Five Families

The Five Families are the major crime families of the Italian-American Mafia based in New York City which have dominated traditional organized crime in New York. The Five Families, under the suggestion of Salvatore Maranzano, were responsible for the establishment of The Commission, a council which demarcated territory between the previously warring factions and governs Cosa Nostra activities in the United States. The Five Families came to being in the early 1930's.

The five families and their bosses are:

• Bonanno: Vincent J. "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano
• Gambino: Jackie 'Jackie Nose' D'Amico^[1]
• Colombo: Carmine "The Snake" Persico^[2]
• Genovese: Mario Gigante^[3](Daniel Leo)
• Lucchese: Vittorio "Vic" Amuso^[4]

The Colombo family was once known as the Profaci Crime Family, until a coup caused a name change in the early 60's. Former Godfather Joe Massino had wanted to change the name of the Bonanno Family to the Massino Family but since his arrest and defection it is unlikely to stay the Massino Family.

In pop culture

In the 1972 mafia-centered novel and movie The Godfather, five crime families dominate the Cosa Nostra of New York, but the families have different names from their real life counterparts above. The Corleones, from their compound on Long Island, go to war with the other members of the Five Families, the Tattaglias, the Barzinis, the Cuneos and the Straccis.

In the HBO series The Sopranos, the DiMeo Crime Family of New Jersey have close business connections with the Lupertazzi Crime Family of Brooklyn, one of the five families in New York. Due to its large size, the Lupertazzi crime family likely represents either the Gambino or Genovese crime families. Also, there has been references to four families other than the Lupertazzis: the Paglieri Family, the Mangano Family, the Tarese Family and the DeBenedetto family

Outside the United States

The Canadian media have nicknamed Montreal's Italian mafia as "the Sixth Family". Historically tied to the NYC Bonanno family, it has been led by the Cotronis (brothers Vic and Frank, whose father Nick was from Calabria) and later by the Rizzutos (father and son Nick and Vito, whose origins go back to Sicily). Together with the Irish West End Gang, and the French-Canadian Hells Angels in East End Montreal, they form the Montreal Consortium, which controls drug traffic in Eastern Canada and from there into the United States.

References

External links

• Five Families section of Gang Land website
• List of Hierarchies and Known Members of NYC Mafia Families

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