Crime boss

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(Redirected from
Crime lord
)
For the rapper, see Crime Boss (rapper).
"Mob boss" redirects here. For the film, see Mob Boss (film).
"Criminal mastermind" redirects here. For the television series, see Demente criminal.

Prohibition era
.

A crime boss, also known as a crime lord, mafia don, gang lord, gang boss, mob boss, kingpin, godfather, crime mentor or criminal mastermind, is the leader of a

criminal organization
.

Description

A crime boss has absolute or nearly absolute control over the other members of the organization and is often greatly feared or respected for their cunning, strategy, and/or ruthlessness and willingness to take lives to exert their influence and profits from the criminal endeavors in which the organization engages.[1][2]

Some groups may only have as little as two ranks (a crime boss and their soldiers). Other groups have a more complex, structured organization with many ranks, and structure may vary with cultural background. Organized crime enterprises originating in Sicily differ in structure from those in mainland Italy. American groups may be structured differently from their European counterparts and Latino and African American gangs often have structures that vary from European gangs. The size of the criminal organization is also important, as regional or national gangs have much more complex hierarchies.[3]

Sicilian Mafia

Structure of Mafia crime family

The boss in the

caporegimes or underbosses, and the term is sometimes used interchangeably with "acting boss" or "front boss" depending on the circumstances.[4][5][6]
When a boss dies, the crime family members choose a new boss from inside the organization.

The typical structure within the Mafia in Sicily and America is usually as follows:[7]

  • Boss of all bosses – also known as the
    the Commission (see also Sicilian Mafia Commission
    ).
  • Boss – Also known as the
    capomandamento, capocrimine, rappresentante, don, or godfather, is the highest level in a crime family.[2][7][8]
  • Underboss – Also known as the "capo bastone" in some criminal organizations, this individual is the second-in-command. He is responsible for ensuring that profits from criminal enterprises flow up to the boss, and generally oversees the selection of the caporegime(s) and soldier(s) to carry out murders, kidnappings, carjackings, terrorisms, robberies and etc.[2][7] The underboss may take control of the crime family after the boss's death. He keeps this position until a new boss is chosen, which in some cases may be the underboss.
  • Consigliere – Also known as an advisor or "right-hand man", this person is a counselor to the boss of a crime family. The boss, underboss, and consigliere constitute the "Administration".[9] The consigliere is third ranked in the hierarchy but generally does not have capos or soldiers working directly for him.[2][7] Like the boss, there is usually only one consigliere per criminal organization.[2]
  • Caporegime – Also known as a captain, skipper, capo, or "crew chief", the caporegime was originally known as a "capodecina" (captain of ten) because he oversaw only 10 soldiers. In more recent times, the caporegime may oversee as many soldiers as he can efficiently control.[2][7] A caporegime is appointed by the family boss to run his own borgata (regime, or crew) of soldati (soldiers). Each caporegime reports directly to the underboss, who gives him the permission to perform criminal activities. If the family decides to murder someone, the underboss normally asks a caporegime to carry out the order. The caporegime runs the day-to-day operations of his crew. The caporegime's soldiers give part of their earnings to him, and then he gives a share to the underboss. A caporegime can recommend to the underboss or boss that a recruit be allowed to join his crew as a mob associate.
  • Soldato – Also known as a sgarrista, soldier, "button man", "made man", "wiseguy" or "goodfella", this is the lowest level of mobster or gangster.[2][7] A "soldier" must have taken the omertà (oath of silence),[2][7] and in some organizations must have killed a person to be considered "made".[10][11] A picciotto is a low-level soldier, usually someone who does the day-to-day work of threatening, beating, and intimidating others.[12]
  • Associate – Also known as a "giovane d'onore" (man of honor), an associate is a person who is not a soldier in a crime family, but works for them and shares in the execution of and profits from the criminal enterprise.[2] In Italian criminal organizations, "associates" are usually affiliates of the criminal organization who are not of Italian descent, or affiliates and candidates of Italian descent who have not yet been "made" or inducted into the Mafia and thus have not yet been promoted to the position of "soldato" or "soldier".[12]

A boss will typically put up layers of insulation between himself and his men to hinder police efforts to connect his orders to him. Whenever he issues orders, he does so either to his underboss, consigliere or capos. The orders are then passed down the line to the soldiers. This makes it difficult under most circumstances for the police to directly implicate a boss in a crime, since he almost never directly gives orders to the soldiers.

Mr. Big

The term Mr. Big is used within the underworld, and additionally during media reportings of persons associated with criminal activities, to refer to a leader of a body of persons functioning in the capacities of roles within organised crime. Sometimes bosses of the so-called gangland are referred to as being Mr Big, as for example when he could not be named for legal reasons.[13] The term implicitly indicates a degree of a possession of a higher intelligence of an individual.[14]

The term especially indicates the existence of involvement in what is known as big-time crime, which would include for example

armed robbery, and the more organised aspects of careers within crime.[14][15]

A 1945 dictionary of criminal slang in the U.S. lists Big Brains as "a gang-leader", but not Mr Big.[16]

See also

References

  1. ISBN 0-7624-2384-6
  2. ^
    ISBN 0-8493-2223-5
  3. ISBN 1-881798-04-6
  4. ISBN 9781493018338
    . Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  5. ISBN 9780762456000
    . Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  6. ISBN 9781101185575
    . Retrieved 24 August 2022.
  7. ^
    ISBN 1-60247-254-8
  8. ^ Raab, Selwyn. The Five Families: The Rise, Decline & Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empire. New York: St. Martins Press, 2005.
  9. ^ "Genovese Indictment Archived 22 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine" U.S. District Court. Southern District of New York.
  10. ISBN 0-06-109664-4
  11. ISBN 0-8065-2874-5
  12. ^
    ISBN 0-306-80535-9
  13. ^ Alan Sherry – Article titled: Drug lord avoids death after gardai intelligence stops attempted hit Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Sundayworld Friday 23 May 2014 [Retrieved 2015-07-27]
  14. ^
    ISBN 9781317436751. Retrieved 27 July 2015.[failed verification
    ]
  15. ^ J. Ridings – Chicago to Springfield:: Crime and Politics in the 1920s Arcadia Publishing 18 September 2012
  16. ISBN 9781584773009
    . Retrieved 27 July 2015.
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