Five Families

Five Families
Name	Five Families
Founded	c. 1931
Founded by	Salvatore Maranzano, Lucky Luciano
Territory	New York City, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida
Ethnic makeup	Italian-American
Criminal activities	Racketeering, loan sharking, illegal gambling, labor racketeering, extortion, money laundering, drug trafficking
Rivals	Various other American Mafia factions, Russian mafia

Five Families. The Five Families are a coalition of Italian-American organized crime syndicates based in New York City. Formally established in the aftermath of the Castellammarese War, the five distinct families have dominated American Mafia activities for decades. Their influence extends through racketeering, labor union infiltration, and a wide array of illicit enterprises, making them a persistent target for federal agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

History and origins

The modern structure was solidified following the 1931 Castellammarese War, a bloody power struggle largely between factions loyal to Joe Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano. After orchestrating the murders of both older bosses, Lucky Luciano created a more corporate-like Commission to govern the American Mafia and formalized the five New York families. These were built upon existing crews from earlier Black Hand groups and Prohibition-era smuggling operations. Key founding families were led by figures such as Tommy Gagliano, Joseph Profaci, and Vincent Mangano, with Luciano heading his own powerful syndicate. This arrangement brought a period of relative stability and immense profit, though it was frequently disrupted by internal conflicts like the Gallagher-Plotkin gang war and the later Colombo wars.

Structure and organization

Each family operates as a distinct entity under a hierarchical structure modeled on the Sicilian Mafia. At the top is the boss, supported by an underboss and a consigliere. Authority flows down to capos, who oversee individual crews of soldiers made through a formal initiation ritual known as "making your bones." Associates work with the family but are not formally inducted members. The families collectively answer to the Commission, which historically included bosses from cities like Chicago and Buffalo. This system, designed to mediate disputes and sanction murders, was detailed in the 1963 testimony of Joseph Valachi before the McClellan Committee.

Major activities and criminal operations

Their criminal portfolio is vast and adaptive. Core traditional operations include illegal gambling rings, loan sharking, and extortion from businesses in sectors like construction and waste management. They have historically held significant control over labor racketeering within key unions such as the International Longshoremen's Association and Teamsters locals, notably during the era of Jimmy Hoffa. Other major revenue streams involve large-scale cigarette smuggling, stock fraud schemes, and money laundering through legitimate fronts. While officially forbidding it in the 1950s, many members have been deeply involved in heroin and cocaine drug trafficking, often in collaboration with Sicilian Mafia clans.

Law enforcement investigations and prosecutions

Major investigations began in earnest with the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation under J. Edgar Hoover and the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. A pivotal breakthrough was the 1985 Mafia Commission Trial, prosecuted by Rudolph Giuliani, which used the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act to convict the upper echelons of the Bonanno, Colombo, and Luchese families. The testimony of high-ranking turncoats like Salvatore Gravano and Alphonse D'Arco proved devastating. Subsequent prosecutions have continued through offices like the Brooklyn District Attorney and task forces such as the NYPD Organized Crime Task Force.

In popular culture

The families have been a central subject in numerous films, television series, and literary works, often shaping the public's perception of organized crime. Francis Ford Coppola's *The Godfather* trilogy and the television series The Sopranos are profoundly influential, though fictionalized. More direct dramatizations include the film Goodfellas, which depicts the Luchese crime family, and the television movie *Gotti*. Historical accounts are featured in non-fiction works like Nicholas Pileggi's *Wiseguy* and the documentary series The Making of the Mob. Their notoriety is frequently referenced in hip-hop lyrics and video games such as *Mafia*.

Leadership and key figures

Throughout their history, the families have been led by infamous bosses who became cultural icons of criminal power. Notable leaders include Charles Luciano, the architect of the modern structure; Frank Costello, known as the "Prime Minister of the Underworld"; and Vito Genovese, for whom a family is named. Other formidable bosses were Carlo Gambino, John Gotti of the Gambino family whose flamboyance earned him the tabloid nickname "The Teflon Don," and Carmine Persico of the Colombo family. Key associates like Meyer Lansky, a non-Italian financial genius, and violent enforcers such as Albert Anastasia and Thomas DeSimone have also played critical roles in their operations and lore.

Category:American Mafia Category:Organized crime groups in New York City Category:Crime in New York City