It seems that nobody knows who were the heads of the Genovese's around the 70's/80's..
Was Cockeyed Phil Lombardo ever a boss?
Were Tony Salerno and Funzi Tieri only frontmen for Lombardo?
Was Tony Salerno a frontmen for Vincent Gigante in the early 80's?
Why is there so little known about Lombardo?

A lot of questions but can somebody clear this whole thing up....?

Juventus, if you go here:

http://www.ganglandnews.com/genovese.htm
and scroll down to the latter part, you will find that the authors agree with you--things got very confusing in the Genovese family in the Seventies and Eighties. Briefly, they seem to think that the bosses were, in order, Frank (Funzi) Tieri, Fat Tony Salerno and Vincent (the Chin) Gigante, and now, perhaps, Dom Cirillo.

According to testimony privided by Vincent Cafaro in 1986, after becoming a government witness, Phil Lombardo was the real "acing" boss with Thomas Eboli "fronting" as the boss until Vito Genovese died.
Then after Tommy Eboli was killed, Funzi Tieri stepped in as " the front man " while Lombardo supposedly still called the shots from behind the scenes.

Then when Funzi died in a hospital while awaiting transfer to federal prison, Fat Tony Salerno was picked as the
" front man." Then when Lombardo stepped down due to his health, Vincent The Chin Gigante was elected new boss and he kept Salerno as the "front Man" for a few more years.

Don Cardi

OK Thanks both of you.

If Vincent 'Fish' Cafaro said that Lombardo was the real boss, why do so many people believe he wasn't?
Was there a reason for Cafaro to lie or could it be that the top of the Genovese-family tried to give the lower-ranking members wrong information (because being afraid for informers)?

Another example is that the FBI claims that from Galante's death until March 1981, Salvatore Catalano was the family boss. However, Joe Pistone claims Rastelli succeeded Galante. http://www.americanmafia.com/Mob_Leaders/Mob_Leaders_NYC.html

Is it normal that soldiers dont even know who the boss of their own family is?

It's certainly possible that they don't know who the real boss is. The only thing that matters to a soldier is the boss that he's working for, right now.
Juventus, I greatly admire your never-ending search for accurate answers about the Mafia. The problem is, it's almost impossible to have definitive answers to Mafia questions. What is the most valued trait in the Mafia? Omerta-- silence. Those few Mafia guys who have talked to journalists have either been killed or were retired. Those who ratted out others usually told stories that would get them lighter sentences, not the truth you're seeking.

According to some sources, Rastelli took over as boss of The Bonnano Family in 1971. Then in 1975 he was convicted of extortion. Then Galante stepped in as boss. When Galante was killed in 1979, according to Pistone, Rastelli was reinstated as boss, while still behind bars.


Don Cardi

It's certainly possible that they don't know who the real boss is. The only thing that matters to a soldier is the boss that he's working for, right now.
Juventus, I greatly admire your never-ending search for accurate answers about the Mafia. The problem is, it's almost impossible to have definitive answers to Mafia questions. What is the most valued trait in the Mafia? Omerta-- silence. Those few Mafia guys who have talked to journalists have either been killed or were retired. Those who ratted out others usually told stories that would get them lighter sentences, not the truth you're seeking. [/b][/quote]Thanks TB.
Yes you are right! That's my big problem: I want to know everything but...nobody knows everything! Those informers are big liers! Every mafiosi lies, it's their nature!

Thanks DC,
I cant stand all those different theories! I only want to know the RIGHT one!

So the moral of the thread would be
"Never trust a gangster" then?