The naming of families

Something i was always curious about was the naming of crime families. I never understood why Genovese family was named such , and not "Luciano". He was the original creator of that particular family anyway , right?

Also , the provaci family changing to colombo , i mean , i wonder if there are guys who were loyal to provaci but then all of a sudden their family name gets changed to another gangsters name. Anybody know of any confrontation that arose out of stuff like that? Also , do you think that sooner or later the traditional family names are going to change again?

I heard that when the FBI was first making charts of the families, the family would be named after the current boss.

This. I don't really see the point in changing the names as the've been known like that for more than 50 years, but during the 90s the Bonanno family nearly got changed to the Massino family.

Courtesy of the FBI.

Most guys up to the 80's (some well beyond) had no idea they were a 'Columbo' or a 'Genovese'.

The five names mean more to us than them. Up until not so long ago.

Think it was little Robert when copping a plea said not that long ago "Nobody ever told me I was a Bonanno".

This in the 2000's.

It was in front of the Valachi Senate Hearings in 1963, the feds first named the Families. The feds named the Families after the current bosses at the time (Gambino, Bonanno, Lucchese, Genovese and Magliocco). When Magliocco died in late 1963, newspapermen and the media (with help from confidential FBI reports they apparently had access to) renamed the Magliocco Family to Colombo Family.

Just a thought...what boss would name a secret organisation/Family after him???

Originally Posted By: SonnyBlackstein

Think it was little Robert when copping a plea said not that long ago "Nobody ever told me I was a Bonanno".

This in the 2000's.

I remember this.
It did surprise me to read something like that being said in today's OC.

I think pretty much any boss. These guys have big ego's.

So before 63, guys just referred to what Boss they were under? For example, did people say they were a Luciano guy until Costello became boss, after which they said they are with Costello? It seems rather inconvenient not to not know/have a name for your gang.

Well cosnidering that the mafia is basically neo-fuedalism, they were probably less concerned with the names of the person or persons at the top.

I imagine it was a more immediate thing. Like you were "with" the guy who had seniority, and he was with his crew, who were with the capo all the way up the line. I mean they prolly had some idea there were five families and what territory certain crews held and the like.

But look at the Genoveses today. Alot of them don't really know what the fuck is going on within their own family. I figure it was alot like that before the media got interested in LCN.

Joey Massino. Interesting plan considering all the other measures he implemented to insulate himself.

During the Valachi and McClellan hearings they used the names of the current bosses. IIRC.

The FBI set the Families names in stone during the Valachi hearings, with the exception of the Colombo family, at the time Magliocco was the boss, but the FBI had illegal wiretaps and found out that Joe Colombo had became the boss of that family.

Most made guys did not know what family they belong to only by saying who they were with, like they are with the West Side (Genovese), the Bronx(Lucchese), Mulberry Street (Gambino), Williamsburg(Bonanno)