A CENTURY OF “OFFICIAL" MAFIA FAMILY BOSSES

This is a general batting lineup of “officially” recognized Family “bosses” for New York City’s notorious Five Families, and for the sixth Family, based in New Jersey. These men represented/represent the formal leadership of their respective borgatas from their earliest formation during the 1920s-1930s era, up through the more current decades.

Note: We welcome your opinions and welcome you to make additions and/or changes to this list. We also welcome our fellow forum members to add similar lists for the other 20+/- Families that operated throughout the United States to expand this thread as well..

GAMBINO FAMILY:
Manfredi Mineo ?
Salvatore D’Aquilla
Francesco Scalici
Vincenzo Mangano
Albert Anastasia
Carlo Gambino
Paul C. Castellano
John Gotti Sr.
Domenico Cefalu (reputed)

GENOVESE FAMILY:
Giuseppe Masseria
Salvatore Lucania
Francesco Castiglia
Vito Genovese
Philip Lombardo
Vincent Gigante
Liborio S. Bellomo (reputed)

BONANNO FAMILY:
Nicola Schiro
Salvatore Maranzano
Giuseppe S. Bonanno Sr.
Gaspare Di Gregorio
Paul Sciacca
Natale Evola
Philip Rastelli
Joseph Massino
Vincent Basciano
Michael Mancuso (reputed)

COLOMBO FAMILY:
Salvatore Di Bella
Giuseppe Profaci
Giuseppe Magliocco (interim)
Joseph A. Colombo Sr.
Thomas Di Bella
Carmine J. Persico
?

LUCCHESE FAMILY:
Gaetano Reina
Gaetano Gagliano
Gaetano Lucchese
Carmine Tramunti
Antonio Corallo
Vittorio Amuso

DeCAVALCANTE FAMILY:
Stefano Badami
Filippo Amari
Nicholas Delmore
Simone R. DeCavalcante
John M. Riggi Sr.
Charles Majuri ? (reputed)

Vincent Basciano was never Official Boss.
Peter Gotti after John Gotti.
Andrew Russo after Carmine Persico.
Joseph Magliocco was never recognized by the Commission.

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After Massino became a rat, I believe Basciano was considered the "new" boss by the general rank and file, until his own troubles.

You are correct in reference to Peter Gotti. I forgot about him.

You are also correct about Andrew Russo, after Junior died. (although there is still much controversy regarding the 'true' boss during that time)

Joe Magliocco, although never officially ratified by the Commission, was the official underboss to Profaci, and did indeed control the that family as the "de facto" boss for upwards of one year, until he was finally told to step down in favor of Joe Colombo.

If anybody has the chronological order of "bosses" for the 20 or so other families throughout the U.S., by all means please contribute your knowledge. I think it would make for an interesting discussion on the forum.

Philadelphia, Buffalo, New England, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Chicago, Springfield, Milwaukee, the 3 crews out in California, etc., etc., etc....

Are you wanting official Bosses are you including de facto Bosses?

Vincent Basciano was the Acting Boss and off the street already when it was revealed Joe Massino became a cooperator. The Family never confirmed a new Boss and Vincent Basciano was never officially recognized as Boss. He quickly lost his power to Michael Mancuso who was the Acting Underboss at the time and they didn't get around to confirming a new Boss until 2010/2011 when Michael Mancuso got the spot. Michael Mancuso was the de facto Boss during this period just as Vincent Basciano was briefly before his conviction.

Andrew Russo was the official recognized Boss although Teddy Persico had some type of de facto role as he was slated to take over after his supervised release was over.

The Colombo Family voted Joe Magliocco in but the Commission didn't confirm it so he wasn't official.

I think that "officially" installed bosses by The Commission, as well as "de facto" bosses (if only because of mob strife and confusion within the mob itself over the years) makes sense to include.

By this criteria, I think a plausible argument could also be made that Carmine Galante should, in fact, be included on the Bonanno list. Because for all intents and purposes, Galante WAS the boss during that time period, until he got whacked out. He was a ferocious guy, and nobody but nobody was arguing with him regarding Family policy and machinations. Thats why they had to clip him. He was unswayable.

Note: I, for one, notwithstanding what some have claimed to the contrary (so-called good fellows and otherwise), dispute the claim that Andrew Russo was, in fact, the "official" boss of that family....I know I may be in the minority on this point. Nonetheless, I stand by my guns.

I disagree because if you're adding de facto Bosses where do you draw the line? Salvatore LoVerde was the official Boss of Chicago in 1930 but Al Capone was the de facto Boss. Do we add Salvatore LoVerde? Do we add Al Capone? Do we add them both? I think you're better off leaving official Bosses only on the list. A lot easier that way instead of having every de facto Boss on the list and then having someone ask why and having to explain it.


Why do you dispute Andrew Russo being the official Boss when he was indicted as Boss and there's recordings of other members recognizing him as Boss? You have law enforcement and wiseguys agreeing on it.

Well, you do make a good point. Once you include "de facto' bosses, it widens the playing field tremendously. Yet, in my mind there were many acting or temp bosses, many of whom were weak sisters IMO. And then of course, there were, in fact, true "de facto" bosses. Powerful leaders who really ruled the roost.

As far as Russo goes? Thats a very slippery slope, lol. Because despite what many say, even guys who you'd think would, or should, be in the know, I have my doubts. Thats all I'll say about that for now.

Maybe the Pittsburgh "experts" that made a podcast about Pittsburgh can add to the mix? They can let you know who of the Pittsburgh guys they actually met?

I'm not familiar with whom you're referring to? Pittsburgh Mob podcast? I didn't even know one existed. Lol.

Is it a good podcast? Or are they full of baloney?

One of the Durable Myths of Mafia is that you have to kill someone, on orders from higher-ups, to be inducted. How many of the bosses named actually killed one or more people with their own hands in their "line of work"? It's not possible to know for sure, but it's obvious, for example, that Anastasia, Genovese, Persico, Colombo and Gotti did. But, I wonder about many (most) of the others, particularly the old-timers like Charlie Lucky and Uncle Frank.

In Philly mob Natale was the official boss but was just a figured of Merlino,so he would be put in lin or just Merlino from 1995 to today?

There was a steadfast rule, up until a few years ago. that a recruit had to have put in 'work,' in one way or another before he was 'brought in.' Being the actual shooter, driving the crash car or backup car, setting the victim up for the kill, getting the weapons to be used, disposing of the body, acting as a lookout, etc. Not everyone was necessarily 'on the murder' scene.

And most members (most, not all), especially the 'old-timers' as you say, all 'made their bones.' Some, many times over, in fact.

Were there exceptions? No doubt there were. Many times, relatives of guys, such as sons, brothers, cousins, grandchildren, were sometimes given a 'pass' on such things. Especially if they knew a guy wasn't prone to that sort of thing to begin with. Also, there were so-called "earners" who were also not recquired to get their hands dirty. Their value was in their moneymaking abilities, not their trigger finger.

But I suspect, with few exceptions (if any at all), that fellas who became the actual bosses of Families did some 'work' during their lifetime. Otherwise, I don't think the rank-n-file under them, especially the top gunsels of a borgata, would have followed their lead. These are not soldiers were speaking of, or even capos for that matter. To have risen that high in the hierarchy, I would imagine the overwhelming majority did their share of 'dirty work.'

@NYMafia I definitely agree, but it's funny that @Turnbull made me realize Umberto Valenti is the only one I can think of right now credited personally to Lucky (which is even disputed) hahaha

I think the view new-school bosses put in more hands-on-work than the old-school bosses is just from the continuing rise of mass communication/media in the 1900's resulting in public finding out who's attributed to which murders a lot easier

It was way easier to find out who's attributed to what murder in the 80's than it was in the 20's when Lucky and Costello would of been putting in hands-on-work

But I agree @Turnball that it does seem that way with just the facts we have

I agree with that assessment. The expansion of worldwide coverage of events, and especially with the creation of the internet, has 'enlightened' the general masses to every little nuance that goes on, not only in the mob, but the world in general.

Back in the 1920s-1960s era, there was no such thing. Especially back in the 1920s-30s.

Chicago Mafia Official & Acting Bosses 1898 - 1992

1898 - 1901 Salvatore DiGiovanni (not confirmed) (killed in 1901)

1902 - 1909 Mariano Zagone (allegedly confirmed by other researchers) (killed in 1909)

1910 - 1914 Rosario Dispenza (killed in 1914)

1914/15 - 1921 Anthony D'Andrea (killed in 1921)

1921 - 1924 Mike Merlo (died of natural causes in 1924)

1925 - 1928 Anthony Lombardo (killed in 1928)

1928 - 1929 Pasquale Lolordo (killed in 1929)

1929 - 1930 Salvatore Loverde (killed in 1930)

1931 - 1932 Al Capone (imprisoned in 1932)

1932 - 1943 Paul Ricca (imprisoned in 1943)

1944 - 1946 Charles Fischetti (acting under Ricca) (stepped down)

1947 - 1955/56 Tony Accardo (acting under Ricca (released in 47)) (elevated next to Ricca)

1956 - 1964 Sam Giancana (acting under Ricca and Accardo) (imprisoned and later fled the country)

1965/66 - 1967 Sam Battaglia (acting under Ricca and Accardo) (imprisoned)

1967 - 1970 Jack Cerone (acting under Ricca and Accardo) (imprisoned)

1971 - 1972 Ross Prio (died in 72) or Joey Aiuppa (acting under Ricca (died in 72 ) and Accardo)

1973/74 - 1985 Joey Aiuppa (acting under Accardo) (imprisoned)

1986 - 1992 Sam Carlisi (acting under Accardo (died in 92)) (imprisoned)

I actually think the rise of mass communication/media, climaxing with the internet, was one of the biggest contributors to the decline of the mob (Italian-only Mafia definitely)

One of the biggest weapons for the mob (black hand groups before them, etc.) was mystery
Mystery is not only a great weapon against the law, but it's almost necessary for successful rackets like extortion
All mystery began to be be lost as the 1900s progressed, and now we have the fucking internet hahaha

True...not to mention the plethora of rats, starting with the public testimony of infamous cooperator Joe Valachi back in 1963 before the U.S. Senate Committee which was publicly televised on T.V.s across the nation.
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On another note, I like your list. But don't forget about Aiello, who was, in fact, the boss of Chicago's 'true' Mafia Family back in the 1920s, until Capone assassinated him on behalf of Joe Masseria in NYC.

Aiello was Lombardos underboss and when Lombardo got killed, story goes that Aiello lost his power because he belonged to the former D'Aquila regime and was against the rising Masseria regime. Thats why Lolordo backed Masseria and officially succeeded Lombardo, and was later killed by Aiello's men. Later Aiello was killed while Toto Loverde was the new official rep. Aiello was killed in October, while Loverde was hit in November the same year.

In addition, it is possible that sometime from the 1910's until 1925 there was allegedly a "second" crime family in Chicago mainly located around Chicago Heights, Calumet City and northwest Indiana. This is not confirmed but instead its an educational guess.

Fair enough. I had always read that Aiello, was, in fact, the leader of the city's Mafia faction and that he was killed as a favor to Masseria. But I also know that Tony Lombardo was a top boss also. His killing is what later spurred Pasty's brother Joe Lolordo (who was Lombardo's bodyguard) to return east, to NY, where he joined up with their former Ribera 'compare' who had since formed a Elizabeth NJ borgata, which later became known as the DeCavalcante Family. Joe Lolordo rose to become a highly respected capo di decina within that family.

Philadelphia Mafia


1920–1931 Salvatore Sabella
1931–1936 John "Nazzone" Avena — murdered on August 17, 1936
1936–1946 Giuseppe "Joseph Bruno" Dovi
1946–1959 Giuseppe "Joseph" Ida
1958–1959 Antonio "Mr. Miggs" Pollina — removed by the Commission
1959–1980 Angelo "The Gentle Don" Bruno — murdered on March 21, 1980
1980–1981 Philip "the Chicken Man" Testa — murdered on March 15, 1981
1981–1990 Nicodemo "Little Nicky" Scarfo Sr.
1990–1995 Giovanni "John" Stanfa
1995–1999 Ralph Natale — figurehead for Joseph Merlino
1995–Today Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino — arrested in 1999, released in 2011

Thanks for the additional info bud.

When Lombardo arrived in Chicago to keep the peace, he invited Aiello (Near North Side) to the Taylor St area (West Side) and as I already said, Lombardo made Aiello his number two guy. The main problem was back in New York between DAquila and Masseria, and so the same conflict simply reflected in Chicago.

Regarding Lolordo's brother...he was involved in the St Valentines Day massacre in 1929. In fact he and Tony Capezio dismantled the getaway police cars. And yes, later Lolordo fled to NY.

Yes, I'm familiar with his involvement with the St. Valentines Day massacre.

Joe Lolordo actually intrigued me so much that I researched and wrote a pretty in-depth biography about his life and underworld career. If you're interested to read it, just type his name into the 'search' bar on our website to retrieve his bio.

Thanks again bud and will do 100%.

Most of these were not acting under Paul Ricca/Tony Accardo.

Chicago Heights was a confirmed Family.

And DiFronzo and DeLaurentis?

Thats right Fur, but as you can see I limited the chart until 1992 on purpose, while they became bosses after that. In fact, later DiFronzo also had ACTING bosses under his rule (some call it street bosses).

That means no "de facto" and no "organizational vs spaceship, cockroach and vampire" or any other fantasy shit like that Lol.

Ah ok. You're the expert. Why Colosimo isnt in the list?

Because I dont have any evidence regarding Colosimo being representative for the SICILIAN Mafia. We have information regarding he and Torrio being connected to Merlo, and possibly with his predecessor D'Andrea too. Both Colosimo and Torrio probably belonged to a different group aka the Camorra, which means that neither of them were ever considered as official reps for the national Sicilian network, although they were 100% partners/associates of the Sicilians. We have Diamond Joe Esposito being made by the Sicilians, but he also was never a official rep. Later everything changed with Capone and Joe the Boss Masseria.