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Knowing about the Vendetta indulged by the Mafia Families

January 14, 2016 by admin in

Feud that takes place between two groups or more than this is considered to be a Vendetta. The group referred to here is entire clans and families.  The vendetta is said to begin when a family incorrectly or correctly tends to have this belief of being insulted, wronged or attacked by another group. The initial retaliation which is noticed is feeling of resentment, leading to similar feelings emerging from the other group along with vengeful and anger. It is regarded to be a retaliatory violence that is long running cycle. It is this specific retaliation and provocation continual cycle that makes it quite impossible for having the vendetta to be ended peacefully. Generally, vendettas tend to involve all the family members, associates and relatives and could actually last for several generations. The mafia families were also involved in such vendettas, which led to violence and bloodshed and killing of each other. Unfortunately, in the crossfire between two groups, even the innocents perished.

History

Vendettas until the 1900s was regulated by law to some degree and hence, considered to be a legitimate legal instrument. But nowadays, its violent form has become completely illegal. Still there are present several Families who are known to have a very strong dislike for one another and may cross all limits to cause the other party grief and pain, making life difficult for their family or the concerned person.

About Vendetta

‘Vendetta’ as a term is regarded to be an Italian word which has a Latin origin from the word ‘vindicta’ stands for ‘Vengeance’. The word today is at times extended towards meaning any feud that is of long standing nature, not involving bloodshed necessarily.

Often it is with the insulting, maiming, dishonoring and killing of the person that Vendettas often gets started. The said person’s relatives may feel that revenge has to be extracted and therefore, declare a vendetta on their enemy. This is done by physically punishing people who are culprits as well as their relatives or to torture and kill them, to seek revenge.

It is because of the law being weak or where mediating such type of dispute is not held responsible by the state, where kinship and family ties are main authority source that vendetta is prevalent. For one crime that is committed by a particular person, the entire family or clan is regarded to be responsible for the action and hence has to face the brunt of vengeance from the victim’s family.

Details about the Buffalo crime family

January 14, 2016 by admin in

Buffalo crime family is also called The Arm or Magaddino crime family. It is based in New York, Buffalo, U.S. and is an American-Italian crime family. This mafia family operates all over Erie, Pennsylvania, Western New York and Ontario, Canada.

Its rise to power

It was through bootlegging during Prohibition era that this family gained immense power. This group was founded by Angelo Palmeri. Stefano Magaddino, the family boss in 1931 had become The Commission’s original member, while his family had remained quite peaceful. But there was a challenge in his leadership in the 1960s and separate factions broke as Magaddino was tried to be assassinated. Later on 19th July 1974, he died a natural death. Even after his death, the war continued until early 1980s with Joseph Todardo being declared the boss. He had the family united and in 2006 got retired. The present boss of this mafia family is Leonard Falzone. The territory that is under the hold of the Buffalo family is Buffalo and its different regions like the Niagara Falls, Syracuse, metropolitan area, Utica and Rochester; Canadian province of Ontario, Las Vegas and Northwest Pennsylvania. They have 20+ made men and 100+ associates. They indulge in different criminal activities like drug trafficking, bookmaking, extortion, prostitution, gambling, loan sharking, labor racketeering, murder and conspiracy.

Their origins

It is in the Buffalo city of New York that this family’s power has been based upon, in the last century. However, in other areas like Massena, Utica and Rochester, the group did have satellite groups, ‘crews’ and criminal interests. The other regions included Youngstown, eastern Pennsylvania, Toronto, Hamilton, Niagara Falls, southern Ontario cities, Ohio.

Successor

The media, crime writers and the local law enforcement, who have been keeping a close watch, since the 1990s on the Buffalo mafia members have projected that the successor, is likely to be Joseph Todaro Jr. Since 1995, he had been acting boss, but there was circulating rumors, since late 2006 that Todaros, Joseph Todaro Jr. and Joseph Todaro Sr. had retired officially from all kinds of active participation with the family affairs and activities. Leonard Falzone, the consigliore and Nicolletti Jr. ‘Sonny’ Benjamin, the capo has been elevated from their position to boss and underboss. However, in 2013 it appeared that Falzone era was finished and the family’s new leadership has been taken by Bobby Panaro Jr.

Understanding all about Mafia history and its origins

January 12, 2016 by admin in

The origin of the Mafia family is considered to be a disputed topic. There are several people who are of the belief that this group has originated during the medieval period. This group according to them was actually a secret society that was sworn to provide protection to the Sicilian people, who were then oppressed during the 15th century by Catalan marauders. But very little historical facts and evidence is present to suggest this. Legends involving the ‘Robin Hood’ might have associated with this group at that point of time. It is quite feasible that this group had existed as means for those honorable and righteous rebels, whose mission was to defend the Sicilians from the then oppressive Northern Italian and Roman control as well as external invasion by the barbarians. However, this theory has less importance with many modern scholars.

Formation of the mafia family

Several historians and experts are of the belief that this group had been formed during the later stage of Feudalism. The then aristocratic feudal lords, who lived generally in their big country mansions, had their land to be looked after and managed by their local managers known as the Gabelloti. These men were known to have compelled poor people to work for the estates, but offered them extremely poor wages. A possible method used by them was to have local intermediaries to be employed, presently regarded as the local mafia bosses. Many of the Gabelloti had become minor barons, however, few of the corrupted ones often had refused the post, to become well known Mafioso.

However, with Feudalism being abolished, it had become much more essential for the group to have the peasants intimidated for paying taxes to Barons and also had a share of it. However, the group did even represent the local tradesmen, farmers and common people’s will. Often they were paid-off by them for justice or settling scores that was to be obtained through maiming or killing someone. It is for this reason that misconception of the Mafioso being ‘Knights’ or ‘Robin Hood’ arose. From being ‘friend of friends’, they went on to become ‘men of honor’. The Sicilians’ clannish nature and dislike for oppressive hereditary aristocratic law enforcement, is said to have developed a favorable climate towards the formation of the mafia members and group. This group might not have been created by the nobility, however, unwillingly allowed creation of social conditions, facilitating their macabre growth.

Mafia family: Knowing the divisions and terminologies

January 12, 2016 by admin in

The mafia is not an individual head or an organization. Rather, this term is said to refer to different gangster groups of Families that are involved in organized criminal activities. Many Families of the group can have their heritage traced back to Sicily, Italy.

Divisions

It is into five major groups that the mafia family has been divided into, based upon their operative region or their place of origin. The major gangs which are involved in different types of criminal activities across the globe, do boast of having bases in several nations.

The different major groups

  • Sicilian Mafia of Sicily origin
  • Calabrian Mafia of Clabrian province origin
  • Cammora Mafia Of Naples origin
  • La Cosa Nostra, an American Mafia having its roots in Italy and Sicily
  • Sacra Corona Unita group operating in Italy’s Puglia region

When naming the mafia family is concerned, no clear naming conception is present. Generally, families were named after the province or town of their arrival. At times, names were changed to their Don’s name, if he has influenced tremendous power and ruled for a long time. Few families also derived their name from city of operation.

Almost 200 Mafia families are present in Sicily. Few of them are Corleoneis family, Motisi family and Greco family, while many had emigrated to the US and other places.

There are few families in the US also, with the prominent ones being Colombo, Bonanno, Genovese, Gambino, Buffalo crime family, Lucchese, Los Angeles crime gang, Scarfo crime family, etc.

Rank terminology

The traditional mafia members’ terminologies are as follows:

  • Boss of Bosses – Capo di-tutti capi
  • King Boss of all Bosses – Capo di-Capi Re (respect title given to retired or senior member)
  • Crime Boss or Don – Capo Crimine
  • Club Head or Underboss – Capo Bastone
  • Advisor – Consigliere
  • Regime Head or the captain – Caporegime (commander of group of 20 or more soldiers or Sgarriste
  • Soldier – Soldato or Sgarrista (group members serving as foot soldiers)
  • Little Man – Picciotto (low ranking member serving as ‘enforcer’)
  • Associate Member – Giovane D’Onore (not belonging to Italian ancestry)

Structure

  • Boss/Don – Capofamiglia
  • Right hand man / Advisor / Counselor – Consigliere
  • Second in command / underboss – Sotto Capo
  • Capo / Captain – Capodecina
  • Soldiers / Made Men / ‘Men of Honor’ – Uomini D’onore

Mafia history is seen to be interesting and although negative has been glorified in movies, comics and television series. Hence taking this opportunity and demand for online mafia game, developers have been creating numerous titles, every now and then.

Mafia family in the United States

January 12, 2016 by admin in

The American Mafia is considered to be an American-Italian criminal society as well as the Sicilian Mafia’s offshoot. This group in the States is also popularly called Italian American gang or American Cosa Nostra. It was during the later part of the 19th century that its United States chapter began in the East Coast, especially with emigration of Sicilians and people from South Italy.

Reasons for the growth of Mafioso in the U.S.

Most of the Sicilians including other Italians living in horrible and below poverty conditions in their state were tired and treated by their government with contempt. With dreams of having a wonderful American life, they started to emigrate to the U.S. during the 1800s. However, it was in the early part of the 20th century that sudden increase was noticed among the Italians to emigrate to the United States. While majority of the Italians chose the path of an honest life to earn their living, few had plans to have Sicilian ways of gangs to be brought to this new place.

Introducing organized crime

Right from its inception, until today, the American Mafia is said to dominate the U.S. organized crime, maintaining a greater control over the regions of Providence, Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago, including the organized criminal activities in the city of New York and other cities along the North East and all over the country like New Orleans and Las Vegas. Mafia history of America had been etched in the popular American culture and portrayed in video games, books, TV shows, movies, etc. Mafia game Developers have tried to cash in on the growing craze among gamers to come up with variety of Mafioso related games for people of all ages.

In the metropolitan area of New York, New England, Detroit, Chicago and Philadelphia, the American-Italian Cosa Nostra is considered to be more active. The US currently ‘boasts’ of having about 26 mafia families and splinter groups located all over the United States.

The beginning

It was in the city of New York that the mafia members became first active. They started their operations from those poor Italian neighborhood ghettos and slowly progressed to city regions and later in international activities. It was with ‘The Black Hand’ or ‘La Mano Nera’ that American Mafioso started with, extorting Italians as well as other immigrants around the city of New York. Their activities until the 1920’s were largely limited, after which they expanded.

Mafia family and its structure

January 12, 2016 by admin in

It is of different gangs or families that the regional Mafia family is made of. It is depending on the region that their numbers could range, which could be over 100 to a handful. Every family enjoyed dealing separate business and stayed out of the other’s way. Often, the business enterprises could come across that of the other to a huge extent, which depended entirely upon the nature of business and their proximity to one another.

Structure

It was an effective structure that this group had, which prevented the families’ higher ranked members to be held responsible for criminal enterprises undertaken. The judges were bribed and the lower ranked Mafioso’s records were cleaned and have him bailed out from jail. The group’s payroll also had some of the cops on their payroll, who were said to look the other way, in activities that were indulged by the group.

  • Every family had a leader called the Don or Boss. It was he who made all important decisions and was the gainer of all income made by the group. He is the ultimate decision maker and his authority is complete. He had full control over the mafia members.
  • The Underboss is next to the Don, who was second-in-command. However, his power varied with the families. He had enormous power in some cases, and in few less. Few of them were trained enough to succeed the Boss/Don, due to retirement or death.
  • The Consigliere was in between the Underboss and the Don, who acted as the latter’s advisor and made impartial decisions for the Mafia’s good, instead of relying on personal vendettas. Either the members of the group elect this position or the Don. The Consigliere may also act as the Don’s mouth and is respected immensely. However, he does not get involved directly with the Mafia’s criminal enterprises.
  • The Capos are next to the Underboss and their numbers vary with the Families and its group size. The Capo acts as captain or lieutenant, leading an own section. Specific activities are taken care by him and have to earn huge amounts.
  • Soldiers and made-men are guided by the Capo. They are actually the Family’s ultimate enforcers, who have to command respect from fellow Mafioso and prove their worth.
  • Associates are lower down the level. Although not being the Mafia’s actual members, they are those who get involved with criminal enterprises.

The group has become an interesting subject with mafia game developers and several games have been released which has went on to become a huge hit with the online and offline gaming mass.

How mafia members are inducted into the group?

January 12, 2016 by admin in

The induction ceremony of the mafia members has been a well guarded secret for several decades. However, the general public had discovered it after few defectors like Tommaso Buscetta and Joseph Valachi had leaked to the FBI, police and the media valuable information about the different activities of the Mafioso. The ceremony of induction was carried out by many Sicilian and American Mafia families. However, the ceremony could be altered which depended upon the particular circumstance. For instance, it could be done without the rituals swiftly, if the group is engaged in a gang war.

The ritual

It is with the dressing of the potential inductee that the actual ceremony begins. Once he gets ready, the person is taken into some private home. There he is seated just next to Don at a table. The other members of the mafia family present in the ritual join hands to chant oaths of honor, loyalty and respect to the mafia family. Then a burning paper piece is to be held by the inductee, who has to withstand its heat and pain and is required to pass it to the others, until the paper consumes completely. While performing this action, he is to swear loyalty and uphold the group’s principles. He is also to make a promise to become the family’s member for life. For this oath, he is expected to place drop of blood from the trigger finger. The inductee, in some families may get paired with other member of the group of higher rank and experience, who would guide and help him to become a successful Mafioso.

Other important aspects

Besides the drop of blood, ceremony and the oath, the potential candidate needs to belong to Italian heritage for joining any of the conservative families. Few may require just the father to be Italian, while others need both parents. At the same time, the potential candidate is expected to display uncanny skill towards making huge money or inclination towards committing violent acts, if ordered to. A test is to be qualified by the inductee and qualified for joining the group. They are required to commit a murder act of enemies of the Don to become Made Men. Furthermore, The Commission has to consider them.

Mafia history is really interesting and has been captivating readers in huge numbers across the globe. These days, one can come across mafia game of different types that they can engage with and enjoy playing it.

Genovese crime family – First crime family of New York

January 12, 2016 by admin in

Genovese crime family had been nicknamed ‘Rolls Royce’ and Ivy League’ and is among the powerful ‘Five Families’ of New York’s organized crime. It is Gambinoi crime family that had rivaled this family in size. The Genovese were said to be unmatched with regards to power and maintained generally different degrees of influence over the other smaller mafia members based outside New York and had ties with crime families of Philadelphia, Buffalo and Patriarca.

Rise to power

This mafia family according to the experts is considered to be the most sophisticated, logical, crafty, largest and intelligent among the five families of the region. During the 21st century, this family tried to find out new ways for taking benefits of bank caused lax ‘due diligence’ at the time of housing spike by getting involved in mortgage frauds in waves. Home equity loans were obtained by the victims of loan sharks for paying off their mob bankers of their debts. New technologies were used by the family for enhancing illegal gambling, with bets being placed by customers through the web using offshore sites.

Its history

It was Lucky Luciano who had founded the current ‘family’. It got renamed after Vito Genovese in 1957. Vincent Gigante ‘the Chin’ was in control originally on Manhattan’s West Side waterfront including Fulton Fish Market. He was also known as ‘the Oddfather’. After Gigante’s death in 2005, the Genovese family leadership looked like it was in limbo, however, they were actually the most powerful and organized crime family in the region. This family is said to have benefited immensely following the Omerta Code from the members. Although, mobsters from other crime families have testified against them, since the 1980’s, only 6 members of the Genovese family had turned witness in its entire history.

Facts about Genovese crime family

Originating from East Harlem’s Morello gang, this crime family is New York City’s first mafia family. Giuseppe Morello is the founder of this family and it has been active until now, right from its emergence in 1980’s. It operated the territories of The Bronx, Manhattan, New York, Brooklyn, Connecticut, New Jersey, Las Vegas, South Florida, and Massachusetts. They presently have about 250 to 300 made-members and criminal associates of more than 3,000. They are involved in criminal activities like conspiracy, racketeering, money laundering, loansharking, drug trafficking,  murder, extortion, pornography, labor racketeering, waste management, weapons trafficking, fraud, prostitution, counterfeiting, bribery, bookmarking, illegal gambling,  contract killing and robbery.

Colombo Crime Family – The youngest dominating organized Mafia family

January 12, 2016 by admin in

The Colombo Crime family is considered to be the youngest among the ‘Five Mafia Families’ dominating New York City’s organized criminal activities.

Its history

Its history is said to have roots to a gang of bootleggers which was started in 1928 by Joseph Profaci. After the Castelammarese War and the American Mafia’s reorganization, the gang of Profaci had been recognized as Profaci crime family. Until late 1950s, Profaci is said to have ruled his family without any challenge or interruption.

The family wars of the Colombo crime family

Three internal wars took place within the family. During late 1950s, the first war occurred when Profaci saw revolt from capo Joe Gallo. In early 1960s, with the arrest of Gallo and death of Profaci, the first war had lost its momentum. It was under the leadership of Joseph Colombo that the family got reunited in the 60s. But after Gallo was released in 1971 and shooting of Colombo, the second war started. This war as won by Carmine Perisco and supporters of Colombo, which saw Gallo and his crew to go into exile in 1975 to Genovese family. Under Perisco, the family enjoyed peace for 15 years.

The third war which was the bloodiest in its history took place in 1991, when Victor Orena, its acting boss tried usurping power from Carmine Perisco, who was then under imprisonment. For two long years, mayhem ensued with the family getting split into factions and finished in 1993 with Orena imprisoned and 12 of the family member’s dead, where Perisco emerged the winner by default. After this war, he had a decimated family. Although this family is still run by Perisco, it was never able to recover its lost glory. The family got crippled further in the 2000s, due to several members be coming witnesses of the government and multiple convictions with regards federal racketeering cases. Apart from being the youngest of the five mafia family in the City of New York, it is also currently the weakest.

Some facts

The Colombo Crime family has been named after Sr. Joseph Colombo and was founded in the New York City. Its territory of operation is spreads over the different neighborhoods of the city, Massachusetts, Long Island, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and South Florida. As of 2011 estimate, there are around 100 to 115 active mafia members of the family and approximately 400 associates.

An insight into the Omerta Law of the mafia family

January 12, 2016 by admin in

Omerta is considered to be Code of Silence that is followed when the government is to be dealt with. Literally, it stands of ‘manhood’ and tends to refer the idea of the man trying to deal his own problems, not taking any assistance of any law body. Besides this, the term is said to have become quite synonymous with code of silence of the mafia family. Omerta is considered to be a well known attitude, especially in southern Italy regions such as Sicily, where this group is quite strong.

Mafia history

It is during the sixteenth century AD that the group said to have formed for opposing Spanish rule. In the Mediterranean, the largest island is Sicily and hence, has influenced several countries to conquer and invade it for making most of its riches. The conquering party had often enslaved the local people and treated them inhumanely. It is in such circumstances that the mafia was born, which had offered the oppressed civilians with stability, protection and a sense of ‘pride’. The group’s vendetta is said to have become the justice system of Sicily and the ruling body was not approached by anyone for assistance.

Continuous invasions by the foreigners had left Sicilians with a feeling of mistrust, helplessness and range at local government. It was their belief that the government instead of helping them out only made things all more difficult and miserable. It is because of this that Mafia’s Omerta golden rule was born. It went on to become an unwritten law for keeping out the government out of private affairs. The government was no more consulted and crime was considered to be personal, while justice was achieved through personal vendetta and vengeance.

The worst stain possible on manhood was to be accused of being an informant. It was the duty of each and every individual to have his manliness proved by not trying to redress personal grievances to the legally constituted authority. If the person is victimized by someone, then he is anticipated to have his revenge taken by himself or to find a patron to get it done on his behalf. At that time, it was regarded to be shameful for betraying one’s worst and deadliest enemies to authorities. It was a serious case for breaking the Omerta Code, where the mafia is concerned. In such cases, the informant could be led to assassinations by the group.

About the Lucchesse crime family

January 11, 2016 by admin in

About the Lucchese crime family

The Lucchese crime family is one the “Five Families,” of the nationwide phenomena known as La Cosa Nostra, that dominates the city of New York and the surrounding areas.

Origins

The Lucchese family originated in the early 1920s with Gaetano “Tommy” Reina serving as the first Boss until his death in 1930. Reina’s murder was one of the first major deaths to take place during the two year war for control of the La Cosa Nostra rackets nationwide. This war came to be known as the Castellammarese War, being named after the hometown in Sicily of Salvatore Marazano the leader of the Castellammarese Clan. Reina’s death was ordered by Joe “The Boss” Masseria when Masseria discovered that Reina had pledged allegiance to Maranzano, even though he had been a long time supporter of Masseria. After Reina’s death, Masseria installed Joseph “Fat Joe” Pinzolo as the Boss of the Reina Family, much to the chagrin of the top two lieutenants in the family Tommy Gagliano and Tommy Lucchese. Furious with this perceived betrayal by Masseria, Gagliano and Lucchese secretly defected to Maranzano and in 1930 Lucchese was able to lure Pinzolo to a Manhattan office building where Pinzolo was murdered.

This ushered in the era of “The Two Tommies.” With Pinzolo’s murder, as well as major defections by some of the future’s most influential mobsters including Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lanksy, Vito Genovese, etc., the scales greatly tipped in favor of Maranzano. It was not long after Pinzolo’s death that Masseria was finally murdered, ending the Castellammerese War and solidifying Gagliano and Lucchese’s control of the newly dubbed Gagliano Crime Family. Though many of the younger mobsters  had thrown their allegiance to Salvatore Maranzano during the Castellammerese War, they soon began to realize that Marazano was just as greedy and hidebound as Masseria had been and even more unwilling to listen to reason. Marazano put the final nail in his coffin when at a meeting to reorganize the National Crime Syndicate he surprised everyone by declaring himself “Boss of Bosses.” Maranzano had organized all of the Italian Mafia groups into “families” and created a total of 26 families around the country that would each have their own Boss and Underboss to control the day to day activities of the family. This all was very much to the liking of the other mobsters in attendance until Maranzano then proclaimed that each of the Bosses would owe allegiance to him as the “Boss of Bosses.” A group of younger mobsters, known as the “Young Turks,” lead by Lucky Luciano and including Gagliano and Lucchese decided that Maranzano needed to go and in 1931 they made their move and got rid of Maranzano. Luciano kept the family structure that was created by Maranzano, however he added a third member to the family hierarchies called the Consigliere. The Consigliere, or counselor, was meant to be the voice of reason for the Boss and Underboss, and was usually a relative or close friend that the Boss could trust to be a straight shooter and give him the answers he needs to hear not the ones he wants to hear. The last change Luciano made was getting rid of the “Boss of Bosses” title in favor of a ruling body that would be known as “The Commission.”

The Commission

The Commission’s purpose was to regulate families’ affairs and resolve all differences between the families. The original Commission was made up of the Bosses of the Five Families of New York, Luciano, Joe Bonanno, Joe Profaci, Vincent Mangano and of course Thomas Gagliano. It also included the Boss of the Chicago Outfit Al Capone as well as Stefano Maggaddino who was the Boss of the Buffalo Crime Family. During this time, the 1930s and 1940s, Gagliano and Tommy Lucchese led their family into profitable areas including the trucking and clothing industries. When Luciano was sent to prison for pandering in 1936, a rival faction took control of The Commission. This alliance included Vincent Mangano, Joe Bonanno, Stefano Maggaddino and Joe Profaci, and these four men used their influence and power to control organized crime in America. Thomas Gagliano understood he was in a vulnerable position and was careful to avoid opposing this new alliance. Gagliano was always a quiet man who avoided the media and stayed off the streets. He preferred to pass his orders to the family through his Underboss Tommy Lucchese as well as a few other close allies. In contrast, Lucchese was the public face of the family who carried out Gagliano’s orders. In 1946, it was Lucchese who attended the Cosa Nostra Havana Conference in Cuba on behalf of Gagliano. Gagliano kept such a low profile throughout his life that virtually nothing is known about his activities from 1932 until he retired or died some time  between 1951 and 1953.

Lucchese Takes Over

After Gagliano finally retired or died, Lucchese became Boss of the newly named Lucchese Crime Family. Lucchese continued with Gagliano’s policies and made the Lucchese Family one of the most profitable in New York. Lucchese established control over Teamsters union locals, worker’s co-ops and trade associations as well as rackets at the new Idlewild Airport (the original name of JFK Airport). Lucchese also expanded the family rackets in Manhattan’s Garment District and in related trucking industries around New York City. He also built close relations with many powerful New York politicians, including Mayors William O’Dwyer and Vincent Impellitteri as well as members of the judiciary who aided the family on numerous occasions. Throughout his entire time as Boss, Lucchese made sure to keep a low profile and saw to it that his men were well taken care of.

When Lucchese became Boss, he also helped his friends Vito Genovese and Carlo Gambino in their fights to take control of their families. The three plotted to take over The Commission by murdering family bosses Frank Costello of the Luciano Family and Albert Anastasia of the Anastasia Family (formerly the Mangano Family). In 1957 Costello narrowly escaped an assassination attempt, but saw the writing on the wall and stepped down as boss paving the way for Genovese to take over what would now be known as the Genovese Crime Family. Also in 1957, Albert Anastasia was murdered in the Barbershop of the Park Sheraton Hotel, allowing Gambino to become Boss of the newly named Gambino Crime Family. Once he helped his two friends take over their respective families Lucchese immediately began conspiring with Gambino to remove Genovese from power. Genovese had become too ambitious in their eyes and had been trying to set himself up as the “Boss of Bosses” and seemed to be on a path to success until the disastrous Apalachin Meeting in 1957. Over 100 mobsters from around the country had gathered for the Meeting and before they knew it, it was being raided by New York State Troopers who had grown suspicious of the number of out of state vehicles that were  gathering in the small town of Apalachin. This caused Genovese to lose a great deal of respect in the underworld as it had been his idea for the meeting which had resulted in roughly 60 high ranking mobsters being arrested. In 1959, with the assistance of Luciano Costello and Meyer Lansky, Lucchese and Gambino had Genovese arrested and effectively removed from the underworld for good.

Gambino and Lucchese assumed full control of The Commission following Genovese’s arrest and in 1960 they backed the Gallo brothers in their rebellion against Profaci Family Boss, Joe Profaci. Gambino and Lucchese saw the war as a way to take over rackets from the distracted Profaci Family and reap the benefits of their disorganization. They soon also would uncover a plot by Joe Bonanno to assassinate them and they used their control of The Commission to strip Bonanno of his role as Boss. This power play started a war within the Bonanno Family and served to strengthen both the Lucchese and Gambino families. In 1962, the alliance between the Gambinos and Luccheses would become even stronger when Carlo Gambino’s oldest son Thomas married Lucchese’s daughter Frances. Lucchese would live a quiet stable life until his death from a brain tumor on July 13, 1967. At the time of his death, he had not spent a day in jail in 44 years. Lucchese left his family in a very powerful position and they had a stronghold in the neighborhoods of East Harlem and The Bronx. The estimated membership of the Family at this time was about 200 made men and thousands of associates. Lucchese had intended for longtime Capo Anthony “Tony Ducks” Corallo to succeed him, however since he was imprisoned at the time he named another longtime Capo, Carmine Tramunti, as Acting Boss until Corallo’s release.

Tramunti, the French Connection, Corallo and the Jaguar

At the time he was appointed the Temporary Boss, Carmine “Mr. Gribbs” Tramunti was in ill health. With Boss-in-Waiting Anthony Corallo in prison, Tramunti was expected to hold power until Corallo’s release. Tramunti faced a number of criminal charges during his tenure as Acting Boss and was eventually convicted of financing a large heroin smuggling operation that would come to be known as “The French Connection.” This operation was responsible for distributing millions of dollars in heroin along the East Coast during the early 1970s. Before the French Connection trial went to court, the seized heroin that was being stored in the NYPD evidence storage room was stolen in a brazen scheme. Hundreds of kilograms of heroin worth $70 million was stolen from the evidence lockup and replaced with bags of flour. Officers only discovered the theft when they noticed insects and rats eating the so-called “heroin.” The scope and depth of the theft is still unknown, but officials suspect the thieves had assistance from corrupt NYPD officers. In 1974, after Tramunti was finally incarcerated, Corallo finally took charge of the family.

Corallo came from the Queens faction of the family and received his nickname “Tony Ducks” from his ease at “ducking” criminal convictions. Corallo was a Boss squarely in Lucchese’s mold. He was heavily involved in labor racketeering and worked closely with Jimmy Hoffa, the Teamsters President, during the 1940s and 1950s. Corallo also had close ties to  multiple labor unions and appointed his longtime friend Salvatore “Tom Mix” Santoro as the Underboss of the family to oversee and supervise all of the labor and construction rackets in New York. Corallo also appointed Christopher “Christie Tick” Furnari as the Lucchese Family Consigliere and with this hierarchy in place the Family prospered, particularly in the areas of narcotics trafficking, labor racketeering and major illegal gambling.

Corallo was very much an old school gangster and refused to discuss business during sit-downs, fearing that the FBI was monitoring the conversations. Instead, he used the car phone in the Jaguar owned by his bodyguard and chauffeur. Salvatore Avellino and Neil Migliore would switch off as Corallo’s driver and bodyguard and they would shuttle Corallo around town while he discussed business on the car phone. This method of conducting business would ultimately be Corallo’s downfall.

During Corallo’s leadership, the Lucchese Family New Jersey Faction grew considerably and became major earners for the Family. Corallo would go on to induct the two leaders of the New Jersey Faction, Anthony Accetturo and Michael Taccetta. These two men reportedly controlled most of the loansharking and illegal gambling operations in Newark, New Jersey at the time. Corallo grew so comfortable with Accetturo and Taccetta’s leadership of the Jersey Crew that he eventually began to allow them to more or less run their crew as a semi-autonomous entity. The Jersey Crew was, at one point, even considered it’s own family by law enforcement with Accetturo labeled the Boss and Taccetta the Underboss. Corallo’s relaxed method of controlling the Jersey Crew would in the future play a significant role in the downfall of the Lucchese Family.

In the early 1980s the FBI finally managed to plant a bug in the Jaguar and were able to record Corallo speaking at great length about mob affairs including illegal gambling, labor racketeering, drug trafficking and murder. Corallo was eventually arrested and put on trial with the heads of the other Five Families at the time. This would become known as the infamous Mafia Commission Trial. On December 16, 1985, in the midst of the Mafia Commission Trial, John Gotti had Gambino Boss Paul Castellano murdered without the approval of the Commission. This cardinal sin caused the Lucchese and Genovese families to team up and plot Gotti’s murder to avenge the death of Castellano. The Lucchese Genovese alliance failed to kill Gotti but they did manage to kill his Underboss Frank Decicco and would temporarily be content with this killing, but would still look to get their revenge on Gotti for the next several years.

In 1986 the Mafia Commission Trial finally took place and at the end of it Corallo, Santoro and Furnari were all found guilty and each sentenced to 100 years in prison. During the trial, as Corallo realized that the entire Lucchese hierarchy was about to be decimated, he chose Anthony “Buddy” Luongo as Acting Boss. However, Luongo disappeared in 1986 and Corallo’s ultimate choice to succeed him was Vittorio “Vic” Amuso. Allegedly both Amuso and Anthony “Gaspipe” Casso were candidates for the job and evidence suggests Corallo wanted Casso, but Casso convinced him to select Amuso instead. Amuso officially became Boss in January 1987 when Corallo, Santoro and Furnari were officially sentenced. Amuso made Casso his Underboss in 1989, allowing him to exert great influence over family decisions. Corallo and Santoro both died in prison and Furnari was eventually released in 2014.

Amuso and Casso: The Disaster Duo

During the late 1980s the Lucchese Family went through a period of great turmoil. Vic Amuso and his fierce Underboss Anthony Casso, the first members of the Family’s Brooklyn wing to head the Family, instituted one of the most violent reigns in American Mafia history. Both men were heavily involved in labor racketeering, extortion, drug trafficking and committed many murders. Amuso and Casso were strong rivals of Gambino Family Boss John Gotti and strong allies of Genovese Family Boss Vincent “Chin” Gigante. They both made their reputation earlier in 1986 when, angry over the murder of Gambino Boss Paul Castellano, Corallo and Gigante gave them the contract to kill Gotti. On April 13, 1986 a car-bombing killed Gambino Underboss Frank Decicco but missed Gotti. The assassination attempt sparked a long and confusing tension between the three crime families with many deaths on all sides.

During the late 1980s, Amuso began demanding 50% of the profits generated by the Jersey Crew. New Jersey leaders Anthony Accetturo and Michael Taccetta refused Amuso’s demand and in retaliation Amuso and Casso ordered the entire Jersey Crew killed. This is now known as the infamous “Whack Jersey” order. He summoned them all to a meeting in Brooklyn, however fearing for their lives all of the Jersey Crew members skipped the meeting and went into hiding. Taccetta and Accetturo were later put on trial in 1990, as both Amuso and Casso were implicated in a case involving the fitting of thousands of windows in New York at over-inflated prices, and the pair went into hiding that same year naming Alphonse “Little Al” D’Arco as Acting Boss.

For the next few years Amuso and Casso ruled the family from afar and ordered the execution of anyone they deemed troublesome, either they were considered rivals or potential informants. All of this convinced many Lucchese wiseguys that Amuso and Casso were no longer thinking or acting rationally. What followed next was a series of botched murder attempts on family members suspected of being informants. Ironically, these murder attempts would be the catalyst that caused several family members to actually turn informer. One of the biggest was Capo Peter Chiodo. Amuso ordered the killing of Chiodo, who along with Casso was in charge of the Windows Case operation. Chiodo was shot 12 times but still survived. After Amuso ordered hits on Chiodo’s wife and sister, a major violation of longstanding rules against women being harmed, Chiodo did finally turn state’s evidence and provided the entire Windows Operation that eventually controlled $150 million in window replacements sold in New York City. Amuso had also earlier sanctioned a hit on Jersey Crew Boss Anthony Accetturo, who was on trial in 1990 and also cooperated with the government.

The planned executions went as high as Acting Boss Al D’Arco. Furious over the failed hit on Chiodo, Amuso set up D’Arco to be killed at a Manhattan hotel. This hit, however, came undone after D’Arco saw a man hide a gun in his shirt then slip it into the bathroom. Recognizing this as a classic setup for a hit, D’Arco fled for his life and turned himself over to the authorities to spare him and his family from Amuso and Casso and their increasingly erratic demands. D’Arco was the first Boss of a New York crime family, acting or otherwise, to become an informant. Casso had also reportedly conspired with Lucchese Family Consigliere Frank Lastorino and several others to murder Steven “Wonderboy” Crea, Amuso’s Underboss of the Bronx, as well as Gambino Family Acting Boss John “Junior” Gotti, son of the imprisoned John Gotti, along with members of the Genovese Crime Family once again. However, due to massive indictments, none of the plots were committed.

Law enforcement eventually caught up with the two fugitives. On July 29, 1991, the FBI captured Amuso in Scranton, Pennsylvania and on January 19, 1993 the FBI captured Casso in Mount Olive, New Jersey. Amuso steadfastly refused all offers of cooperation from the government and was convicted on all charges in 1992 and sentenced to life in prison. In contrast, Casso quickly agreed to a deal in March of 1994 and started revealing family secrets. One of the biggest secrets was that Casso had been paying two NYPD detectives, Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa, to provide Casso with sensitive police info and even perform contract killings. In 1998, however, prosecutors tore up the deal after accusing Casso of lying about other mob turncoats and bribing guards, among other things. As a result, the court ordered no leniency for Casso at his sentencing and he was sentenced to 13 consecutive life sentences.

Current Position

Although he had been sentenced to life in prison, Vic Amuso remained the official Boss of the Lucchese Crime Family until 2009 when longtime Acting Boss Steven “Wonderboy” Crea had his parole restrictions removed and was officially promoted to Boss of the Lucchese Crime Family. A February 2004 New York Post article stated that the Lucchese Crime Family consisted of about 9 Capos and 82 soldiers. In March 2009, an article in the New York Post state the Lucchese Family now consisted of approximately 100 made members. The Lucchese Crime Family is believed to be on an upward swing thanks to the leadership of Crea and is still very much involved in organized crime. A 2013 indictment stated members and associates of the Genovese, Lucchese and Gambino crime families control waste disposal businesses by dictating which companies could pick up trash at certain locations and extorting protection payments preventing further extortion from other mobsters.

In June 2013, the New York FBI office reduced the number of agents focused on investigating the Five Families to 36 agents divided into two squads. In the past, the FBI had a separate squad of 1-20 agents investigating each crime family. It is believed that this scaling back of the amount of agents covering organized crime has created an environment that is conducive for the continued growth of all Five Families and that soon enough La Cosa Nostra will once again have a stranglehold on New York City. Only time will tell what will really happen, but the Lucchese Crime Family has reportedly added multiple members to its ranks and is continuing to flourish from the government’s lack of investigations.

 

About the Gambino crime family

January 11, 2016 by admin in

About the Gambino crime family

The city of New York is dominated by ‘Five Families’ of which Gambino crime family is one of them. Between the period of 1910 and 1957 saw this mafia family to be dominated under three bosses. This family had derived its name after the family boss ‘Carlo Gambino’ in 1963, during McClellan hearings. The operation of this group extended right from New York to California’s eastern seaboard. The illicit activities carried out by this group included construction and labor racketeering, loansharking, gambling, money laundering, extortion, prostitution, pier thefts, fencing, hijacking and fraud.

Its history

This mafia family was found after the 1931 Castellammarese War. It remained a minor player for majority of the quarter century in organized crime. Albert Anastasia, its underboss was among its prominent members and soon rose to become the Murder, Inc.  Enforcement arm’s operating head. Even after the smash of Murder, Inc. during the late 1940s, he still remained in power and in 1951, he took over the family after murdering Vincent Mangano, the family founder.

Its rise

It was from the year 1957 that Gambino crime family had become powerful in America for a particular period of time, after Anastasia got assassinated. According to the experts, Carlo Gambino, the underboss of Anastasia, is said to have orchestrated the assassination for becoming its leader. For controlling Cuban gambling interests, Gambino made partnership with Meyer Lansky. Through 1976, the fortunes of the family increased, as Paul Castellano brother-in-law of Gambino was appointed as boss on his death. Presently, it is Frank Cali who heads this family.

Its origins

The mafia history of Gambino crime family could be traced to Manhattan’s D’Aquila gang. An influential emigrant who had come from Palermo, Sicily named Salvatore ‘Toto’ D’Aquila had joined East Harlem’s Morello gang, who were New York’s first Italian gang.  However, with the arrest of Giuseppe Morello and Ignazio ‘Lupo-the-Wolf’, his second in command, the Morello family got weakened. It is then that D’Aquila influenced others to form his very own gang and created an influence network and connections to become New York’s powerful force.

By 1920s, Masseria took over the interest of the Morello family and amassed influence and power by the mid 1920s to rival D’Aquilas. But in late 1920s, both were said to be headed for showdown. Salvatore D’Aquila had been assassinated by Masseria on 10th October 1928, outside his home.

Federal authorities had prosecuted successfully the Gambino family from 2005-2008. Currently, the family boasts of having around 150-200 members and more than 1500 associates.