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A man said by federal prosecutors to be a top leader of the Gambino mob family was fatally shot outside his home in New York on Wednesday night.

Frank Cali, suspected of drug trafficking in Sicily and arrested in the operation codenamed "Old Bridge" in Feb, 2008. Polizia Italiana / AFP - Getty Images file

The man was identified by the New York Police Department as Francesco "Frank" Cali, 53.

Police rushed to the Staten Island residence about 9:17 p.m. after it was called to a report of an assault in progress, the department said.

"Upon arrival, officers found a 53-year-old male with multiple gunshot wounds to the torso," the department said in a statement. "EMS also responded to the scene and transported the victim to Staten Island University North, where he was pronounced deceased."

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn had referred to Cali in court filings in recent years as the underboss of the Gambino organization, related through marriage to the Inzerillo clan in the Sicilian Mafia, the Associated Press reported.

Multiple press accounts since 2015 said Cali had ascended to the top spot in the gang, although he never faced a criminal charge saying so.

A suspect in Wednesday's shooting fled in a blue pickup, police told NBC New York. No arrests have been made.