Five Families

The Gambino Crime Family

The Gambino crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia (or Cosa Nostra). The group is named after Carlo Gambino, boss of the family at the time of the McClellan hearings in 1963, when the structure of organized crime first gained public attention. The group's operations extend from New York and the eastern seaboard to California. Its illicit activities include labor and construction racketeering, gambling, loansharking, extortion, money laundering, prostitution, fraud, hijacking, pier thefts, and fencing. The rise of what for a time was the most powerful crime family in America began in 1957, the day Albert Anastasia was assassinated while sitting in a barber chair at the Park-Sheraton Hotel in Manhattan. Experts believe Carlo Gambino helped orchestrate the hit to take over the family. Gambino partnered with Meyer Lansky to control gambling interests in Cuba. The family's fortunes grew through 1976, when Gambino appointed his brother-in-law, Paul Castellano, as boss. Castellano infuriated upstart capo John Gotti, who orchestrated Castellano's murder in 1985. Gotti's downfall came in 1992, when his underboss Salvatore "Sammy the Bull" Gravano decided to cooperate with the FBI. Gravano's cooperation brought down Gotti, along with most of the top members of the Gambino family. The family is now run by Domenico Cefalu.

The Genovese Crime Family

The Genovese crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City as part of the Mafia (or Cosa Nostra). The Genovese crime family has been nicknamed the "Ivy League" and "Rolls Royce" of organized crime. They are rivaled in size only by the Gambino crime family and are unmatched in terms of power. They have generally maintained a varying degree of influence over many of the smaller mob families outside of New York, including ties with the Patriarca, Buffalo and Philadelphia crime families. Finding new ways to make money in the 21st century, the Genovese family took advantage of lax due diligence by banks during the housing spike with a wave of mortgage frauds. Prosecutors say loan shark victims obtained home equity loans to pay off debts to their mob bankers. The family found ways to use new technology to improve on illegal gambling, with customers placing bets through offshore sites via the Internet. The current "family" was founded by Lucky Luciano, but in 1957 it was renamed after boss Vito Genovese. Originally in control of the waterfront on the West Side of Manhattan (including the Fulton Fish Market), the family was run for years by "the Oddfather", Vincent "the Chin" Gigante, who feigned insanity by shuffling unshaven through New York's Greenwich Village wearing a tattered bath robe and muttering to himself incoherently. Although the leadership of the Genovese family seemed to have been in limbo after the death of Gigante in 2005, they appear to be the most organized family and remain powerful. Unique in today's Mafia, the family has benefited greatly from members following the code of Omertà. While many mobsters from across the country have testified against their crime families since the 1980s, the Genovese family has only had six members turn state's evidence in its history.

The Lucchese Crime Family

The Lucchese crime family (pronounced [lukˈkeːse]) is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia (or Cosa Nostra). The family originated in the early 1920s with Gaetano Reina serving as boss up until his murder in 1930. It was taken over by Tommy Gagliano during the Castellammarese War, and led by him until his death in 1951. The family under Gagliano was peaceful and low key, concentrating their criminal actives in the Bronx, Manhattan and New Jersey. The next boss was Tommy Lucchese, who turned the family around to became one of the most powerful families to sit on the Commission. Lucchese teamed up with Gambino crime family boss Carlo Gambino to control organized crime in New York City. When Lucchese died of natural causes in 1967, Carmine Tramunti controlled the family for a brief time; he was arrested in 1973. Anthony Corallo then gained control of the family. Corallo was very secretive and soon became one of the most powerful members of the Commission. He was arrested and tried in the famous Commission case of 1986. For most of its history, the Lucchese family was reckoned as one of the most peaceful crime families in the nation. However, that changed when Corallo decided to put Victor Amuso in charge of the family. Amuso later promoted one of his longtime partners, Anthony Casso to underboss. They instituted one of the bloodiest reigns in Mafia history, ordering virtually anyone who crossed them to be murdered. Amuso was arrested in 1991 and sentenced to life in prison. Several Lucchese wiseguys, fearing for their lives, turned informant. The highest-profile of these was acting boss Alphonse D'Arco, who became the first boss of a New York crime family to testify against the mob. This led to the arrest of the entire Lucchese family hierarchy, with Casso also becoming an informant. Testimony from these informants nearly destroyed the family, though Amuso continued to rule from prison. The current official boss is Steven Crea.

The Bonanno Crime Family

The Bonanno crime family is one of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia (or Cosa Nostra). Founded and named after Joseph Bonanno, for over 30 years the family was one of the most powerful in the country. However, in the early 1960s, Bonanno attempted to seize the mantle of boss of bosses, but failed and was forced to retire. This touched off a period of turmoil within the family that lasted almost a quarter-century. It was the first of the New York families to be kicked off the Commission (a council of the bosses that helps to maintain order in the Mafia), due to infighting for the boss's mantle and allegations the family was actively dealing heroin. Later, the family faced shaky leadership, with the acting boss Carmine Galante murdered in 1979 at the command of Philip Rastelli, the actual boss. The family only recovered in the 1990s under Joseph Massino, and by the dawn of the new millennium was not only back on the Commission, but was the most powerful family in New York. There were also two major setbacks: in 1981, they learned that an FBI agent calling himself Donnie Brasco had infiltrated their ranks; and in 2004, a rash of convictions and defections culminated in Massino becoming a government informant.

The Colombo Crime Family

The Colombo crime family is the youngest of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal organization known as the Mafia (or Cosa Nostra). The family traces its roots to a bootlegging gang formed by Joseph Profaci in 1928. After the reorganization of the American Mafia in the Castellammarese War, Profaci's gang was recognized as the Profaci crime family. Profaci would rule his family without interruption or challenge until the late 1950s.[2][3] The family has been torn by three internal wars. The first war took place during the late 1950s when capo Joe Gallo revolted against Profaci. The first war lost momentum in the early 1960s when Gallo was arrested and Profaci died of cancer. The family was not reunited until the early 1960s under Joseph Colombo. In 1971, the second family war began after Gallo's release from prison and the shooting of Colombo. Colombo supporters led by Carmine Persico won the second war after the exiling of the Gallo crew to the Genovese family in 1975. The family would now enjoy over 15 years of peace under Persico and his string of acting bosses. In 1991, the third and bloodiest war erupted when acting boss Victor Orena tried to seize power from the imprisoned Carmine Persico. The family split into factions loyal to Orena and Persico and two years of mayhem ensued. It ended in 1993 with 12 family members dead and Orena imprisoned, leaving Persico the winner more or less by default. He was left with a family decimated by war. Although Persico still runs the family today, it has never recovered. In the 2000s, the family was further crippled by multiple convictions in federal racketeering cases and numerous members becoming government witnesses. Most observers believe that the Colombo crime family is the weakest of the Five Families of New York City.

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Mafia Slang

Administration:The upper-level power structure of an organized crime Family, composed of the boss, underboss, and consigliere.

Associate:Someone who works with and for a family, but who hasn't been "made".

Beef: A complaint or disagreement within the organization, usually discussed during a sit-down with higher-ups in the Family

Big earner:Someone who makes a lot of money for the Family.

Books:The upper-level power structure of an organized crime Family, composed of the boss, underboss, and consigliere.

Administration:Euphemism for membership in the Family, since nothing is ever written down. When there is an availability (when someone dies), the books are "opened." When no one is being "made," the books are "closed."

Boss:The head of the crime Family; he is the only one who gives permission to "whack" or "make" someone, and he makes money from all Family operations.While no one proclaims himself the Boss of Bosses anymore, the press awards this title to whomever they feel is the boss of the strongest of the five Families of New York, who is also said to preside over Commission meetings.

Button: a "made" member of the Mafia.

Capo/Captain: Ranking member of a Family who heads a crew of soldiers.

Clip/Whack: To murder.

Commission:Typically a panel made up of the bosses of the five New York Families, Gambino, Genovese, Lucchese, Colombo, and Bonanno sometimes with representatives from other U.S. Families, such as Chicago.

Consigliere:The counselor/advisor in a crime Family; advises boss and handles disputes within the ranks.

Contract: a murder assignment.

Cosa Nostra: Italian for "this thing of ours," "our thing," a mob family, the Mafia.

Crew:a group of soldiers that takes orders from a capo.

Earner:Someone whose expertise is making money for the Family.

Enforcer:A person who threatens, maims, or kills someone who doesn't cooperate with Family rules or deals.

Fence: Someone with worldwide outlets to liquidate swag.

Friend of mine:Introduction of a third person who is not a member of the Family but who can be vouched for by a Family member. Friend of ours: Introduction of one made member to another.

Joint/Prison: The can, the pen.

Loanshark: Someone who lends mob money at an exorbitant interest rate; a shylock.

Made:To be sworn into La Cosa Nostra; synonyms: to be "straightened out," to get your button.

Mattresses: Going to war with a rival Family or gang.

Mustache Petes:Old-fashioned or older generation Mafiosi.

Omertà: The code of silence and one of the premier vows taken when being sworn into the Family. Violation is punishable by death.

Piece:A gun.

Pinched:Arrested.

Rat:A member who violates Omertà; synonyms: squealer, canary, snitch, stool pigeon, yellow dog.

Sit-down:a meeting with the Family administration to settle disputes.

Skim: Tax-free gambling profits, as in the money taken that is not reported to the IRS.

Stand-up guy:Someone who refuses to rat out the Family no matter what the pressure, offer, or threat.

Swag:Stolen goods.

Vig:The interest payment on a loan from a loanshark.

Vouch for:To personally guarantee -- with one's life -- the reputation of someone dealing with the Family.

Zips: American Mafiosi's derogatory term for Sicilian Mafiosi.