Salvatore Maranzano, nicknamed Little Caesar, 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 The Commission, in which families shared power to prevent future turf wars.
The Castellammarese War was a bloody power struggle for control of the American Mafia between partisans of Joe "The Boss" Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano that took place in New York City, New York, from February 26, 1930, until April 15, 1931. The war was named after the Sicilian town of Castellammare del Golfo, the birthplace of Maranzano.
The Havana Conference of 1946 was a historic meeting of United States Mafia and Cosa Nostra leaders in Havana, Cuba. Supposedly arranged by Charles "Lucky" Luciano, the conference was held to discuss important mob policies, rules, and business interests. The Havana Conference was attended by delegations representing crime families throughout the United States. The conference was held during the week of December 22, 1946, at the Hotel Nacional. The Havana Conference is considered to have been the most important mob summit since the Atlantic City Conference of 1929. Decisions made in Havana resonated throughout US crime families during the ensuing decades.
The Bufalino crime family, also known as the Pittston crime family, Scranton Wilkes-Barre crime family, Northeastern Pennsylvania crime family, Northeastern Pennsylvania Mafia, or Scranton Mafia, was an Italian-American Mafia crime family active in Northeastern Pennsylvania, primarily in the cities of Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, and Pittston.
A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, mafia don, gang lord, gang boss, mob boss, kingpin, godfather, crime mentor or criminal mastermind, is the leader of a criminal organization.
In the American and Sicilian Mafia, a made man is a fully initiated member of the Mafia. To become "made", an associate first must be Italian or of Italian descent and sponsored by another made man. An inductee will be required to take the oath of omertà, the Mafia code of silence and code of honor. After the induction ceremony, the associate becomes a "made man" and holds the rank of soldier in the Mafia hierarchy. Made men are the only ones who can rise through the ranks of the Mafia, from soldier to caporegime, consigliere, underboss, and boss.
Underboss is a position within the leadership structure of certain organized crime groups, particularly in Sicilian, Greek, and Italian-American Mafia crime families. The underboss is second in command to the boss. The underboss is also person-in-charge of all capos and its soldiers. The underboss is sometimes a family member, such as a son, who will take over the family if the boss is sick, killed, or imprisoned. However the position of street boss has somewhat challenged the rank of underboss in the modern era. The position was installed within the Genovese crime family since at least the mid-1960s. It has also been used in the Detroit crime family and the Chicago Outfit.
This article is about events in organized crime in 1984.
The DeCavalcante crime family, also known as the North Jersey crime family or North Jersey Mafia, is an Italian-American Mafia organized crime family that operates mainly in northern New Jersey, particularly in Elizabeth, Newark, West New York, and the surrounding areas in North Jersey. The family is part of the nationwide criminal network known as the American Mafia.
The Lucchese crime family's Brooklyn faction is a group of Italian-American mobsters within the Lucchese crime family that control organized crime activities in the New York metropolitan area but are predominantly based out of Brooklyn and Staten Island. The Brooklyn faction was created after two separate crews in the Lucchese family were merged together. The merger occurred during the early 2000s, when the Lucchese family administration decided that Vario Crew Caporegime Domenico "Danny" Cutaia would also take control of the 19th Hole Crew. The Lucchese family administration saw the 19th Hole crew without leadership because it had been crippled by numerous indictments and informants during 1990s, leaving many members imprisoned. After the merger of the two crews, the Lucchese Borgata referred to this crew as the Brooklyn faction.
Vittorio "Little Vic" Amuso is an American mobster and the boss of the Lucchese crime family. He was described as "The Deadly Don" by Assistant United States Attorney Charles Rose. Amuso's reign is considered one of the bloodiest periods in American Mafia history during the late 1980s and early 1990s, alongside his former underboss and close protégé Anthony Casso, who turned informer against him in 1994. Since the death of Colombo crime family boss Carmine Persico in March 2019, Amuso is currently the longest-serving crime family boss of the Five Families and American Mafia, dating back to 1987. Amuso has been serving a life sentence since 1992 and is currently located at the Federal Correctional Complex, Butner, in North Carolina, on murder and racketeering charges.
The 116th Street Crew, also known as the Uptown Crew, is a group of Italian-American mobsters within the Genovese crime family. In the early 1960s, Anthony Salerno became one of the most powerful capos in the family. Salerno based the crew in the Palma Boys Social Club located at 416 East 115th Street in East Harlem, Manhattan. By the late 1970s and early 1980s, the 116th Street Crew had absorbed and initiated many former members of the vicious East Harlem Purple Gang, an Italian-American murder for hire and drug trafficking gang operating in 1970s Italian Harlem and acting generally independently of the Mafia.
Michael "Mikey Cigars" Sabella (1911–1989) was a caporegime in the Bonanno crime family and a relative of Philadelphia crime family mob boss Salvatore Sabella.
The Valachi hearings, also known as the McClellan hearings, investigated organized crime activities across the United States. The hearings were initiated by Arkansas Senator John L. McClellan in 1963. Named after the major government witness against the American Mafia, foot soldier and made man Joseph Valachi, the trial exposed American organized crime to the world through Valachi's televised testimony. At the trial, Valachi was the first member of the Italian-American Mafia to acknowledge its existence publicly, and is credited with popularization of the term cosa nostra. The trial also exposed the hierarchy of the American Mafia, including the Five Families and The Commission.
Stephen "Stevie Coogan" Grammauta was a caporegime with the Gambino crime family who allegedly participated in the murder of mob boss Albert "Mad Hatter" Anastasia and was the acting underboss of the family.
A soldato or soldier is the first official level of both the Italian-American Mafia and the Sicilian Mafia in the formal Mafia hierarchy or cadre. It is also commonly used as a rank in other Italian criminal organizations, such as the 'Ndrangheta and Camorra. The promotion to the rank of soldier is an elevation in the chain of command from the associate level. The associate, who is not an initiated member of the Mafia, must prove himself to the family and take the oath of Omertà in order to become an initiated made man and therefore rise to the rank of soldato.
The Lucchese crime family is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia. Members refer to the organization as the Lucchese borgata; borgata is Mafia slang for criminal gang, which itself was derived from a Sicilian word meaning close-knit community. The members of other crime families sometimes refer to Lucchese family members as "Lukes".
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 Genovese crime family's New Jersey faction is a group of Italian-American mobsters within the Genovese crime family who control organized crime activities within the state of New Jersey. The New Jersey faction is divided into multiple crews each led by a different caporegime who oversees illegal criminal activities in labor racketeering, illegal gambling, loansharking and extortion. The Genovese crime family's New Jersey faction has maintained a strong presence in the Northern Jersey area since the early prohibition era. A number of powerful mobsters within the New Jersey faction such as Guarino "Willie" Moretti, Gerardo "Jerry" Catena and Louis "Bobby" Manna have each held positions within the Genovese family's administration. From the 1990s until his death in 2010, Tino "the Greek" Fiumara was one of the most powerful caporegimes in the New Jersey faction.
This is a glossary of words related to the Mafia, primarily the Italian American Mafia and Sicilian Mafia.
- administration: the top-level "management" of an organized crime family -- the boss, underboss and consigliere.
- associate: one who works with mobsters, but hasn't been asked to take the vow of Omertà; an almost confirmed, or made guy.
- bagman: a person or paymaster designated to collect or distribute illicitly gained money.
- barone: a baron or landlord.
- books, the: a phrase indicating membership in the family. If there is a possibility for membership, then the books are open. If not, the books are closed.
- boss: the head of the family who runs the show. The boss also gets points from all family business; also see don, chairman.
- bridge: threat of death; e.g. "our former friend is walking across the bridge".
- button or becoming a button man: a mafia hit man; or someone who has become a made man.
- capo: the family member who leads a crew; short for caporegime or capodecina.
- capo dei capi: "boss of all [the] bosses" is a phrase used mainly by the media, public and the law enforcement community to indicate a supremely powerful crime boss in the Sicilian or American Mafia who holds great influence over the whole organization.
- captain: a capo.
- cement shoes: a method of murder or body disposal, usually associated with criminals such as the Mafia or gangs. It involves weighting down the victim, who may be dead or alive, with concrete and throwing them into water in the hope the body will never be found.
- clip: to murder; also to whack, hit, pop, burn, ice, put a contract out on.
- code of silence: not ratting on one's colleagues once one has been pinched -- no longer a strong virtue in organized crime families. Also, see omertà.
- comare: literally "godmother" in Southern Italian slang, usually pronounced "goomah" or "goomar" in American English: a Mafia mistress.
- confirm: to be made; see made guy.
- connected guy: an associate
- consigliere: the family adviser, who is always consulted before decisions are made.
- Cosa Nostra (Our thing): mob term for the family or Mafia
- crank: speed; in particular, crystal meth.
- crew: the group of soldiers under the capo's command.
- cugine: a young soldier striving to be made.
- don: the head of the family; see boss.
- earner: a member who brings in much money for the family.
- eat alone: to keep for oneself; to be greedy.
- family: an organized crime clan.
- forget about it (often pronounced "fuggedaboutit"): An exclamation; as the title character explains in Donnie Brasco:
"Forget about it" is, like, if you agree with someone, you know, like "Raquel Welch is one great piece of ass. Forget about it!" But then, if you disagree, like "A Lincoln is better than a Cadillac? Forget about it!" You know? But then, it's also like if something's the greatest thing in the world, like, "Minchia! Those peppers! Forget about it!" But it's also like saying "Go to hell!" too. Like, you know, like "Hey Paulie, you got a one-inch pecker?" and Paulie says "Forget about it!" Sometimes it just means "Forget about it."
- friend: "a friend of mine" is an associate, "a friend of ours" is a made man.
- G: a grand; a thousand dollars; also see large.
- garbage business: euphemism for organized crime.
- Golden Age: The days before RICO.
- Goodfella: A member of the Mafia.
- goomar or goomah: Americanized form of comare, a Mafia mistress.
- goombah: an associate, especially a senior member of a criminal gang.
- heavy: packed, carrying a weapon.
- hit: to murder; also see whack.
- initiation or induction: becoming a made man.
- juice: the interest paid to a loan shark for the loan; also see vig.
- kick up: give a part of the income to the next up in the command chain.
- lam: To lay down, go into hiding.
- large: a thousand, a grand, a G.
- LCN: abbreviation for La Cosa Nostra.
- lupara bianca: a journalistic term to indicate a Mafia slaying done in such a way that the victim's body is never found.
- made man: an inducted member of the family.
- make one's bones: gain credibility by killing someone.
- mock execution: to whip someone into shape by frightening them.
- mattresses, going to, taking it to, or hitting the: going to war with a rival clan or family.
- message job: placing the bullet in someone's body such that a specific message is sent to that person's crew or family; see through the eye and through the mouth.
- mob, the: a single organized crime family; or all organized crime families together.
- mobbed up: connected to the mob.
- mobster: one who is in the mob.
- oath: becoming inducted as a made man.
- Omertà: to take a vow of silence in the Mafia, punishable by death if not upheld.
- one-way ride or taking someone for a ride: underworld for an execution method
- outfit: a clan, or family within the Mafia.
- old country: refers to Italy when used by members of the American Mafia
- painting houses: murdering someone
- pass: A reprieve from being whacked.
- paying tribute: giving the boss a cut of the deal.
- pinched: to get caught by the cops or federal agents.
- points: percent of income; cut.
- program, the: The Witness Protection Program.
- rat: someone who turns informant, snitches or squeals after having been pinched.
- RICO: Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Passed in 1970 to aid the American government in clamping down on organized crime activities, its scope has since been broadened to prosecute insider traders.
- shakedown: to blackmail or try to get money from someone; also to give someone a scare.
- shy: the interest charged on loans by loan sharks.
- shylock business: the business of loansharking.
- sitdown: a meeting, esp. with another family.
- soldier: the bottom-level member of an organized crime family who is made.
- spring cleaning: cleaning up, hiding or getting rid of evidence.
- straighten out, getting straightened out: becoming a made guy.
- tax: to take a percentage of someone's earnings.
- The Commission and the Sicilian Mafia Commission: two bodies, Italian-American and the Sicilian respectively, of leading Mafia members to decide on important questions concerning the actions of, and settling disputes within the Mafia.
- This Thing of Ours (Cosa Nostra): a mob family, or the entire mob.
- through the eye: a message job through the eye to say "We're watching you!"
- through the mouth: a message job through the mouth to indicate that someone WAS a rat.
- underboss: the second in command to the boss.
- vig: Vigorish abbr. the house's or bookie's take in gambling or the interest paid to a loan shark for the loan; also see juice.
- waste management business: euphemism for organized crime.
- whack: to murder; also clip, hit, pop, burn, put a contract out.
- wiseguy: a made man.
- zips: is a slang term often used as a derogatory slur by Italian American and Sicilian American mobsters in reference to newer immigrant Sicilian and Italian mafiosi.
