American Cosa Nostra

The North American offshoot of the original Sicilian Cosa Nostra or Mafia is called the American Cosa Nostra or La Cosa Nostra or Italian-American Mafia . Originating around 1900, the term is assigned to various organized gangs of Italian-American criminals today . To date, there have been at least 26 different La Cosa Nostra families in almost as many cities in the United States, each with additional locations, splinter groups and associates in various other cities. Almost all families work largely independently, with nationwide coordination by a commission made up of the heads of the most influential families. The five families of New York and the Chicago outfit are considered to be the most important .

Delimitation and meaning

The term Cosa Nostra [ kɔza nɔstra ] ( Italian : Our cause ) was in the public originally only for the US branch after the FBI boss J. Edgar Hoover used this term for the first time publicly. Only after the end of the Second World War was the name "Cosa Nostra" used for the original Sicilian Mafia.

Typical Mustache Pete, Giuseppe "Peter" Morello

The origin of the term “Cosa Nostra” as a proper name cannot be clearly clarified. There is a presumption that it originated among Italian immigrants in the USA, who already belonged to the mafia in Sicily and were referred to as so-called Mustache Petes . Since there was actually no name for the members of the Mafia and the term Mafia was also not in use, the Sicilians are said to have only spoken of "our cause", which initially even excluded non-Sicilian Italians. The mafiosi themselves always called themselves “uomo d'onore”, meaning “man of honor”.

Originally just an offshoot of the Sicilian Mafia, which formed among the immigrants in the Italian neighborhoods, the American organization soon grew to a considerable independent entity, which - analogous to the global political role of the USA - became an international criminal organization after the Second World War surpassed the original Italian mafia organizations in power, wealth and expansion.

The term La Cosa Nostra only became publicly known in October 1963 through testimony to the McClellan Committee , a committee of inquiry of the United States Congress, by the Pentito Joe Valachi . Valachi revealed to the committee that the American organization is commonly referred to as La Cosa Nostra .

Unlike the Sicilian, the American Cosa Nostra never had so far-reaching political influence. Even if there was speculation about political implications at the highest level - so are z. B. Contacts of Sam Giancana to the Kennedy family can be proven - these remained only selectively tied to individual persons. Nor did it develop a parallel society in the USA or an anti-state or a shadow state, as in Sicily. While the murders of politicians , investigators and journalists became almost everyday occurrence in a relatively young, decentralized state in the early 1980s , the American Cosa Nostra adheres to its command not to murder any uninvolved police officers, judges or other representatives of the state because it in the USA no real territorial power as claimed in Sicily and operates within an intact state. The examining magistrate and mafia opponent Giovanni Falcone , who was murdered in 1992 , also pointed out the differences between the young, decentralized state of Italy and other states such as highly centralized France and the USA.

In addition, the Sicilians and other Italians did not have the illegal monopoly of force as in their original homeland, i. that is, they competed with other ethnic groups, particularly the Irish and Eastern European immigrants. The gangsters were often lumped together, ignoring the fact that full membership in the American Cosa Nostra is basically regulated by origin.

Origins of the American Cosa Nostra

In view of the inflationary and misuse of the term Mafia for almost all forms of criminal organizations , gangs , organized crime and the popular myths that have formed around them, there is still a risk today of placing all Italian immigrants under general suspicion. In the context of the mass immigration of Italians, however, as with all other ethnic groups , we are dealing with criminal minorities. Even from the end of the 18th century, primarily Italian immigrants were among the first victims of the Black Hand Gang , i.e. the forerunner of the American Cosa Nostra, as well as other Mustache Petes and their Black Hand extortion , as they already socialized in their homeland were able to give in to the threats of their criminal compatriots without resistance.

After the end of the alcohol prohibition in 1933, the acceptance of the mobsters in the US public rapidly waned . Apparently, large parts of the population had classified them as a necessary evil to ensure the supply of alcohol (and gambling). Now politicians and authorities were no longer willing to accept the increasing crime rate .

In particular, after the Valentine's Day massacre in Chicago in 1929 , there was a change in mood among the population. The Chicago Crime Commission published a list of "Public Enemies" in 1930, which was headed by Al Capone , the boss of the Chicago Outfit . From this point on it became common - especially in the press - to refer to him as “Public Enemy No. 1”. The list increased the persecution pressure on the people listed on it enormously.

After initially only working with various committees of inquiry, the RICO Act was passed in 1970 . This enables federal prosecutors to file a lawsuit if a person is suspected of belonging to a criminal organization. This can be the case if the accused has committed two of a total of 35 defined crimes with the same goal or result within ten years. Initially only of minor importance, the regulation was then increasingly applied in the 1980s. With the help of this law it was initially possible to push back the "mob" in the USA.

organization

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hierarchy

In terms of the structure of the hierarchy, the American Cosa Nostra essentially corresponds to the Sicilian. However, the original terms have been Americanized.

The basis of the organization is the so-called "family", the term should not be taken literally, as it is not actually based on consanguinity as with the 'Ndrangheta from Calabria . Each family is headed by a boss who is in command. As a rule, the boss is no longer involved in day-to-day business. As a member of the so-called honorable society , it is his responsibility to maintain contacts with representatives of politics, authorities and business and to strengthen the interests of the family there, for example through corruption, money laundering or the operation of front companies.

In the sense of omertà , he is sealed off from the bottom and leaves the day-to-day business to the “ underboss ” or the authority on site is exercised by a “street boss” who acts as the commander in the field. An “acting boss” usually comes into effect if the actual head is imprisoned or close to retirement.

As in the legal economy, the “family” has a staff unit , i. H. the boss has one or more consigliers as consultants. Sometimes a modus operandi has developed like in a legal stock corporation, so that a successful boss may change to the position of consigliere in old age, just as a managing director is then appointed to the supervisory board.

The individual groups are then commanded by a capo or captain who, as group leader, has to implement the commands directly on site.

The simple members are then the soldiers, so to speak. The term Mafioso is not used mutually. Members refer to themselves or others as “ Man of Honor ”, “ One of Us ”, “ A Friend of Us ”.

People who are not members of the Cosa Nostra - either because they are still being tested, but also because their membership is excluded for ethnic reasons - are regarded as “associates”. The special thing about the USA is the extensive cooperation with associates who were wrongly perceived as full members in the past. This was especially true for people of Jewish origin who were attributed to Kosher Nostra by the media . But union bosses like Jimmy Hoffa were also perceived as mobsters.

Dominance pyramid:

Structure of a US mafia family

Boss ↔ Consigliere / Advisor / Right-Hand Man

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1. Underboss ( Acting Boss , Street Boss )
2. Caporegime / Capo / Captain / Skipper : was originally called Capodecina (head of ten), as this only supervised about ten soldiers
3. Single member: Made Man , Soldato , Full Member , Man of Honor (Italian: uomo d'onore ), One of Us , A Friend of Us

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Associate: (“Associate”); Aspirant or ally

membership

In Sicily, strict attention is paid to the origin of the members: Mafiosi were always Sicilians. In the USA this separation within the groups could not be maintained. So the so-called Unione Siciliana finally opened up to non-Sicilians like Al Capone , and the Sicilian Lucky Luciano worked closely with both the Calabrese Frank Costello and Vito Genovese , who was a Neapolitan, as well as with some non-Italians. Full members, however, are almost without exception of purely Italian descent, as only they are considered trustworthy. Irish hit man Frank Sheeran was one of the very few non-Italians that the FBI counted as full members of the American Cosa Nostra. But this was a very rare exception. The famous mobster Henry Hill , who was an associate of the New York Lucchese family in the middle of the 20th century , could never become a member of the Cosa Nostra because his mother was of Sicilian descent, but his father was of Irish descent. This fact was also mentioned in Martin Scorsese's 1990 film Good Fellas - Three Decades in the Mafia .

There is an association called the National Crime Syndicate , which is headed by a “ commission ” in which non-Italians also had a seat and vote for a time. In particular, the Polish-Russian Meyer Lansky should be mentioned here - he represented the then quite numerous Jewish gangsters in the USA. The ironic term Kosher Nostra came into use for them. But the considerable criminal careers of Jewish gangsters remained, in contrast to the Italians, generally only the phenomenon of a single generation. In contrast to the Cosa Nostra, these Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe did not develop a culture of crime and therefore not passed it on to their descendants; the criminal activities were often hidden from future generations. With the death of this generation - the Kosher Nostra - a special facet of organized crime in the USA ended, while the Italian-born Cosa Nostra has been renewed again and again today.

Traditionally, the potential, willingness and loyalty of the recruit is tested for a long time before being accepted into the Cosa Nostra. In some cases, in order to be admitted, he must commit murder or some other serious crime to prove that he is not an undercover agent. In the case of a first murder assignment, mafia circles talk about "making your bones" , and if you have fulfilled this, you get the title "button man" (a so-called "button man"), or hitman (executor). The FBI Special Agent Joseph Pistone alias "Donnie Brasco", who was undercover in the New York Bonanno family , gave the authorities firsthand knowledge of these facts.

The families

American families are sometimes named for their location, but often for a specific person. There are very few families in the US compared to the situation in Sicily. The US families are very large and often operate nationwide. For decades , Las Vegas and eastern Florida were "open"; H. any family could gamble there as long as they didn't get in the way of others.

The main clans are the Five Families of New York City : Bonanno , Colombo , Gambino , Genovese, and Lucchese . The existence of the five families was admitted in 1983 by former boss Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno, Sr. in his book "A Man of Honor: The Autobiography of Joseph Bonanno". In addition, the sixth organization is the Chicago outfit . Families in other large cities in the USA are mostly more or less dominated by these six families.

Surname	Headquarters	Subsidiary locations
Balistrieri family	Milwaukee	Subsidiary locations across Wisconsin
Bruno family ( Philly Mob )	Philadelphia	Baltimore , Delaware , Atlantic City (New Jersey) , Trenton (New Jersey)
Chicago Outfit ( The Outfit )	Chicago	South Florida, Las Vegas , Los Angeles
Civella family	Kansas City	Nebraska , Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Washington, DC
DeCavalcante family	Elizabeth	Atlantic City, New Jersey, Trenton, New Jersey, New York , Connecticut , Florida
Dragna family	los Angeles	Las Vegas
Five families from New York :	New York City
Bonanno family	New York City	Montreal
Colombo family (formerly Profaci family )	New York City	Massachusetts , South Florida, Las Vegas, Los Angeles
Gambino family (formerly Mangano family )	New York City	New Jersey , Tampa, South Florida, Ohio , Las Vegas, Los Angeles
Genovese family (formerly Morello family and Luciano family )	New York City	New Jersey, Connecticut , Massachusetts, Pittsburgh, South Florida, Los Angeles
Lucchese family (formerly Gagliano family )	New York City	New Jersey, South Florida, Ohio, Las Vegas
Giordano family	St. Louis
LaRocca family	Pittsburgh	Allegheny County , West Virginia , East Ohio
Licavoli family ( Mayfield Road Mob , ex Porrello family )	Cleveland	Ohio, South Florida, Las Vegas
Magaddino Family ( The Arm )	Buffalo	Syracuse , Rochester , Utica , Ontario , Northwest Pennsylvania, Las Vegas
Patriarca Family ( New England Family , The Office )	Boston , Providence	Rhode Island , Greater Boston , East Connecticut, New Hampshire , Maine
Trafficante Family ( Tampa Mafia )	Tampa	Active across Florida
Zerilli Family ( Detroit Partnership , Detroit Mafia )	Detroit	Michigan , Windsor, Ontario , Toledo, Ohio

no longer existing families

Surname	Headquarters	Subsidiary locations	inactive since:
Bufalino family	Pittston, Pennsylvania	Wilkes-Barre , Scranton, Pennsylvania	2008
Cerrito family	San Jose	San Francisco Bay Area , Santa Clara County	1995
Civello family	Dallas	Houston , Austin (Texas)	1990
Lanza family	San Francisco	Las Vegas	2006
Matranga family	New Orleans		2006
Rochester family	Rochester (New York)		1993
Smaldone family	Denver		2006

The increased cooperation of the original Sicilian Mafia with the American Cosa Nostra due to the drug trade (via the so-called Pizza Connection ) has brought both segments, which for a long time acted completely independently of each other, closer together and the whole thing in a certain sense actually once again become a common cause (Italian: "Cosa nostra" - "Our cause") done. Even so, the two organizations are very different from each other. The temporarily very close cooperation cannot hide the fact that both organizations each have their own mentality and that they differ significantly from their counterparts. Above all, the higher degree of organization of the Sicilian Cosa Nostra makes it appear superior to its American branch.

Some media assumed that the so-called Colacurcio family from Seattle was part of the American Cosa Nostra, but they were not mafia members and did not have a hierarchical chain of command as is common with the Cosa Nostra, even if Frank Colacurcio was at the beginning of the 1970s in Yakima (Washington) with Salvatore "Bill" Bonanno , supposed to have met to discuss a partnership. Colacurcio replied to a reporter that he and his family went to Yakima to buy peppers, "but I didn't choose bananas."

Rituals and rules

Cosa Nostra initiation ritual

If a new member is to be accepted into a family, the recruiter receives a call with the order to be well dressed to be ready for his pickup. After being picked up, either alone or with other recognized recruiters, he will be brought to a room where the boss will hold the acceptance ceremony in the presence of at least one other Made Man .

The family boss accepts a new member by dripping some blood from the “trigger finger” of the new member onto a picture of a saint (mostly Francis of Assisi or the Virgin Mary ), burning the picture and placing it in his hands and making him take an oath and swear by the "Omertà". The sworn oath can vary from family to family, but is traditionally something like this: “ As this card burns, may my soul burn in Hell if I betray the oath of Omertà ” or “ As burns this saint, so will burn my soul. I enter alive and I will have to get out dead. "

Mafia members must not simply identify themselves to other Mafiosi, but must be introduced to each other by a third gangster who knows both. Provides a Made Man another man raised by the Cosa Nostra a member before, the phrase "a friend of ours" it is often ( a friend of ours ,) used, which conveys that this is also a made man and with it open can be spoken. If, on the other hand, a made man introduces a partner or potential recruit to another made man, he uses the expression "a friend of mine" instead.

In New York, the Mafia set the following rules:

1. Omertà - confidentiality towards authorities.
2. Ethnicity - only ethnic Italians can be included. Associates, partners and allies are excluded from this.
3. "Family secrets" - Family Secrets . Internal family matters may not be discussed with non-members.
4. "Blood for blood" - blood for blood . Revenge killings must be approved by the boss.
5. "No fighting among members" - No (physical) fight between members of the Mafia.
6. “Tribute” - Tribute payments have to be paid to the boss every month, which also includes side business.
7. "Adultery" - adultery. The wives of other members are taboo for members.
8. "No facial hair" - no facial hair. In order to distinguish themselves from the so-called Mustache Petes , beards were taboo.

Homosexuality is a death-worthy crime. In 1992, John D'Amato , acting boss of the DeCavalcante family, was murdered when his homosexuality became known.

Fields of employment

Usury of credit, protection money, prostitution

The most important original businesses of the American Cosa Nostra have always been the usury of credit , extortion of protection money and prostitution . The latter was actually forbidden in the Sicilian Cosa Nostra, but the 'Americans' did not adhere to it; When Lucky Luciano later wanted to establish the business field in Italy as well, the Sicilians were promised to provide non-Italian women for this line of business without exception.

“We have always excluded prostitution from the business of Cosa Nostra and despised everyone who exploits prostitutes. In the 1930s the Prefect Mori also sent pimps into exile on the islands [Sicily]. There the Uomini d'onore (men of honor) organized beatings against these 'Ricottari', as they were called at the time. "

- Pino Arlacchi : Mafia from within - The life of Don Antonino Calderone.

Despite all the newer and more lucrative business areas, the American Cosa Nostra has never given up these areas. Even if it does not (no longer) run the business itself, it usually demands a share in the profits from illegal business and thus extends the range of protection money to illegal companies.

Gambling

The gangs in the Five Points have always gambled; Card games and Italian lotteries ("number games") were organized on the streets of New York City. Before and after the drug trade , it had always been a lucrative source of income. Originally, gambling in the United States was severely restricted and largely banned; When the state of Nevada relaxed its laws due to the economic crisis, the mobsters moved to Las Vegas , where they acquired several casinos or built them themselves through the use of straw men.

For this they used their contacts to the Kosher Nostras around Meyer Lansky , and there were among others. a. People like Gus Greenbaum and Frank Rosenthal , who organized the casinos in Las Vegas and soon also in Atlantic City . Through the connection and cooperation with General Fulgencio Batista in Cuba , the mobsters also gained complete control over bookmakers and lotteries in the country's most important cities.

While the grotesque situation already prevailed in Las Vegas that gambling and sports betting were permitted in a form that was pursued in the rest of the USA, the conditions in Cuba were almost paradisiacal. High-ranking mobsters z. B. arrived in the Tropicana of Havana, were treated like high-ranking guests of state; The red carpet was rolled out in the hotels for their reception. The entire Cuban state was so undermined by corruption that the Cuban Revolution ultimately had an easy time of it. Batista and the gangsters had to flee Cuba in 1959 and intensified their activities in the USA. B. in the Bahamas .

Drugs

The drug trade had always been a controversial issue in Italian circles; Even more so than with alcohol prohibition , the heroin trafficking was subject to persecution pressure from the beginning, which posed a threat to the entire organization.

On the other hand, most families had become rich through alcohol smuggling and it was now often the members of the “street crews” who - especially in the now common economic crime activities - got the least. They were then particularly open to such risky deals. When the American Cosa Nostra was resicilian due to the international drug trade, as the Sicilian families gained control over the trade and expanded their influence in America, it was again the simple 'soldiers' of the street gangs who did not abide by the agreements, the business to be left only to the Sicilians. (See Cosa Nostra: Structure )

Laboratory racketeering

The infiltration and corruption of the unions, also known as “ labor racketeering ”, began in the early years of the 20th century. At first it was a lucrative business to intervene in labor disputes on the part of employers ; later it was even more profitable to impartially lend one's clubs to the highest bidder. Some of these clashes became legendary as the Labor Slugger War . Initially it was Kosher Nostras who built up a monopoly of force here; Only under Louis Buchalter was the connection to the Sicilians strengthened, as the jointly operated Murder, Inc. was formed as the administrative killing body for the National Crime Syndicate .

A special connection developed with the transport workers' union of the Teamsters . With the crackdown on the Irish White Hand Gang , the Italians had come to control the harbor docks in New York City . This not only resulted in the possibility of targeted stealing in the docks, but by infiltrating the union, it was possible to cash in on the union members and the union offices were a perfect camouflage. In return, they secured trade unionists like Jimmy Hoffa the presidency of the union and kept competitors at bay. It was then the pension funds of the Central States Pension Fund , founded in 1960 , that were used to finance the casinos in Las Vegas in the 1970s.

The story of the American Cosa Nostra

Ignazio "Lupo" Saietta

The beginnings

Among the Italian immigrants (including around 800,000 Sicilians) who fled their poverty to America in the 1870s, there were also criminals who soon began to blackmail their compatriots in the big cities. The chosen method of extortion became a synonym for extortion in general as Blackhand in the USA. This method was perfected by the Black Hand Gang , which is supposed to have originally been an offshoot or imitation of the anarchist La Mano Negra (it. "The Black Hand"). In New York City under Ignazio "Lupo" Saietta , however, they expanded their business; In particular, a large-scale counterfeit ring was raised, probably also involving the Sicilian Don Vito Cascio Ferro , and the Unione Siciliana was infiltrated.

By marrying in, there was a family relationship with the Morello family , which is considered to be the forerunner of the clan later classified as the " Genovese family " and the probably first Italian-American mafia family with the typical structure that is still used today for the US Cosa Nostra applies, has been. Around 1917 the Morello family succeeded in ousting a rival organization of Neapolitan immigrants from the Camorra , which was locally headed by Pellegrino Morano , in a bloody conflict from New York.

Other Italian immigrants took complete control of Italian quarters such as Little Italy in New York City , Chicago and New Orleans by forcibly becoming the only suppliers - as so-called " Mustache Petes " (Mafiosi of the original Cosa Nostra) for imported goods from Sicily (olive oil, cheese, bread and the like) or obtained a monopoly on business with Italian lotteries.

In New York City - among other street gangs - the Five Points Gang had also formed, in which notorious Mafiosi such as Al Capone , Lucky Luciano etc. were later members and which can be seen as a further source of part of the formation and organization of the American Cosa Nostra is.

Mafia Camorra War

Between 1914 and 1918, the so-called Mafia Camorra War took place in New York City . This essentially refers to battles between the Neapolitan Camorra and the Sicilian Mafia. Within the Italian community of New York City, East Harlem was essentially Sicilian, while Brooklyn was predominantly Neapolitan. The Navy Street Gang with Alessandro Vollero and the Coney Island Gang with Pellegrino Morano as head formed in Brooklyn and the important Morello family was based in East Harlem . Around 1919, after several years of mutual murders with constantly changing coalitions, the Camorra finally lost the war due to criminal trials. Morano and Vollero were also convicted and expelled to Italy. The Sicilian mafia took control and the "Neapolitans" submitted to the new bosses. The remaining Cammoristi finally came under the leadership of the Sicilian Salvatore D'Aquila . This grouping is now considered the forerunner of the clan that was later classified as the “ Gambino family ”.

Prohibition

From 1919 to 1933 the trade and production of alcohol was categorically prohibited throughout the United States . Alcohol prohibition , which was very unpopular from the start , led to the emergence of a huge black market . Criminals of all kinds imported liquor and beer from Canada, Mexico, and even Scotland, or made the alcohol themselves in illegal distilleries and breweries. Among them were Irish, Jews, Greeks, Neapolitans (like Al Capone ), Calabrese and "real" Americans; In contrast to their homeland, the Sicilians never had the illegal monopoly of force. The alcoholic beverages were served or sold in illegally operated clubs called speakeasy . These were also run by organized crime.

In New York it was Kosher Nostras who controlled 70% of the alcohol smuggling, while the Italians, ultimately organized in the Five Families of the Mafia, only managed 25% for themselves; the rest were shared by Irish and other groups. In Chicago, however, the Chicago outfit , which was controlled by Italian immigrants, prevailed against Irish gangs, especially the North Side Gang .

Lucky Luciano, photo from the 1930s.

Huge amounts of alcohol were smuggled into the United States, especially from Canada; the alcohol was brought to Chicago, Buffalo and Detroit and from there it was smuggled into other major cities. In this business, mainly the young up-and-coming gangsters operated like Lucky Luciano , Meyer Lansky , Bugsy Siegel , Al Capone , Frank Costello and others who cooperated with non-Italians in the Seven Group . The older, tradition-conscious, mainly Sicilian bosses, called Mustache Petes , were content with their traditional illegal sources of income such as extortion of protection money .

The alcohol smuggling business boomed and brought the American Cosa Nostra great profits and a strong increase in power. Chicago in particular became synonymous with crime and organized crime, and Al Capone became the archetype of this form of illegal business activity. Originally from New York City, he moved to Chicago in early 1920. There he soon rose to the position of Adlatus of Boss Johnny Torrio . He called a meeting of all gangs, including Irish, Polish and Jewish, and proposed extensive cooperation.

Al Capone, police photo from June 17, 1931

Nevertheless, there was a conflict with the North Side Gang to Dean O'Banion ; on November 9, 1924, O'Banion was shot dead in his flower shop. The remnants of the North Side Gang under Hymie Weiss and later under Bugs Moran continued the fight. On January 24, 1925, Torrio was ambushed and shot four times, but survived. He retired into private life and handed over the business to Capone. Capone, now the most powerful man in organized crime in Chicago and beyond, was ruthless against his opponents. The Valentine's Day massacre on February 14, 1929, during which several members of the "Nordseite" were murdered, made him famous and notorious across the country. Even if he finally secured the supremacy, he was now the first target of the authorities, since Frank J. Loesch , chairman of the Chicago Crime Commission in 1930 had drawn up a list of "public enemies" (en: "Public Enemy") was published in modified form by the Chicago Tribune . Both lists headed Al Capone first; it became customary to refer to him as "Public Enemy No.1" in the press. The list increased the persecution pressure on the people listed on it enormously. Convicted of income tax evasion in 1931, Capone was imprisoned for twelve years.

The Castellammarese War

In New York in 1930 the structures and territories of the Five Families were consolidated. The family of Joe "the Boss" Masseria (boss of the later classified Genovese family , previously Morello family ) was recognized as the strongest in New York City. Masseria also included non-Sicilian Italians in his family.

“In addition to the Masseria group, the Al Mineo Clan (later classified as the Mangano and then as the Gambino family ) operated in Manhattan and Brooklyn, closely following Masseria . The Bronx controlled Gaetano Reina's gang (later classified as the Gagliano and then as the Lucchese family ), who was the son of Giacomo Reina of Corleone . Staten Island was the working area of Joseph Profaci's family (later classified as the Colombo family ). The fifth group (later classified as the Bonanno family ) was special in that it recruited its members exclusively from immigrants from Castellammare del Golfo . The nominal boss of this formation was Nicola Schiro , but Salvatore Maranzano was in charge . The Castellammarese had also chosen Manhattan and Brooklyn as their area of ​​operation. ... "

- Hannelore Gude Hohensinner

The intellectual Maranzano had a personal dislike of Masseria and, despite competition from other ethnic groups, both headed for a confrontation for supremacy now known as the Castellammare War .

As a result, there was intriguing and chaotic fighting, in which Masseria initially got the upper hand, but was shot on April 15, 1931. With that the war seemed to be over, Maranzano invited to a banquet, proclaimed himself “ Capo di tutti i capi ” (boss of all bosses) and formed the five families anew.

While he himself retained the management of his family, he appointed Lucky Luciano as the boss and Vito Genovese as the underboss of the family after Masseria's death . The family formerly run by Al Mineo was taken over by Vincent Mangano and Albert Anastasia , while that of Gaetano Reina is now run by Gaetano Gagliano and Tommy Lucchese . Only in the Profaci family did everything stay the same. Luciano and Maranzano soon fell out; both wanted sole power and on September 10, 1931, Maranzano was murdered on his business premises. Joseph Bonanno was elected the new boss of the family after the death of Maranzano. These events were filmed in 1991 in The Real Bosses: A Devilish Empire .

Ultimately, the "Young Turks" (de: Young Turks ) around Lucky Luciano emerged as the winners over the old-school Mustache Pete . Luciano's concept of opening the American Cosa Nostra to non-Sicilians also caught on. The acceptance of Italians from Calabria or Campania was rather unproblematic in most families in the future. Members of other nationalities were denied membership - apart from a few exceptions.

National Crime Syndicate

After the assassination of Maranzano, under the influence of Lucky Luciano, the status quo of these five families was accepted and a central leader was dispensed with, and so the leaders of the five families, their associates and members of mafia clans from other large cities (especially Chicago Outfit, but also "Kosher Nostras" like Meyer Lansky) at a meeting in Chicago. The purpose of the meeting was to abolish the Sicilian regime of the "boss of all bosses" and to come to an agreement in the future. So one founded the National Crime Syndicate ( English "National Criminal Syndicate "), in which the so-called American Mafia Commission of the Cosa Nostra is chaired and always remained the dominant group in the syndicate.

Wanted poster, 1963

The commission consisted of seven bosses, i.e. the heads of the five New York families: Lucky Luciano, Vincent Mangano, Tommy Gagliano, Joseph Bonanno and Joe Profaci, as well as Chicago outfit boss Al Capone and Buffalo or Magaddino boss Stefano Magaddino . Luciano has been appointed chairman of the commission.

In Sicily, too, there had always been agreements between different clans of the Mafia; Thoughts for a general order in the USA had already been developed by Johnny Torrio , whom Luciano knew as a member of the Five Points Gang before he went to Chicago. In the end, Maranzano also came from Sicily with corresponding ideas. However, he wanted to bring the Five Families of New York and the Chicago outfit under his rule as head boss, while Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano, on the advice of Torri, had a modern, cooperative management system, as in the legal economy.

In future, people met to decide on activities and territories. If a new business were to arise or if another “family” wanted to expand, the “Syndicate” would meet to negotiate. This meant that an ambitious family who crossed the border without consultation would declare war on not just one but all other families, just as if an outsider were messing with the entire syndicate.

Louis Buchalter, 1939

The syndicate used Murder, Inc. , headed by Louis Buchalter , which was founded mainly to safeguard and expand the interests of the syndicate, and to eliminate enemies from newly emerging clans.

This form of organization could not prevent bloody family wars either, but these conflicts were usually contained. This peace also reduced public awareness, which had been startled by gang wars and which had ultimately increased the pressure of the police to search for organized crime . B. had ultimately led to the imprisonment of Monk Eastman in the past . Protected by corrupt politicians, judges and police officers, the families of the "National Crime Syndicate" would be able to go about their business practically undisturbed; at least that was the idea of ​​Lansky and Luciano.

1933 to 1941

In the end, however, Luciano and the other bosses' peace plan did not work out. Although the Five Families established themselves in New York in the 1933s and expanded in the 1930s, this expansion was also due to the fact that after the end of the alcohol prohibition a lucrative part of the business had collapsed and was compensated for by new business fields and expansion of one's own influence had to become.

First they discovered Florida, which at that time was still very sparsely populated. The families also settled on the west coast of the United States . 1940 Bugsy Siegel went to Los Angeles on behalf of the New York families to control the unions there.

In addition, the state pressure to persecute could not ultimately be avoided. First, the mobsters' image had deteriorated dramatically , particularly with the 1929 Valentine's Day massacre in Chicago. This ultimately led to Al Capone being convicted of tax evasion in 1931. Second, many had viewed the bullies as a necessary evil as long as they could provide the (illegal) alcohol ; legalization meant that nobody was willing to accept rising crime any longer.

Thirdly, in New York it was precisely the political connections from which Luciano had hoped for protection that now indirectly led to the intensification of the persecution. In 1933, Fiorello LaGuardia was elected Mayor of New York. The Republican took office after one of his corrupt predecessors resigned, charged, and fled to Europe for accepting bribes . LaGuardia appointed Thomas E. Dewey as special prosecutor to break the power of the corrupt Tammany Hall . Dewey turned against organized gambling, which had already been the business basis of classic gangs like the Eastman Gang or the Five Points Gang and was now organized in particular by Dutch Schultz and his thugs. Dewey asked for information on the radio and received over 3,000 leads. After Schultz was initially charged with tax evasion in 1933 , Dewey then took action against Lucky Luciano .

Dewey's research was based on Luciano's activities in prostitution and girl trafficking . Schultz had meanwhile decided to kill prosecutor Dewey. Even before his own verdict was pronounced, Luciano tried to stop Dutch Schultz from murdering Dewey. The "Commission" of the National Crime Syndicate decided his death after his refusal in order to avert danger to the entire organization that would inevitably have resulted from the murder of the public prosecutor and Schultz was murdered. This was filmed in 1997 in Harlem, NYC - The Price of Power (OT: Hoodlum) .

Frank Costello during a survey in the Kefauver Hearings (1951)

Through these legal prosecutions and internal disputes, the leadership levels of the clans were changed. Frank Costello took over the management of the Genovese family for the imprisoned Luciano . Vito Genovese fled to Italy in 1937 to avoid a murder charge. In 1940 Abe "Kid Twist" Reles was arrested in New York. He was a member of Murder, Inc. and began to testify against the promise of impunity.

He turned over many of his cronies, almost all of whom were executed; including Louis Buchalter , who is still the highest-ranking mobster in the United States who has ever been executed. Another indictment against Albert Anastasia failed when Reles fell in an unexplained manner from the top floor of a hotel on the day of the November 11, 1941 court hearing, despite being guarded by eight police officers.

Second World War

When the Japanese attacked the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii on December 7, 1941 , the United States entered World War II and Adolf Hitler declared war on the United States on December 11, 1941. During Operation Paukenschlag, German submarines sank a number of merchant ships on the east coast of the United States from January 13, 1942 , so that the American side suspected that collaborators and spies were at work in their own ports .

Hysteria broke out in the USA and (National Socialist) spies were suspected to be behind all these activities. “As a precaution” US citizens of Japanese and German origin were arrested, even if nothing was against them, and interned in assembly camps during the war .

Lafayette capsized on February 22, 1942.

Police photo by Albert Anastasia

These assumptions reached their climax when, in February 1942, the confiscated French passenger ship Normandie was to be converted into a troop carrier with the new name Lafayette . As part of the renovation work, however, aided by serious safety deficiencies and negligence, a fire broke out during welding work, killing several workers. During the fire fighting the ship capsized due to the unevenly absorbed extinguishing water . Rumors arose that the ship had been sabotaged by German spies. That now seemed to confirm that the US was infiltrated by traitors and spies. From this it was later deduced that the US government had decided to work with the US Cosa Nostra to fend off further attacks in the port of New York City . There is no question that the imprisoned Lucky Luciano , who controlled the dockworkers via Frank Costello and the docks via Albert Anastasia , would be the contact person for such an agreement and thus the forerunner for the proven cooperation between the CIA and the Mafia in the case of Cuba ( Operation Mongoose ) in the 1960s been.

In addition, it is still suspected to this day that the US government used Luciano's contacts to secure the Allied landing on Sicily in 1943 and the subsequent Italian campaign. These circumstances are said to have led to Luciano's release after 10 years in prison. Jack Higgins took this as a model for his novel "Luciano" (OT: Luciano's Luck), published in Germany in 1982.

A direct collaboration in relation to the landing in Sicily is rejected by the Mafia expert John Dickie . The support of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini by Vito Genovese , who organized the assassination of the labor leader Carlo Tresca on January 11, 1943 in New York City, would also speak for this . The persecution of the Mafia in Sicily had long since ended; only after the Allies landed in Italy did Genovese switch to their side. The investigating judge Falcone, however, considered an active participation of the original Sicilian Cosa Nostra to be very likely.

The US Navy hoped for information about the Italian ports and hostile activities there from Mafia connections, and received this information. After the Allied landing in Sicily , this information became an integral part of warfare; especially with regard to military and personnel details. These passed u. a. from stolen plans to mine ports and lists of names from sources behind the front line.

The naval defense approached Luciano via Meyer Lansky in the spring of 1942 and Luciano gave a capo of his family, Joe “Socks” Lanza , a free hand in the port area. Navy members with forged union IDs were infiltrated into the fishing operations and the port of New York and all security information was passed on to the appropriate authorities. For this, Luciano was transferred from Dannemora to Meadow Prison in Comstock (New York) on May 12, 1942 , where the Navy Secret Service held discreet meetings with him.

1946 to 1957 post-war period

After the Second World War, the activity of the American Cosa Nostra expanded further, especially to Las Vegas, which was experiencing a real boom at that time. Above all, Frank Costello , Meyer Lansky , Sam Giancana and Anthony Accardo from Chicago bought massively there through straw men and became co-owners of various casinos. In Cuba, too, there was massive investment in gambling and tourism. On June 20, 1947, "Bugsy" Siegel, who had opened the casino hotel Flamingo in Las Vegas , was shot. His businesses were taken over by the likes of Gus Greenbaum and Mickey Cohen .

Vito Genovese

In 1946 Vito Genovese returned from Italy. There he had supplied the foreign minister of the 'Duce' Benito Mussolini , Count Galeazzo Ciano with cocaine and after Italy left the war in 1943 he had helped organize the black market . Witnesses supporting various charges against him suffered so-called "accidents". While his boss Costello mainly invested in low-risk legal business and gambling, Genovese was mainly involved in drug trafficking. A rift opened up between them and Genovese increasingly knew how to gather the simple 'soldiers' of the street behind them.

These were largely excluded from the lucrative business and saw their opportunity in the risky but highly profitable drug trade. Costello had given his family a mandatory ban on dealing in drugs of any kind. Genovese was closely allied with New York boss Tommy Lucchese , Costello on the other hand with Albert Anastasia , whose high-ranking captain Carlo Gambino in turn secretly with Lucchese. Costello's power within his family relied largely on underboss Willie Moretti , who controlled large numbers of soldiers. However, he suffered from syphilis and was partly mentally out of his mind; he often spoke to strangers about secret matters. Genovese took advantage of this, agitated against him and in 1951 Moretti was murdered.

Giuseppe "Joe" Bonanno

The Palermo and Appalachin Conferences

From October 10-14, 1957, organized by Joseph Bonanno , a meeting (now known as the Palermo Mafia Summit ) between Sicilian and American bullies took place at the Grand Hotel des Palmes and the Spano restaurant in Palermo . According to other sources, Lucky Luciano , Genco Russo , Tommaso Buscetta , the brothers La Barbera and Salvatore "Cichiteddu" had invited Greco and the Americans Bonanno, whose underboss Carmine Galante , cousin Stefano Magaddino from Buffalo and Giovanni "Papa John" Priziola from Detroit , were the invited guests.

Agreements were made to start the largest heroin drug trafficking in history. As in the USA, a “ commission ” was formed for pacification , which consisted of twelve members and was called the cupola. Its first chairmanship was taken over by Salvatore Greco and not one of Luciano's favorite brothers Angelo La Barbera and Salvatore La Barbera .

As a result, the Sicilians were allowed to sell their drugs themselves in the USA against payment of a fee. However, Vito Genovese and Carmine Galante did not adhere to this agreement.

Carlo Gambino in the 1930s

Genovese, who had already been the “acting boss” of the Genovese family after Luciano's imprisonment in 1936 and before his flight to Sicily in 1937, had ambitions to regain his old position as head after the murder of Willie Moretti and commissioned Vincent Gigante with an assassination attempt , in which Frank Costello suffered a grazing shot on the head on May 2, 1957 and retired as boss. On October 25, 1957, Albert Anastasia , now head of the mafia clan classified as the Gambino family under his successor Carlo Gambino , was murdered.

Anastasia was also branded within the organization, as it turned out that he had sold memberships in the organization for money. For this reason, no new members were accepted into the families in New York for years.

Genovese actually needed at least the approval of the US “Commission” for his approach and so Genovese organized a meeting of the National Crime Syndicate on November 14, 1957 , which became known as the Apalachin Meeting , in order to obtain this approval retrospectively. In addition, Genovese planned to be proclaimed "Capo di tutti i capi" at the meeting and thus to displace Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky for good.

The meeting took place in Apalachin. Joseph "Joe the Barber" Barbara , the boss of the now defunct Pittston family ( Pittston crime family ), there lived a luxurious large estate. Barbara had already drawn the attention of local authorities with his criminal record and refusal to report theft on his property. On November 14, 1957, over 100 people met on this property; the local police drove up and panic broke out among the bosses. The meeting resulted in a mass arrest by local police.

Lansky had not attended the meeting due to illness and it was later even suspected that he had betrayed the meeting to the police; moreover, Genovese was arrested shortly afterwards during a drug operation by the police. Here, too, a tip is said to have played a role; supposedly it came from Luciano and Lansky (as Luciano claimed).

Sixty-two bullies were arrested and released shortly afterwards, but the organization suffered incredible damage. US President Dwight Eisenhower publicly campaigned for crackdown on organized crime. No one could now claim that a well-organized criminal organization did not exist. Appalachin would have fatal consequences for the American Cosa Nostra in the long run. As a first consequence, Vito Genovese was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in 1959 for his involvement in drug trafficking.

From Cuba to the McClellan Hearings

Fidel Castro, 1959

In 1959 the Cuban Revolution under Fidel Castro was successful and the dictator Fulgencio Batista had to flee the country. The new government soon began nationalizing most companies. The big hotels and casinos in Havana were also expropriated and the mobsters had to watch helplessly.

Santo Trafficante, Jr.- Mugshot (1954)

Many mobsters, especially Meyer Lansky and also the Trafficante family from Tampa , had invested large sums in new casinos. Operation Mongoose : In September 1960, CIA Director Allen Dulles contacted two bullies, John Roselli and Sam Giancana , to poison Fidel Castro and other Cuban leaders. It was also alleged that Rosario "Russell" Bufalino had close links with the CIA and that he was also alleged to have been involved in a planned assassination of Fidel Castro.

Regardless of the setback in Cuba, by this time the “mob” had become firmly established throughout the United States and was at the height of its power. Individual branches such as the Dragna family in Los Angeles had developed into families of their own, which in turn began to expand into other cities such as San Francisco , San Diego or Vancouver .

The Chicago outfit was most likely involved in the election of John F. Kennedy to President. The state of Illinois was hotly contested, and only a few tens of thousands of votes made the difference in the end. These were most likely "obtained" by the organization in Chicago. When the Kennedy administration moved into the White House in 1961, federal agencies intensified their efforts to combat organized crime.

"In 1959 the FBI's New York branch had the truly revealing number of four agents for organized crime." Under pressure from Attorney General Robert Kennedy , 150 agents were investigating the activities of the criminal New York subculture in early 1962. "

- Hannelore Gude Hohensinner

From 1963, the witness Joe Valachi , who had been a member of the Genovese family for 30 years and who had shared a cell in prison with Vito Genovese, testified from the inner area of ​​the organization and broke the omertà for the first time. Genovese wanted to have him killed, as did many of his followers. Anthony "Tony Bender" Strollo , his best man and longtime acting boss, disappeared in 1962 and was never seen again. Valachi decided to work with the authorities to save his life. In addition to the organizational structure, history and many names of members, he also revealed the real name of the "mob": "La Cosa Nostra".

The Kennedy assassination

President John F. Kennedy, 1962

In the assassination attempt on John F. Kennedy , the 35th President of the United States of America , on November 22, 1963, Kennedy was fatally wounded by two rifle shots. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested as a suspect and killed two days later by nightclub owner Jack Ruby in police custody. Another subject for conspiracy theories is the La Cosa Nostra . After the attack, the Mafia used Rubys as a henchman to remove the uncomfortable Oswald.

The assassination could, according to speculation, be in response to the considerable pressure to be persecuted under which Kennedy's brother Robert as Attorney General led organized crime leaders named Sam Giancana (head of the Chicago outfit ), Santo Trafficante, Jr. (head of the Trafficante family ) and Carlos Marcello (Head of the Matranga family, which no longer exists today ). He also took action against the union boss Jimmy Hoffa (President of the Teamsters union ), who supported the Mafiosi financially.

Sam "Momo" Giancana donated to Kennedy's primary campaign; He is said to have kept in touch with Kennedy through the singer Frank Sinatra and even shared a lover with him. He was shot dead in 1975 just before he was due to testify before a Senate committee on the Kennedy murder. The nightclub owner Ruby, who shot Oswald a few days after the attack, had contacts with Santo Trafficante, Jr. and in Cuba.

According to a statement by attorney Frank Ragano , Trafficante is said to have said to him in Italian on March 13, 1987 in Tampa :

“Carlos [meaning Carlos Marcello] screwed it up. We shouldn't have killed Giovanni [that is, John F. Kennedy] . We should have killed Bobby [meaning Robert Kennedy] . "

Since Trafficante was not in Tampa on that day, but in Miami , this statement is considered implausible. Some conspiracy theorists still believe to this day that Rosario "Russell" Bufalino played a role in the assassination attempt. However, there is no credible evidence for this.

James Files , the Chicago Mafia hit man, claimed many times that he was responsible for the murder of John F. Kennedy - and that Lee Harvey Oswald never fired a shot. James Files testifies that on November 22, 1963, he was on the grassy hill and fired the fatal shot in President Kennedy's head. The other shot that hit the president was from outfit member Charles Nicoletti , who was hidden in the book store, the same place Lee Harvey Oswald is said to have been at the time of the shooting. The client was outfit member Johnny Roselli . However, five government inquiries since the assassination have shown that Oswald shot President Kennedy. Ultimately, in addition to other conspiracy theories, many threads lead to the Mafia.

From the late 1960s until returning to Las Vegas

In the early 1960s, the American Cosa Nostra withdrew from Las Vegas; most of the casinos were bought by Howard Hughes and other businessmen. In 1966 the commission issued a binding ban on dealing in drugs for the second time, as the penalties for this had been sharply increased again in 1965.

Joseph Colombo, March 6, 1970.

From 1967 new laws were passed in the US Congress, especially Title III and 1970 the RICO Act , which aimed directly at organized crime. While the Chicago outfit expanded rapidly in Florida, Mexico and throughout the western United States, there was a battle for the vacant leadership position in New York. Vito Genovese died in prison in 1969. Between 1964 and 1969 there was the so-called 'Banana War', which got its name because Joseph Bonanno was also called Joe Bananas internally. In 1963, he and Joseph Magliocco tried to eliminate the ambitious Carlo Gambino and his ally Tommy Lucchese, which he did not succeed. After the failed coup, he was deposed and tried to restore his power by force. In early June 1972, Joey Gallo was shot. On June 28, 1971, his internal rival Joseph Colombo was shot dead. Thomas Eboli , acting boss of the Genovese family, was murdered on July 16, 1972 in Brooklyn . The likely commissioner for all of these murders was Carlo Gambino, who increasingly became the most powerful boss.

Joseph Aiuppa

Since the attempts of many business tycoons to establish themselves in Las Vegas were rather disappointing financially, the mobsters returned to Las Vegas from 1973. They bought their way back into casinos and hotels through straw men; The money for this came once again from the Central States Pension Fund , founded in 1930 , the pension fund of the union of Teamsters transport workers who had been infiltrated by the Cosa Nostra. The driving force was mainly Nicholas "Nick" Civella , boss of the Civella family and Joseph Aiuppa , boss of the Chicago outfit together with Anthony Accardo , who is said to have pulled the strings in the outfit between 1957 and 1992 as consigliere . Under the leadership of Joseph Aiuppa, the Chicago outfit reached its temporary peak in 1977. At a conference, Aiuppa and Accardo were able to acquire the "rights" to Las Vegas for the outfit, for the Civella family from Kansas City and the Balistrieri family from Milwaukee . The New York families and those of Philadelphia were to receive the sole rights to the Atlantic City entertainment venue in exchange . With this agreement, it soon turned out that the families on the east coast of the United States had made the significantly worse deal, because Las Vegas remained the far more profitable location.

The Pizza Connection

After the meeting in Palermo in 1957, the Sicilians began to build the infrastructure for the drug trafficking in heroin left to them. At the beginning of the 1960s, the American Cosa Nostra brought Sicilian criminals into the country. These began to work in pizzerias ; They did this for years without engaging in illegal activities, only to work behind the legal facade in another area: Most of these pizzerias also served as sales outlets for heroin. Since the pizzerias had to be supplied with ingredients such as tomatoes , cheese and other Italian export goods , in addition to the additional legal source of income, there was an opportunity to smuggle heroin from Sicily into the USA. In addition, the legal façade of the pizzerias served as an ideal opportunity to launder the funds raised by the heroin trade . This is how the name Pizza Connection came about . Only John Gambino , a member of the Gambino family and the cousin of the Sicilian boss Salvatore Inzerillo , was the owner of 240 pizzerias, which were distributed over the entire United States. In the northeastern United States, the Cosa Nostra controlled more than 80 percent of drug trafficking through the Pizza Connection alone.

In the 1970s and 1980s in particular, the Pizza Connection developed into a highly profitable business, with the well-organized Sicilian Cosa Nostra making several hundred million dollars each year and gaining more and more influence in the United States. Americans viewed this with some unease and fear. However, there was no way to prevent the spread of the “ Zips ”, as the Sicilians were called by the American mafiosi because of their hissing pronunciation. The Americans were also quite divided; some bosses kept a somewhat aloof relationship, others worked very closely with the Sicilians.

Carmine Galante 1943

Carmine Galante , acting boss of the Bonanno family, kept a Sicilian bodyguard consisting of several members and took many Sicilian mafiosi into his family. Galante thought the Sicilians were more reliable and capable than his compatriots. Like many others, Galante defied the ban of the American Mafia Commission to trade in heroin; however, he did so to an exorbitant extent. The FBI agent Joseph Pistone , the undercover as " Donnie Brasco " in the Bonanno crime family as undercover determined reported how distressed Americans were when Galante two Sicilians to Captains appointed. The American captains feared an acute loss of power and complained:

"... about the growing power of the Sicilians, who were viewed with a mixture of disdain and great fear."

- Joe Pistone

Pistone also reported the ambivalent relationship between the Americans and the Sicilians to the FBI and described the impressions that the Sicilians left with the simple " soldiers ":

“He said the“ zips ”were Sicilians who had been brought into the country to sell heroin and murder assignments for Carmine“ Lilo ”Gigante.

They were housed in pizzerias, where they got heroin delivered and distributed, laundered money and waited for further orders from Galante. ... he said the "zips" were a conspiratorial and closed clique. ... They are, he said, the most unscrupulous killers there is in the business. "

- Joe Pistone

Galante kept the profits to himself and used them to expand his power. The other New York bosses like Paul Castellano , head of the powerful Gambino family or "Fat Tony" Salerno , were increasingly concerned about Galante's will to power and his refusal to share the profits with the Commission. The Sicilian criminals, who expected a larger share of the profits, were also dissatisfied. An interest group for the murder of Galante was formed from this.

Carmine Galante was shot dead by his Sicilian bodyguard on July 12, 1979 , and a Sicilian took over the management of the Bonanno family for the next two years. US commission chairman Paul Castellano met soon after with leading Sicilian drug traffickers Salvatore Catalano and Giuseppe Ganci to negotiate a larger share of the heroin trade for the commission. In the mid-1980s, the "Pizza Connection" was broken up by the authorities.

The RICO Act

The power of the American Cosa Nostra was largely broken in the 1980s and 1990s, which was partly due to the increased application of the " Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act " (RICO) , which had existed since 1970 . This federal law, which gave federal agencies an important weapon in the fight against the Mafia, enables federal prosecutors to bring proceedings if a person is suspected of belonging to a criminal organization . This can be the case if the accused has committed two of a total of 35 defined crimes with the same goal or result within ten years . New laws that made wiretapping easier for the FBI also did the rest.

In 1983 the American Cosa Nostra's control of Las Vegas was disclosed and as a result began a "cleanup" in the casinos and hotels; as a result, the mobsters lost control of Las Vegas and bosses like Anthony Accardo , Joseph Aiuppa and Nicholas Civella were sentenced to long prison terms. However, Accardo died before he could begin his prison sentence. These events were filmed in 1995 in Martin Scorsese's casino .

Police photo by Paul Castellano

In the fight against organized crime, the district attorney and later Lord Mayor of New York City, Rudolph Giuliani , excelled. From the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, law enforcement celebrated great media successes. A major blow fell on New York families on February 25, 1985 when many of their most important loved ones and bosses were arrested. Paul Castellano and Aniello Dellacroce of the Gambino family, Anthony Corallo , boss of the Lucchese family, and Carmine John Persico, Jr. , boss of the Colombo family, were among the most important inmates. Even Anthony Salerno , the street boss of the Genovese crime family could be arrested.

Police photo by John Gotti (December 11, 1990)

Paul Castellano , who was released on bail , was shot dead on December 16, 1985. The murder was commissioned by John Gotti , who also became the family's new boss. In contrast to other bosses, Gotti loved the media attention and staged himself for the press and television. He also forced the Gambino family into the public eye and increased the pressure of persecution on the clan. In 1990 he was convicted along with three other bosses from the five New York families . The Gambino -associated Mobster John Alite said of Gotti opposite vice :

“In my honest opinion, John Gotti, Sr. was the worst thing that ever happened to the mob. The public doesn't understand how much damage he has caused with his arrogant manner. But the mobsters understand! Especially now, looking back. You have to move with the times, and Gotti never did that. His downfall and that of the Mafia came from putting his ego above it. This thing should actually be bigger than a single man or his ego. "

The Gambino clan disintegrated under his son of the same name John Angelo Gotti III and his brother Peter Gotti in the 1990s. In particular, when his brothers Richard and Peter were sentenced to 16 years in prison on March 13, 2003, the rumor arose that the clan had disbanded; but since John D'Amico returned to Brooklyn in 2002 after a long prison sentence, this was interpreted by the FBI as assuming his role as the new head of an existing Gambino family. In fact, D'Amico should have been 2005-2011 Street Boss (Front Boss).

Cleveland Mafia War

Danny Greene (1959)

During James “Jack White” Licavoli's rule over the Cleveland Licavoli family , there was an Irish gangster named Danny Greene who began to compete with the Cleveland Mafia. This led to an extremely violent war between the Mafia and Danny Greene's gang, in which nearly 40 car bombs exploded in Cleveland. Then Cleveland got the nickname of the bomb capital of America. The New York mafia families were worried by these events and so Anthony Salerno , the street boss of the Genovese family, decided to introduce ten new members into the family, who should only deal with the elimination of the "Irishman" and Nardis. Greene was supported in these disputes by the influential and actual associate of the Licavoli family, John Nardi . Nardi was killed by a car bomb in the parking lot of Cleveland's Teamster Hall on May 17, 1977. After eight failed assassinations on Greene since 1975, Licavoli sought outside help. Licavoli and underboss Angelo Lonardo hired an associate of the Dragna family from Los Angeles, hit man Ray Ferritto, for the murder of Danny Greene . They learned of a scheduled dental appointment and while Greene was inside, Ferritto and Licavoli soldier Ronald Carabbia placed a bomb in a car and parked it next to Greene's car. When Green came out and tried to open his car door, Carabbia detonated the bomb in the car parked next to it by remote control and Greene died immediately.

Ferritto later learned that the family wanted him dead, so he made a "deal" with the authorities for protection. The subsequent trials lead to the conviction of Licavoli and the later Pentito Aladena "Jimmy the Weasel" Fratianno , who was a member of the Dragna family and testified as a government witness against members of the Mafia across the country. All of these events ultimately led to the infamous Mafia Commission Trial and were filmed in Bulletproof Gangster in 2011 .

1992 until today

Vincent Gigante (1957)

In 1997 Vincent Gigante , boss of the Genovese family , was finally convicted after a long process. After that, not only the Genovese family, but also the entire organization fell into a serious crisis. The Code of Omerta , the secrecy , is already since the 1960s, starting with the first witnesses from the ranks of the US Mafia, Joe Valachi , in constant resolution.

The Sicilian traditions have been increasingly forgotten in recent years. Many high-ranking defectors, such as Sammy Gravano , Al D'Arco , Angelo Lonardo , Salvatore Vitale and even the boss of the Bonanno family , Joseph Massino , testified before government agencies. With the authorities' main focus on the bosses, the organization also has an increasing leadership problem; Whereas in the past it was still desirable for young members to get to the very top of the family, the more intelligent and innovative among them now prefer to stay in the middle level so as not to be exposed to all the pressure of persecution.

The organization is made up of its legal business areas, such as B. the construction industry or garbage disposal , has been largely pushed out and is now limited to business areas such as phone sex, credit card fraud, drug trafficking and the like. However, experts fear that the mafia could have regained momentum because the FBI's attention has been focused on the persecution of Islamist terrorists since 2001 .

On February 8, 2008, John "Jackie Nose" D'Amico was arrested along with a large number of other members and associates of the Gambino family in the course of a joint action by US and Italian investigative authorities against organized crime . Those arrested in the USA and Sicily are accused of murder, extortion, usury of credit and drug trafficking, among other things. Apparently there were indications that both organizations continued to cooperate in the drug business and wanted to revive the " Pizza Connection ".

On the morning of July 9, 2013, nine members of the Bonanno family, including Ernest Aiello , Dominick Siano, and Scott O'Neill , were arrested and brought to the Manhattan Supreme Court . They are charged with making $ 10 million through extortion, usury, gambling and the illicit sale of Viagra. The police also seized numerous firearms. It is believed that high-ranking members of the Bonanno clan hold leadership positions in the local union 917- Teamsters . The underboss Nicholas "Nicky Cigars" Santora currently still sits on his sentence. These incidents were seen as an indication that Cosa Nostra is still active in New York.

In March 2015, the FBI arrested 10 members and associates of the DeCavalcante family . The charges are of conspiracy to commit murder and drug trafficking. Among those arrested, the 71-year-old Capo Charles Stango and the 72-year-old Consigliere or successor to Stefano Vitabile - Frank Nigro .

"Stevie" Mazzone, "Joey" Merlino & "Georgie" Borgesi

In New York, 46 alleged members of La Cosa Nostra were charged on August 4, 2016, and 39 of the accused were arrested the same day. They are charged with extortion, illegal gambling, arson, arms trafficking, credit card fraud and healthcare fraud. They are said to have been active on the US east coast, including in the New York districts of Manhattan and Bronx, but also in the states of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, as well as in the southern state of Florida. All of them should face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Among those arrested were the notorious Capo Pasquale Parrello of the Genovese family and Joseph Salvatore Merlino , who has been the head of the Philadelphia Bruno family since 1994 . The La Cosa Nostra -expert Scott Burnstein said about Merlino against Vice :

"In my opinion he is a criminal icon who can be mentioned in the same breath as the most dynamic, dashing and ambitious mafia leaders of all time."

On May 31, 2017, 19 members and associates of the Lucchese family were placed under arrest by the FBI and charged with murder, attempted murder and drug trafficking, among other charges. The most prominent arrests were street boss Matthew Madonna , underboss Steven Lorenzo “Wonderboy” Crea and the alleged consigliere Joseph “Joey Dee” DiNapoli . On one point of the indictment, Madonna, Crea Sr. and his son Steven “Stevie Junior” Crea Jr. were charged with involvement in the November 2013 murder of senior Purple Gang member Michael Meldish. Other senior family members in the indictment are Capos Dominic "Crazy Dom" Truscello, John "Big John" Castelucci and Tindaro "Tino" Corso.

In January 2018, 10 members of the Cosa Nostra were charged with extortion, assault, mail and telephone fraud, drug trafficking, usury of credit and conspiracy to commit murder. Among the best known: the incumbent Bonanno boss Joseph "Joe C. Jr." Cammarano, Jr. and the consigliere John "Porky" Zancocchio , the well-known Genovese member Ernest Montevecch and the Lucchese soldier Eugene "Boopsie" Castelle.

Francesco Paolo Augusto "Frank" Calì , the boss of the Gambino family, was gunned down in front of his home in Staten Island on March 13, 2019 and died at the age of 53.

In July 2019 it became known that the Sicilian faction of the Gambino family, called Cherry Hill Gambinos , is still actively involved in the drug trade with the original Sicilian Cosa Nostra . In addition to Francesco and Tommaso Inzerillo, Rosario "Sal" Gambino , who was responsible for drug transport, was arrested. Francesco and Tommaso are members of the Inzerillo Mafia Clan, whose members fled to the USA in the early 1980s after the Corleonesi around Totò Riina had ousted the members of the clan and almost completely wiped them out in a bloody Mafia war. Previously, the Inzerillo-Gambino network dominated large parts of the heroin trade through a transatlantic drug operation during the 1970s and 1980s .

Films and documentaries

• 2019 The Irishman
• 2015: The Making of the Mob ; The series documents the emergence of organized crime in America in the 20th century and examines the rise of notorious mobsters from the American Cosa Nostra and Kosher Nostra .
• 2013: Gangster - The History of Organized Crime ; 6-part documentary series about the American Cosa Nostra.
• 2013: The Mafia System of Crime ; Documentary episode of the television program History Specials with Michael Franzese , about the American Cosa Nostra.
• 2012: Mafia Paradise - Cuba before the 1959 revolution ; Documentary about the Italo-American Mafia in Cuba.
• 2012: In the Mafia Network - The FBI's Secret Files ; 13-part documentary series about members and associates of the Italo-American Mafia.
• 2012: The Law of the Street: Confessions of the Mafia ; Former mafia informants of the Bruno family , the Gambino family , the Colombo family and the Chicago outfit report in this 6-part documentary series about their former life with the Italian-American mafia.
• 2010–2014: Boardwalk Empire ; Series about organized crime during prohibition in the United States.
• 2008: The 10 Commandments of the Mafia ; A documentary produced by Wall to Wall Media on the Discovery Channel , about a written code of conduct of the Cosa Nostra that was discovered in November 2007.
• 2007–2012: Mobsters (TV series) ; 4 season documentary series about the most notorious characters in American organized crime history. She examines the life, advancement, or deeds of notorious mobsters from the American Cosa Nostra, Kosher Nostra and other organizations.
• 2005: The Mafia (documentary series) ; 4-part documentary series about the American Cosa Nostra and the original Sicilian Cosa Nostra.
• 1991: The Real Bosses - A Diabolical Empire ; Film about the Castellammare War , the founding of the Five Families and the National Crime Syndicate .

literature

• John Dickie : Cosa nostra: The History of the Mafia. Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt a. M. 2006, ISBN 978-3-596-17106-4 .
• Joe Dorigo: Mafia. Heel Verlag, Königswinter 1993, ISBN 3-89365-311-2  - Large format book about the American Cosa Nostra with many photos.
• Jo Durden Smith: Mafia. Premio Verlag, 2007, ISBN 3-86706-047-9 .
• Hannelore Gude Hohensinner: The Genoveses. Europa Verlag, Munich / Vienna 1998, ISBN 3-203-77533-6  - Detailed history of the five New York families with a focus on the Genovese family.
• Joseph Ianuzzi: The end of the godfather. Heyne Verlag, Munich, 1995, ISBN 3-453-08859-X  - autobiography of a lower-ranking “associate” of the Gambino family in Florida.
• Robert Lacey : Meyer Lansky. The gangster and his America. Gustav Lübbe Verlag, 1992 ISBN 3-7857-0652-9  - biography of Meyer Lansky and his family, in which the American Cosa Nostra also plays an important role.
• Klaus von Lampe: Organized Crime: Concept and theory of organized crime in the USA. Lang, Frankfurt am Main 1999 (Frankfurter Kriminalwissenschaftliche Studien Vol. 67) ISBN 3-631-34721-9  - Theoretical treatise.
• Peter Maas : Underboss. I was the second man. The life story of the Mafia boss Sammy "The Bull" Gravano. Scherz, Bern 1998 ISBN 3-502-18430-5  - Life report of the key witness and former underboss of the Gambino Crime Family, who has since relapsed; sometimes very self-righteous.
• Joseph F. O'Brien, Andris Kurins: Honorable Men. The FBI and the New York Godfather. S.Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1992, ISBN 3-10-054003-4  - Two FBI agents describe the planning and process of the persecution of Paul Castellano, the former boss of the Gambino family.
• Nicholas Pileggi: Casino. Droemer Knaur Verlag, 1996 ISBN 3-426-60439-6  - biography of Frank Rosenthal, whose activity as a casino manager for the Mafia was also dealt with in the film of the same name by Martin Scorsese.
• David Chauvel, Erwan Le Saec: Cosa Nostra. Alles Gute !, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-941239-00-5  - multi-volume comic series on the history of the Cosa Nostra with an explanatory secondary section on the most important facts.
• Alexander Stille: The Judges: Death, the Mafia and the Italian Republic. CH Beck, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-406-42303-5
• Selwyn Raab: Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires . Macmillan, New York City 2005, ISBN 978-1-4299-0798-9

Web links

• www.organized-crime.de  - Reviews of various books on the subject of Cosa Nostra in the USA and Italy.
• Review of the comic series Cosa Nostra  - Report on the ComicRadioShow

Individual evidence

1. ^ John Dickie: Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia . Macmillan, 2015, p. 5 (Retrieved August 5, 2016).
2. ↑ James O. Finckenauer: LA COSA NOSTRA IN THE UNITED STATES . United Nations Archives. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
3. ↑ Jay S. Albanese: The Italian-American Mafia . Oxford University. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
4. ^ The Changing Face of Organized Crime in New Jersey A Status Report. May 2004. (pp. 91-140)
5. ↑ Milhorn, p.216
6. ↑ Capcei, Jerry. The complete idiot's guide to the Mafia "The Mafia's Commission" (pp. 31–46)
7. ↑ see Dorigo 1993, p. 26.
8. ↑ ^{a b c} see Dickie 2006
9. ^ Pino Arlacchi: Mafia from the inside - The life of Don Antonino Calderone. Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt a. M. 1995, ISBN 3-596-12477-8 , pp. 68ff.
10. ↑ see Dickie 2006, p. 363
11. ↑ "Their Thing" on time.com (English)
12. ↑ see Dickie 2006, p. 353.
13. ^ Giovanni Falcone: Inside Mafia. Herbig Actuell, Munich 1992, ISBN 3-7766-1765-9 , p. 140.
14. ↑ ^{a b c} see Hohensinner 1998
15. ↑ Dorigo 1993, p. 39.
16. ↑ see Dickie 2006, p. 355
17. ↑ ^{a b} Peter Maas . The Underboss. Sammy the Bull Gravano's Story of Life in the Mafia . Harper Perennial, New York 1999, page number missing.
18. ^ Joseph Bonanno: A Man of Honor. Buccaneer Books 1998, ISBN 978-1-56849-722-8 .
19. ↑ Dave Janoski: The rise and fall of a mob power , Citizenvoice.com. July 17, 2011. Retrieved July 31, 2012. 
20. ↑ Capeci p. 93
21. ↑ Reo Cities - Dallas Mafia ( Memento of the original from April 17, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
22. ↑ Capeci p.92
23. ^ The Denver Post - New Orleans mafia shows signs of life?
24. ↑ Mario Machi, Allan May, Charlie Molino Rochester, New York Rick Porrello's AmericanMafia.com
25. ↑ About the Mafia - Denver's Brother Hoods
26. ↑ Cosa Nostra News - Seattle's Crime Boss: Mafia Malarkey - Or Was It?
27. ^ The Seattle Times - Frank Colacurcio Sr., Seattle's legendary organized-crime figure, dies at 93
28. ^ "Mafia oath presented for jurors". EDMUND MAHONY The Hartford Courant , July 4, 1991
29. ↑ The American Mafia - Underworld slang ( Memento of the original from May 25, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
30. ^ Mafia: A history of its rise to power. Thomas Reppetto . Books.google.com, January 28, 2005 (accessed January 26, 2011).
31. ^ Rabb, Selwyn: Five Families: The Rise, Decline and Resurgence of Americas Most Powerful Mafia Empires. books.google.com, pp. 7-8
32. ^ Frankie Saggio and Fred Rosen: Born to the mob: the true-life story of the only man to work for all five of New York's Mafia Families . 2004 Thunder's Mouth Press publishing, p. 12
33. ↑ Garcia, Joaquin and Levin, Michael: Making Jack Falcone: An Undercover FBI Agent Takes Down a Mafia Family , 2008 Pocket Star Books Publishing, p. 121
34. ↑ Gay mobsters cower in the closet . PageOneQ. Archived from the original on October 9, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved January 26, 2011. 
35. ^ Pino Arlacchi: Mafia from the inside - The life of Don Antonino Calderone. Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt a. M. 1995, ISBN 3-596-12477-8 , p. 155
36. ↑ ^{a b} Russo, Gus. The Outfit: The Role of Chicago's Underworld in the Shaping of Modern America pg. 32-33, 41 221
37. ↑ Killer Ring Broken; 21 Murders Solved laborers.org (1998)
38. ^ Dash, The First Family (Chapter 3, page 27)
39. ^ Critchley, The Origin of Organized Crime in America , p. 51
40. ↑ Crtichley, pp. 51-54.
41. ↑ Mobsters - AMERICAN ORGANIZED CRIME: Five Points Gang ( Memento of the original from January 3, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
42. ↑ Giosue Gallucci , GangRule.com
43. ↑ Camorra Secrets Revealed at Trial , The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 15, 1918
44. ↑ Gunman Gets 20 Years; Pellegrino Morano Sentenced for Killing 2 Brooklyn Men , New York Tribune, May 21, 1918
45. ^ Dash, The First Family , p. 262
46. ^ Critchley, The Origin of Organized Crime in America , p. 128
47. ^ The Struggle for Control , GangRule.com
48. ↑ H. Thomas Milhorn: Crime: Computer Viruses to Twin Towers , S. 218th
49. ^ Adolf Hepner : The American prohibition and the abstinent socialists. in: Sozialistische Monatshefte 16 = 18 (1912), H. 1, S. 37-44 Electronic ed .: Bonn: FES Library, 2006, (online)
50. ↑ ^{a b c d} Capcei, Jerry. The complete idiot's guide to the Mafia "The Mafia's Commission" (pg. 31-46)
51. ^ Humbert S. Nelli The business of crime: Italians and syndicate crime in the United States (pg. 206-208)
52. ^ The Commission's Origins (Nov. 20, 1986) New York Times
53. ↑ Killer Ring Broken; 21 Murders Solved laborers.org (1998)
54. ^ "Mafia, Secret Services, and US Politics. Part 1 (1865 to 1938) ” on us-politik.ch
55. ↑ Raab, Selwyn. Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires pg 49
56. ↑ Lucky Luciano on time.com from May 7, 1998
57. ↑ ^{a b} "Bad Guys Done Good" on nypost.com
58. ↑ Jack Higgins: Luciano. Bastei-Verlag Gustav H. Lübbe GmbH, Bergisch Gladbach 1985, ISBN 3-404-10579-6 .
59. ↑ see Stille 1997, p. 25
60. ^ Giovanni Falcone: Inside Mafia. Herbig Actuell, Munich 1992, ISBN 3-7766-1765-9 , p. 162.
61. ^ Rodney Campbell: The Luciano Project: The Secret Wartime Collaboration of the Mafia and the US Navy. McGraw-Hill, 1977, ISBN 978-0-07-009674-5 .
62. ^ Rodney Campbell: Company Luciano. The role of the mafia in World War II. Gustav Lübbe Verlag, Bergisch Gladbach 1977. Translation from English: Susanne Bock. ISBN 3-404-65053-0 , p. 142 ff.
63. ^ Tim Newark: Mafia Allies: The True Story of America's Secret Alliance with the Mob in World War II. Zenith Press. First edition 2007.
64. ^ Charles Lucky Luciano ( Memento March 31, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) on gangstersinc.tripod.com
65. ↑ "The American Mafia: Chronology - Section IV 1932–1949" ( Memento of the original from April 22, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on Onewal.com (English) 
66. ↑ see Dickie 2006, p. 357
67. ^ "Mafia, Secret Services, and US Politics. Part 4 (1956 to 1960) ” on us-politik.ch
68. ^ David Kaiser : The Road to Dallas. The Assassination of John. F. Kennedy. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA 2008, pp. 55-67.
69. ↑ James D. Perry: Kennedy, John F., Assassination of. In: Peter Knight (Ed.): Conspiracy Theories in American History. To Encyclopedia . ABC Clio, Santa Barbara / Denver / London 2003, Volume 1, p. 394.
70. ↑ Who Really Shot JFK?
71. ↑ "Carlos e 'futtutu. Non duvevamu ammazzari a Giovanni. Duvevamu ammazzari a Bobby ”. Frank Ragano and Selwyn Raab: Mob Lawyer . Charles Scribner's Sons, New York 1994.
72. ^ Vincent Bugliosi: Reclaiming History. The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. WW Norton, New York 2007, p. 1182.
73. ↑ philly.com - A story of Pa. casinos, corruption and the greatest mobster
74. ↑ Ex-contract killer of the Mafia claims to have shot John F. Kennedy
75. ↑ 1994: Interview with Bob Vernon ; 2003: Interview with Jim Marrs and Wim Dankbaar
76. ↑ Alexander Stille: The Judges: Death, the Mafia and the Italian Republic. CH Beck, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-406-42303-5 .
77. ↑ Claire Sterling: The Mafia. Scherz Verlag, Munich 1990, ISBN 3-502-17700-7 .
78. ↑ ^{a b} What happened to the American Mafia?
79. ^ Union boss Nardi dies in bombing
80. ^ Greene escapes another bomb
81. ^ Cleveland.com - Car bomb kills Danny Greene
82. ↑ Jerry Capeci: The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia . Alpha Books, 2002, ISBN 0-02-864225-2 , pp. 92-93.
83. ↑ Large-scale police operation: 81 Mafiosi captured , FAZ article
84. ↑ BILD Zeitung, 159/8 of July 11, 2013
85. ↑ Epoch Times, Nine Members of Bonanno Crime Family Arrested in NY, July 9, 2013
86. ^ The New York Post, Bonanno Mob Crew in Bookie & Loan-Shark Bust
87. ↑ FBI announces 10 New Jersey mafia arrests . March 12, 2015. Accessed March 14, 2015. 
88. ↑ 46 alleged Mafia members accused in New York ( memento of the original from September 2, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
89. ↑ Organized crime bust: How does the 'old school' Mafia work today?
90. ^ New York Daily News - Luchese bosses among 15 cuffed in massive New York mob takedown
91. ↑ US Department of Justice - Alleged Street Boss And Underboss Of La Cosa Nostra Family Charged With Murder And Racketering Offenses In White Plains Federal Court
92. ↑ US Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Acting Boss of Bonanno organized crime family and 9 other members of La Cosa Nostra indicted for racketeering and related charges
93. ↑ Mafia boss murdered in New York . In: orf.at . March 14, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2019.
94. ^ Strike against the Italian-American mafia clan in Palermo . In: nzz.ch . July 17, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2019.