Salvatore Maranzano was an Italian-American mobster from the town of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, and an early Cosa Nostra boss who led what later would become the Bonanno crime family in New York City. He instigated the Castellammarese War in 1930, to seize control of the American Mafia, winning the war after the murder of rival faction head Joe Masseria in April 1931. He then briefly became the Mafia's capo di tutti capi and formed the Five Families in New York City, but was murdered on September 10, 1931, on the orders of Charles "Lucky" Luciano, who established an arrangement in which families shared power to prevent future turf wars: The Commission.
Zips is a slang term in the United States that was especially in use in the early 20th century. It was often used as a derogatory slur by Italian American and Sicilian American mobsters in reference to newer immigrant Sicilian and Italian mafiosi. The mobsters in the US were said to have difficulty understanding the Sicilian dialects of the new immigrants, in which words appeared to "zip" by. Other theories include pejorative uses, such as Sicilians' preference for homemade zip guns. According to another theory, the term is a contraction of the Sicilian slang term for "hicks" or "primitives". The older Sicilian mafiosi of the pre-Prohibition era, known as "Mustache Petes", were also referred to as "zips". They were deposed by American-born mobsters during the Castellammarese War.
The Five Families is the organization of the five major New York City organized crime families of the Italian-American Mafia formed in 1931 by Salvatore Maranzano following his victory in the Castellammarese War.
The Commission is the governing body of the Italian-American Mafia, formed in 1931 by Charles "Lucky" Luciano following the Castellammarese War. The Commission replaced the title of capo di tutti i capi, held by Salvatore Maranzano before his murder, with a ruling committee that consists of the bosses of the Five Families of New York City, as well as the bosses of the Chicago Outfit and the Buffalo crime family. The purpose of the Commission was to oversee all Mafia activities in the United States and serve to mediate conflicts among families.
Operation Old Bridge is the code name for the February 7, 2008 arrests in Italy and the United States that targeted the Gambino crime family; among the indicted were the reputed acting bosses Jackie D'Amico, Nicholas Corozzo and Joseph Corozzo. The indictments included murder, drug trafficking, robbery, and extortion.
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