Since 14 I have been obsessed with the American Mafia. I remember going into my junior high library and taking out a book and I honestly don't remember why but it was a history of the American mob. Now that would have been mid 90s so the book would have been published early 90s and a lot has changed but it dipped my toe in. From then on I couldn't get enough books, movies whatever mob related I wanted it. At first I just thought a secret "honor" society was so cool & of course I was originally only getting the Hollywood version where I thought I could be Michael Corleone. I even told my mom I wanted to be a mafia hitman. That set her off, I was in shit for a few days for not valuing life and she was ashamed of me. Her shame was worse than her anger, funny how that works with parents.... Either way there is no mafia in Grande Prairie and I sure ain't Italian. So that dream never came true BUT with the rise of podcasts and my time to listening to them I listened to Mafia Tapes the Dominick Montiglio story. I knew his story years ago and figured he is nothing but a rat (No thats not me mob talking. I have stated it before IF you join "That life" mobsters, outlaw biker whatever it is what you chose and you should live with the consequences. I don't get some special way out at my work when I screw up, but rats do? They sell out their friends? I think thats a gross life choice) and glory hound. I wasn't wrong but I listened anyways. It didn't change my views on him but it did tell his story well. He was a hanger on of the Murder Machine in New York. Don't know any of those names as well as say Capone or Gotti? Don't worry Ill introduce you. Whenever there is those "get to know me" games or whatever on social media and shit they ask who would you like to meet? Of course Walt Disney and Stan Lee are way up there for me but also Lucky Luciano, Roy DeMeo and Vito Rizzuto are up there, so this blog is on them. Something I should say is the word ALLEGEDLY should be in front of all the "facts" I state here. Have to keep in mind a lot of the info comes from rats or law enforcement theories. Also it is a very brief look at things, so don't expect deep details. That would been dozens of entries to cover it all. This will be a two parter, this is part 1.
Start with a brief history of the modern mafia in America / New York. New York was full of new immigrants from Italy in the early 1900s. Many started in street gangs trying to climb out of insane poverty. Most started in petty crime like robbery and extortion until January 17th 1920 when probably the worst mistake in U.S government history happened, prohibition. Making booze illegal literally created the power the mob was able to wield for 100 years. The money made in illegal booze was insane and everyone wanted in on it. Back then there wasn't the 5 families you see in movies and TV now but lots of little gangs running around selling hooch. Now Joe "The Boss" Masseria was the leader of probably the biggest one. He was a kind of overboss but he was also old school and greedy. Some names you may have heard like Carlo Gambino, Vito Genovese and Lucky Luciano worked for him. All who would become among the biggest bosses in America. However in the late 20s a Sicilian boss sent and underling Salvatore Maranzano to take control of the rich American mafia. Of course that turned into a bloody power struggle. Maranzano had men like Joe Bonanno and Joe Profaci under him. Another couple of future bosses. This is actually the story of Lucky Luciano. He didn't like the way things worked. He had spent years learning from Arnold "The Brain" Rothstein. A Jewish man who is thought to have fixed the world series, I am sure you have at least heard of that scandal??? Lucky felt all the old bosses were fools and he wasn't alone a lot of the younger men on both sides agreed. Lucky had a lunch with his boss Masseria, when he got up and went to the washroom his hitmen came in and gunned down Masseria and Lucky threw his support to Maranzano. Ending that war. Lucky had been told by Maranzano he planned to modernize the mob and Lucky agreed. One of the first acts Maranzano did was create the legendary 5 families. Each family would govern themselves. Bosses would become unkillable and the commission of bosses would keep peace. HOWEVER what he didn't tell Lucky was he planned to name himself Capo di tutti i capi or Boss of all Bosses. Which was what Lucky had wanted to eliminate. Maranzano also knew Lucky didn't want that and was supported by most of the other mobsters so he ordered Lucky dead. It never happened. Lucky who was friends with many none Italian gangster had Jewish friends disguise themselves as IRS agents. Maranzano would never have let his bodyguards leave if Italian IRS agents want to talk, he was worried about hitmen but wasn't worried about Jews. He was shot and stabbed to death in his office and Lucky was made boss of bosses. However he didn't want that. He declined the title saying they would all be equals running the Mob. Of course that wasn't true and he became the most powerful gangster in America but at best he would claim to be first among equals, rather than boss of bosses.....
SO now you have the 5 families. We will get to them really shortly here BUT a bit of basic mob knowledge. First I think we are all aware Hollywood has glamourized the hell out of these guys. The godfather movie is what they wish life was actually. It did take me a awhile to realize this about the mob. Yes some guys are beloved in their neighborhoods. Some are actually really nice, decent guys... sometimes. The fact is at the end of the day they are crooks. At the height of the mafias power in New York 10 cents on every dollar spent went into mob pockets. Think about that, your life is 10% more because these guys rob, blackmail, murder to make money rather than go to work. No one gets made into the mafia without being a bad guy. Either has a great and illegal way to make more OR is a pure psycho that has no problem enforcing..... There is a myth that you will see come up, that the mob isn't into drugs. FALSE. It is 100% true some bosses said steer clear because it brought too much heat but those same bosses looked the other way when they got their cut. On top of that Lucky Luciano supported fully the mob moving into drugs after prohibition. Overall they didn't and later on it hurt them. The fact is the biggest criminals now are in the drug game, they get money, money leads to power. The mob never dove in and did give up a lot of power to others but don't ever believe the mafia isn't in drugs..... Also there is the myth they don't kill women, children or lawmen. This is MOSTLY true, but like anything it is more a guideline than a rule. They would prefer not but hey if it happens.... The mafia is La Cosa Nostra, it means our thing. Only Italians can be made men, but that doesn't mean others won't become powerful. We will get there right away. Omerta is the code of silence and honor these guys are supposed to live by but again we will see it slowly has slipped away, if it ever existed. Even Lucky sold out rivals to the police to save his own skin. Before he formed the 5 families but still if the founder can turn rat how valued is the code? Lets look at the structure.
Ground level are associates. These can be anyone of any ethnicity. Now in general these people aren't all that important. There can be thousands of them, doing menial shit to being next inline to be a made man. The other thing is there can be very powerful associates. Guys like Meyer Lanksy who was Luckys right hand man or Bugsy Seigel, the man who build Vegas. Have you ever seen goodfellas? This is all Hank Hill or Jimmy the Gent could ever be. They can never be made because they aren't Italian but they wielded more power than many made guys. Its all very complex but in general, think of these guys as prospects for a motorcycle club if that makes more sense. Then you have the made men, the soldiers. They have been "made" into the family. Supposedly now you have hit the big time. NO one is supposed to be able to touch you without the bosses permission. You can take associates to make you money, all you have to do is kick up some money to your Capo. So then you have the Capos. Your a fairly smart and respected made man, maybe one day you become a captain. Now you have "10" guys reporting to you, kicking money up to you. Plus those made guys have all their associates kicking up as well. The downside, you are responsible for all those under you. They do something stupid, you have to answer for it. IMO this is the place to stay. Your getting rich, you have a small loyal army and you aren't in the cross hairs. The simple fact is the cops are after the bosses, that's who they need to take out to say they are winning the war on crime. They go after these guys by hitting the street level guys. So both ways you are covered a bit. You shouldn't have dirty hands and you shouldn't be the face of the family. Then above the capos you have the underboss. Name says it all. The number 2 man in the family. However succession when a boss passes is often bloody and being number 2 isn't always good. The top man is the boss, wanna know a secret. Its the worst position in the family. YES you will be rich. Yes you will be powerful but it doesn't end well. Carlo Gambino died of a heart attack after 50 years in the mob. He is known as one of the most powerful and successful bosses of all time BUT he is the exception NOT the rule. In general bosses end up murdered like Paul Castellano or Carmine Galante. Or in jail like Gotti or Vito Genovese. Or random fun ways like Lucky deported or Capone. STD ridden and powerless. Everyone wants to be the boss for some reason, it never ends well. The last guy who helps run shit is the consigliere. He is the trusted advisor. The one who is supposed to give the boss good advice and be on good terms with other families. Going to meetings, to keep the peace and such. In general it should be a smart, well respected guy. Did you watch Sons of Anarchy?? Fun fact, the RICO act was written specifically to dismantle the mob. If anyone down to an associate made money off a crime and kicked up some money, whoever got part of that money could be convicted as well. That is how the FBI and Rudy Gullinani dismantled the mob (Before he went Trump nuts). This doesn't work on outlaw biker clubs. Or not very well. Everyone is a brother and supposedly equal so the kick up conviction has had much less success in the MC world.
I guess before I start on the families the last thing would be the commission. In New York 5 families control the mob. The rest of the states have a single family in most major cities (Or did) None except Chicago really ever was as big though some did have a lot of power. The thing was you couldn't just get a group of guys together and say hey we are the mob! You had to be a approved to get a seat at the big boy table. A lot of other families were heavily influenced by what New York or Chicago said. I have read anywhere around 20 families existed at some point. Most supposedly are gone or have so little power now they are really no more than any other gang in any major city. While they did have a massive amount of power back in the 30s - 80s a lot of that was helped by the fact the official FBI stance was the mafia didn't exist. Once lawmen actually put effort into culling the mob it went pretty fast...
So first of the 5 families is the Coloumbo family it started as the Profacis but as always had a problem with civil strife. See the boss Joseph Maligiccio ordered a young Joe Columbo to murder other family bosses which was a big no no. Columbo went and told the rivals about the plan. They spared Maligiccio but forced him to retire (His partner in this plan Joe Bonnano ran to Canada but we will get to him) and made Columbo the boss. Then Columbo went on to start the Italian American league. Claiming Italians were stereotyped as mobsters and it wasn't true. A mob boss claiming that.... At one of his rallies a rival murdered him. It is believed it was okayed by the other families as his "league" was bringing too much light on the mob. So after being handed a family, he was murdered... Thats the biggest story with them. Other than that they keep killing each other trying to be boss, they have had 3 civil wars and never really gained the power of the other families. Saying that they still are one of the 5 and back in the day they did rule NY and were not to be fucked with but they weren't what the others were.
Lucchese family is the other "smaller" family. You probably don't know much of them though they did have the notorious "mafia cops" who committed murders and leaked info to the mob while they were cops, that is how deeply ingrained the mafia is in some parts of NYC. Also you might know them from Good Fellas. Henry Hill was an associate, his life became that movie. Paul Vario was a made guy with the Lucchese family and that is were Joe Pescis character Tommy was trying to become a made man. Fun fact it is believed Pescis character was murdered by John Gotti. It is a small world. What I said about associates being fairly powerful is true here. DeNiros character Jimmy the Gent could never be made into the family but they did pull off a $5 million heist. So if your non made men are doing that clearly you have some power & this is the second weakest family in NYC
Next you have the Bonanno crime family. Or the Toronto Maples Leafs of the mafia. See they keep looking like they should be the best but failing. Originally they were the Maranzano family. Remember him boss of bosses, who gets murdered. Ya not going to be top dog for long. But over time they regained a lot of power until Joe Bonanno (Who they are named for) decided he could take out the commission and become the boss of bosses. Clearly he didn't remember what happened to the last guy that wanted that title. As I said Joe Columbo screwed that up for him and again no one trusts you after an attempted coup. Can't keep a good family down though and a man named Carmine Galante proved that. He was another Bonanno made man who supposedly wasn't the boss but wanted to be boss of all bosses. Using Canadian and Italian connections became one of the biggest heroin traffickers in the states. He imported "zips" Italians who were extremely loyal to the person who brought them to America and also didnt follow the rules. Had no problem killing women, children or cops. If you watched Sopranos, think Furio. The fact was he basically pushed the boss out and was building a powerful empire. Again that rubbed the commission the wrong way and a few years later Carmine died in a hail of bullets. In the end the two most "loyal" zips were the main suspects. So again the family is bumped down, third time if your keeping track. The real killer was "Donnie Brasco" If you saw that movie, well that was the Bonanno family. The fact was they were decimated and after that looked down on. Also in that movie the scene where they kill the "3 capos" didnt go down like that Donnie wasn't there but a young Vito Rizzuto was. We will get to him. That murder had big impacts on the mob for years.... So for the 80s after that the family was pretty much the lowest in NYC. Supposedly booted from the commission. Fall #4 for those keeping track. HOWEVER Joey Massino took over and rebuilt while the rest of the mafia was being dismantled. All the other families fell to the NYPD and FBI. By the 90s again the Bonannos were the most powerful family in NY for a short period. In fact they changed the name from the Bonannos to the Massino family. This literally only happens with the most powerful bosses. Early 2000s they catch Massino and he becomes the highest ranking rat ever. The name goes back to Bonanno and they fall again #5.... So there you have it the Maple Leafs of Mafia. Should dominate but somehow always get beat...... However they lead to the 6th family.
Donnie Brasco wasn't there for the murder of the 3 captains but a young Vito Rizzuto was. See one thing the Bonanno family did that was very smart was move into Canada. Sure controlling a part of NYC is awesome but they saw the future in Canada. 30 million people. Easier ports to smuggle into with the worlds largest undefended boarder. We have a mafia here and it was out East. It was the Cotroni crime family. Vic Cotroni was the boss in the late 70s but stepped back. Leaving a man named Paolo Violi in charge. Violi had a rival named Nicolo Rizzuto and they started a bloody war. As you can guess Rizzuto won the war but instead of remaining the Cotroni family they started there own. The Rizzutos. Now since Canada was supposed to be a Bonanno crew the Bonannos wanted proof this new family would be a loyal crew. Nics son Vito participating in the murder of the 3 capos proved this. The Rizzutos were another arm of the Bonanno family. Sort of. It did not take long for the Rizzutos to out grow them. Being destroyed by Donnie Brasco the fact is soon the Rizzutos would come to rival any NYC family and had an iron fist in Canada. Vito was smart in setting up his family, it was literal family. They were extremely close and loyal. Unlike many mobs, there was no ratting. At least not at the top. The Rizzutos were truly international connections in Italy and Venezuela. Massive drug importers. They also expanded deep into bid rigging, which was a massive problem in Montréal. Of course all the other day to day mafia shit as well. Like all mob stories it goes downhill. When Bonanno boss Massino turns rat Vito goes down as well and is extradited to the states to serve time. Vito made the claim if he left Montréal would turn into a battle ground. That small gangs would increase and more bloodshed would come. He wasn't wrong, crime did increase and a bloody war started. I will get to that more when I talk about Vito.
So that's part 1. I will post 2 in a week or so. The last 2 families and why I would love to meet and talk with 3 notorious criminals and 1 rat.
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