The head of a New York crime family has been shot dead outside his home in Staten Island, according to reports.

Francesco 'Franky Boy' Cali is said to have been shot before being run over, according to The New York Post.

The 53-year-old was the boss of the Gambino crime family.

Police said he was hit multiple times in his torso.

He was taken to hospital but was declared dead.


The Gambino crime operation is one of the five historic Italian-American Mafia families in New York.

It came to prominence in the late 1950s following a period of bloody inter-gang rivalry.

During the 1960s its extortion, loan-sharking and prostitution rackets were estimated to be bringing in $500,000,000 a year.

Former bosses include Paul Castellano and John ' The Teflon Don' Gotti, so-called for his ability to avoid jail.

Image: Former Mafia boss John Gotti, who died in 2002, pictured here in 1990

Cali took over the family in 2015 had also been linked with Inzerillo Mafia clan of Palermo. Police called him a "quiet, old-school boss" while mafia watchers said "no one ever sees him".

His only conviction came in 2008 and he served 16 months in prison for an extortion scheme.

Police have not yet made arrests but an investigation has begun.