Madamento

[Eline2015]

What is it and how it’s worked. I know, that is something about a families unification and that’s all.

[Dwalin2014]

In the Sicilian mafia, a mandamento is a territory that includes more families (usually about 3). Each boss that supervises a mandamento, called "capo mandamento" is a member of a provincial mafia commission. The capi mandamento of a province choose a representative for the whole province, and these province representatives make the regional mafia commission.

If I got it right, the mandamenti were introduced to facilitate the organization of the families, since each province has too many of them to include all family bosses in a provincial commission, so to reduce the number of the commission members, they created the mandamenti, where each can include more families under a single representative.

[Eline2015]

Thanks for reply

[Angelo Santino]

Ironically, each mandamento ended up being composed of groups that were previously one group. For instance the Piana Dei Colli group of the 1890's split 3-4 ways in 1910. When the mandamenti system was implemented half a century later, many of those same splinter groups were remerged to constitute a mandamento.

[scagghiuni]

Ironically, each mandamento ended up being composed of groups that were previously one group. For instance the Piana Dei Colli group of the 1890's split 3-4 ways in 1910. When the mandamenti system was implemented half a century later, many of those same splinter groups were remerged to constitute a mandamento.

it would be interesting to know what the structure was like at the time, sangiorgi wrote in his report in the 1890s that there was a capo supremo (boss of bosses), and in the american mafia probably there was a boss of bosses before 1931

[Angelo Santino]

Ironically, each mandamento ended up being composed of groups that were previously one group. For instance the Piana Dei Colli group of the 1890's split 3-4 ways in 1910. When the mandamenti system was implemented half a century later, many of those same splinter groups were remerged to constitute a mandamento.

it would be interesting to know what the structure was like at the time, sangiorgi wrote in his report in the 1890s that there was a capo supremo (boss of bosses), and in the american mafia probably there was a boss of bosses before 1931

From what we've seen at various intervals the family structure itself has remained intact more or less. It's the governing bodies that have switched over the years. Caposupremo, based on the info Siino provided, seemed to have been limited to the Palermo area. Was there someone higher than him or was he on a board of capisupremo from across the island? Who knows.

Boss of Boss in the US existed since the 1900's and likely before that, first in New Orleans and then in New York. Given how Sicily could fit into the state of Mass. and America was more spread out, the governing layout was probably different. Boss of Bosses might have been an American rendition. I would speculate that such a position would have maybe formed after the 1870's when the mafia spread into other cities from New Orleans. And then in the 1890's New York was en route to become the immigration hub with the arriving numbers forcing the New York Family to split up in the 1890's into separate families. Maybe it was implemented then? We'll never know.

[bronx]

agree Chris

[Angelo Santino]

agree Chris

Thank you. If you haven't seen this already, you may find it interesting: confiscated letters between Joe Morello (Gen Boss) and Rosario Dispenza (Chicago Boss) in 1908 where Morello chastises Dispenza for violating protocol. Vito Cascio Ferro is named.

We are left only to speculate on this Grand Council and General Assembly (which we do in the rest of the thread, B. and I put more thought into those letters and Morello probably did when he wrote them.

scagghiuni, you're going to want to look at this too.
viewtopic.php?p=154806#p154806

[furiofromnaples]

https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandamento_(cosa_nostra)

Mandamenti'structures

Palermo - The city of Palermo is divided into 8 mandamenti: Porta Nuova, Brancaccio, Boccadifalco, Passo di Rigano, Santa Maria di Gesù, Noce, Pagliarelli, Resuttana and San Lorenzo;
The province of Palermo is divided into 7 mandamenti: Camporeale (born from the merger of the mandamenti of Partinico and San Giuseppe Jato), Corleone, Cinisi, Bagheria, Trabia, Belmonte Mezzagno, San Mauro Castelverde (or Madonie);

The province of Agrigento is made up of 10 mandamenti: Agrigento, Santa Elisabetta, Porto Empedocle, Canicattì, Cianciana, Ribera, Sambuca di Sicilia, Casteltermini, Palma di Montechiaro and Campobello di Licata;

Trapani - The mandamenti are 4: Castelvetrano, Trapani, Mazara del Vallo and Alcamo;

Caltanissetta - In the province of Caltanissetta there are 4 mandamenti: Gela, Vallelunga, Riesi and Mussomeli. The families of the "Vallone" in the north of the province are traditionally connected to the Palermitan groups.Stidda has maintained a certain organizational capacity in the areas of Gela and Niscemi, placing itself as a mafia association analogous to Cosa Nostra, with which it no longer assumes a conflict of interest and shows a certain understanding;

Enna - The province of Enna has no mandamenti, only families. The east area is adjacent to the province of Catania, and partly influenced by the Catanese mafia. Bloody feuds were born precisely from the struggle between Enna and Catania for control of this area.

Catania - there are no mandamenti because in the province of Catania there are only three families (Catania,Ramacca and Caltagirone), which preferentially manage the illegal award of public contracts, in companies with numerous criminal groups unrelated to the Cosa Nostra operating in Catania and in the province, whose leaders are often affiliated with these families to better control their activities.

Syracuse - There are nomandamenti, but individual families

Ragusa - No mandamenti but single families

Messina - Messina, San Mauro Castelverde · Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto · Tortorici · Mazzarroti · Francavilla di Sicilia, · Alcantara Valley · Giardini Naxos

[Angelo Santino]

https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandamento_(cosa_nostra)

Mandamenti'structures

Palermo - The city of Palermo is divided into 8 mandamenti: Porta Nuova, Brancaccio, Boccadifalco, Passo di Rigano, Santa Maria di Gesù, Noce, Pagliarelli, Resuttana and San Lorenzo;

In 1898 Sangiorgi interviewed Siino who laid out out the groups hierarchies- Piana dei Colli, Passo di Rigano, Perpignano, Malaspina, Uditore, Olivuzza, Falde, Acquasanta, which coincidently adds up to 8. He also provided some member names for Resuttana, San Maria di Gesu, among others but not who was boss.

In 1910 these groups would splinter 2, 3, 4 ways. Palermo Centro for example, was once part of what constituted Olivuzza. The mandamenti, from a historical vantage point, was a re-merging of sorts. This probably wasn't a conscious decision on the mafia's part but merely a logical one because those close links with their neighbors never dissipated.

We can't confirm 100% that every Sicilian in America that migrated was a member in Sicily, that would narrow it down to 2-3 names. But going by territory and where members lived we can guestimate that Mangano, D'Aquila, Fanaro were like affiliated with Olivuzza and Lupo worked in their territory. Frank Cali's Family also comes from that area of Palermo in the center.

Up north to Resuttana, an earlier John Fontana (possible relative of the Villabate one of the same name) was associated with the Gambinos while Lupo was boss. In Sangiorgi an Antonino Grillo was listed as a member under the Amorosos 1890's and listed as boss in 1910 by Palermitan sources. In 1911, Grillo would arrive with his brother in law Manfredi Mineo and in the 1920's D'Aquila sent 500,000 (usd or lira unknown) to Grillo to aid in him in the 1920's citrus wars. We can assume that Mineo was perhaps affiliated with the Resuttana family as there wasn't a family (that we're aware of) in Giardini Inglese, I'm not sure if there was one later after the 1910 break up.

[scagghiuni]

it's from the DIA

[Angelo Santino]

Amazing how little things have changed over the century.

For example, "Porta Nuova" mandamento was essentially Olivuzza before the 1910 breakup into the groups that constitute that mandamento today. And a significant portion of what made up the early Gambinos came from this exact region of Palermo citta.

[Dwalin2014]

When did Kalsa become a separate family? If I remember correctly, the Kalsa mafia leader Tommaso Spadaro was the underboss of the Porta Nuova family under Pippo Calo' in the 1980s.

[scagghiuni]

When did Kalsa become a separate family? If I remember correctly, the Kalsa mafia leader Tommaso Spadaro was the underboss of the Porta Nuova family under Pippo Calo' in the 1980s.

i also thought it was part of porta nuova family, but if the DIA reported it as a family in its own it means there is evidence of it, zen family for example was formed recently and if we look at the province there are mandamenti with several families, most of them small probably, 10/15 members

[motorfab]

The province of Agrigento is made up of 10 mandamenti: Agrigento, Santa Elisabetta, Porto Empedocle, Canicattì, Cianciana, Ribera, Sambuca di Sicilia, Casteltermini, Palma di Montechiaro and Campobello di Licata;

Weren't Siculiana & Cattolica Eraclea part of the Madamento too ? Or these cities are considered too small to be part of the Madamento? And is your list is the list of current Madamentos or does it also include the old ones?

Sorry if the questions may seem silly but I'm like Eline, I have several questions about the mafia structures of Sicily