Five Families

The Five Families are the five original Italian-American Mafia crime families which have dominated organized crime in the United States since 1931. The Five Families in New York remain as the powerhouse of the Italian Mafia in the United States.

Contents

History

The Five Families originated out of already existing New York City Sicilian Mafia gangs. They were formally organized in the summer of 1931 by Salvatore Maranzano after the murder of Giuseppe Masseria, in what has become known as the Castellammarese War. Maranzano also introduced the now familiar Mafia hierarchy: Boss, Underboss, Consigliere, Capo, Soldier, and declared himself "capo di tutti capi" -- the ultimate boss over all of the families.

When Maranzano was murdered just months after Masseria, the "Boss of all Bosses" position was eliminated in favor of the Commission, a council which demarcated territory between the previously warring factions and governs American Mafia activities in the United States (virtually a "board of directors.") The idea was to settle things politically amongst the families and prevent the tyranny of one man controlling all the Mafia's operations. In addition, the cessation of constant hostilities insured increased profitability and stability for all the families.

Names

The names of the Five Families are attributed to Mafia informant Joe Valachi. After his arrest in 1959, Valachi gave the police the names of the current bosses of the Five Families. The names of four of those bosses, Tommy Lucchese, Vito Genovese, Carlo Gambino, and Joe Bonanno, were used to name their respective families. While the fifth family was headed by Joe Profaci in 1959, it is named after the succeeding boss, Joseph Colombo.[1]

Current bosses

Territories

The Five Families operate throughout the New York Metropolitan area, but mainly within New York City's five boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx and Staten Island. In the state of New York the families have increased their criminal rackets in Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk) and the counties of Westchester, Rockland and Albany. The Five Families maintain a strong presence in the state of New Jersey.[6] The crime families are also active in South Florida, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Las Vegas.

In popular culture

See also

References

  1. ^ "26 Mafia Cities - New York, New Jersey". Americanmafia.com. http://www.americanmafia.com/Cities/New_York_New_Jersey.html. Retrieved 2011-04-13. 
  2. ^ "Jerry Capeci: Mob Murder In Montreal Could Trigger Bloodshed In New York". Huffingtonpost.com. 2010-01-11. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jerry-capeci/mob-murder-in-montreal-co_b_417688.html. Retrieved 2011-04-13. 
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ "Virginia girl found eating herself in cage in mobile home; parents Brian and Shannon Gore charged". Daily News (New York). http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/the_mob/2011/07/29/2011-07-29_wiseguy_sicilian_the_capo_of_the_gambinos.html. 
  5. ^ Cohen, Stefanie. "[2]" The New York Post, 8 March 2009.
  6. ^ a b The Changing Face of Organized in New Jersey A Status Report. May 2004. (pg 105-114)
  7. ^ "New Charges for Mob Family as U.S. Indictment Names 20", New York Times April 20, 2001