Maranzano reorganized the Italian American gangs in New York City into the Maranzano, Profaci, Mangano, Luciano, and Gagliano families, which are now known as the
Bonanno,
Colombo,
Gambino,
Genovese, and
Lucchese families. Each family had a demarcated territory and an organizationally structured hierarchy and reported to the same overarching governing entity. Initially, Maranzano intended each family's boss to report to him as the capo dei capi ("boss of all the bosses").
However, this led to his assassination that September, and that role was abolished for
the Commission, a ruling committee established by
Lucky Luciano to oversee all Mafia activities in the United States and to mediate conflicts between families. It consisted of the bosses of the Five Families as well as the bosses of the
Chicago Outfit and the
Buffalo crime family. In 1963,
Joseph Valachi publicly disclosed the existence of New York City's Five Families at the
Valachi hearings. Since then, a few other crime families have been able to become powerful or notable enough to rise to a level comparable to that of the Five Families, holding or sharing the unofficial designation of
Sixth Family.
The
Castellammarese War was between the forces of Masseria and Maranzano.[4] Underneath, however, there was also a generational conflict between the old guard Sicilian leadership – known as the "
Mustache Petes" for their long mustaches and old-world ways, such as refusing to do business with non-Italians – and the "Young Turks", a younger and more diverse Italian group who were more forward-thinking and willing to work more with non-Italians. This approach led his followers to question whether Masseria was even capable of making the Mafia prosper in modern times. Led by Luciano, the aim of this group was to end the war as soon as possible in order to resume their businesses, because they viewed the conflict as unnecessary. Luciano's objective was to modernize the mob and do away with unnecessary orthodox norms.[5] This was a vision that enabled him to attract followers, who had seen the inadequacies of Masseria's traditionalist leadership. Therefore, both factions were fluid, with many mobsters switching sides or killing their own allies during the war.[6][7] Tensions between the Maranzano and Masseria factions were evident as far back as 1928, with one side frequently
hijacking the other's alcohol trucks (alcohol production was then illegal in the United States due to
Prohibition).
In early 1931, Luciano made the decision to take out Masseria. The war had been going poorly for Masseria, and Luciano saw an opportunity to switch allegiance. In a secret deal with Maranzano, Luciano agreed to engineer Masseria's death in return for receiving Masseria's
rackets and becoming Maranzano's second-in-command.[8]Joe Adonis had joined the Masseria faction and when Masseria heard about Luciano's betrayal, he approached Adonis about killing Luciano. However, Adonis instead warned Luciano about the murder plot.[9] On April 15, 1931, Masseria was killed at Nuova Villa Tammaro, a
Coney Island restaurant in
Brooklyn. While they played cards, Luciano allegedly excused himself to the bathroom, with the gunmen reportedly being Anastasia, Genovese, Adonis, and
Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel;[10]Ciro "The Artichoke King" Terranova drove the getaway car, but legend has it that he was too shaken up to drive away and had to be shoved out of the driver's seat by Siegel.[11][12] With Maranzano's blessing, Luciano took over Masseria's gang and became Maranzano's lieutenant, ending the Castellammarese War.[8]
The Five Families' formation
With Masseria gone, Maranzano reorganized the Italian American gangs in New York City into the Five Families headed by Luciano,
Profaci,
Gagliano,
Mangano, and himself. Maranzano called a meeting of crime bosses in
Wappingers Falls, New York,[when?] where he declared himself capo di tutti i capi ("boss of all bosses").[8] Maranzano also whittled down the rival families' rackets in favor of his own. Luciano appeared to accept these changes, but was merely biding his time before removing Maranzano.[13] Although Maranzano was slightly more forward-thinking than Masseria, Luciano had come to believe that Maranzano was even greedier and more hidebound than Masseria had been.[8]
By September 1931, Maranzano realized Luciano was a threat, and hired
Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll, an Irish gangster, to kill him.[8] However, Lucchese alerted Luciano that he was marked for death.[8] On September 10, 1931, Maranzano ordered Luciano, Genovese, and Costello to come to his office at the
230 Park Avenue in
Manhattan. Convinced that Maranzano planned to murder them, Luciano decided to act first.[14] He sent four Jewish gangsters to Maranzano's office whose faces were unknown to Maranzano's people. They had been secured with the aid of
Jewish mobstersMeyer Lansky and
Bugsy Siegel.[15] Disguised as government agents, two of the gangsters disarmed Maranzano's bodyguards. The other two, aided by Lucchese, who was there to point Maranzano out, stabbed the boss multiple times before shooting him.[16][17] This assassination was the first of what would later be fabled as the "Night of the
Sicilian Vespers".[16]
The Commission's formation
After Maranzano's murder in 1931, Luciano called a meeting in
Chicago.[18][19][20] Although there would have been few objections had Luciano declared himself capo di tutti i capi, he abolished the title, believing the position created trouble among the families and would make himself a target for another ambitious challenger.[21] Luciano's goals with
the Commission were to quietly maintain his own power over all the families, and to prevent future gang wars; the bosses approved the idea of the Commission.[19] The Commission would consist of a "
board of directors" to oversee all Mafia activities in the United States and serve to mediate conflicts between families.[19][22]
The five Mafia families in New York City are still active, albeit less powerful. The peak of the Mafia in the United States was during the 1940s, and the 1950s, until the year 1970 when the
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO Act) was enacted.[23] The specific reason for the RICO Act was to stop the mafia and
organized crime as a whole. The act was effective, and led to a large portion of the members who were arrested turning into informants.[24] This effect compounded over time.[25]
The Bath Avenue Crew operated in the
Bensonhurst section of
Brooklyn, New York City
The Colombo crime family operates mainly in Brooklyn,
Queens, and Long Island. The family also maintains influence in
Staten Island, Manhattan, The Bronx, New Jersey,
Georgia, and Florida.
The Gambino crime family operates mainly in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island, and Long Island. The family also maintains influence in The Bronx, New Jersey, Westchester County,
Connecticut, Florida, and
Los Angeles.
The Staten Island Boys operate mainly in Staten Island under few other sub-groups.[29]
The Annadale-Rossville Boys
Great Kills Crew
North Staten Island Crew
The Genovese crime family operates mainly in Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, and New Jersey. The family also maintains influence in Queens, Staten Island, Long Island, Westchester County, Rockland County, Connecticut,
Massachusetts, and Florida.
The Lucchese crime family operates mainly in The Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and New Jersey. The family also maintains influence in Queens, Long Island, Staten Island, Westchester County, and Florida.
Cutaia Crew operates in Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island.
1931–1968 –
Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno – on October 21, 1964, Bonanno disappeared; forcibly replaced as boss by the commission;[31] crime family split into two factions; in May 1966, Bonanno reappeared after two years; officially retires after a heart attack in 1968
Disputed 1964–1966 –
Gaspar "Gasparino" DiGregorio – installed when Bonanno disappeared and later forcibly replaced by the Commission[31]
Acting 1966–1968 –
Paul Sciacca[32] – for the DiGregorio faction
Acting 2013–2014 – Thomas "Tommy D" DiFiore[40] – arrested on January 23, 2014
Acting 2014–2015 – John "Johnny Skyway" Palazzolo – arrested on March 27, 2015, for violating parole[41]
Acting 2015–2019 – Joseph "Joe C" Cammarano Jr.[42] – indicted on racketeering and extortion charges on January 12, 2018, acquitted March 13, 2019[43][44][45][46]
1910–1928 –
Salvatore "Toto" D'Aquila – took over the Brooklyn Camorra in 1916 and merged with Al Mineo's gang forming the largest family in New York. He was killed on orders of boss
Joe Masseria in 1928.[72]
^Marc., Mappen (2013). Prohibition gangsters : the rise and fall of a bad generation. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press.
ISBN978-0813561158.
OCLC852899302.
^Pollak, Michael (June 29, 2012).
"Coney Island's Big Hit". The New York Times.
Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved October 31, 2012.