Gambino was a part of a criminal organization headed by Joe Masseria. In 1930, Gambino was arrested in Lawrence, Massachusetts as a suspicious person. That charge was dismissed, but he was seized a month later in Brockton, Massachusetts, on a larceny charge. A warrant was issued for his arrest when he failed to show up in court. Four years later, he was arrested in Manhattan as a fugitive and was returned to Brockton, where the larceny charge was dropped when he made restitution of $1,000.