The reputed "acting boss" of the storied Gambino Crime Family was found shot to death outside his home Wednesday evening. According to a report published by CNN, Francesco "Frank" Cali was scooped up by investigators on the front steps of his Staten Island residence with fatal gunshot wounds across his torso. Investigators haven't made any arrests in the hours that have passed but insists the case remains an open book until they publicly state otherwise.
Experts agree that Francesco Cali was the individual responsible for consolidating the Gambino family after John Gotti was sent to prison on murder and racketeering in 1992, leaving the mob outfit in a power vacuum so conspicuous, even the casual observer could sense their grip on the criminal underworld was on the fritz.
Cali's demeanor, while he was alive, was completely unlike the manner John Gotti conducted himself, the latter an extravagant and ostentatious mobster the Mob hadn't seen since the days of Al Capone. As it stands, Francesco Cali, for reasons unknown (for now), was the first New York crime boss in 34 years to be whacked, although it should be noted: Cali did spend a little time in the bing in 2008-2009 for playing a pivotal role in an extortion plot over the construction of a Nascar Speedway in Staten Island, the same locale he was ironically found dead this morning with question marks looming over his head.