Gyp Rosetti Family

Lore & Background

Rosetti's arrival in Atlantic City on New Year's Eve, December 31, 1922, began with a trivial dispute over 3-in-One Oil that ended with him beating a good samaritan to death. He traveled there to purchase bootlegged liquor from Nucky Thompson but left in anger after learning Nucky sold exclusively to Arnold Rothstein, anticipating a 50% price markup. In retaliation, Rosetti blockaded the only winter road through Tabor Heights, trapping Nucky's shipment. When Nucky attempted to placate him with the phrase "buona fortuna" (good luck), Rosetti perceived it as an insult and escalated by burning the Sheriff of Tabor Heights alive. He subsequently ambushed a convoy transporting liquor to Rothstein, killing 11 of Nucky's men despite prior scouting by Eli Thompson. His campaign included blowing up Babette's supper club on a tip from Gillian Darmody, though Nucky, Rothstein, and Charlie Luciano survived.

In Their Own Story

After returning to New York due to losses in his absence, Rosetti chastised God at church before beating a priest and stealing donations. Facing execution orders from Joe Masseria for these failures, he convinced the boss that losing Atlantic City was insignificant compared to Nucky and Rothstein's alliance, securing more men to take over the city. His reign ended on Easter Sunday when Gillian Darmody attempted to inject him with heroin during sex; he overpowered her and injected her instead. With Masseria withdrawing support in exchange for control of the Overholt distillery, Richard Harrow killed most of Rosetti's guards at Gillian's brothel. Nucky and Eli spared his second-in-command Tonino Sandrelli on the condition he kill Gyp. At a beach, while Rosetti was relieving himself, Tonino stabbed him in the back and chest, ending the gang war.

Reader's Guide

To understand Rosetti's faction, note their base in New York City versus their expansion target of Atlantic City. They operated under Joe Masseria, running illegal gambling and brothels in southern Manhattan. Key figures include second-in-command Tonino Sandrelli, who ultimately betrayed him, and associates like Benjamin Siegel (sent by Rothstein to kill Rosetti) and Gillian Darmody (who tried to poison him). The faction's violence was personal; Rosetti killed people for insults but tolerated mockery from his own wife. His downfall resulted from a coalition of Northside leader Chalky White, Al Capone, Richard Harrow, and the withdrawal of Masseria's support. The group's history is marked by specific turning points: the Tabor Heights blockade, the 11-man convoy ambush, the failed assassination at Babette's, and the final beach execution by Tonino.

Did You Know?

• Rosetti grew up in a hut carved into a cave in Sperlinga, Sicily.
• He killed the Sheriff of Tabor Heights by burning him alive.
• Rosetti has sadomasochistic tastes, including having lovers choke him with a belt or insult him as foreplay.
• His second-in-command, Tonino Sandrelli, killed him while he was relieving himself at a beach.
• Bobby Cannavale won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2013 for this role.