Vincent Mangano:

During the take over of the Mustache Petes, Vincent Mangano was able to survive. He had part of the older portion of Mafiosi even though he was only in his forties. Even though he worked closely with Luciano in the plot to kill other bosses, he still retained the mentality of the older generation that got them killed and would eventually get him the same fate.

Mangano arrived in America in 1922 with his father and a young Joseph Profaci and joined the waterfront crime racket that was run by Al Mineo. Other members of this crime organization were Albert Anastasia and Frank Scalise. Mangano would participate in the killing of older Don's, including Mineo, and then assume the leadership position of the waterfront rackets. After the Castellammarese War, Mangano became a high ranking official within the Commission, but was never very close to the board of directors. His underboss, Albert Anastasia and his relationship with Mangano soon turned sour.

Mangano continued to concentrate on the waterfront rackets working with the International Longshoremen's Association's vice president Emil Camarda. The two started the City Democratic Club, which was later reported to be the meeting place of Murder Inc., where numerous executions were plotted. Among the members of this club were Albert Anastasia and Mangano's brother Philip.

Although technically Mangano was Anastasia's boss, Anastasia spent much of his time involved in the enforcement arm of the National Crime Syndicate, Murder Inc., and gained a reputation as an efficient killer with many of the high ranking officials. Mangano and Anastasia began to have increasing conflicts, and as time went on, they needed to be separated from each other several times by other crime bosses during meetings.

In April of 1951, the conflicts ended. Philip Mangano, Vincent's brother, was found in Sheepshead Bay section of Brooklyn. When the police went to question Vincent of his brothers murder, he was no where to be found. Vincent Mangano disappeared that same day and is still missing. It is understood that he is dead. After the police could not find either brother, the immediately suspected Albert Anastasia of foul play but decided to concentrate on other crime bosses such as Frank Costello and Joe Adonis. When questioned about the murder of Phil, the crime bosses said that Phil must have been killed due to some matter over love since he was found in the middle of a field with no pants on.

Anastasia took over the family after the Commission had determined Anastasia's self-defense motive for killing Mangano. Anastasia, without admitting that he had done anything wrong, convinced the Commission that Mangano was plotting to kill him and therefor Mangano's disappearance was more out of self defense than ambition on Anastasia's part. This of course not necessarily true. Much of the time before his disappearance, Mangano was conferring with other crime bosses such as Joe Profaci and Joe Bonnano to get some help with communicating with the Commission. Mangano felt that he was isolated and wanted to be more a part of the National Crime Syndicate, but all he received from both Profaci and Bonnano was neutrality and a cold shoulder.

Mangano's death was much more the political power-play, more so than most other killings of Mafia Don's. There seemed to be much more at stake than the waterfront rackets and Anastasia's quest for power. The Commission at the time of Mangano's death was also doing some plotting of its own. Vito Genovese was making it clear that he wanted to take over the entire family structure, to be the Boss of Bosses but Frank Costello and his henchman, Willi Moretti (who had at least 50 to 60 gunmen of his own) stood in his way. Unfortunately for Moretti, he was suffering from untreated syphilis and began to have loose lips to the media and during the Kefauver Hearings had proved to be too great a risk for the Commission. Vito Genovese lobbied to have him killed for his sake and the Commissions. Without muscle to back him, Costello and the Commission feared Genovese would take over without a problem. By promoting Anastasia, the head killer of Murder Inc., now taking over the Mangano crime family, and siding with the Costello, Luciano and company, the assumption was that Genovese would not be able to take over.