Cali was the Gambinos' ambassador to the Sicilian mobsters and the go-between for the two organisations. "Cali is seen as a man of influence and power by organised crime members in Italy," US assistant attorney Joey Lipton told the court, the New York Daily News reported at the time. In June 2008, Cali pleaded guilty to conspiring to extort money and was jailed in Brooklyn, before being released the following year.