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Capo dei capi

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This article is about the organized crime position. For the 2007 Italian TV series and the 2001 American TV movie, respectively, seeIl Capo dei CapiandBoss of Bosses.For other uses, seeCapo (disambiguation).

Capo dei capi(Italian:[ˈkaːpodeiˈkaːpi];"Boss of [the] Boss es" ) orcapo di tutti i capi(Italian:[ˈkaːpodiˈtuttiiˈkaːpi];"Boss of all [the] Boss es" ) orGodfather(Italian:Padrino) are terms used mainly by the media, public, fiction writers and law enforcement community to indicate a supremely powerfulcrime Bossin theSicilianorAmerican Mafiawho holds great influence over the whole organization. The term was introduced to the U.S. public by theKefauver Commissionin 1950.[1]

Sicilian Mafia[edit]

Mugshot ofMatteo Messina Denarotaken after his arrest in 2023

In theSicilian Mafia,the position does not exist. For instance, the old-style Mafia BossCalogero Vizziniwas often portrayed in the media as the "Boss of Boss es" – although such a position does not exist according to later Mafiapentiti,such asTommaso Buscetta.[2]They also denied Vizzini ever was the ruling Boss of the Mafia in Sicily. According to Mafia historianSalvatore 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 Boss es to this day. During the 1980s and 1990s the Boss es of theCorleonesiclanSalvatore RiinaandBernardo Provenzanowere bestowed with the title by the media.

In April 2006, the Italian government arrested Bernardo Provenzano in a small farmhouse near the town ofCorleone.His successor is reported to be eitherMatteo Messina DenaroorSalvatore 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 theDirezione distrettuale antimafia[it]of Palermo, referring to the previous period of authoritarian rule underSalvatore 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 Denarowas seen as the unchallenged capo dei capi within the Mafia. Combining this status of "Boss of all Boss es" 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 calledIl Capo dei Capirelates the story of Salvatore Riina.[9]

American Mafia[edit]

Frank Costellotestifying before theKefauver Committee

The title was applied by mobsters toGiuseppe Morelloaround 1900, according toNick Gentile.[10]BossesJoe Masseria(1928–1931) andSalvatore Maranzano(1931) used the title as part of their efforts to centralize control of the Mafia under themselves. When Maranzano won theCastellammarese War,he set himself up asBoss of all Boss es,created theFive Familiesand ordered every Mafia family to pay him tribute. This provoked a rebellious reaction which led to him being murdered in September 1931, on the orders ofLucky Luciano.[11]Although there would have been few objections had Luciano declared himselfcapo di tutti i capi,he abolished the title, believing the position created trouble between the families and would have made him a target for another ambitious challenger.[12]Instead, Luciano establishedthe Commissionto lead the Mafia, with a goal of quietly maintaining his own power over all the families, while preventing futuregangwars; the Boss es approved the idea of the Commission.[13]The Commission would consist of a "board of directors"to oversee all Mafia activities in the United States and serve to mediate conflicts between families.[13][14]

The Commission consisted of the Boss es of the Five Families in New York City, theBuffalo crime familyand theChicago Outfit.[15]Since then, while media sources have often sought to award the title of "Boss of all Boss es" to the most powerful Boss, the Mafia has not itself recognized the position to exist.

Among other Boss es media sources have presumed to hold the title include Luciano himself,Frank CostelloandVito Genovese.Some have claimed the title of the head of theGambino crime family,as purportedly the most powerful of the Five Families, which have includedCarlo Gambinoand his successorsPaul Castellano,andJohn Gotti.[16][17]

The term has since fallen out of use in the media but remains popular in fictional accounts. Bonanno family BossJoseph Massinowas 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[edit]

In the'Ndrangheta,a Mafia-type organisation inCalabria,thecapocrimineis the elected Boss of thecrimine,an annual meeting of the 'Ndranghetalocalinear theSanctuary of Our Lady of Polsiin the municipality ofSan Lucaduring the September Feast.[19]Far from being the "Boss of Boss es", thecapo crimineactually has comparatively little authority to interfere in family feuds or to control the level of interfamily violence.[20]

See also[edit]

  • "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[edit]

  1. ^De Stefano,An Offer We Can't Refuse,p. 41
  2. ^Arlacchi,Addio Cosa nostra,p. 106
  3. ^(in Italian)Zu Binnu? Non è il super BossArchived2012-09-05 atarchive.today,Intervista a Salvatore Lupo di Marco Nebiolo, Narcomafie, April 2006
  4. ^Moore, Malcolm (2006-04-25)."Arrested Mafia Boss names his successor".Daily Telegraph.ISSN0307-1235.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-01-11.Retrieved2020-05-07.
  5. ^"Mafia: due successori per Provenzano, Salvatore Lo Piccolo e Matteo Messina Denaro".sicile.net.Archived fromthe originalon 2006-05-15.Retrieved2020-05-07.
  6. ^abThe Mafia after Provenzano - peace or all-out war?,Reuters, April 12, 2006.
  7. ^"Chi è Matteo Messina Denaro, il super Boss di mafia arrestato dopo una latitanza lunga 30 anni".Fanpage(in Italian). 2023-01-16.Retrieved2023-12-08.
  8. ^"Chi sarà il nuovo capo della mafia dopo l'arresto di Matteo Messina Denaro?".Today(in Italian).Retrieved2023-12-08.
  9. ^"A Mafia saga keeps Italians tuned in".The New York Times.November 18, 2007.
  10. ^Critchley,The Origin of Organized Crime in America: The New York City Mafia, 1891-1931,p.46
  11. ^"Lucky Luciano: Criminal Mastermind".Time.December 7, 1998.
  12. ^David Wallace (2012).Capital of the World: A Portrait of New York City in the Roaring Twenties.Rowman & Littlefield.ISBN9780762768196.
  13. ^abCapeci, Jerry.The complete idiot's guide to the Mafia"The Mafia's Commission" (pp. 31–46)
  14. ^"The Commission's Origins".The New York Times.1986.Retrieved22 February2017.
  15. ^Critchley,The Origin of Organized Crime in America: The New York City Mafia, 1891-1931,p. 232
  16. ^Raab,Five Families,p. 201.
  17. ^Raab, Selwyn (September 3, 1995)."With Gotti Away, the Genoveses Succeed the Leaderless Gambinos".The New York Times.RetrievedJune 29,2013.
  18. ^Corliss, Richard & Crittle, Simon (March 29, 2004)."The Last Don".Time.Retrieved June 21, 2008.
  19. ^Paoli,Mafia Brotherhoods,p. 59
  20. ^How Mafias Migrate: The Case of the 'Ndrangheta in Northern ItalyArchived2008-12-31 at theWayback Machine,by Federico Varese, Law & Society Review, June 2006
  21. ^"Il capo dei capi".Mediaset Infinity.Retrieved2024-02-22.
  22. ^Il Capo dei Capi Trailer Oficial,retrieved2024-02-22
  23. ^"Corleone: The Complete Series: Claudio Gioè, Daniele Liotti, Salvatore Lazzaro, Simona Cavallari, Gaetano Aronica, Francesco Di Lorenzo: Amazon.se: Movies & TV".amazon.se.Retrieved2024-02-22.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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