Family Councils / Consigli / Seggia / Elders / Inner Circle

[B.]

The DeCavalcantes may have had their own consiglio:

[PolackTony]

At this point now, one wonders if there was a family that did not have a council.

[nash143]

Possible argument that New England had a similar set-up. Here the group is title the 'criminal commission.' In the report, some of these guys are described as 'elders' and are semi-retired.

[B.]

Yeah, that is worth exploring more. Def let us know what you find on NE. We tend to see this with the more Sicilian-centric families around the US and NE was one of the least Sicilian US families by that time but that doesn't mean they abandoned the consiglio.

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What's significant about the DeCavalcante rumor is it lists a captain (Colletti) and a soldier (Caterinicchio). We already knew Sal Caterinicchio was one of the most influential members of the family in NJ and he is almost always grouped with the DeCavalcante leadership even though he was "just" a soldier. If he sat on the consiglio as this implies that makes more sense why he was such a major figure though he was technically a soldier. It also fits other consiglios who allowed senior soldiers to have a seat.

It looks to me like there are three redacted names unless the first redaction is a very long name (longer than Caterinicchio, which would be a feat). I believe it is five total names, which is proving to be the standard size for the consiglio.

I'm also reminded of something on the DeCavalcante tapes where Sam talked about problems he was having with some old time members of the family. I always assumed this was just some random older members who were bitching, but I'm now wondering if he was referring to some sort of disagreement with the council. Council members are apparently supposed to be able to express themselves to the boss as near-equals (something Balistrieri in Milwaukee had a problem with) so maybe he was getting pushback in that context and felt the need to assert himself. Just a thought.

[B.]

Antiliar found something years back about Caterinicchio as a possible consigliere. Unless he was consigliere under Amari or a previous boss, I haven't seen anything that suggests he held that position later. Anything is possible under Amari or earlier.

However, I think an explanation for certain confusion over titles is starting to emerge. Everyone on the consiglio would technically be a consigliere. If someone were to describe one of these guys that way or even just describe their role, you might get the impression that person is the official family consigliere, which is incorrect but also not completely out of left field.

Could also explain some of the discrepancy about Priziola in Detroit. Bompensiero said he was underboss, while Scott's sources say consigliere. On the Giacalone tapes we see that Priziola served as the chairman or secretary over Detroit's consiglio. I wonder if his presiding over the consiglio led to confusion that he too was actually the family consigliere.

San Jose had a "secretary" position as well, which is open for interpretation. One of the SJ member informants described a few different people holding the post of "secretary" at different times and this person participated in the SJ consiglio. I first assumed the "secretary" might be the official consigliere but after reading about Detroit I'm wondering if it was common to select a defacto secretary or chairman of the consiglio. Joe Bonanno described the Commission having a defacto secretary, who he said was like a "capo consigliere" (head councilor) rather than a capo dei capi. You have to wonder if this idea of a "capo consigliere" was modeled after the consiglio that existed in individual families. I mean it's also just intuitive from an organizational standpoint -- committees typically have a secretary or chairman in any walk of life.

[B.]

This explanation from Buscetta backs up Calderone's statement that the Sicilian mafia used a consiglio:



- Buscetta seems to see these consiglieri as interchangeable with a single consigliere, but states the limit is three, which would make for five total consiglio members. This number 5 is showing to be incredibly consistent with the groups who used a consiglio. Also, it makes me wonder if some families did not have an official consigliere, but simply a consiglio. In San Jose for example, informants describe multiple consiglieri who sit on the council but no one individual seems to be the official consigliere (though we have references to a consiglio "secretary").

- Interesting he says the consigliere is appointed by the boss in smaller families, while it is elected in larger families. This plays into the idea discussed in the consigliere thread that the consigliere was often elected to represent a certain faction, as factionalism is more common in larger families and thus there's a greater need to give those factions a "voice" (i.e. letting them vote for consigliere). We know consigliere in the US was supposed to be elected, but maybe this sheds some light on why we have examples of consigliere being appointed and elected in the US depending on the situation.

- I'm starting to wonder if the position of official consigliere evolved out of the consiglio. Maybe as the organization's power became more centralized they preferred to have one individual carrying out these duties opposed to three.

[Antiliar]

I can see Caternicchio being on the consiglio, so that he was a consigliere in the sense of being a member of the consiglio. I think this applies for Chicago and Detroit as well.

[B.]

I can see Caternicchio being on the consiglio, so that he was a consigliere in the sense of being a member of the consiglio. I think this applies for Chicago and Detroit as well.

Definitely.

Like San Jose, the Detroit FBI reports from the 1960s don't list a single consigliere, but multiple of them. More and more I suspect this is the reason for the confusion about Meli and Priziola's exact positions in the admin.

I also wonder about Philly, as mentioned earlier, because Rocco Scafidi believed there were three consiglieri when he was reinstated in the family and only later learned Rugnetta held the official consigliere rank. He wasn't new to the organization, so I suspect when he was inducted in the early 1950s Philly may have had a consiglio and he assumed it was still in place in the 1960s.

[B.]

Another source may have referred to the multi-Family NYC/NJ "consiglio" mentioned by Valachi. Michelino Clemente seemed to refer to it in slightly different terms on his tapes ("the three geeps") but this one closely matches Valachi's description:



- This could be Valachi too as I wasn't able to ID the source but I don't think it was him. Like this source, Valachi mentioned Biondo being on it but the other three were never mentioned by him.

- Tommy Eboli and Pete Ferrera didn't come to power until the 1960s so this would place the NYC/NJ consiglio existing later than other sources indicated (1931 to mid-1950s).

- Note that aside from Joe Biondo who was consigliere under Mangano and LoCicero who was acting consig for a time in the early 1960s, Eboli and Ferrera were not consiglieri which contrasts with Valachi's belief that the consigliere of each Family sat on the consiglio. If this source had the names right, it would indicate each Family designated a representative who wasn't necessarily the official Family consigliere though maybe this was a later evolution given Valachi was very clear about Family consiglieri sitting on the consiglio.

[CabriniGreen]

Since starting this thread I've had a chance to see more info on Detroit's set-up (thanks Scott and CC). Not only is it clear they had a consiglio in the traditional fashion, but they might be the best example of how a consiglio operated in a larger, thriving organization. Many of the other families we know of with a consiglio were either on a steep decline or the info was being recalled from years past.

From the Giacalone tapes, we know too they used the word "chair" for the consiglio, just like Milwaukee (who used "seggia" = chair). The tapes also indicate admin member John Priziola acted as a senior chairman over the consiglio. Like other councils around the US, it appears they allowed senior soldiers to sit on the consiglio given Black Bill Tocco's role as a soldier / "consigliere emeritus".

On the same subject... we know the US mafia influenced the Sicilian mafia to set up their Commission, but Buscetta said the Sicilian mafia wanted soldiers to be able to sit on their Commission. I wonder if that is a holdover from the consiglio, which comes from the Sicilians and allowed soldiers. In the US you would never hear of a soldier or really anyone below boss becoming an "avugad". Sicily may have been using the same principle for their Commission as they used for the consiglio by allowing someone of any rank. We can see the Sicilian Commission was consumed by the bosses regardless.

I don't mean to give the impression you had tons of soldiers on these US councils either. From the examples we have, most of the consiglio seats were held by the admin and captains, but it's significant that they allowed soldiers to have a seat at all. Appointment to the consiglio didn't depend on rank, but inevitably ranking members were more likely to get seats.

I always thought he meant he wanted a separation of powers so to speak... like you couldnt simultaneously be boss of a family, AND set overall mafia policy on the Commision.

It's a really fascinating look into how sicilians view government. Its like..... they really dont trust ANY form of government. Like.... they view oppression as a naturally emergent force, an inevitable eventuality that has to be curbed.

It's like Buscetta didnt trust even the mafias OWN form of government not to eventually become corrupted, which, of course, as that passage points out is exactly what happened.


This might sound kinda nuts, but you know how the mafias ranks are like the Roman legions, and they kinda operate like a bastardized form of Feudalism? This consiglio kinda sounds like a mafia bastardized version of the Tribune of the Plebs. I know.... silliness. But an actual body of the government that represents the interest of the mafia " Plebs", the average soldier is what this reminds me of...


Great stuff here B. , all you guys. This is one of these revelations I think is a Blackhand exclusive. Who else discovered this stuff? I'm thinking no one.....

[davidf1989]

Possible argument that New England had a similar set-up. Here the group is title the 'criminal commission.' In the report, some of these guys are described as 'elders' and are semi-retired.

This is what mob turncoat Vinnie Teresa said about the family council in his book my Life in the Mafia on p. 101 'Patriarca called a meeting of the New England mob's advisory council to decide who would be sent to Brooklyn. Now, the advisory council is something special in our area. I don't know if other mobs have the same operation. In those days, the council was made up of old Mafia dons, the Mustache Petes who made the mob m New England during the 1920s and 1930s.'

Is he seen to be a credible source?

[B.]

Thanks Cabrini -- the consiglio hasn't been properly acknowledged by LE or historians. It took having access to reports on what was going on nationwide, comparing it to what Sicilian pentiti said, etc. Regional FBI offices absolutely had intel on the consiglio's existence but for whatever reason ignored it when mapping out the structure. It was fading by then anyway.

There are some great historians who also overlook the Gran Consiglio and Assemblea Generale (which was more than just a meet-and-greet of national heads) despite having access to Gentile and Morello's letters. Again not sure why it gets overlooked but I think people are still attached to the idea that Family bosses were 100% authoritarian and the "revolution" of 1931 removed the capo dei capi and replaced him w/ the Commission. Guess it makes for a better story than "there were these other things we don't know a lot about".

The only historians I know of who fully acknowledge how organized these national processes were are Antiliar / CC. That's not disrespect to other historians, they just seem to be on their own in understanding the transition better than others based on what's available.

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David -- great find, thanks for sharing. Teresa is a sketchy source but he did know things and shouldn't have all his info thrown out. Sounds to me like NE had one.

[Frank]

As I understand this, this Council or Consigli that Valachi and unidentified informant are referring to is only for Ny city Families? Not nationwide? Could the Gambino logjam of who was Consiglieri be because of the Consiglieri, Consigli for each family. Plus the multi family Consigli. This could be the reason why multiple guys are said to be Consiglieri of the Gambinos in the 1950s.

[B.]

Could well be. The info LCNbios shared about Joe SanFilippo being a Gambino "consigliere of judgment" would fit with the NY consiglio as their main function was to judge members accused of misconduct.

I think similar confusion happened with the internal consiglio in other Families. Various guys or even multiple guys at the same time have been said to be consiglieri in Families like Detroit and San Jose -- they both had the consiglio so technically everyone on it was "a" consigliere by definition even though "the" consigliere on the admin was a separate post (who could sit on the consiglio as well). Kind of a "who's on first" situation.

[B.]

Also reason to believe some Families didn't have an official consigliere and distributed the duties among the consiglio. There is evidence of that in San Jose and Buscetta said something similar about some Sicilian Families.

Magaddino said he refused to allow an official consigliere to be elected in his Family because it rivaled the boss's power but I haven't seen indication on his tapes they had a consiglio instead. Doesn't mean they didn't have one just haven't seen anything but something to consider based on what other sources say.