Giuseppe "Joe the Boss" Masseria was an early Italian-American Mafia boss in New York City. He was boss of what is now called the Genovese crime family, one of the New York City Mafia's Five Families, from 1922 to 1931. In 1930, he battled in the Castellammarese War to take over the criminal activities in New York City. The war ended with his murder on April 15, 1931, in a hit ordered by his own lieutenant, Charles "Lucky" Luciano, in an agreement with rival faction head Salvatore Maranzano.
Nicolò Terranova, also known as Nicholas "Nick" Morello, was one of the first Italian-American organized crime figures in New York City. He succeeded Giuseppe Morello as boss of the then Morello Gang in 1909 and was succeeded by Vincenzo Terranova in 1916. Along with his half-brother Giuseppe Morello and brothers Ciro and Vincenzo Terranova, he founded the Morello crime family, and was later one of the participants in the Mafia-Camorra War of 1915–17.
The Morello crime family was one of the earliest crime families to be established in the United States and New York City. The Morellos were based in Manhattan's Italian Harlem and eventually gained dominance in the Italian underworld by defeating the rival Neapolitan Camorra of Brooklyn. They were the predecessors of what eventually became known as the Genovese crime family.
Ignazio Lupo, also known as Ignazio Saietta and Lupo the Wolf, was a Sicilian American Black Hand leader in New York City during the early 1900s. His business was centered in Little Italy, Manhattan, where he ran large extortion operations and committed other crimes including robberies, loan-sharking, and murder. By the start of the 20th century, Lupo merged his crew with others in the South Bronx and East Harlem to form the Morello crime family, which became the leading Mafia family in New York City.
Vito Cascio Ferro or Vito Cascioferro, also known as Don Vito, was an Italian criminal who was a prominent member of the Sicilian Mafia. He also operated for several years in the United States. He is often depicted as the "boss of bosses", although such a position does not exist in the loose structure of Cosa Nostra in Sicily.
Ciro Terranova was an Italian-born American gangster in New York City, and one time underboss of the Morello crime family.
Salvatore "Toto" D'Aquila was an early Italian-American Mafia boss in New York City of the D'Aquila crime family, what would later become known as the Gambino crime family.
Joseph Petrosino was an Italian-born New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer who was a pioneer in the fight against organized crime. Crime fighting techniques that Petrosino pioneered are still practiced by law enforcement agencies.
Vincenzo "the Tiger of Harlem" Terranova was a gangster and an early Italian-American organized crime figure in the United States. He succeeded Nicholas Morello as boss of the then Morello Gang in 1916 and was succeeded in turn by Giuseppe Masseria in 1922. He served as boss and underboss of the Morello crime family, today known as the Genovese crime family, the oldest of the Five Families in New York City.
Michael Fiaschetti was a prominent New York detective and succeeded Lt. Joseph Petrosino as head of the NYPD's "Italian Squad".
Pellegrino Morano (1877–unknown) was the head of a group of Neapolitan criminals with roots in the Camorra based in Coney Island, where he owned the Santa Lucia restaurant, which was often used as the headquarters for their gang, known as the Coney Island gang. He is also known as Marano.
The American Mafia, commonly referred to in North America as the Italian-American Mafia, the Mafia, or the Mob, is a highly organized Italian-American criminal society and organized crime group. The terms Italian Mafia and Italian Mob apply to these US-based organizations, as well as the separate yet related Sicilian Mafia or other organized crime groups in Italy, or ethnic Italian crime groups in other countries. These organizations are often referred to by its members as Cosa Nostra and by the American government as La Cosa Nostra (LCN). The organization's name is derived from the original Mafia or Cosa Nostra, the Sicilian Mafia, with "American Mafia" originally referring simply to Mafia groups from Sicily operating in the United States.
Black Hand extortion was a criminal tactic used by gangsters based in major cities in the United States. In Chicago, Black Hand extortion began around 1900 and had all but faded away by 1970, replaced by the Mafia. The Mafia was initially organized by Johnny Torrio and further organized by Al Capone into the extant Chicago Outfit sometime later. Black Handers in Chicago were mostly Italian men from Calabria and Sicily who would send anonymous extortion notes to their victims emblazoned with a feared old country symbol: the "Black Hand". The Black Hand was a precursor of organized crime, although it is still a tactic practiced by the Mafia and used in organized crime to this day. The Black Hand gangsters of this time period differed from the Mafia by lacking formally structured hierarchies and codes of conduct, and many were essentially one-man operations. Black Hand blackmail was also common in New York, Boston, and New Orleans. Victims would be threatened with being beaten, shot, or have their place of business bombed if they did not pay. Starting around 1909, Black Hand activity was causing difficulties for mob boss Big Jim Colosimo, a former Black Hand gangster and owner of brothels throughout Chicago. Colosimo's life was being threatened with demands for cash to ensure his physical safety. In an effort to fix the problem, he recruited Johnny Torrio, who was a member of New York's Five Points Gang at the time, to come to Chicago. Torrio would later become the famous successor to Big Jim Colosimo and mentor Al Capone as the organized crime ruler of Chicago.
Pay or Die is a 1960 American biographical and crime film directed by Richard Wilson and starring Ernest Borgnine, Zohra Lampert, Howard Caine, Alan Austin, and Robert F. Simon.
The Brooklyn Camorra or New York Camorra was a loose grouping of early-20th-century organized crime gangs that formed among Italian immigrants originating in Naples and the surrounding Campania region living in Greater New York, particularly in Brooklyn. In the early 20th century, the criminal underworld of New York City consisted largely of Italian Harlem-based Sicilians and groups of Neapolitans from Brooklyn, sometimes referred to as the Brooklyn Camorra, as Neapolitan organized crime is referred to as the Camorra.
Giosuè Gallucci, also known as Luccariello, was a crime boss of Italian Harlem in New York City affiliated with the Camorra. He dominated the area from 1910–1915 and was also known as the undisputed "King of Little Italy" or "The Boss", due to his power in the criminal underworld and political connections. He held strict control over the policy game, employing Neapolitan and Sicilian street gangs as his enforcers.
Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino Square is small triangular park in Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by Cleveland Place, Lafayette and Kenmare Streets, two blocks north of the old police headquarters at 240 Centre Street, at the juncture of the Little Italy, Nolita, and SoHo. Formerly Kenmare Square, it was renamed in 1987 in honor of Lieutenant Joseph Petrosino, an early 20th century NYPD official dedicated to investigating and combating, among other adversaries, the Black Hand, an early version of the Mafia in America.
Nicolo "Cola" Schiro was an early Sicilian-born New York City mobster who, in 1912, became the boss of what later become known as the Bonanno crime family.
Sebastiano DiGaetano was an Italian-born American New York City mafia boss of what would later become known as the Bonanno crime family. He briefly attained the title capo dei capi of the Sicilian-American mafia, after Giuseppe Morello had been convicted of counterfeiting money in 1910. DiGaetano stepped down as boss of his crime family in 1912, and disappeared shortly thereafter.
Antonio Mirabito was a notorious Italian immigrant who was believed to be the boss of a network of Black Hand gangs located in the Northeastern Region of the United States in the early 20th century. He was the first person in New England to be arrested for crimes associated with Black Hand. His arrest was widely publicized and he was punished heavily in hopes of demoralizing others who were participating in the growing practice, which was a predecessor to the Mafia. He left his career in crime after he married and had 9 children.
