Giuseppe "Joe" Profaci was an Italian-American Cosa Nostra boss who was the founder of what became the Colombo crime family of New York City. Established in 1928, this was the last of the Five Families to be organized. He was the family's boss for over three decades.
Philip Charles Testa, also known as "The Chicken Man", was an Italian-American mobster known for his brief leadership of the Philadelphia crime family of the Italian-American Mafia. He became boss of the Philadelphia crime family after the previous boss and his close friend, Angelo Bruno, was murdered by Bruno’s own consigliere, Antonio Caponigro, who, in turn, was ordered killed by The Commission for murdering a boss without permission.
Consigliere is a position within the leadership structure of the Sicilian, Calabrian, and Italian-American Mafia. The word was popularized in English by the novel The Godfather (1969) and its film adaptation. In the novel, a consigliere is an advisor or counselor to the boss, with the additional responsibility of representing the boss in important meetings both within the boss's crime family and with other crime families.
The Five Families refer to five Italian American Mafia crime families that operate in New York City. In 1931, the five families were organized by Salvatore Maranzano following his victory in the Castellammarese War.
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 Patriarca crime family, also known as the New England Mafia, the Boston Mafia, the Providence Mafia or The Office, is an Italian-American Mafia family operating in New England. It has two distinct factions, one based in Providence, Rhode Island, and the other in Boston, Massachusetts. The family is currently led by Carmen "The Cheese Man" Dinunzio, who is part of the Boston faction. The family is primarily active in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, with other territory throughout New England.
The Commission is the governing body of the 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, at various times, the leaders of smaller families, such as Buffalo, Philadelphia, Detroit, and others. The purpose of the Commission was to oversee all Mafia activities in the United States and serve to mediate conflicts among families.
The Rochester crime family or Rochester Mafia was a criminal organization based in Rochester, New York that was part of the American Cosa Nostra.
Nicholas Angelo "Nicky Mouth" Santora was the reputed underboss of the Bonanno crime family.
Onofrio Sciortino was an Italian-American mobster and boss of the San Jose crime family.
Paul Sciacca was a New York City mobster who succeeded Joseph Bonanno as boss of the Bonanno crime family in 1968. He was succeeded by Natale Evola in 1971.
The Milwaukee crime family, also known as the Balistrieri crime family or the Milwaukee Mafia, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The crime family was considered a branch of the Chicago Outfit. The family's most influential boss was Frank "Mr. Big" Balistrieri, who was greatly involved in the Las Vegas skimming casinos. Today, the crime family is nearly extinct, since Balistrieri died in 1993, with the Chicago Outfit gaining control over some of the illegal rackets in the area.
James "Jimmy the Hat" Lanza was a Sicilian-American mobster and boss of the San Francisco crime family. He was the son of the first known boss of the San Francisco crime family and took over in 1961. It is now probably extinct. He was first noticed when Life magazine published his photo in the late 1960s, identifying him as boss of the San Francisco crime family.
