Has there ever been a boss of bosses within the 3 major mafia in Italy? There are so many families within each organization so was Riina the boss of bosses for the Sicilians? Alfieri for the Camorra? Antonio Pelle for Ndrangheta?

Riina and Provenzano were both boss of bosses.

So that meant that all the other bosses of the other families reported to them?

the real boss of bosses was totò riina, he commanded other members of the commission and everybody reported to him, all the sicilian families and even the ones abroad and north italy, included the caruana-cuntrera
provenzano was the boss of palermo province, so the most powerful, but not even close to riina

No. The sicilians was feared but never tried to rule on the whole oc groups in italy. We can say that every group was a Kung in it territory (camorra in Campany,ndrangheta in Calabria ecc) and the other part of Italy was and are open territory.

Can you tell me more about Carmine Alfieri? I read somewhere that he was the most powerful boss in the Camorra during the 70s/80s.

Alfieri was called ò ntufato (the angry man) because he always had an angry grin on his face, and always seems angry for something.
He was the worst rival of Cutolo because in 1978 when cutolo asked him to joint the NCO and refuse,cutolo killed his brother.
After the NCO defeat become the most powerful camorrista in the vesuviano area,he transformed the rural camorra into an entrepreneurial camorra and it was then that they began to submerge the garbage of the factories of northern Italy in Campania, as well as being an businessman, was also a ruthless camorrista and organized together with bardellino the famous "massacre of the fishermen's club" against the Gionta clan who did 8 deads.
Was arrested in 1992 and flipped and explained his involvement directly and not,in 150 murders and where was buried tons of toxic waste that was killing people with rumors.
In retaliation the other camorristi killed his brother,his son and other parents.
Now Alfieri had alost 76 y and are still under state protection.

@Furio I read somewhere that him and Cutolo had been rivals. I also read that Alfieri was a billionaire based on estimates. Would I be correct in saying that Alfieri, Bardellino, Nuvoletta and Zaza were 4 of the richest and most powerful crime figures not only in the Camorra but in the world at that time? They amassed a lot of wealth before they were arrested or killed(in Bardellino’s case)

4 richest camorristi for sure but not in the world,dont forget that the last 1970s to 1993 (Alfieri flips) and 1994 (zaza death) was the ride of the Medellin and Calì cartel.

Very true. Zaza was worth an estimated 700 million. But I’m sure by the time time Escobar died, he was wealthier. I haven’t seen much about Baredellino’s or Nuvoletta’s wealth. Were the Sicilians and Camorra even competing with Escobar by the time they got everything going? I always held the Medellin cartel as the standard if we are talking about wealth and power in crime.

I dont think so. The camorra and mafia wasnt focused only on the drug traffick. For sure the dope made many money but it made money also the bribes on public procurement, illegal construction, frauds to European Union funds and the bury of the toxic wastes was for the Casalesi a good bussiness (in this days the sandokan schiavone son flipped and are telling on the toxic waste bussiness).

Was Escobar revered by the Italian mafia back then? Also, I think I read somewhere that Zaza had a lot of money invested in other countries. United States included. Is that true?

I saw an interview with Escobars son where he says that his father was inspired by Toto Riina and sort of idolized him

Wasn’t Escobar a big deal before Riina though?

@Furio Also, since Bardellino was the founder and boss of the powerful Casalesi clan(which rivaled any crime family within the 3 OC groups in Italy), how was he not the top guy over Zaza, Nuvoletta and Alfieri? What about Umberto Ammaturo? I read that he was one of the biggest cocaine guys out there and was loaded with cash.

Up until Mussolini came into power and hunted down the criminal groups. There was not a Boss of Boss over all the groups. Sicily before the 1900s had one bases in Farava before someone else took control in either Palermo or Trapani providences. When Mussolini came to power, the Sicilian Boss of Boss disappeared or was executed. The Americans mafia tried to bring it back but the younger members decided to do away with the title. Nicolo Gentile gives a good account of both American and Sicily boss of bosses. Vizzini if often called boss of bosses but he was only a powerful elder statesman, not until the Corleonesi came into power. Now the Ndrangheta, had a boss of bosses since the peasant revolts in Reggio until Mussolini was in power. By the 1950s according to Nitra family history, the San Luca families were respected by many other groups and were neutral in many conflicts, thus the town is where the groups meet once a year. There has been no boss of Bosses since the time of Mussolini and after. The Ndrangheta were fighting each other for the title, but ultimately decided on a council of bosses with the Provincia electing a chairman, but not Boss of Bosses.

The Casalesi are a conderation of families (Zagaria,Schiavone,Bidognetti) Bardellino was the leader but not the boss. And in the Camorra everyone are king in his territory and as I said Zaza and Nuvoletta was made men and that give them prestigio but was powerful before get made. Ammaturo that married the lady camorra Pupetta Maresca was a freelance drug trafficker that operated from Perù but the fact that wasnt affiliated with any clan doesn't help him when was arrested and shortly after he flip.

No, the Sicilians even provided Escobar with advice on military strategy. Later the Sicilians also worked with his rivals the Cali Cartel, they had stronger connections to politics and military.

As well as the Caselesi’s, would you say that the Zaza, Nuvoletta and Alfieri families rivaled or surpassed any of the 3 families in the Casalesi?

Never knew that. They worked with the Cali Cartel while they were warring with Escobar or after Escobar had died?

escobar started to kill his political enemies and judges following what riina was doing in sicily

Did the Sicilians buy from Escobar?

in the middle 1980s they exchanged heroin for cocaine

John Gotti was the boss of his own family.

Gotti never had the makings of a varsity athlete.

That’s interesting. So the Sicilians controller the heroin trade and the Colombians controlled the cocaine trade

Would you consider the Di Lauro and Licciardi clans more like street gangs when compared to the casalesi, nuvolettas, Alfieri and Zaza clan?

Yes, they terrorize the people in particular the so-called Baby gangs..

I consider thr Dilauros more than a drug cartel in fact all the war with the scissionisti was on the drug plazas control and that the old guards doesn't want to obey to the DiLauro'son Cosimo. The Casalesi was and are the powerful because control the entire Caserta province and the lower Latium and also the waste bussiness or the infiltrations in the construction companies while nuvolettas, Alfieri and Zaza made $$$ with drugs and the other rackets but was more small as territory and influence.

Right that’s what I’m saying. Alfieri, Zaza, the clans within the casalesi, and Nuvolettas seemed to be the most powerful because they were huge into drugs as well as a lot of other rackets. I’ve perceived the Licciardi and Di Lauro clan as lesser than them because they are never really mentioned in the same breath as them from what I see.