Our Thing

Marisa Stole the Precious Thing — Thu, 14 May 2009 13:51:44 -0800

The Five Families were established by Charlie "Lucky" Luciano in the wake of the Castellammarese War (1929 - September 10, 1931), a gang war in New York between partisans of Joe "The Boss" Masseria and those of Salvatore Maranzano. The arrangement, under the administration of The Commission, was created to divide the city among the gangs with mutual interests, and prevent the continuous grab for more territory. Of course, the arrangement has been anything but peaceful, and the Five Families have all gone through periods of prosperity and decline. So who are they, and how are they doing now? Genovese - Known as the "Ivy League" of the Five Families, the Genovese crime family can trace its origins back to Sicilian-American street gangs of the early 1900s, but gained establishment under Lucky Luciano. After being sentenced to 30 to 50 years in prison in 1935 (he would be deported in 1946), the family fell under the control of Frank Costello, where it grew in strength through bookmaking, loansharking, illegal gambling and labor racketeering, and also had a prominent role in the development of the Las Vegas casinos, via Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel. Costello suffered from depression and panic attacks, helping to pave the way for his underboss, Vito Genovese to take over. The beginning of the end started when Genovese family soldier Joseph "Joe Cargo" Valachi, at the time in prison and facing the death penalty, testified publicly in 1963 about the existence of the Mafia and its inner workings. His testimony helped the FBI close in, and their efforts were eased by family infighting. Today, the family is run by acting boss Daniel Leo and claims 270 made members, with extensive control over New York, New Jersey, Atlantic City and Florida. It remains the most powerful crime family in America. Gambino - The roots of the Gambino crime family can be traced back to Pellegrino "Don Grino" Morano and Salvatore "Toto" D'Aquila, who took over following the jailing of Morano in 1916, but the Gambino crime family was formally founded by Vincenzo "Vincent" Mangano in the wake of the Castellammarese War. Mangano helped build the family through extortion, union racketeering, and illegal gambling operations including horse betting, running numbers and lotteries, and also created the City Democratic Club, a front for a group of mostly Jewish hitmen for hire known as Murder, Inc. The family reached its peak in the 1970s, becoming the strongest of the Five Familes at the time, having possibly organized the shooting of Joseph Colombo, head of the Colombo crime family, in 1971, as well as control over the Lucchese family and may have influenced the selection of Frank "Funzi" Tieri as boss of the Genovese crime family. Unfortunately for the Gambinos, the FBI considered them the easiest family to infiltrate - putting a listening device in a lamp on then-boss Paul Castellano's kitchen table enabled the feds to amass hours of recordings of Castellano discussing and organizing illegal activities, and the FBI had also tapped numerous phones. This resulted in 13 indictments of drug trafficking in 1983. Shortly thereafter, the media-friendly John Gotti rose to power, but his colorful reign would last barely seven years, as he and current Consigliere Frank "Frankie Loc" LoCascio were convicted and received a sentence of life without parole on April 2, 1992. Today, the family is run by a three-man panel of street bosses consisting of Daniel "Danny" Marino, Giovanni "Johnny" Gambino, and Robert "Bobby" Vernace while top leadership remains in prison. The Gambino crime family now claims 260 made members. Bonanno - Created by Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno, orginally part of the Maranzano family, the Bonanno built itself up on gambling, loan-sharking, and racketeering. While Bonanno himself believed in solidarity and blood alliances, picking most of his crew from the same town of Castellamare del Golfo, Sicily, the family has been embroiled in infighting in the 1950s and 60s between supporters of Gaspar DiGregorio and those loyal to Bonanno. The war - also called The Banana Split - so disgusted The Commission that the family was stripped of its seat and Phillip "Rusty" Rastelli took over in 1973. Three renegade capos - Phillip Giaccone, Alphonse "Sonny Red" Indelicato and Dominick "Big Trin" Trinchera - plotted to overthrow Rastelli, but were murdered by Benjamin "Lefty Guns" Ruggiero and his capo Dominick "Sonny Black" Napolitano. Sonny Black had become friendly with new-comer Donnie Brasco, who was actually FBI agent Joe Pistone. Pistone's story was dramatized in the movie Donnie Brasco. Although times looked bleak for the family, Joseph "Big Joe" Massino, who became boss in 1991, tried to reverse their fortunes by turning their revenue generation towards drug trafficking. It had the opposite effect, in that it brought in the attention of drug task forces on all mob families. Massino would become a police informant, helping along numerous convictions against many if not most made members of the family. Today, Salvatore "Sal the Iron Worker" Montagna is acting boss, taking orders from higher-ups in prison, but now faces deportation. The family claims 150 made members. Colombo - Formerly known as the Profaci family, it was founded by Joe Profaci. The family involved itself in labor rackets, extortion, gambling, hijacking and loan sharking. Profaci faced no serious challenges to his leadership (thanks in part to his close ties to the Bonanno family) until Larry Gallo, Joey Gallo and Albert Gallo, instigated by the Gambino family, kidnapped prominent members of the family including underboss Joseph Magliocco and capo Joe Colombo, demanding changes in profit sharing in return for their release. The Gallo gang would be chipped away by murders and arrests over time. Profaci died of cancer in 1962 and Magliocco rose to power. When Joe Bonanno plotted to murder the heads of the Genovese, Gambino and Lucchese families, Joe Colombo though it was a bad idea, and warned Carlo Gambino and Tommy Lucchese of the plans. In exchange for his loyalty, the Commission named Joe Colombo the new boss of the family. Ironically, Colombo would found the Italian-American Civil Rights League in the early 1970s to defend Italian Americans from what he saw as prejudice at the hands of the law enforcement authorities. Colombo would be gunned down in 1971, and left in a vegetative state. A power struggle ensued, and the family's ill fortunes were exacerbated by the Mafia Commission trial of the mid-1980s. Today, Carmine "Junior" Persico, 76, runs the family from federal prison in North Carolina. The family has been greatly weakened and 91 year-old family Underboss John "Sonny" Franzese, released from prison late last year, along with acting boss Thomas Gioeli and captain Dino Calabro all face trials this year, and could be looking at life imprisonment if convicted. Lucchese - The Lucchese crime family started during the First World War under Gaetano "Tom" Reina, who controlled ice distribution in New York. In the 1920s, Reina became an ally of Joseph Masseria. Reina considered switching over to Maranzano, and when news of his planned betrayal reached Masseria, he had Reina killed. This enraged Reina lieutenant Gaetano "Tommy" Gagliano and Gaetano "Tommy" Lucchese, who defected to Maranzano. Lucchese would become head of the Reina crime family after the Castellammarese War. From there, the family built themselves on labor and construction racketeering, illegal gambling, loansharking, extortion, drug trafficking, money laundering, hijacking, fraud, fencing and murder for hire. Lucchese himself became involved with the Teamster's Union as well as racketeering around New York's Idlewild Airport (known today as JFK Airport). Amazingly, Lucchese spent 44 years in organized crime without a single conviction, dying of heart failure in 1967. The family was then taken over by Carmine "Gribbs" Tramunti, who spearheaded a massive East Coast heroin distribution network known as the French Connection. When Tramunti was convicted in 1974, Anthony "Tony Ducks" Corallo - a close associate of Jimmy Hoffa - took over and involved himself further in union activities. The 1980s were a tumultuous period for the family. In 1986, Vittorio "Vic" Amuso and Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso, seized control of the Lucchese family. When the two demanded their New Jersey faction pay 50% tribute, the faction refused, prompting the bosses to order their New York crew to "whack Jersey". This resulted in an internal war that claimed many lives, but also a number of botched hits, with many turning informant to protect their own lives. In April 2006, it was revealed that two respected New York City police detectives were also working as hired hitmen and informants for Anthony Casso during the 1980s and early 1990s before they both retired from local law enforcement. Vittorio "Vic" Amuso, 73, remains the official Boss of the Lucchese crime family despite serving a life sentence. A three man ruling panel, Joseph "Joey Dee" DiNapoli, 71, Aniello "Neil" Migliore, 73, and Matthew Madonna, 72, has been running the family for the past few years. They currently have 100 made members.

James Ellroy's Crib Sheet

Bookhouse — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 09:42:35 -0800

Real L.A. Noir. (Video/audio auto-plays). Los Angeles Times reporter Paul Lieberman has been chronicling the era of the LAPD Gangster Squad, a secret division of the department that tried to combat the mobs of Jack Dragna and Mickey Cohen in the 1940s and '50s. (Keep the cast of characters straight with this handy chart.)

Feudal Crime Lords of Japan

absalom — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:45:08 -0800

Among industrialized nations, Japan has a pretty low rate of violent crime, a relatively high number of police, and a virtually non-existent acquittal rate. Yet, somehow the Yakuza persists.

Pronounced en-drang-ay-ta

Bookhouse — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 12:40:11 -0800

"The ‘Ndrangheta cannot be beheaded.” Organized crime is Italy's biggest industry. Most people are more familiar with the Sicilian Mafia or maybe even the Neopolitan Camorra, but it's the Calabrian 'Ndranghta (very in-depth article) that has police around the world worried now, especially after they were blamed for a six-person murder in Germany this summer. More: The FBI's page on Italian organized crime A short piece on the 'Ndrangheta with some interesting links to chase A current news story about 'Nrdrangheta arrests netting a town's mayor.

Robert Harrison and Confidential

mediareport — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 21:13:41 -0800

The Hollywood moguls were appalled...Hitherto, Tinseltown had the police and politicians in its capacious pocket, yet here, landing like a ton of hot manure, was this crummy magazine from the east coast. A sharp look from British Journalism Review at the career of Robert Harrison, whose 1952 magazine Confidential single-handedly "opened the floodgates of tell-all sleaze." Seems Harrison branched out from publishing a long string of 1940s girlie mags after being inspired by the Estes Kefauver organized crime hearings that gripped early TV audiences in the U.S.A.

Police confuse Canadians with Batman.

Coop — Sat, 21 Aug 2004 14:47:50 -0800

Organized crime growing in Canada, police chiefs ask for public to help Police chiefs in Canada seem to confuse Canadians with Batman. Who do we take on first? The Hell's Angels, the Mafia, or the Asian gangs. So many gangs, so few Batgadgets.

GangRule - organized crime in NYC and in Boston

madamjujujive — Tue, 24 Jun 2003 05:29:10 -0800

GangRule - the history of organized crime in New York City. A growing database of photos, biographies, newspaper clippings and family trees from 1890 on. And for the godfather trackers among us, there's also Boston Mafia, which includes the history of a notorious contemporary fugitive, lately in the news via testimony from his brother, Billy Bulger.

dhartung — Sat, 16 Jun 2001 09:10:44 -0800

The Maltesos. Well, there's no Webistics, and Big Pussy hasn't turned up floating down the Fox River, but here's your modern American mob family, suburban style. Betty Loren-Maltese, longtime mayor of the Town of Cicero, which abuts Chicago's West Side, has been indicted for looting the town's health insurance system to the tune of at least $10 million. The US Attorney says it is the largest dollar amount in any single organized crime investigation. [more inside]

tomplus2 — Thu, 03 May 2001 07:36:09 -0800

John Salvati: not funny. Man imprissoned for 30 YEARS, known to be innocent by FBI, FBI kept him there b/c if the real perp was caught, dozens of informants would have been revealed. 30 years, gone, makes me sick feeling. There will be more news on this soon, I hope.

aflakete — Mon, 08 Jan 2001 01:41:41 -0800

High-tech world mafias breeze past borders. This is a good introduction to a disturbing and daunting problem that touches on many issues: online privacy, bureaucratic inertia, the widening gap between rich and poor, and the future of immigration policy. In the underworld, dealing drugs is day-trading while dealing humans is blue chip investing.