Some are groomed to replace the boss if he is old or in danger of going to jail.īeneath the underboss are the capos. Some underbosses resolve disputes without involving the boss. The underboss is the second in command, although the amount of power he wields varies. The boss's authority is used to resolve disputes and keep everyone in line. All major decisions are made by the don, and money made by the family ultimately flows to him. The leader of each family is known as the boss, or don. Wiseguy - Someone who is involved with the Mafia.Not everyone within a family is actually related, although it is common for relatives of mobsters to be inducted into the same family as their brothers or fathers. Family - Each individual gang within the Mafia is known as a family.Now, the capo is more like a lieutenant who serves the family boss. Capo - The capo was originally the head of a family in Sicily.Made man - A man who has been officially inducted into a Mafia family.In time, La Cosa Nostra referred specifically to American members of the Mafia, differentiating them from 'Old World' mobsters. They began using the term La Cosa Nostra (which is grammatically incorrect) to refer to the Mafia. When the Mafia moved to the United States, FBI agents listening in on wiretaps heard the term. La Cosa Nostra - The term cosa nostra, which is sometimes translated from Italian to mean 'our thing' or 'this thing of ours,' originally referred to the general lifestyle of organized criminals in Sicily.Most of the time, though, they simply agree to stay out of each other's way. At other times, they have cooperated in the interest of greater profits, sometimes even serving on a 'Commission' that made major decisions affecting all the families (more on the Commission later). The Mafia is not a single group or gang - it is made up of many families that have, at times, fought each other in bitter, bloody gang wars. In organized crime there is a hierarchy, with higher-ranking members making decisions that trickle down to the other members of the family.

In this article, we will focus on the traditional meaning of 'Mafia:' organized criminal organizations of Italian and Sicilian heritage. Today, the word 'Mafia' is used to refer to almost any organized crime group, and in some cases is even used to describe groups completely unrelated to crime. A trio of well-known gangsters makes up this photo: Vito Genovese (left in a 1959 file photo), Charles 'Lucky Luciano' Lucania (center in a 1958 file photo) and Joseph Profaci (right in a 1958 file photo).

Mafia: Street Fight free