Carlo Gambino was a Sicilian-born American crime boss who was the leader and namesake of the Gambino crime family of New York City. Following the Apalachin Meeting in 1957, and the imprisonment of Vito Genovese in 1959, Gambino took over the Commission of the American Mafia and played a powerful role in organized crime until his death from a heart attack in 1976. During a criminal career that spanned over fifty years, Gambino served only twenty-two months in prison for a tax evasion charge in 1937.
Vito Genovese was an Italian-born American mobster involved with the American Mafia. A long-time associate and childhood friend of Lucky Luciano, Genovese took part in the Castellammarese War and helped shape the rise of the Mafia as a major force in organized crime in the United States. He would later lead Luciano's crime family, which was later renamed the Genovese crime family in his honor.
The Apalachin meeting was a historic summit of the American Mafia held at the home of mobster Joseph "Joe the Barber" Barbara, at 625 McFall Road in Apalachin, New York, on November 14, 1957. Allegedly, the meeting was held to discuss various topics including loansharking, narcotics trafficking, and gambling, along with dividing the illegal operations controlled by the recently murdered Albert Anastasia. An estimated 100 Mafiosi from the United States, Italy, and Cuba are thought to have attended this meeting. Immediately after the Anastasia murder that October, and after taking control of the Luciano crime family from Frank Costello, Vito Genovese wanted to legitimize his new power by holding a national Cosa Nostra meeting.
Angelo Bruno was a Sicilian-American mobster who was boss of the Philadelphia crime family for two decades until his assassination. Bruno was known as "the Gentle Don" due to his preference for conciliation over violence, in stark contrast to his successors.
Stefano "The Undertaker" Magaddino was an Italian-born crime boss of the Buffalo crime family in western New York. His underworld influence stretched from Ohio to Southern Ontario and as far east as Montreal, Quebec. Known as Don Stefano to his friends and The Undertaker to others, he was also a charter member of the American Mafia's ruling council, The Commission.
The DeCavalcante crime family, also known as the North Jersey crime family or the North Jersey Mafia, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family that operates mainly in northern New Jersey, particularly in Elizabeth, Newark, West New York, and the surrounding areas. The family is part of the nationwide criminal network known as the American Mafia.
Carmine Lombardozzi was a high-ranking member of the Gambino crime family in New York. He was known as "Alberto", "The Doctor", the "King of Wall Street" and "The Italian Meyer Lansky". By the end of his criminal career, Lombardozzi was the biggest earner for the Gambino family.
Russell Alfred Bufalino was an Italian-American mobster who became the crime boss of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Italian-American Mafia crime family known as the Bufalino crime family, which he ruled from 1959 to 1994. He was a cousin of attorney William Bufalino, the longtime counsel for Jimmy Hoffa.
The New Orleans crime family, also known as the Marcello crime family or the New Orleans Mafia, was an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in the city of New Orleans. The family had a history of criminal activity dating back to the late nineteenth century. These activities included racketeering, extortion, gambling, prostitution, narcotics distribution, money laundering, loan sharking, fencing of stolen goods, and murder. Operating along the Gulf Coast, with its main criminal activity centered in the New Orleans area, the organization reached its height of influence under bosses Silvestro Carollo and Carlos Marcello.
John Sebastian LaRocca was the Sicilian-born American boss of the Pittsburgh crime family from the 1950s until his death in 1984.
Natale "Joe Diamond" Evola was a New York mobster who briefly became boss of the Bonanno crime family who was succeeded by Philip Rastelli, and preceded Paul Sciacca as boss in 1971.
Campisi's Restaurant is an Italian-American restaurant chain based in Dallas, Texas, offering a self-described Roman cuisine focusing on pizza and pasta. As of 2023, the chain has nine locations throughout the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.
The Detroit Partnership is an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in Detroit, Michigan. The family mainly operates in the Greater Detroit area, as well as in Windsor, Ontario, Toledo, Ohio, South Florida, and Las Vegas.
William Vito "Black Bill" Tocco was an Italian-American mobster from Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan and a founding member of the Detroit Partnership of La Cosa Nostra.
Vito Di Giorgio was an Italian-born crime boss based in Los Angeles. Originally from Palermo, Sicily, Di Giorgio lived most of his life as a grocer in New Orleans, where he was also an active Black Hander. While he lived in Los Angeles, he was known as a wealthy food importer. He survived two shootings, only to be killed while visiting Chicago in 1922.
The San Francisco crime family, also known as the Lanza crime family or San Francisco Mafia, was an Italian-American Mafia crime syndicate in San Francisco. The syndicate was organized in the early 1930s by Francesco "Frank" Lanza. The San Francisco family was a small organization with 20–25 made members.
The San Jose crime family, also known as the Cerrito crime family or San Jose Mafia, was one of the two families that controlled organized crime in San Jose, California, within the nationwide criminal organization known as the Mafia. The other family that ran organized crime in San Jose was the Bonanno crime family of New York.
Joseph Francis Civello was an American mobster and the leader of the Dallas crime family from 1956 until his death in 1970.
Joseph Lonardo, also known as "Big Joe", was a Sicilian emigrant to the United States who became the first crime boss of the Cleveland crime family, which he structured from a number of competing organized crime gangs. When national Prohibition began in 1920, Lonardo became a dealer in corn sugar, an essential ingredient in the manufacture of corn whiskey. Lonardo became a "sugar baron" by driving other legitimate corn sugar merchants out of business, encouraging home distillation, and using intimidation, murder, and theft to eliminate or drive his criminal competitors out of business.
This is a list of organized crime in the 1920s, arranged chronologically.
