Capo dei capi
Capo dei capi (Italian:
Sicilian Mafia
In the Sicilian Mafia, the position does not exist. For instance, the old-style Mafia boss Calogero Vizzini was often portrayed in the media as the "boss of bosses" – although such a position does not exist according to later Mafia pentiti, such as Tommaso Buscetta.[2] They also denied Vizzini ever was the ruling boss of the Mafia in Sicily. According to Mafia historian Salvatore Lupo "the emphasis of the media on the definition of 'capo dei capi' is without any foundation".[3]
Nevertheless, the title has frequently been given to powerful Mafia bosses to this day. During the 1980s and 1990s the bosses of the
In April 2006, the Italian government arrested Bernardo Provenzano in a small farmhouse near the town of Corleone. His successor is reported to be either Matteo Messina Denaro or Salvatore Lo Piccolo.[4][5] This presupposes that Provenzano has the power to nominate a successor, which is not unanimously accepted among Mafia observers. "The Mafia today is more of a federation and less of an authoritarian state", according to anti-Mafia prosecutor Antonio Ingroia of the Direzione distrettuale antimafia of Palermo, referring to the previous period of authoritarian rule under Salvatore Riina.[6]
Provenzano "established a kind of directorate of about four to seven people who met very infrequently, only when necessary, when there were strategic decisions to make". According to Ingroia "in an organization like the Mafia, a boss has to be one step above the others otherwise it all falls apart. It all depends on if he can manage consensus and if the others agree or rebel." Provenzano "guaranteed a measure of stability because he had the authority to quash internal disputes".[6]
With the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017, Matteo Messina Denaro was seen as the unchallenged capo dei capi within the Mafia. Combining this status of "boss of all bosses" with his three decades on the run, Messina Denaro became a character of great curiosity in the media. However, he was captured in early 2023 and ended up dying behind bars that same year.[7]
After Messina Denaro's death, no other Mafia boss was known as the "capo dei capi".[8]
In Italy, a fictional six-part television miniseries called Il Capo dei Capi relates the story of Salvatore Riina.[9]
American Mafia
The title was applied by mobsters to
The Commission consisted of the bosses of the Five Families in New York City, the Buffalo crime family and the Chicago Outfit.[15] Since then, while media sources have often sought to award the title of "boss of all bosses" to the most powerful boss, the Mafia has not itself recognized the position to exist.
Among other bosses media sources have presumed to hold the title include Luciano himself, Frank Costello and Vito Genovese. Some have claimed the title of the head of the Gambino crime family, as purportedly the most powerful of the Five Families, which have included Carlo Gambino and his successors Paul Castellano, and John Gotti.[16][17]
The term has since fallen out of use in the media but remains popular in fictional accounts. Bonanno family boss Joseph Massino was recognized by four of the five families as chairman of the Commission from 2000 to 2004;[18] during this time he was the only full-fledged boss in New York not in prison.
'Ndrangheta
In the
See also
- "Il capo dei capi"[21] film series about Toto' Riina ("Corleone"[22] english version with subtitles).[23]
- The Godfather, film series about the subject
References
- ^ De Stefano, An Offer We Can't Refuse, p. 41
- ^ Arlacchi, Addio Cosa nostra, p. 106
- ^ (in Italian) Zu Binnu? Non è il superboss Archived 2012-09-05 at archive.today, Intervista a Salvatore Lupo di Marco Nebiolo, Narcomafie, April 2006
- from the original on 2022-01-11. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
- ^ "Mafia : due successori per Provenzano, Salvatore Lo Piccolo e Matteo Messina Denaro". www.sicile.net. Archived from the original on 2006-05-15. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
- ^ a b The Mafia after Provenzano - peace or all-out war?, Reuters, April 12, 2006.
- ^ "Chi è Matteo Messina Denaro, il superboss di mafia arrestato dopo una latitanza lunga 30 anni". Fanpage (in Italian). 2023-01-16. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
- ^ "Chi sarà il nuovo capo della mafia dopo l'arresto di Matteo Messina Denaro?". Today (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-12-08.
- ^ "A Mafia saga keeps Italians tuned in". The New York Times. November 18, 2007.
- ^ Critchley, The Origin of Organized Crime in America: The New York City Mafia, 1891-1931, p.46
- ^ "Lucky Luciano: Criminal Mastermind". Time. December 7, 1998.
- ISBN 9780762768196.
- ^ a b Capeci, Jerry. The complete idiot's guide to the Mafia "The Mafia's Commission" (pp. 31–46)
- ^ "The Commission's Origins". The New York Times. 1986. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
- ^ Critchley, The Origin of Organized Crime in America: The New York City Mafia, 1891-1931, p. 232
- ^ Raab, Five Families, p. 201.
- ^ Raab, Selwyn (September 3, 1995). "With Gotti Away, the Genoveses Succeed the Leaderless Gambinos". The New York Times. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
- ^ Corliss, Richard & Crittle, Simon (March 29, 2004). "The Last Don". Time. Retrieved June 21, 2008.
- ^ Paoli, Mafia Brotherhoods, p. 59
- ^ How Mafias Migrate: The Case of the 'Ndrangheta in Northern Italy Archived 2008-12-31 at the Wayback Machine, by Federico Varese, Law & Society Review, June 2006
- ^ "Il capo dei capi". Mediaset Infinity. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
- ^ Il Capo dei Capi Trailer Oficial, retrieved 2024-02-22
- ^ "Corleone: The Complete Series : Claudio Gioè, Daniele Liotti, Salvatore Lazzaro, Simona Cavallari, Gaetano Aronica, Francesco Di Lorenzo: Amazon.se: Movies & TV". www.amazon.se. Retrieved 2024-02-22.
Further reading
- (in Italian) Arlacchi, Pino (1994). Addio Cosa nostra: La vita di Tommaso Buscetta, Milan: Rizzoli, ISBN 88-17-84299-0
- Critchley, David (2009). The Origin of Organized Crime in America: The New York City Mafia, 1891-1931, New York: Routledge, ISBN 0-203-88907-X
- De Stefano, George, (2007). An Offer We Can't Refuse: The Mafia in the Mind of America, New York: Faber and Faber, ISBN 0-86547-962-3
- Paoli, Letizia (2003). Mafia Brotherhoods: Organized Crime, Italian Style, New York: Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-515724-9
- ISBN 0-312-30094-8
External links
- "The Boss of All Bosses". Time. 2010.