With the creation of the "Five Families" as the pillars on which the strength of the American Mafia was based, the new head of the branch previously led by Gaetano "Tom" Reina and then Joseph "Fat Joe" Pinzolo, was Gaetano Gagliano, with Gaetano Lucchese as his Underboss. The pair led the family into profitable areas of the trucking and clothing industries. When Gagliano died in 1953, Lucchese, who had been loyal to his boss from beginning to end, took over as Boss, and took Vincent Rao as his second. He carried on the traditions Gagliano had established, making the family which now bore his name one of the most profitable in New York. Lucchese further developed the family's interests by controlling Teamsters unions, workers' co-operatives and trade associations, and racketeering at the ne