Sixth Family

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A Sixth Family is a crime family or criminal organization, usually an Italian-American or Italian-Canadian crime group, that has become powerful or notable enough to rise to a level comparable to that of the Five Families of the New York City Italian-American Mafia. A criminal organization deemed a "Sixth Family" may rival the Five Families or, alternatively, may work closely enough with the Five Families that it appears to be a peer or near coequal of the families.

Criminal organizations deemed "Sixth Family"

Various criminal organizations have been deemed the "Sixth Family", often by the press or the criminal underworld. One organization to receive the designation is the Rizzuto crime family based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, though the Rizzuto family does not refer to itself as the "Sixth Family". [1] The Rizzuto family has allegedly worked closely with the Bonanno crime family out of all five New York Five Families. [1] The DeCavalcante crime family, which is based in North Jersey, across the Hudson River from the Five Families, and famously served as the inspiration for the hit TV show The Sopranos , are at times also referred to as the “Sixth Family.” [2] [3]

Other criminal organizations referred to as the "Sixth Family" include:

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The East Harlem Purple Gang was a gang and organized crime group in New York City consisting of Italian-American hit-men and heroin dealers who were semi-independent from the Italian-American Mafia and, according to federal prosecutors, dominated heroin distribution in East Harlem, Italian Harlem, and the Bronx during the 1970s and early 1980s. Though mostly independent of the Mafia and not an official Mafia crew, the gang was originally affiliated with and worked with the Lucchese crime family and later with the Bonanno crime family and Genovese crime family. It developed its "closest ties" with the Genovese family, and its remnants or former members became part of the Genovese family's 116th Street Crew.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucchese crime family</span> One of the "Five Families" that dominates organized crime activities in New York City, US

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The Rizzuto crime family is an Italian-Canadian organized crime family based in Montreal, Quebec, whose activity covers most of southern Quebec and Ontario. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States considers the family a faction of the Bonanno crime family of New York City, while Canadian and most other international law enforcement agencies recognize it as an independent family. The Rizzuto family is sometimes referred to as the Sixth Family.

The Bonanno crime family is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City as part of the criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia.

Giovanni "John the Eagle" Riggi was a New Jersey mobster and member of the DeCavalcante crime family since the 1940s, before the family had acquired its name. Riggi was the leader of the "Elizabeth crew" in the family when he was a Caporegime. He had been the acting boss during the 1970s and became the official boss around 1982. Riggi was incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center (FMC) Devens, Massachusetts, on extortion and labor racketeering convictions. He was released on November 27, 2012.

The 10th & Oregon Crew, also known as the 10th & O Crew, the 10th & Oregon Gang or the 10th & O Gang, is a predominantly Italian-American organized crime gang operating in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Active since the 1960s, the gang is associated closely with but independent from the Italian-American Philadelphia crime family. The 10th & Oregon Crew is primarily active in South Philadelphia and certain working-class Italian-American neighborhoods in nearby South Jersey.

References

  1. 1 2 Lamothe, Lee; Humphreys, Adrian (2009). The Sixth Family: The Collapse of the New York Mafia and the Rise of Vito Rizzuto. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN   9780470156933 . Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  2. Hunter, Brad (October 3, 2021). "MEET THE REAL JERSEY MOB: DeCavalcantes ruled the Garden State". Toronto Sun. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  3. Linnett, Richard (April 2013). In the Godfather Garden: The Long Life and Times of Richie "the Boot" Boiardo. Rutgers University Press. p. 109. ISBN   9780813560625.
  4. Blum, Howard (December 16, 1977). "Gang's Former Errand Boys Form Their Own Gang, Police Say". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
  5. Bequai, August (1979). Organized crime: the Fifth Estate. Lexington Books. p. 22. ISBN   9780669021042.
  6. 1 2 DeStefano, Anthony M. (2014). Gangland New York: The Places and Faces of Mob History. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 160. ISBN   9781493018338.
  7. DeStefano, Anthony M. (2011). Mob Killer. Pinnacle Books. p. 145. ISBN   9780786024155.
  8. Diapoulos, Peter (1976). The Sixth Family. Dutton.
  9. Cohen, Stefanie (May 10, 2009). "GANGS OF NEW YORK". New York Post. Retrieved 2 May 2016.