American Mafia Commission
The American Mafia Commission was established in 1931 and is the "umbrella organization" of the American Cosa Nostra and is the "chairman" of the National Crime Syndicate . As a union of the five families from New York and the Chicago outfit, the commission replaces the function of Capo di tutti i capi (Italian for: "Boss of all bosses"). The last known committee meeting that took place with all bosses was in November 1985.
history
Before the commission
Before the commission was founded, there was only one person, the capo di tutti i capi , who was supposed to control all American mafia families. This person held great power over all bosses to prevent quarrels and wars. Between 1930 and 1931 a Mafia war between Joe "The Boss" Masseria (boss of the later Genovese family) and Salvatore Maranzano (boss of the later Bonanno family) took place in the USA , in which both of them were for the supremacy of the New York underworld fought - the so-called Castellammare War , which was mostly fought in New York City . On April 15, 1931, Masseria was murdered by a killer commissioned by Lucky Luciano .
Two weeks after Masseria's death, a secret meeting of all New York mafia giants took place near the metropolis. Maranzano announced his position as boss of all bosses and began to divide all national gangs into families. This is how the so-called “five families” came about. Maranzano's aspired position as the dominant leader was not well received by the other high-ranking members, with his arrogant treatment of subordinates and the penchant for comparing his organization with the Roman Empire, fueling further bad fears. Charles "Lucky" Luciano and his allies decided that Maranzano should be out of the way, and so he was murdered on September 10, 1931.
The creation of the commission
After the assassination of Maranzano, the heads of the families met 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. The commission consisted of seven bosses - the heads of the five New York families: Lucky Luciano ( Genovese family ), Vincent Mangano ( Gambino family ), Tommy Gagliano ( Lucchese family ), Joseph Bonanno ( Bonanno family ), Joe Profaci ( Colombo family ) as well as Chicago Outfit boss Al Capone and Magaddino boss Stefano Magaddino . Luciano has been appointed chairman of the commission.
The power of the commission
The commission has the power to vote on a new family boss before it can become official. Proposals for new members also have to be approved by the heads of the five families.
The commission also allows Jewish gangsters or Kosher Nostras such as Meyer Lansky , Bugsy Siegel , Louis "Lepke" Buchalter , Dutch Schultz , and Abner "Longie" Zwillman to work together and sit in the National Crime Syndicate. In 1935, Dutch Schultz asked the commission to assassinate prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey . Instead, on October 23, 1935, the commission cleared Dutch Schultz out of the way. The commission used Murder, Inc. , headed by Louis Buchalter , which was founded mainly to safeguard and expand the interests of the commission and to eliminate enemies from newly emerging clans. In 1936 Luciano was imprisoned; the bosses Vincent Mangano, Joseph Profaci, Joseph Bonanno, Tommy Gagliano and Stefano Magaddino continued to run the family business through the commission. Vincent Mangano was elected as the new chairman and Joseph Profaci as secretary of the commission.
In 1946 Luciano convened the so-called Havana Conference , in which the future of the American Mafia was discussed. It was decided at this conference that Luciano should lead the commission again from now on, that the American mafia actively get into the drug trade, and lastly the murder of Bugsy Siegel, who allegedly had secretly stolen funds from the construction of the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas , was decided . In 1957, at the Apalachin meeting , the commission decided that two other bosses, Angelo Bruno from the Bruno family (Philadelphia Crime Family) and Joseph Zerilli from the Zerilli family (Detroit Partnership) , each receive a seat on the national commission. Even Jack Dragna , head of Dragna family (Los Angeles Crime Family) , should join after 25 years the Commission. Since Dragna's death in 1956, the Dragna family in Los Angeles has been represented by the Chicago outfit.
The Commission today
The commission still exists, although it currently only consists of the bosses of the five families and the Chicago outfit. Since the 1985 murder of Paul Castellano , the bosses of the five families have never again attended a meeting due to increased law enforcement. The Commission has not met as a whole since then, but major changes still have to be approved by it. There are still smaller meetings with two or three bosses participating. In 2000 the five families were represented by three bosses, a consigliere (advisor) and a member of the Genovese family committee. Instead of a meeting of all bosses, one tries today to secretly manage the business via sub- bosses and capos (captains) .
Historical tour
Chair of the Commission
| Period | Surname | Office | Lifetime | Cause of death | annotation | image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931-1936 | Charles "Lucky" Luciano (Salvatore Lucania) | 1897-1962 |
Heart attack |
Imprisoned 1936–1946 / expelled in 1946 |
|
|
| 1936-1951 | Vincent "The Executioner" Mangano | Conservative parliamentary spokesman | 1888-1951 |
apparently became the victim of a Lupara Bianca | disappeared in April 1951 |
|
| 1951-1957 |
Frank "the Prime Minister" Costello Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno |
liberal faction conservative faction |
1891-1973 1905-2002 |
Heart attack natural death |
ousted by Vito Genovese |
 |
| 1957-1959 | Vito "Don Vitone" Genovese | liberal group |
1897-1969 |
Heart attack |
Imprisoned 1959–1969 |
|
| 1959-1976 | Carlo "The Godfather" Gambino | liberal group |
1902-1976 |
natural death |
|
|
| 1976-1985 | Constantino "Big Paul" Castellano | 1915-1985 |
shot dead on Dec. 16, 1985 | Client: John Gotti |
|
|
| 1985– | After the Mafia Commission Trial it was decided that there was no longer a chairman and that the commission would no longer meet as a group. From now on, messengers were to deliver messages to the other heads of state. | |||||
| 1986-1992 | John "Dapper Don" Gotti | unofficial chairman | 1940-2002 | Throat cancer | Imprisoned 1992–2002 |
|
| 1992-1997 | Vincent "Chin" Gigante | unofficial chairman | 1928-2005 | natural death | Imprisoned 1997–2005 |
|
| 2000-2003 | Joseph "Big Joey" Charles Massino | unofficial chairman |
1943 – today |
Imprisoned 2003–2013 / became an informant in 2004 |
|
|
Families seated on the commission
- Genovese (1931-today)
- Gambino (1931 – today)
- Lucchese (1931 – present)
- Chicago Outfit (1931 – today), often represented by the Genovese family
- Bonanno (1931–1970s; 1990s – today)
- Colombo (1931–1990s; 2000s – today)
Families represented by the Genovese family
- Buffalo: Magaddino Family (The Arm) - held a seat from 1931 to 1974
- Philadelphia: Bruno Family - held a seat from 1961 to 1980
- Detroit: Zerilli Family (Detroit Partnership) - held a seat from 1961 to 1977
- New Jersey: DeCavalcante family
- New England: Patriarca Family
- Pittsburgh: LaRocca family
- Cleveland: Licavoli Family (Mayfield Road Mob)
- New Orleans: Marcello family (defunct)
Families represented by the Chicago outfit
- Milwaukee: Balistrieri family
- Kansas City: Civella Family
- St. Louis: Giordano family
- Tampa: Trafficante family
- Los Angeles: Dragna family
- San Francisco: Lanza family (disbanded)
- San Jose: Cerrito Family (Disbanded)
Films and documentaries
- 2014: The founding of the American Mafia Commission was filmed in the series Boardwalk Empire (season 6, episode 8).
- 1991: The Real Bosses - A Devilish Empire , film about the Castellammare War , the founding of the Five Families and the National Crime Syndicate , or the American Mafia Commission
See also
literature
- Bill Bonanno: Bound by Honor: A Mafioso's Story , 1999, ISBN 0-312-97147-8
- Lee Bernstein: The Greatest Menace: Organized Crime in Cold War America , 2002, ISBN 1-55849-345-X
- Joseph Bonanno: A Man of Honor: The Autobiography of Joseph Bonanno , 2003, ISBN 0-312-97923-1
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Jerry Capcei: The complete idiot's guide to the Mafia , pp. 31-46 ("The Mafia's Commission").
- ↑ a b c d e John Marzulli: Boss rat Joseph Massino admits to court that Mafia Commission hasn't met in 25 years . In: New York Daily News , April 16, 2011. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
- ^ Humbert S. Nelli: The business of crime: Italians and syndicate crime in the United States ( pp. 206-208 ).
- ↑ The Commission's Origins. In: New York Times , November 20, 1986.
- ↑ a b Gus Russo: The Outfit: The Role of Chicago's Underworld in the Shaping of Modern America , pp. 32-33, 41, 221 .
- ↑ Selwyn Raab: Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires , p. 49 .
- ↑ Killer Ring Broken, 21 Murders Solved , laborers.org (1998).
- ↑ a b c d Bonanno: A Man of Honor , pp. 159-169 .
- ^ A b Havana Conference (Dec. 1946) , lacndb.com.
- ^ After Gotti, Mafia ordered to clean house. In: NY Daily News , July 7, 2002
- ↑ a b Charles Grutzner: Gambino Is Called Heir to Genovese As 'Boss of Bosses'; Gambino Called 'Boss of Bosses' Of 6 Mafia Families in the Area. In: New York Times , March 15, 1970
- ↑ Christopher Lehmann-Haupt: Books of The Times. A Don Pays the Price of Carelessness. In: New York Times , May 23, 1991
- ↑ Selwyn Raab: With Gotti Away, the Genoveses Succeed the Leaderless Gambinos. In: New York Times , March 9, 1995
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Laborers-LIUNA 212 . In: Laborers.org . Retrieved April 13, 2011.