Mafia crews and ranks.

Hey there!I would like if someone would explain me a mafia structure,what which rank do and his part in mafia.How does mafia crew works?Do they have headquarter or something where they meet each other?



Thanks.

boss- head of the family
underboss- 2nd in command. If boss is killed/sick he takes over. Many capos report to him and he then reports to the boss.
consigliere- advisor to the boss. He gives the boss advice and interacts with other families
capo- Control a crew of soldiers/associates that make money for the family
soldier- lowest rank for made men that report to the capo
associate- men that aren't made yet ther could also be associates of different nationalities

Like crusher said, and they used to have plenty of social clubs and bars where they met and conducted business. There arent many left today, i dont know if they meet these days.

According to the old mafia tradition, a leader of a mafia family was originally called rappresentante, capo or padre. Today the leader is simply called the boss.
The boss is the highest level of a mafia family.
Beneath the boss is the underboss, or sotto capo (according to the old tradition), the boss´s second in command.
This position is appointed by the boss and can be removed by him at will.
The third highest level of a mafia family is of the consigliere. According to the old tradition, this position is held by a selected member by all the members of the family.
And then there´s the crewleaders, today called captains or skippers. The captains supervises a number of men that are called soldiers. They are divided into seperate crews. This is the lowest rank in a mafia family.
The captains were originally called capodecina (head of ten), but the number of soldiers in a crew varies.
All captains are appointed by the boss. And depending on the size of the family, the number of captains could be everything from 12 to 24.
In New York, the two largest families (Gambino and Genovese) has close to, or more than, 20 capos, while the smaller families has probably 12 or 13.

According to Bill Bonanno, in the old days, a family´s administration was made up by its boss, its consigliere and a number of captains. Today, I believe, the administration of a family is made up by the boss, underboss and the consigliere.
However, the most common leadership structure today is actually a panel or a ruling committee consisting of a number of high ranking members who runs a family in consensus. Maybe becuse to make it harder for the authorities to recognize the leadership.

Does this sound confusing? If it does, me and other posters on this forum can surely help you out with additional questions.

Welcome aboard!

Of course, this traditional hierarchy is becoming less common. Looking at the families that remain, you see a lot more acting bosses and ruling panels than the usual boss-underboss- consigliere set up. And in the smaller families outside New York, it's becoming even less hierarchical.

From what I gather, the remnants of Cleveland don't have a hierarchy at all. It's a "horizontally structured" network, with maybe Pappalardo being kind of "first among equals" rather than a full-blown boss.

Heck, when you have only a handful of guys left, it's impossible to have all those ranks. You're a "glorified crew."

It's cool that a Italian-American crime family is still around in the area, though remnants is nothing more than it'll ever be. I've definitely had a big interest in Pappalardo's remaining crew though

Thanks for your warm welcome,and your good questions.But they seems to be a little bit sternly described,because i'm searching for more,if you understand me.So is there any book that would help me?

Don´t know what time era you are most interested in.
But Bill Bonanno´s new book (released two months ago) "the Last Testament" is a very interesting read about the old times.
Among other things, he describes the structure of a crime family as it once was.
And he should know. He was the son of Joseph Bonanno, the powerful New York boss who headed the Bonanno Family from 1931 to 1968. Bill funcioned as a soldier, captain and breifly as a consigliere in the 50s and 60s.
The book gives a great info on the foundation of the mafia you might find valuable and provides a stepping stone for further researching into the today´s mafia.

I'm interested in todays mafia,and her business.Can you give something about that,her structure and which position do which business?Anyway,thanks for everything,appreciate that.

Accurate info on today´s mafia is very hard to come by.
It´s hard finding out exactly who all the main players are and what their businesses is.
There are no FBI documents circulating the internet that deals with the freshest info about the today´s mafia. And Wikipedia is not a reliable source.
We simply have to rely on what prosecutors say when they are making a case. And what turncoats and other informants have said. And sometimes their info stinks too.

May I suggest that you take a look at Mukremin´s excellent made mafia membercharts, posted at the top of this forum´s threadlist?
Here you will find the names of mafiamembers that are known to the authorities. Google them. You will find info on these guys. Not always accurate, but at least you will have the oppotunity to form your own opinion about them and what businesses they were/are involved with.

It will fade away completely over the next decade or two. The only reason it's still around is that the handful of guys that are left aren't that old by Mafia standards.

Wiseguy: I don't think Cleveland even qualifies as a "glorified crew" anymore really. "Crew" makes it sound like they are cohesive unit that regularly works together. I'm not sure what one should call the Cleveland leftovers. A "ghost", maybe?

Yeah, it's still there (sort of), but I doubt for too much longer.

Is there any book that'll explain me structure in detailed way?Also that would explain me their business,like loansharking and stuffs like that?How people getting made,is there connection between boss and soldiers,or boss and associates?

You can buy the book A complete Idiots guide to the Mafia by Capeci, its a good start. And of course the legendary Five Famillies book by Raab.

There is plenty of information about that throughout this forum. Just do some searches.
The poster Turnbull has a great post on various mob myths and realities here.

The books "The Way of the Wiseguy" by former FBI agent Joe Pistone and "The Idiot's Guide to the Mafia" by mob expert Jerry Capeci have lots of useful information laid out in easy to comprehend language.

But basically those books just expand on what other posters have already written
Boss> Underboss>Counselor>Captain>Soldier>Associate

Money flows upwards to the boss and fear/discipline flows downward from him.
That's the general rule though like with anything else in life, there are exceptions.

Does crew have a place where its working,a territory?And i'm interested in one more thing..Capo is deciding how much soldiers need to give him money weekly,monthly?

The Boss sets the rules for how much money and how frequently people reporting to him have to give. Everyone below that can set their own rules for their direct reports. So it all depends on how greedy/desperate a particular boss/captain/soldier is, what is the risk of squeezing someone too hard for money, and how good an earner someone is. Generally speaking nobody has much use for excuses. You earn or you're out.

The Boss may tell his captains he want 50% of their take each month and a Christmas gift each year. The captains may tell their crew they want 60% of their take- trying to make up the boss' cut out of someone else's hide. Everyone lies, cheats and hides so there is no perfect accounting. The smarter and more experienced a criminal is the better he's able to estimate what a given score/racket should bring in.

Crew members can have physical locations, business monopolies and obviously are always on the lookout for new business opportunities. They may move around. Someone from NY may have Florida or California ties; he may vacation in the Bahamas and start a new racket there. They're always on the make.

Usually unless you're related to someone important or for some reason are being groomed for higher responsibilities, no one is going to just give you a business when you start out. You have to get out there and hustle like everyone else and use the skills you have to earn enough money to your crew chief.

The geographical areas of crews varies. A captain can have a small, tight knit crew who are all headquarted in the same neighborhood but if it´s a large crew, the soldiers can be scattered throughout different neighborhoods.
For example, Toddo Aurello´s crew consisted of guys from Brooklyn and from the state of New Jersey.
Further on, Lilo Galante´s crew consisted of guys in New York, New Jersey and Canada! So it varies a lot.
It´s not unusual that crewmembers, for various reasons, change crews and end up under a different captain during the course of time. Mostly because when a captain passes away, the soldiers who was under him are asked by the consigliere if they want to be under the newly appointed captain. Of course, most of them says yes but the asking is a procedure of conduct on the consigliere´s behalf. All according to the rules.

When it comes to kicking up money, I think there is no standard rate. It´s an arrangement between the captain and the soldier, an arrangement that is worked out in a way that suits them both. A soldier can be a very good earner, so he will kick up more money than a soldier who is not that active. Maybe the less active one has less business interests or he´s getting on in years. There are lot of soldiers that are 70, 80 and even 90 years old today.

Just out of curiosity, who in Toddo's crew is based in NJ? Hairy, I suspect you have a whole list of all his crew members. Care to share. Hehe...Cheers.

No problem.

According to Sammy Gravano, two of the New Jersey based members of Aurello crew were Joey "Pal" Farinella and Nicky Russo (died in 1985).
Off the top of my head, they were both involved (I can´t remember the details now) with Gravano in the killing of John Simone, a Philly captain who challenged Scarfo for leadership in the Philly mafia. If I´m not mistaken, both Farinella and Russo set Simone up.

Here´s a list of other Aurello crew members. Please keep in mind that this list is far from being complete. There could have been others too but these guys are the ones I know of.

Frankie "the Wop" Gagliardi (died in 1982),
Frank Rizzo (possibly a member of this crew),
Joseph "Boozey" DeCicco,
John Rizzo Sr (died in 1988),
Sammy Gravano (became an acting capo in 1984??, capo in 1985, acting consigliere in 1987),
Charles Aurello,
Louie Milito (murdered in 1988),
Joseph Bilotti (became a member of this crew after the murder of his brother Tommy).

In 1986, Gravano made "Big" Lou Vallario (who inherited the crew after Gravano) and Joe "the old man" Paruta (who died of cancer just days after being made).
I believe Tommy "Huck" Carbonaro also got made sometime around 1986.
Frankie "Fapp" Fappiano and Eddie Garofalo were probably made into this crew in the second half of the 80s.

Aham.And does boss put himself in direct contact with the soldiers of his capos crew or...?

Well...humm tough question.
I think a boss do socialize with soldiers, but I don´t think the soldiers are allowed to talk business directly with the boss. Actually, a soldier is not allowed to talk to the boss if not being addressed. That is, if they are not very close or related to eachother.
All business goes via the captain, consiglere and the underboss.

Aham.And Underbosses and COnsiglieres connection with others?






(Thanks for being patient with me,i really appreciate that.)

It´s often the consigliere of a family that settles beefs, or mediates disputes among the members. At least that was the case in the past. So he had to stay in contact with all members of the family.
The Underboss? I guess it depends on how big a family is. In the smaller ones, I think he is in contact with the soldiers a lot. But that is not the case when it comes to the bigger families with 100-250 members. The underboss (just like the boss) do take measures to shield himself from potential future mafia witnesses and informers. Especially nowadays.
The real power in a family is in the captains and above.
And I believe that some of the captains frequently meets with the underboss and the boss.

Aham.Another question!


What about associates?Do they hang together with crew they are about to get into,or?

EDIT:And what consigliere and underboss usually do when they interact with soldiers,i mean what to they usually talk 'bout?Soldier talks him 'bout complains or reporting him how crew works?

Joseph "Boozey" DeCicco? Isn't he uncle of the Decicco brothers? (i.e. Frank and George)

And, "Frankie the Wop" was mentioned in Goodfellas. One of the guys who hung out at the Bamboo Lounge.

Very interesting. Thank you for sharing, Hairy!

I think that was supposed to be Frankie "the wop" Manzo from the Luccheses.

Boozey and George were brothers. Frank was the son of Boozey.

I guess most of the conversations revolves around money.
A soldier usually needs permission from his captain before entering into any business venture. He always keeps his captain updated about his business and wherabouts. Even if the soldier wants to go away on vaccation a couple of days, he have to ask permission from his captain. The captain needs to know where to reach out for him if he´s needed for anything.

The consigliere settles beefs and disputes. So he listens to the parties both sides and make out a ruling.
The beefs usually concerns money, cheating, loans, settlements of business interests and such things.
But a beef could also be about some abuse or failing of showing proper respect.

If you are interested in all this, I would recomend (and I think Mukremin also recomended) Jerry Capeci´s book "The Complete Idiot´s Guide To The Mafia". It´s an interesting read.

REFRESH =).

Here's a few more questions!

1.What if made guy doesen't pay his Captain weekly?I mean,if he doesen't pay on time...
2.Does Capo decide how much they're going to pay?
3.Do associates hang with crew and captains and do they get involve in mafia business,killing and paying tribute to Capo?
4.When associate needs to kill a man to get his bones made,does he kill a man he knows,a man that mob contracted (that betrayed them) or some random man?

Hi. Did you get those books that people mentioned in this thread? They go into a lot of that. Turnbull also wrote a lot on the subjects you mention. The answer to all your questions is 'it depends".

1) Not paying agreed upon tribute on time and in full amount is a very bad idea. A made man may just be in captain's bad books for a while, he may have to go to loan sharks and get deeper in debt, he may get tasks/assignments that are degrading, he may be treated with disrespect by captain and other ranking members, he may be subjected to physical/verbal abuse, he may be killed. It all depends on the whims and needs of the captain and the boss and who else that particular soldier is connected to. Usually killing someone for something like that is the very last straw-if you're working for a reasonable captain.

2) Each captain sets his own rules for each member of his crew.

3) There is a very wide range of power, age and wealth in "associates". Some theoretically have as much or more power than some made members; others are pathetic wannabees. Some associates have their own crews of criminals to run; others are gofers for made members. Some report to captains; others report to soldiers or even other associates.

4) It is not really a requirement any more to kill to be formally inducted. But if that is part of the desire of that particular family, there is no telling who the associate may be asked to assist in killing.

Thanks Lilo.I'm not capable to buy it now,but i'll buy it for a few weeks.



And,does soldier run his own business?Does he get racket from Capo to run,or he has to racketeer his own business that he want?Does crew work together,and does made guys into that crew know each other?

Sorry for double post.I'd like if someone would answer my question above.



Why is so important that made guy needs to pay his tribute?What will that secure him?Why he would want to to that?Is there benefit for him?

The Mafia structure is a pyramid scheme. You extort those below you and are extorted by those above you. Ideally you move up over time and become more of an extorter and less of an extortee. If a made man refuses to pay tribute, as discussed, ultimately over time that won't end well for him.

The benefit to the made man is not as much as it was in the past. Theoretically you get the deference and fear from other underworld members as well as non-criminals who understand that you are a paid-in-full member of a national organization that has no problem killing them should they give you problems.You can walk into a business and announce that you're the new partner or settle disputes between non-made associates to your benefit. As one member once put it ,"..as a wiseguy you can lie, you can cheat, you can steal, you can kill people - legitimately. You can do any g****** thing you want and nobody can say anything about it. Who wouldn't want to be a wiseguy?"

With much improved law enforcement techniques, other criminal groups and snitches seemingly everywhere this is not as big of a selling point as it used to be but evidently some people (mostly stupid imo) still seem to want to join up. That seems to be their perception of the benefits.

Good post, Lilo.

Ditto on that.

Aham.

And who give rackets to made members?Or when they become made they can by themselves racketeer?Does underboss racketeer?Or how it goes?Owner of business needs to give a made guy percentage of his money that he earned weekly?

It´s for the soldier to decide how to make his money. He´s the one who has to come up with schemes and deals to make money.
A boss can put a soldier in a certain racket/business to take care of it for him. All profit, basically, will be haanded to the boss.
Most soldiers have their own racket/business. But this profit will be shared with the captain (if it´s an illegal business).
Keep in mind Daco, that profits and money always goes upward. Never downward.
When a soldier dies, his illegal business will be taken over by the Mafia. Loansharking debts for example, automatically will be seized by his Mafia friends.
However, if a soldier who dies, owned a fully legit business, this business will be inherited by his immediate family (that is his relatives).

+1

Thanks, all.

Aham.Now i get it.And,when associates,soldiers and capos pay their tribute that money is going to the boss.But where is he investing that money to?I know that boss invests it in other business,but does he invest in crews or something like that?

REFRESH:

Please answer me on this question below,and i have one more.


When they started making 5 families,how did they organised themselves?Did family had only made members on beginning?

Most crime historians who have researched this topic agree that the Genovese family started with Joe Masseria in the early 1920s. He was successful in linking to him elements from the Neapolitan and Calabrese gangs.
Different sections of New York had different ethnic compilations. Not only between the Irish, Jews, Poles, etc., but also between different Italian immigrants. I´m sure that a native New Yorker, who´s a member of this forum, can explain this better than me.
Bonanno family was originally composed of immigrants who originated from Castellammare del Golfo, and who had settled mainly in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, but also in Manhattan's Lower East Side. There are hints that this family was active already at the beginning of the century. That is already around 1900-1905. The leaders had simply transferred their traditions across the Atlantic, with the immigration.
Tata D'Aquila led a third family already around 1910. This family was mainly composed of men from the Palermo area, and later became the Gambino family. D'Aquila was the capo di tutti capi until he was killed in 1928.
It seems that Profaci formed his Mafia family in Brooklyn sometime in the mid 1920's. It seems that he had his top position in the Mafia confirmed during the Cleveland meeting that got broken up by the police in 1928. But who really knows?
Another interesting thing with the Profaci family is that it was largely composed of men from the small coastal town of Villabate, just east of Palermo.
The fifth family had its own territory in the Bronx and East Harlem. It was led by Gaetano "Tommy" Reina who was murdered in 1930.
It is not possible with certainty to determine how this family was formed, although there are some suggestions saying that it was an off shoot from the Morello gang. No one can tell for sure. This family was mainly composed of men from the brutal Sicilian town of Corleone.
There were members from Palermo in all these families.
If we ignore the Masseria gang, mainland Italians began to become members of the Mafia later in the 1930s, although there were exceptions. For example, Albert Anastasia (who was Calabrese, had a leading position in the Mafia already around 1930)