Italian American Mafia

There are many different organized crime groups within all different locations in the United States, and they are all known for many different reasons. The Italian American mafia is a very well know organized crime group within New York City. After the death of Giuseppe Masseria in the Casellammarese War, Salvatore Maranzano initiated the organization of the “Families” in 1931. Maranzano introduced the now-familiar mafia hierarchy: boss (capofamiglia), underboss (sotto capo), advisor (consigliere), captain (caporegime), soldier (soldato), and associate; and declared himself capo di tutti capi (boss of all bosses). By declaring himself the capo di tutti capi he was breaking the deal he has made with Lucky Luciano. This later got Maranzano was

murdered on Luciano’s order. The succession of Maranzano by Charles “Lucky” Luciano ushered in management by a Board of Directors known as “The Commission” which was made up of the Five New York Families. The most known Italian American mafia group is known as The “ Five Families”; which are the Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Lucchese. One of the most powerful and known group within the families is the Lucchese crime family. The Lucchese crime family originated in the early 1920’s and had a low profile under the mafia bosses Gaetano “Tommy” Gagliano and Tommy Lucchese The Lucchese crime family is known for its dominant organized crime activities in New York City within the Mafia also called the Cosa Nostra. The Lucchese crime family is still active to this day, and is one of the five families that have a seat on the mafia’s commission.

When the Lucchese crime family originated in the early 1920’s Gaetano Reina served as the first boss until he was murdered in 1930, then it was taken over by Gaetano “Tommy” Gagliano. While Gagliano was serving as the boss of the Lucchese crime family it was known as a peaceful crime group. It sought out its criminal actives mostly within the Manhattan, Bronx and even New Jersey. After Gagliano’s death in 1951,Gaetano Lucchese became the new boss and turned the family into one of the most powerful families to sit on the commission. Lucchese took the family to a higher level when he teamed up with the boss of Gambino crime family Carlo Gambino to control organized crime within New York City. Gagliano’s death in 1967 had Carmine Tramunti control the family for a very short time until he was arrested in 1973. This is when the organization lost its peaceful name, as Anthony Corallo became the new boss of the Lucchese crime family. He became one of the most powerful members of the commission. Corallo put his longtime partners Vittorio Amuso in charge of the family and Anthony Casso to the underboss. With these two running most of the family crime they became one of the bloodiest and most brutal reigns in mafia history. Amuso and Casso had ordered anyone who crossed them or the family to be murdered. Amuso ran the crime family until 1991 when he was arrested and sentenced to life in prison. Alphonse D’Arco who was acting boss became the first boss of a crime family to testify against the mob. His testify led to the arrest of the entire Lucchese family hierarchy. Although still in prison for life Amuso remains the official boss of the Lucchese crime family, while Steven Crea and Matthew Madonna is the current underboss of the Lucchese crime family on the street and Joseph DiNapoli is the consigliere. A March 2011 New York Post article stated that the Lucchese family consists of approximately 3,000 made members, making the Lucchese family the smallest of the five crime families. The Lucchese family does not have the same reputation or receive the same recognition as families such as the Gambino’s, or the Bonanno family. It is still the third most powerful family behind the Genovese crime family and the Gambino crime family.

The Lucchese crime family runs with organization mainly in The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan and New Jersey.

They also maintain influence in Queens, Long Island, Staten Island, Westchester County, and Florida. Certain crews within the originations operate in the different cities and states. The Cutaia crew operates in Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island. Lucchese crime family New Jersey faction operates throughout New Jersey. The Tanglewood boys who were a "recruitment gang" that operated in Westchester County, The Bronx, and

Manhattan.

The Lucchese crime family has many operating methods such as street gangs selling drugs, robbery, gambling, contract killing, drug trafficking, prostitution, smuggling, bribery, loan sharking, bookmaking, fraud, assault, money laundering, labor racketeering, murder, and theft.

The Lucchese family ran clothing and trucking companies and owned several buildings in downtown New York City. The Lucchese family controlled the union of needle trades for clothes manufacturing. For meat companies on of the bosses of the Lucchese crime family, Giovanni Dioguardi merged consumer Kosher Provisions Company and American Kosher Provisions Inc. together, making him able to control a large portion of the Kosher food market, forcing supermarkets to buy from his companies at his prices. While for food distribution they controlled the hunts point cooperative market in the Bronx. The family-controlled freight in and out of John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty airports. On December 11th 1978, associates of the Lucchese crime family robbed a Lufthansa plane of over $5 Million dollars, which is estimated at over 20 million dollars after inflation. At the time, it was the biggest heist in American history (Maitland 1978). The Lucchese controlled the Local Teamsters unions in New York and New Jersey, and family bosses worked with former Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa throughout the 1940s and ‘50s. The Lucchese family profited off of these illegal activities by closely working alongside

with other organized crime groups all over New York. During 1951, the third boss Tommy Lucchese transformed the family to one of the most powerful families. According to "The Five Families” (2015), “The Lucchese family instituted one of the bloodiest reigns in mafia history” (The Lucchese Crime Family). The boss at the time ordered anyone who disobeyed or crossed them to be murdered.

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