American Mafia

"I never lie to any man because I don't fear anyone.
The only time you lie is when you are afraid."
JOHN GOTTI

[Capone] [F Costello] [C Gambino ] [ Lucky Luciano] [ Gotti ] [Bugsy] [Genovese] [Gambino] [Lucchese] [Anastasia] [Hymie Weiss] [Murder Inc ]

[ San JoseMob] [San Fran Mob] [Dallas Mob] [Phili Mob] [Tampa Mob]

The Mafia in America began in 1878 when Guiseppi Esposito and other Sicilians arrived in America. This clan was barely noticed. In 1893, Don Vito Cascio Ferro fled Sicily to North America for fear of the death penalty. This was the first true site of the Sicilian Mafia in America. In the 1920's many Sicilians escaped the reign of Mussolini by fleeing to America. This lead to the great years of La Cosa Nostra. During the 1930's the greatest mob boss of all time, Lucky Luciano, and other mob bosses overtook La Cosa Nostra and spread it throughout the U.S. Moving families to 25 cities in all. The failure of the FBI to hault this spread lead to the size and magnitude of the La Cosa Nostra that we know today.

La Cosa Nostra is organized into families. There are 24 in all in the U. S. at present day. Each family has from 20 to 700 members, and each family calls a certain city in the U.S. home. However, five families call New York City home. These are the most powerful of the families. Each family is it's own government. The highest ruling body of all the families of La Cosa Nostra is The Commission. It is made up of members of each of the highest-ranking families. One of these familys is the Gambinos

The organization of a family is as follows:

*Boss-maintains order and a maximum profit

*Underboss-the vice president; collects and sends the information from and to the boss

*Consigliere-they are on the same level as the underboss, but only function as an advisor to the boss

*Caporegime-a buffer zone between the upper and lower levels of the hierarchy

*Soldati-soliders-operate the businesses: loansharks, gamblers, etc.

*Employees-usually not of Italian descent, just average people; sometimes they vary from hustlers to legitimate businessmen

Famous Mobsters

Al Capone: Raised in East Harlem New York with many great mobsters, such as Johnny Torrio, Benjamin "Bugsy" Spiegel, and Meyer Lansky (latter two were the founders of Las Vegas)

Lucky Luciano: Arrived in the 1930's and took over the mob by assassinating it's leaders at the time. He then, immediately closed the books of admission to La Cosa Nostra, and spread it's families out nationwide. He spread them to New York, Buffalo, Boston, Detroit, Florida, The Bahamas, The Caribbean, New Orleans, California, Las Vegas, Chicago, and many other cities. He was called "The Godfather of all Godfathers." He had no rivals, because no one tried to surpass him. He barely ever dirtied his hands, he had the lower men take care of that.

George Moran: "Bugsy" Moran was an American mobster. He was born to Polish and Irish immgrants in Chicago, and grew up in the mob. He was a happy go lucky man which got him very far in the world of press releases. He always had a smile on his face and a skip in his walk. Moran had a sheer hatred for Al Capone and both continually waged war against one another. Capone came closest to the murder of Moran in his St. Valentine's Day Massacre. Moran, however, was running late that day, so he wasn't killed.

Frank Costello: Became famous in the underworld because of his careful use of force. Costello was known as the "Prime Minister of the Underworld" because of his unique ability to get things done without resorting to force. He was perhaps one of the most intelligent men in mafia at his time and was considered a great money maker for everyone. He was also known for his great connections with the political portion of New York City. To this day no one from any family has equalled what he did in this area.

Vincent Gigante: The boss of the Genovese family, Vincent Gigante has been making his mark on the world since the early 1980's. He has ordered several assassinations, including the assassination of John Gotti. This assassination was ordered for revenge against the murder of Castellano. He didn't succeed. His nickname is "Chin." His lawyers plead insanity in every court case of the "Chin's," but the other mob bosses know better than to believe that.

John Gotti: John Gotti fled onto the scene in the mob world upon his imprisionment.. John Gotti is a former hi-jacker from the Queens area. John was a lady's man and was taught at a young age to respect and care for the ladies. John is currently 'resting' in Marion State Prison

Frank Locascio: "Frankie Loc" is John Gotti's right hand man. He is the consigleire of the Gambino crime family and is basically there for support and taking the crap from John Gotti. Frankie Loc will spend the rest of his life in prison with John Gotti.

Albert Anselmi: Life long partners, Albert Anselmi and John Scalise came from Italy to Chicago together and died together. They were together in everything they did and everywhere that they went. These two hit men were the most murderous in Mob history, and they were appointed to kill Al Capone and one time. The two left the family they were members of when they were assigned to the assassination of Al Capone, and, instead decided to offer their services to Al Capone. They eventually died at Al Capone's hands for conspiring to overtake him.

Carlo Gambino: (1957-1976)- Gambino, the namesake of the Family, was not known as a man with great strength. However, he was a very cunning man. He was one of the greatest bosses of all time, if not the most successful. He made as much (if not more) than any other father, and was never brought down. The authorities could not get to him, nor did anyone in the life get to him. He died in 1976 of natural causes.

Paul Castellano: (1976-1985)- Big Paul" took over for Carlo Gambino in 1976 after Gambino's death. Paul would become the leader of the most powerful family and assume the name of the Boss of Bosses until his assassination in 1985 allegedly ordered by John Gotti.