Police reportedly had to obtain a warrant to review video from Frank Cali’s home after family allegedly declined to comply with their request

The investigation focuses on John Gotti’s younger brother –

Sources say police are looking at possible ties between John Gotti’s younger brother, Gene, and Cali’s killing

Officers on Thursday searched Staten Island residence to remove cellphones and laptops 

Cali, 53, was shot six times in the chest and killed by unknown assassin in front of him family Wednesday night

The Gambino crime boss reportedly hid under his SUV as he tried to escape the gunmen who had just pumped bullets into him outside his home in Staten Island mob hit

Francesco ‘Franky Boy’ Cali, 53, took over the control of Gambino family in 2015 – Prefering a low profile, he was known by law enforcement officials as a ‘real quiet old-school boss’ 

Under Cali’s leadership, the Gambino family mainly focused on heroin trafficking

Gene Gotti, 72, was released in September 2018 from prison after serving 29 years on heroin trafficking conviction, may be flexing for a ‘take over’ of the reins, cops believe

  Gambino’s family boss Francesco ‘Franky Boy’ Cali, [photo], was shot dead in front of his house in a quiet neighborhood in New York City on Wednesday night. The first assssination of a Mafia chieftian in NYC in 35 years

Francesco ‘Franky Boy’ Cali, the reputed boss of New York’s Gambino crime family, was shot and killed outside his Staten Island home Wednesday.

The 53-year-old Gambino boss hid under his SUV as he tried to escape the gunmen who had just pumped bullets into him outside his home in Staten Island mob hit on wednesday night.
‘Cali was struck several times by gunfire,’ Chief of Detectives Dermott Shea said.
‘In trying to elude additional gunfire, fled to the rear area of his private vehicle and somebody probably thought he was run over, but it was more he was trying to get underneath the truck to elude gunfire,’ he added.
In later developments it was reported that the family of the reputed New York City mobster gunned down outside his Staten Island home midweek has refused to cooperate with detectives by denying them access to their home security system.
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Investigators with the NYPD were forced to obtain a warrant to review the surveillance video purportedly showing the execution-style killing of Francisco Cali,some fear, could be the prelude to a bloody Mafia war.
New York Daily News first reported Friday on the victim’s relatives’ alleged unwillingness to comply with the police officers’ request seeking to review the recording.
Late into the evening Thursday, law enforcement officials armed with the warrant were searching the house to seize electronic devices including cellphones and laptops.

In view of the family’s reluctance, police had reportedly had to obtain a warrant to review video from Cali’s home – after his relatives allegedly declined to comply with their request

Cali was shot six times in the chest by an assassin, who then took off from the scene 

Meanwhile, multiple local news outlets are reporting that police have focused their attention of Gene Gotti, who was released from prison six months ago after serving nearly 30 years on a heroin trafficking conviction.
It was reported Friday, that detectives were looking at a possible connection between Gene Gotti, the younger brother of the late Gambino godfather John ‘Dapper Don’ Gotti, and thes brutal murder of the family’s current boss.

One of the theories apparently under consideration is that Gotti, 72, is possibly trying to assert his authority over the Gambino crime family, but so far, he has not been named a suspect, or even a person of interest, in Wednesday’s killing.

Sources say police are looking at possible ties between John Gotti’s younger brother, Gene Gotti [photo, circa in 1989], recently released from a decades long sentence and Cali’s assassination

Chasing the dynasty: Gene’s older brother was John ‘Dapper Don’ Gotti, 35 years ago ochestrated an internal coup to ascend to the helm of the Gambino clan, until his conviction in 1992 

His older brother had assumed control of the criminal organization after ordering the assassination of his predecessor, Paul Castellano, outside a Manhattan steakhouse in 1985.
John Gotti stood at the helm of the Gambino family until his conviction on murder, racketeering and conspiracy charges in 1992. He died in prison of cancer in 2002.
Cali, who had close ties to Sicilian mafia, was believed to have taken the reigns of the criminal enterprise in 2015.

Cali, police said, tried to hide under his SUV [photo] to dodge bullets after being shot several times by his assailants on Wednesday
Police forensics team working at the scene where Frank Cali was killed in the Staten Island borough of New York City, remove the Mafia chief’s vehicle

Cali’s only mob-related criminal conviction came a decade ago, when he pleaded guilty in an extortion scheme involving a failed attempt to build a NASCAR track on Staten Island. He was sentenced to 16 months behind bars and was released in 2009.
Frank Cali’s murder is the first hit on a Mafia boss since John Gotti arranged the assassination of then-Gambino head ‘Big Paul’ Castellano – outside Sparks Steakhouse – in 1985.
The notorious assasination saw Castellano, 70, and his underboss Thomas Bilotti, 47, both shot in the face by a three-man hit squad just after the two victims had stepped out of their car.
Castellano’s reign as kingpin had begun in 1976 after the death of Carlo Gambino.
The Gambinos were the most powerful of the five families of the New York City mafia and worth an estimated $500 million a year.
A source revealed that investigators were considering whether there could be any connection to Gene Gotti for Cali’s murder. However, the source admitted the claims were unconfirmed and could be ‘total

Gambino capo John Gotti [left] was part of a three-man hit squad that shot Mafia kingpin Paul Castellano [right] outside a Manhattan steakhouse in 1985

Big Paul was made boss instead of the likely heir, the then-underboss Aniello Dellacroce – a decision which annoyed those loyal to Dellacroce.
They were further enraged by Castellano’s insistence on living as a recluse in his mansion in Todt Hill, Staten Island, which earned him the moniker, ‘the Howard Huges of the Mob’.
When Dellacroce died of cancer in 1985, Castellano disrepected the Family by not attending the funeral.
The final nail in his coffin was when he made Capo Thomas Bilotti his underboss.

John Gotti, who had been loyal to Dellacroce and didn’t think Castellano was worthy of being the Don, and the irate Gambinos then decided to whack Castellano.The pair lured Castellano and Bilotti to a meeting at Sparks Steakhouse on 210 E. 46th St., between Second and Third Avenues.

The scene of the crime in Dec 1985. Big Paul was made boss instead of the likely heir, then underboss Aniello Dellacroce – a decision which annoyed those loyal to Dellacroce

The bodies of Gambino family boss Big Paul Castellano and underboss Thomas Bilotti lie in a pool of blood after they were gunned down outside Sparks steakhouse in Manhattan in an insider organized hit orchestrated by family member, John Gotti, in 1985

At around 5.30pm, Gotti and Salvatore ‘Sammy the Bull’ Gravano were driving in Gotti’s Lincoln Town Car when they spotted the boss in his Black Lincoln Town Car, ollowed and watched as Castellano and his Underboss Thomas Bilotti pulled up at Sparks Steakhouse to attend a sit down with Frank DeCicco to apologize for missing Dellacroce’s funeral.
Just as they exited the car, the assassin shot Castellano six times. Bilotti, who was in the driver’s seat was also shot dead.
Soon after, John Gotti became head of the family, Frank DeCicco became Underboss, and Gravano became Consigliere in 1986.

Despite his understated leadership style, at a 2008 bail hearing, a prosecutor noted that  Cali was seen ‘as a man of influence and power by organized crime members in Italy.’

The motive for Wednesday’s attack on Cali was under investigation, police said. Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said it was still an open question whether it was a mob hit.
The mobster emerged from his home around 9.15pm after the gunman backed his pickup into Cali’s Cadillac SUV, damaging it, according to police.
‘With what we know at this point in time, it’s quite possible that was part of a plan,’ Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said.
Video showed the assailant pulling a 9 mm handgun and opening fire on Cali about a minute after they started talking, according to Shea. At least 12 shots were fired. After getting shot several times, Cali tried to crawl under his SUV to hide, Shea said.