Who currently head up the Five Families?

December 2, 2021. We're headed into a brand new year within days. My question to everyone is, who currently heads up the Five Families, and for that matter, who heads up New Jersey's DeCavalcante crew?

Boss
Underboss
Consigliere

for each?

Such a rat post lol. Nothing you do surprises me at this point. I can't wait for you tell these people who answer you that they're wrong and that you know first hand the names of the guys who fill up these positions lol

LOL. There you are! I was wondering under what rock or in what sewer you were hiding in. I gotta say that it's been so nice and "quiet" and "civil' on this forum since you, Colonel Reb, and Louie haven't been posting. But alas your back. Nothing good lasts forever I guess.

Now I will proceed to completely ignore your future posts and only interact with others who act civil as Lisa and I do. Bye-Bye

As I stated up top in my original post, if anyone had an opinion on the subject I posted, please contribute.

I didn't think there was a lot of ambiguity around this these days. Seems like Barney is pretty solid with the West Side and Mikey Nose is coming up on a decade's tenure so they're both pretty entrenched. DeSantis/Dellorusso are newer but seem to be solid in the top two spots for the Lukes.

Only with the Gambino's and Colombo's is there, I think, a degree of uncertainty. It seems to have been assumed that Mannino is the new number one for the Gambino's although I know there has been some debate that Cefalu is playing a bigger role there than is perhaps let on. Gambinos are quite fascinating there, maybe the most fascinating family these days, because it seems a lot less clear than it used to be who's running the place. For all we know it could even be a panel.

Colombo's are a total shit show and quite frankly, who cares?

I have to agree with your assessment. Nothing is certain (of course), but the Gambino's are very interesting because of that "Sicilian faction" dynamic that seems to have garnered strength and "position" over the last decade or two.

As for the rest, it's a sliding and slippery slope at best at the helm of each of these crews. The West Side being a possible exception although over the years, despite their "Rolls Royce" moniker, they too have also been whacked hard. Bosses, UB's, Consiglieres, capos, etc etc. Its a never ending "rolling" indictment.

I think cosa nostra is now more loosely affiliated, the pyramid with a boss at top is a thing of the past.

How come we only point out their failures and not their successes. Before Francesco Cali was killed by that looneybird, he had only ever served but a couple years at most in his entire Mafia career. Liborio Bellomo has been free and running the Genovese Family for almost a decade and a half now. Colombo soldier Nicholas Rizzo wasn't ever arrested until he was in his 80s. I think jackasses like Gotti, Scarfo, Amuso, Casso, and Persico are still fresh on everyone's minds, but keep in mind that those guys hung themselves. You don't even need RICO for guys like that, it's like shooting ducks in a pond.

Hollander I think the Families are more or less run by commitees, it confuses the hell out of law enforcement.

I agree it also means less politics and powerplays.

BONANNO
BOSS-MICHAEL MANCUSO
UB-JOHN SPIRITO SR./THOMAS DEFIORE
SB-JOHN PALAZZOLO
CONS-after it was revealed during cammarano trial that this position had become a musical chair who really knows?last known was john zancocchio(shelved).

COLOMBO
AB-WILLIAM RUSSO/SALVATORE CASTAGNO
-after the arrest of entire admin would be my only 2 guesses maybe ralph lombardo,joel cacace.

GAMBINO
BOSS-DOMENICO CEFALU
UB-LORENZO MANNINO
CONS-MICHAEL PARADISO
-would be the ny family with the closest allies in sicily.

GENOVESE
BOSS-LIBORIO BELLOMO
UB-ERNEST MUSCARELLA
SB-MICHAEL RAGUSA
-these 3 would be decision makers not sure if family uses the consigliere position has several senior members:dominick cirillo,daniel leo,charles tuzzo.

LUCCHESE
AB-MICHAEL DESANTIS
UB-PATRICK DELLORUSSO
CONS-ANDREW DESIMONE

DECAVALCANTE
BOSS-CHARLES MAJURI
UB-PHILIP ABRAMO/LOUIS CONSALVO
CONS-FRANK NIGRO/JOSEPH MIRANDA

My bet is that Johnny Joe runs the Bonannos. He's probably the UB (officially) but where he goes the family goes. The same situation is probably happening with Lorenzo and the Gambinos. These titles are beginning to mean less and less

I think Vito's list above is likely the most comprehensive and accurate; as far as anyone not in that life could possible know.

Who heads up the New Jersey crew in each of the Five Families?

Thanks to Pogo the Clown from BH forum.

Genovese

Joseph "Joe D" Dente Jr
Stephen “Beech” DePiro
Silvio DeVita

Gambino

Vincent “Jimmy Balls” Beltempo
Louis “Bo” Filippelli - New Jersey and Queens

Bonanno

Louis "Big/Fat/Louie the Leg-Breaker" Civello Sr

Lucchese

George "Georgie Neck" Zappola/Joseph R. Perna (Acting)

Colombo

??????

If John Palazzolo remains the Bonanno acting boss it's possible he's the official underboss too. Mancuso made Cammarano the official underboss after the family elected him acting boss in 2015, so it's possible Palazzolo also holds the two positions (or if he has been replaced then whoever currently holds the acting boss title - maybe someone like John Spirito). Vincent Badalamenti is possibly consigliere. As LCNBios pointed out, it seems as though Mancuso loyalists recognised Badalamenti as consigliere while Cammarano's guys recognised Zancocchio. A source from Brooklyn told Gang Land that Badalamenti had recently been made "number three" in 2009. Joe Bosch told Peter Lovaglio that Badalamenti was the consigliere, though there's obviously the whole musical consiglieri thing going on during the past 10 years.

Silvio DeVita the Genovese member wasn't he born in Sicily?

Yes,sicilian born and took the Boiardo crew after the ritchie boiardo retirement.

why would the bonannos need an acting boss?
mancuso,palazzolo,spirito sr.,defiore,badalamenti are all on the street.

and i know theres a thread on this but what has become of cammarano,the grimaldis and zancocchio after being shelved?
for an AB/UB to be shelved along with his closest allies has no precedent among the families to my knowledge.

i can still see a time where conflict will again arise in ny/nj. as has been mentioned many times not enough rackets to go around and too many chasing it.
amongst the bonannos and lucchese there already has been flare ups b/ the families recently.

love east sides comment on colombos by the way...indeed who cares the colombos will be absorbed by the other families soon.
the families "leadership" is too old and insular.
for the colombos to survive in any independent way they need to shed the persico influence.

Silvio DeVita passed away I believe.

The Colombo crew will NEVER be absorbed by anyone. Neither will any of the other four. There are way too many guys on both sides of the aisle who oppose such moves. Its been a false narrative for decades already. By that measure the DeCavalcante crew should have been absorbed. But they still exist, hobbling along. The same will be for Colombo, Bonanno, Lucchese, down the line IMO.

Genovese and Gambino are large flagship crews that have a deeper bench. But don't kid yourself, the other three are proud crews in their own right who will not acquiesce or be subservient.

This is NYC. Not Denver, CO; Springfield, IL; New Orleans, LA; Pittsburgh, PA: etc. The overall membership (although not even close to the caliber of member IMO from years ago), is still very large by comparison to ANY other crew in the country. The Five Families will remain intact, however hobbled they are.

There is no proof either way about the decavs.
Some say they r a family with 50-60 guys...doubtful others that they r now a crew reporting to the gambinos more likely.
My guesses to their admin were just that I doubt they even have a traditional admin in place.
Since the stango bust no solid intell has come forward or about who the leaders might be.

Also the members of the Marcello family,Pitts Mafia and any other since defunct family may have thought the same years before there respective families ceased to exist. The New Orleans/Marcello family was one of the oldest and well established Mafia groups controlling a vast territory with connections and influence throughout the u.s. and they r gone. The Marcello's by far for a time had more power than the Colombos ever did and through nepotism and neglect they have gone the way of the condor for close to 20 yrs now...with all due respect never say never.

According to this article/map the DeCavalcante have roughly 100 people.

http://www.gangsterbb.net/threads/u...ain=40999&Number=1022209#Post1022209

Sir, while I see your point, I tend to disagree. New Orleans is extremely short on supply of true authentic Mafiosi, they never replenished their ranks and that’s why they're extinct now. NYC on the other hand is a whole other animal, true blue Italian gangsters still flock there from places like Sicily, Naples, and Calabria. This is why I say that the 5 Families will always be here, and if you think that those lists name everyone you're sadly mistaken, LCN still has hidden people. The Mafia is just too entrenched on the East Coast. When mobsters come to America from Italy, where do you think they go? New Orleans? Nope. They go to cities where LCN is deeply entrenched. Once Carlos Marcello was gone, it was over for those guys. New Orleans wasn't making any new members, however in NYC they're still making guys. I wouldn't be surprised if the Colombos are having a ceremony right now.

Mancuso is still on supervised release restrictions which would limit his ability to run the family on a daily basis

didnt know mancuso was still on supervised release. when does that expire?
so bonannos likely being run by a panel consisting of those 3 or 4 mentioned.

and the colombos are likely conducting a ceremony...which is being recorded by an informant or an off broadway show tune singer?

I read in an article that Decav had 50 made men and 40 associates,in the picture the philly mob is called Merlino family but had 40-45 made men.

I have to agree with you, in pretty much any mob meeting these days there's at least one guy wired-up.

Absolutely never say never. Let the man said, "if you can imagine it, then it could happen."

But all things considered, NYC is a totally different beast than the rest of the country. Even the Chicago mob, who in their time were powerhouses, is nearly kaput. NYC is different (just my opinion).

NO way! Even in their heyday of the 1950s-1960s under Sam the Plumber and Riggi they only had maybe 40+ members (tops). I don't think they ever hit the 50 mark. Associates added on is something different. But members? No Furio

Im agree. The Persico ruined the Colombos but they have the numbers is still a viable family but need a low key boss that are not a Persico relative.

I don't think Chicago ever conducted initiation ceremonies like other cities, they're a totally different animal, and even counted non-Italians as full members, at least that's what people say. I think that perhaps this has hurt them in the long run, even though it was extremely beneficial at the time and in their prime.

I believe that the 100 people figure in the article/map I posted is an inclusive number of members+associates.

That would be a believable estimate.

http://theblackhand.club/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=1733

Vincent Palermo when flipped in 1999 said that was 46 made men but for sure they can go over 50 made men in the old days.

I've often wondered do these estimates on total numbers include imprisoned members?
If they do that would explain the inaccuracies.
Leave associates out of it how many actually stick around long term anymore?

Colombos for instance have a large % of members in the can for a long time.
The number of guys on the street is a better reflection of strength.

I agree with that Furio.

Membership counts include "all" members, regardless of age, incarceration, active or inactive, etc. If they're breathing then they are counted.

Very believable. With all the associates, major and minor, they probably easily have over 100 men

At one time the Decav's had crews in C.T. F.L. two crews in Brooklyn, one in Queens.
And the base in N.J.

Less known about that family I think than any other east coast family if you think about it, also if you minus out the guys that flipped in the 90's they did pretty good informant wise and guys flipping.

The count ran a tight ship had all of his guys employed at one point to me he was pretty smart.

I thought it was the early 2000s that they started flipping.

By the late 90s it started. Anthony Capo was one of the first. then Anthony Rotondo and Vincent Palermo. There were a few other important associates to do the same, but those are the three "good fellas' that come to mind

Vincent Palermo was actually found in my city, Houston, Texas, living in a gated mansion. He packed up and left once the media revealed who he was. So technically he was the first boss to flip, before Joseph Massino. What a shame, all because they're afraid of doing time.

So would the decavs still have crews in Connecticut Florida and 3 crews in NY?
Figure they would have a hard enough time fending off families looking for territory in NJ.
Who reps the decavs for the gambinos and vice versa there must be a guy or two who is responsible for keeping lines open between families... Tony and Johnny sack for example... although I imagine not at such a high level.

In 1980s the 5 families prohibited to DeCavalcantes to made NY native mobsters,maybe they have soldiers in Florida but that is it.

i thought he stayed there and openly ran strip clubs.

Palermo was in a ruling panel with Girolamo Palermo and Charles Majuri.The first acting boss to flip was Angelo Lonardo in 1983.

Frank Guarraci died 5 years ago, he was still pretty young. His brother is still alive and maintains strong links to Ribera.

De Cavalcantes are almost all Riberesi.

I think in the future we'll see some indictments come down that will make all those who say that LCN is finished eat crow.

No one knows for sure, but I seriously doubt the five families have a good pool of recruits to pick from whether coming from NYC, the surrounding area or Italy. Even if they did, the pool would not be street tough/smart guys and would only be of use until they got indicted. Then they'd more than likely make a deal and work for the government anyway. There just isn't a large number of Italians coming to the US anymore. And the second, third generation are NOT worth inducting. It might take a few decades but LCN as we know it will be gone before the next century.

Yeah yeah yeah they say that every decade. I love how people get on here and act like they know what the mob is doing.

I have to respectfully disagree with that. Mark my words; Cosa Nostra is going to have a big resurgence in the next 10-15 years. It may be the biggest time for organized crime since prohibition. Like the prohibition era, there are going to be alot of non-mafia gangs and factions to compete with.

I dont know how well Cosa Nostra will compete this time around, its a different dynamic but they say a rising tide lifts all boats so its very likely that you will see Cosa Nostra grow in numbers, wealth, and power.

What do you base your hypothesis on?

I dont come on here to get into nasty back and forth with anyone, just to exchange thoughts. I don't know anything as an absolute (and neither does anyone else), but please enlighten me on where the next generation of LCN members will be coming from? Where will they be groomed and taught the membership is not the Elks Club but a lifetime commitment stronger than ones blood family? Where and how will they be taught the true meaning of Omerta and the rules? Sacrifice their own freedom, families and friends for the good of the organization? I don't see it but feel free to educate me on this because the trend has been going the opposite direction the past 20 years or so.

Right…game over.

Your out of your mind.

Never gunna happen.
Maybe they can team up with the resurgence of the Nazi party….Done and good riddons.

Kuput

The future mobsters will come from a families that already had members in the life. I think that the 5 families will survive but losing the strength.
Between 30 or 40 years only the Gambinos or Genovese will have over 100 made men and the others between 50 to 100.

LCN's decline has been greatly exaggerated. They're doing business with the Ndrangheta, Sicilian Mafia, Russian mob, Albanians, etc as far as what Mamaluke said, they don't have to compete with shitty street gangs because they're in a higher league, they're more into big money schemes these days.

Yes and no. It's just a much different world now. Loyalty and honor was switched out for greed and mental retardation.

The future in italian oc in USA will be the ndrangheta. The ndrine was more secretive and much better don't open to italian americans.
The LCN will survive with a core of stand up guys and enlarge the number of associates.
The Chicago Outfit example could work: with a small gruop of made men and associates that have the same power of members but only if are moneymakers.

Dilly, your comment is an opinion which you're entitled to but it doesn't mean my opinion is wrong or anyone else's is wrong. Time will tell. I find it odd that when anyone asks for facts to back up they're comments and insults. they more often than not state opinions only. I maintain by the end of the century LCN will be mostly non existent.

I'm open to the small possibility that you're right, strictly in regards to LCN, but not Italian organized crime in America. I can compromise a little.

Fair enough. We'll have to wait and see.

I base my hypothesis on world events and the direction I see things going. Without going too much into politics I would suggest a look into the sociopolitical conditions that prompted the formation of cosa nostra [ and similar groups ], and compare that to the direction we are headed. I see a nearly identical pattern.

I strongly suspect we will see a demand for black markets due to increased prohibitions, rationing, and mandates. Where there is a demand, it will be met by the market. LCN is, essentially, a market driven phenomenon. Where government creates restrictions that contradict market demand, that demand doesnt just 'go away'. It goes around the government and black markets are created which are inevitably organized and controlled by groups which operate outside the law. LCN and most other organized crime groups are, essentially, an outgrowth of the will of the people where that will is stifled by a government leadership which does not reflect it.

Prohibition is a perfect example of that, and so is the iron handed totalitarian regimes in communist Russia which gave birth to a black market economy and the Russian mob. The same is going to happen here. Cosa Nostra will find itself needed again, only this time you may see guys being prosecuted for smuggling hams and bread, instead of heroine and hookers.

In that regard, I completely agree with you. "where there is a will, there is a way" as the old saying goes. But Cosa Nostra will never be what it was, or exhibit the awesome power it did back before LE was sophisticated to it and technology allowed for better protection. There will always be organized crime, and I suspect the Italian element of OC in a reduced form will continue on. But IMO it will be very different than in decades past.

Circumstances just don't allow for a flourishing of Cosa Nostra anymore. It's a much different world.

I agree it wont be "like it was before" just like the mafia of 1800 Sicily was not like LCN in NY 1950. It cant be the same because life is different but as the saying goes "some things never change" or 'the more things change the more they stay the same'.

But I disagree that LCN will not flourish. It is a different world now but what we see tomorrow will be different from today. What happens to totalitarian regimes? They collapse under their own weight, and when that happens the parallel structures that have grown up in it's shadow come to the fore.

As far as the technologies being used by law enforcement...all that takes money. And IMO, that money will not be there just like its not there for Mexico. Great law enforcement technologies exist now so why is Mexico being dominated by drug cartels? Because the law enforcement entities do not have access to those technologies...they are broke, and corrupt. Its going to happen here. Not a question of IF but WHEN.

The only thing I'm unsure of is whether LCN will be able to run with the ball or whether they will be over-run and supplanted by other groups. LCN has the advantage of an organized structure, networks, and power already. However it is very possible that they will be overshadowed by Latin or middle eastern groups that are coming in mass waves.

I'm not sure about competition, I mean other gangs or groups don't pursue the same rackets as LCN, they don't care about union control or business infiltration, or running massive gambling and loansharking rackets. And when we're talking about your more sophisticated rackets like Medicare fraud and Internet scams, there's no competition needed, it's either you know how to pull it off or you don't. The only area I can see competition is your nitty gritty street rackets, like drugs and prostitution, which in any case it would be in LCN'S best interest to steer clear of.

Short of "creating" new illicit marketplaces for them to operate within (because many of their previous rackets are kaput; policy, lottery, dice and card games, slot machines, much of the narcotics field, labor union rackets have been reduced to a mere pittance, truck hijacking and cargo theft a thing of the past, no more porno biz, massive stock frauds have also dwindled significantly, no more credit card thefts, waterfront down the drain, garment district reduced in strength tenfold, etc., etc., etc.)

There are so FEW rackets to run with everybody chasing the same dollar bill, that the market is a microcosm of what it was, yet, there are still thousands of guys looking to eat.

Without a "new" playing field of rackets to run, the rest we speak of is just a pipe dream.

Interesting hypothesis to say the least. The theory isn't as far fetched in my opinion as the possibility of it happening that way. I don't disagree the current climate is bad, but to get to the point where LCN steps in like prohibition for bread and other food I don't think (and hope to god) that doesn't happen. Wow

You hope that doesn't happen but it's okay for other groups, including the government. Okay.