A caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to just a capo, is a term used in the Mafia for a high ranking made member of a crime family who heads a "crew" of soldiers and has major social status and influence in the organization. Caporegime is an Italian word, which is used to signify the head of a family in Sicily, but has now come to mean a ranking member, similar to captain or sergeant. In general, the term indicates the head of a branch of an organized crime syndicate who commands a crew of soldiers and reports directly to a boss or an underboss.
The Mafia, particularly the American Mafia, is typically divided into distinct and partially independent "crews" headed by a "capo" or leader of the individuals. Individual crew members report to the capo. The crew collects protection and other money for the capo, who at regular intervals gives a share (or "taste") of the collected money to the underboss and/or the boss. Estimates of average income of a capo varies and is difficult to quantify. Income is dependent on the success and size of a capo's crew and the state of the economy at the time.
Mafia crews are usually independent from each other, members of a crew doing things within the crew. Asking Mafia members how many crews and how many individuals are in a family is prohibited because of the Mafia's oath of secrecy and the suspicion that the inquiring individual might be an informant.
Sometimes a crew might specialize in certain areas like gambling, while other crews might be more involved in legitimate interests like construction. A crew might also operate in certain geographical areas.
The number of caporegimes/crews depends on the size of a family. The Gambino crime family has had more than 20 capos whereas the St. Louis crime family has had few.
In the Mafia, when a boss makes a decision, he passes instructions down through the chain of command. This ranking system protects the higher levels of the organization from incrimination if a lower level member should be arrested by law enforcement. A caporegime acts as an intermediary between the soldiers and the boss. In technical terms, a caporegime operates his own small family within the framework of a larger family.
Each Capo is in charge of a mini-gang or a crew of soldiers and associates that can range greatly in size. These men may or may not be based in close proximity. For example, Bonanno crime family capo Joey Gambino had crew members spread throughout New York's five boroughs and even had crew members operating in New Jersey.
Capos have varying degrees of power. Some are relatives or close friends of the boss, which gives them more influence. A capo with an active crew that generates a lot of profits is always respected.
For example, the Gambino family boss, John Gotti, was widely respected and tolerated due to the amount of profits his crew generated for the family. Despite the various blunders and mistakes committed by them, they successfully avoided getting killed by their superiors and were tolerated due to this fact.
On the other hand, capo Joe Sferra of the DeCavalcante crime family was demoted to soldier and removed from his lucrative union post in June 1965 after a series of blunders. In 1984, a more severe loss of power occurred to Salvatore "Salvie" Testa, a once rising Philadelphia crime family capo. He ended up getting murdered by Nicky Scarfo due to the suspicions raised about his loyalty.
A caporegime may also have certain areas he protects with his crew or certain racket such as labor racketeering, numbers running, and other forms of organized crime. The capo's crew members may each have their own criminal activity going on with their legitimate business ventures, while the capo may have his own business or a legitimate job in order to file tax returns.
Capo Anthony Balsano, of the Gambino crime family was recently run out of New York by his superiors, threatening murder if he did not leave. He was found hoarding a percentage of the profits for himself and not giving the Boss his cut for side projects that Balsano had been operating.
Fictional caporegimes from The Godfather include Peter Clemenza and Salvatore Tessio, who were Capos in the fictional Corleone family because they were good friends with Don Vito Corleone. Fictional capos from the HBO television series The Sopranos include: "Paulie Walnuts" Gualtieri, Christopher Moltisanti, Ralph Cifaretto and Vito Spatafore.
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