Five families
As five families (Engl. " Five Families "), the five Italian-American called Mafia families in New York State and particularly in New York City have organized and there as part of the American Cosa Nostra , the organized crime control in large parts. These are the "families" Bonanno , Colombo , Gambino , Genovese and Lucchese .
The term was first used in 1931, when Salvatore Maranzano - self-proclaimed " Capo di tutti i capi " (boss of all bosses) - in April 1931 divided the warring groups into "families", each with defined territories, which are now typical established structure of the family hierarchy of the American Cosa Nostra. After the assassination of Maranzano, Lucky Luciano and the most powerful heads of the country launched his idea of a so-called commission of the American mafia , which acts as an association in place of a boss of all bosses as the "umbrella organization" of the American Cosa Nostra and the "chair" of the so-calledNational Crime Syndicate holds. Together with the Chicago Mafia ( Chicago Outfit ), the five New York families have since formed the backbone of the American Cosa Nostra.
Emergence
Classification
This classification of the individual families is ultimately the result of the so-called War of Castellammare 1930/1931. However, the conditions stipulated afterwards existed in principle before the conflict.
“In addition to the Masseria group, the Al Mineo Gang operated in Manhattan and Brooklyn, closely following Joe Masseria. The Bronx was controlled by Gaetano Reina, the son of Giacomo Reina from Corleone (...). Staten Island was Joseph Profaci's field of work. The fifth group was special as 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 ... "
From this state of the balance of power before the confrontation and the subsequent Bonanno chief told Joseph Bonanno 1983 in his book Man of Honor , already aware of the existence of the five families before the debate: So was the family of Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria , or the Morello family , the most dominant family to which u. a. "Peter" Morello , "Lucky" Luciano , "Joe" Adonis , "Frank" Costello and Anthony "Augie" Pisano had heard. It was later classified as the Luciano and Genovese families . Allied with Masseria was the clan around "Al" Mineo , which later became the Mangano family and is now known as the Gambino family . He owned u. a. Tata Chirico , "Joe" Traina , Vincent Mangano , Frank Scalise and Albert Anastasia . Both families were mainly active in Manhattan and Brooklyn .
The Bronx was founded by Gaetano "Tommy" Reina and his men, u. a. Gaetano "Tommy" Gagliano , "Tommy" Lucchese and Stefano "Steve" Rondelli , which then became known as the Gagliano family and later the Lucchese family . The fourth clan was the group around "Joseph" Profaci , whose successors were then summarized as the Colombo family . The fifth family was an association of natives or descendants from Castellammare del Golfo , who were later referred to as the Bonanno family .
War of Castellammare
It was now the mustache Pete Maranzano from Castellammare del Golfo who wanted to break the domination of Joe Masseria's family - it is unclear whether he was acting on his own ambitions or on behalf of the influential mafioso from Sicily Vito Cascio Ferro . He began in New York during the prohibition in the United States to penetrate in particular on the territory of Joe Masserias by appropriating his alcohol deliveries and beginning to take over his illegal bars (" speakeasy "). The latter fought against this de facto hostile takeover and a bloody struggle ensued within the families, known as the " War of Castellammare ". While Maranzano and his allies were still in the minority at the beginning of the conflict, they were finally able to prevail. The conflict ended on April 15, 1931 with the murder of Joe Masseria.
Two weeks after Masseria's death, a secret meeting of all New York mafia giants took place near the metropolis. Maranzano announced his ideas of the (new) order and the rules there. He prohibited senseless murders and renewed the omertà , which forbade any of the members or associates to speak about the organization or activities, including their wives. He divided the warring groups up to now into families, each with delimiting territories, and officially laid down the structure of the family hierarchy of the American Cosa Nostra that is now considered typical. Every family should now have an official boss , an underboss and the respective capos , and reports should always be made to Maranzano.
In particular, bosses like Lucky Luciano, Joseph Bonanno, Joseph Profaci, Vincent Mangano and Gaetano Gagliano should pledge to be loyal, which would have made him the “ Capo di tutti i capi ” (boss of all bosses) according to classical ideas . This aspired position as the dominant leader was not well received by the other high-ranking members, although his arrogant treatment of subordinates and the preference for comparing his organization with the Roman Empire fueled further fears.
The " Young Turks " around Lucky Luciano had got used to the cooperative division of labor of the Seven Group , in which ethnic groups also worked together. Working with non-Sicilians like Frank Costello and Al Capone was considered suspect by many Mustache Petes , including Maranzano , and Luciano was almost killed on Masseria's orders.
Maranzano apparently recognized the resistance, which is why he planned the murder of Luciano, Vito Genovese , Frank Costello and others, but the other side was faster. By the time Maranzano wanted to hire "Mad Dog" Coll , Luciano had already learned of the murder plan with the help of Tommy Lucchese - who had previously been in Maranzano's circle of friends. Luciano and his allies decided that Maranzano should be out of the way, and so he was murdered on September 10, 1931.
The Commission and the National Crime Syndicate
After the assassination of Maranzano in 1931, 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 heads of the most influential families came together 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. This is how the so-called American Mafia Commission came into being, which "presided over" the National Crime Syndicate . The commission consisted of seven bosses, namely the heads of the five New York families: Lucky Luciano (Genovese family), Vincent Mangano (Gambino family), Tommy Gagliano (Lucchese family), Joseph Bonanno (Bonanno family), and Joe Profaci (Colombo family), as well as Chicago outfit boss Al Capone and Buffalo or Magaddino boss Stefano Magaddino . Luciano has been appointed chairman of the commission.
Demarcation
The already practiced and now confirmed fundamental independence of the individual families (with their own business areas and territories) should not be confused with the flat hierarchy of the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta ; the individual families usually remain under the management of a single boss as head, who is integrated into an overall system via the National Crime Syndicate and its commission.
The territories of the other families are fundamentally respected, as otherwise there was a risk of a dispute with the other families as a whole. The concept of the five families could not completely prevent intra-family Mafia wars, but prevent the spread of conflicts. In 1962, Joseph Bonanno's attempt to take the lead by force was prevented.
Leadership positions of families
The head of a family cannot always be identified so clearly; especially if another family member comes to the fore due to a prison sentence. The external view does not always make it easy to recognize a new head as such or to determine his exact term of office. In addition, a presidential system seems to be establishing itself to a certain extent; ie the head shifts his power more to a so-called “acting boss” and / or “street boss”, who in turn continue to recognize the head as such, even if he is, for example, in custody. Essentially, however, the following sequence of events within the five families can be assumed:
Head of the Lucchese family
| Period | Surname | Nickname | Lifetime | Cause of death | annotation | Name of the clan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1922-1930 | Gaetano Reina | Tommy | 1889-1930 | shot dead on February 26, 1930 | Perpetrator: Vito Genovese | Reina gang |
| 1930 | Bonaventure "Joseph" Pinzolo | Fat Joe | 1887-1930 | shot dead on September 5, 1930 | Perpetrators: Girolamo Santuccio and Dominick Petrillo | " |
| Restructuring of the five clans by the " Capo di tutti i capi " Salvatore Maranzano in April 1931 | ||||||
| 1930-1951 | Gaetano (born: Tommaso) Gagliano | Tommy | 1884-1951 | natural death | Gagliano family | |
| 1951-1967 | Thomas (born: Gaetano) Lucchese | Tommy Brown | 1899-1967 | Brain tumor | Lucchese family | |
| 1967-1973 | Carmine Tramunti | Mr. Gribbs | 1910-1978 | natural death | Imprisoned until death in 1974 | " |
| 1973-1986 | Antonio "Anthony" Corallo | Tony Ducks | 1913-2000 | natural death | Imprisoned until death in 1986 | " |
| 1986 – today | Vittorio "Victor" Amuso | Little Vic | 1934 – today | detained since 1991 | " | |
| Steven Lorenzo "Wonderboy" Crea is currently the acting boss | ||||||
Head of the Genovese family
| Period | Surname | Nickname | Lifetime | Cause of death | annotation | Name of the clan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1890s – 1909 | Giuseppe "Peter" Morello | The clutch hand | 1867-1930 | Imprisoned 1909–1920 | Morello family | |
| 1910-1916 | Nicholas (Morello) Terranova | Nick Morello | 1890-1916 | murdered on September 7, 1916 | Client: Pellegrino Morano /; Perpetrator: Tom Pagano | " |
| 1916-1920 | Vincenzo Terranova | Vincent the Tiger | 1886-1922 | murdered on May 8, 1922 | Resigned in 1920; became underboss | " |
| 1920-1922 | Giuseppe "Peter" Morello | The clutch hand | 1867-1930 | murdered on August 15, 1930 | Resigned in 1922; became underboss | " |
| 1922-1931 | Giuseppe "Joe" Masseria | Joe the Boss | 1886-1931 | murdered on April 15, 1931 | Client: Salvatore Maranzano / Organizer: Lucky Luciano | " |
| Restructuring of the five clans by the "Capo di tutti i capi" Salvatore Maranzano in April 1931 | ||||||
| 1931-1946 | Charles Luciano (born: Salvatore Lucania) | Lucky | 1897-1962 | Heart attack | Imprisoned in 1936 / expelled in 1946 | Luciano family |
| 1946-1957 | Frank Costello (born: Francesco Castiglia) | The Prime Minister | 1891-1973 | Heart attack | ousted by Vito Genovese | " |
| 1957-1969 | Vito Genovese | Don Vito | 1897-1969 | Heart attack | Imprisoned until death in 1959 | Genovese family |
| 1969-1981 | Philip Lombardo | Benny Squint | 1911-1987 | natural death | resigned | " |
| 1981-2005 | Vincent Louis Gigante | Chin | 1928-2005 | natural death | Imprisoned until death in 1997 | " |
| 2005 – today | Liborio Salvatore Bellomo | Barney | 1957 – today | Imprisoned 1996–2008 | " | |
| Daniel "Danny the Lion" Leo is currently the acting boss | ||||||
Head of the Gambino family
| Period | Surname | Nickname | Lifetime | Cause of death | annotation | Name of the clan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ???? - 1907 | Enrico Alfano | Erricone | 1869 / 70–? | Expelled in 1907 | American camorra | |
| 1907-1919 | Pellegrino Morano | Don Grino | 1877 - ???? | Expelled in 1919 | " | |
| 1916-1928 | Salvatore D'Aquila | Toto D'Aquila | 1878-1928 | shot dead on October 28, 1928 | Client: Joe Masseria | " |
| 1928-1930 | Alfred Manfredi Mineo | Al Mineo | 1880-1930 | shot dead on November 5, 1930 | Client: Salvatore Maranzano | Al Mineo clan |
| 1930-1931 | Francesco Scalice | Frank | 1893-1957 | shot dead on June 17, 1957 | Client: Albert Anastasia / Perpetrator: James Squillante | " |
| Restructuring of the five clans by the Capo di tutti i capi Salvatore Maranzano in April 1931 | ||||||
| 1931-1951 | Vincent Mangano | The Executioner | 1888-1951 | apparently became the victim of a Lupara Bianca | disappeared in April 1951 | Mangano family |
| 1951-1957 | Albert Anastasia | Mad Hatter | 1902-1957 | shot dead on October 25, 1957 | Boss of Murder, Inc. | " |
| 1957-1976 | Carlo Gambino | Don Carlo | 1902-1976 | natural death | Gambino family | |
| 1976-1985 | Constantino Paul Castellano | Big Paul | 1915-1985 | shot dead on Dec. 16, 1985 | Client: John Gotti | " |
| 1985-2002 | John Gotti | Teflon don | 1940-2002 | Throat cancer | Imprisoned 1992–2002 | " |
| 2002-2011 | Peter Gotti | One Eyed Pete, Petey Boy | 1939 - today | Brother of John Gotti; detained since 2003 | " | |
| 2011-2015 | Domenico Cefalu | Italian cathedral | 1947 – today | Resigned in 2015 | " | |
| 2015-2019 | Francesco Paolo Augusto Calì | Frank | 1965-2019 | shot dead on March 13, 2019 | " | |
Head of the Colombo family
| Period | Surname | Nickname | Lifetime | Cause of death | annotation | Name of the clan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1928-1962 | Giuseppe "Joseph" Profaci | Joe, Don Peppino | 1897-1962 | cancer | Profaci family | |
| 1962-1963 | Joseph Magliocco | Joe Malyak | 1898-1963 | Heart attack | deposed by the Commission | " |
| 1964-1973 | Joseph Colombo | Joe C. | 1924-1978 | shot on June 28, 1971 | 1971–1978 in a vegetative state ; Perpetrator: Jerome Johnson | Colombo family |
| 1973-2019 | Carmine John Persico, Jr. | Junior, The Snake | 1933-2019 | imprisoned: 1973–79, 1981–84, 1985–2019 | " | |
| Alphonse "Little Allie Boy" T. Persico is currently the acting boss | ||||||
Head of the Bonanno family
| Period | Surname | Nickname | Lifetime | Cause of death | annotation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1890s – 1901 | Giuseppe Bonanno, Jr. | Pep | ???? - 1901 | Murdered in 1901 | Perpetrator: Buccellato Clan |
| 1908-1911 | Salvatore Bonanno | Turiddu | 1878-1915 | natural death | Resigned in 1911 |
| 1912-1930 | Nicola Schiro | cola | 1872-1957 | Fled to Italy in 1930 | |
| 1930-1931 | Salvatore Maranzano | Caesar | 1886-1931 | shot on September 10, 1931 | Organizer: Lucky Luciano |
| Restructuring of the five clans by the "Capo di tutti i capi" Salvatore Maranzano in April 1931 | |||||
| 1931-1965 | Joseph Charles Bonanno, Sr. | Joe Bananas | 1905-2002 | natural death | Resigned in 1965 |
| 1965-1966 | Gaspar DiGregorio | Gasparino | 1905-1970 | Lung cancer | deposed by the Commission |
| 1966-1971 | Paul Sciacca | 1909-1986 | natural death | Indicted in 1971 | |
| 1971-1973 | Natale Evola | Joe Diamonds | 1907-1973 | cancer | |
| 1973-1991 | Philip Rastelli | Rusty | 1918-1991 | Liver cancer | Detained 1975–1984 and 1987–1991 |
| 1991-2004 | Joseph Charles Massino | Joe, Big Joey | 1943 – today | Detained in 2003; became an informant in 2004 | |
| 2005-2013 | Vincent John Basciano | Vinny Gorgeous | 1959 – today | detained since 2011 | |
| 2013 – today | Michael Mancuso | Mickey Nose | 1955 – today | detained since 2006 | |
| Thomas "Tommy D." DiFiore is currently the acting boss | |||||
Films and documentaries
- 1972: The Godfather - Part I : In this film, the five families are represented by the fictional names Corleones, Tattaglias, Barzinis, Cuneos and Straccis.
- 1972: The Valachi Papers ( Carteggio Valachi ): Film about the history of the New York Mafia from the 1930s, particularly the restructuring of the five families, to the arrest of Joe Valachi in the 1950s and his testimony as a key witness against the Genovese family .
- 1991: The Real Bosses - A Devilish Empire : Film about the War of Castellammare , the founding of the Five Families and the National Crime Syndicate .
- 2013: The Mafia - In the crosshairs of the FBI : 4-part documentary
- 2015: The Making of the Mob : Drama series about the emergence of organized crime organizations in America in the 20th century
literature
- Selwyn Raab: Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires . New York: St. Martin's Press, 2005. ISBN 0-312-30094-8 .
Web links
- New York City's Five Families (English)
- The Five Families of New York by Mario Machi
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Capcei, Jerry. The complete idiot's guide to the Mafia "The Mafia's Commission" (pg. 31-46)
- ^ Humbert S. Nelli The business of crime: Italians and syndicate crime in the United States (pg. 206-208)
- ↑ Hannelore Gude Hohensinner: The Genoveses. Europa Verlag, Munich / Vienna 1998, ISBN 3-203-77533-6 .
- ^ Joseph Bonanno: A Man of Honor . Buccaneer Books 1998, ISBN 978-1-56849-722-8 .
- ^ Humbert S. Nelli The business of crime: Italians and syndicate crime in the United States (pg. 206-208)
- ^ The Commission's Origins (Nov. 20, 1986) New York Times