Consigliere part 2 - Change from elected position to a rank that's boss appointed.

[SonnyBlackstein]

Bill Bonanno also said in the Bonanno Family the consigliere was responsible for maintaining the "war chest".

Simone Esposito was shelved due to stealing ''family funds'.

Do all members vote for the position? Gotti told Gallo he'd break all the Capos for a day to install a new Consig.
So it is only Capodecina's who elect the consigliere and not soldiers?

[PolackTony]

Bill Bonanno also said in the Bonanno Family the consigliere was responsible for maintaining the "war chest".

Simone Esposito was shelved due to stealing ''family funds'.

Do all members vote for the position? Gotti told Gallo he'd break all the Capos for a day to install a new Consig.
So it is only Capodecina's who elect the consigliere and not soldiers?

Not sure about the Gambinos, but Antonino Calderone stated that in larger Sicilian families the capidecina polled their men and then the capidecina voted, as it wasn’t feasible for larger families to directly vote. Given that the Gambinos were even larger than the largest Sicilian families, no way was each member putting in his individual vote, IMO.

[SonnyBlackstein]

Not sure about the Gambinos, but Antonino Calderone stated that in larger Sicilian families the capidecina polled their men and then the capidecina voted, as it wasn’t feasible for larger families to directly vote. Given that the Gambinos were even larger than the largest Sicilian families, no way was each member putting in his individual vote, IMO.

Good post. Makes sense. I wonder if the Capodecina's vote was equal to that of a soldier's and the vote he presented was that of his crews democratic consensus (including himself) or if either his vote held more weight basis his position or he would determine his crews vote by authority. And Im sure there was a diversity of what actually happened, Im more interested in how it was supposed to organize.

[B.]

The members voted through their captains in the two elections Scarpa described and the captain influenced how they voted. Scarpa voted on behalf of his brother in prison and another imprisoned member, so he cast three votes each time. Someone raised an issue over him doing this.

[PolackTony]

The members voted through their captains in the two elections Scarpa described and the captain influenced how they voted. Scarpa voted on behalf of his brother in prison and another imprisoned member, so he cast three votes each time. Someone raised an issue over him doing this.

Good info. As in Sicily, I'd imagine that the smaller US families, at least in the past, would've held direct votes. A possible example was the "tourna" described by Maniaci for the Milwaukee Outfit, where the entire family would convene for important matters. Obviously, in the NYC families, this sort of thing wasn't possible.

[JeremyTheJew]

Well this makes me think about Mikey Boy Paradisio

Not a “zip” like most the recent admin in gambino
And also not a gotti loyalist either which was generally the other side

But I do believe he was closer to the “third” power side ala the Corozzo/Di Maria/Marino

[Pmac2]

Think he was close to gotti. Just because you heard the got in a fight when they were young dont mean alot. Angelo trusted mikey to handle the hit on gaspipe. So he trusted him anuff to do a off the record hit on a powerfull guy in another family. Only reason gotti was gonna hit mike p was because the luchese wanted him. And it never happend

[Pmac2]

Gotti was gonna make him a capo but he kept going to jail. I think jackie nose becomes capo of that crew then

[B.]

Paradiso came up in the same crew as Jack D'Amico and was ID'd in the 2000s as a captain close to Frank Cali and Frank Inzerillo when D'Amico and Cefalu were running the Family.

[TSNYC]

I got a kick out of the pennisi story where he talked about meeting Paradiso, and sitting in some restaurant back office with Paradiso and Ernie Grillo listening to wiretap calls and helping Paradiso decide whether to cop out or not.

[Angelo Santino]

What is Paradisos lineage? He was a guy I had difficult time finding info on .

[Little_Al1991]

John Pennisi on the Consigliere position when talking about how Andrew DiSimone became the Lucchese Consigliere - "I wouldn't say it was an olive branch." Rather, he said, it was because DeSimone was a "good guy, even tempered, with a lot on the ball. They picked a guy who deserves it." DeSimone also has the qualities a good consiglieri needs. A consiglieri is the one who handles disputes, including internal family disputes and larger problems with other crime families.
"The consiglieri can't be a hothead. He should actually be like Tom Hagen," the fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 The Godfather novel and the later film, Pennisi said.
At the same time, Pennisi isn't certain that DeSimone's elevation to consiglieri will stand the test of time.
This is from https://www.cosanostranews.com/2020/09/ ... their.html

[B.]

Good question on Paradiso. All I know is DiLeonardo said Paul Zaccaria brought him in.

[Angelo Santino]

Ok, so by most accounts the consigliere is "picked" by the boss. Does the consig continue to hold the position in the event of a boss changeover or can they be demoted?

[PolackTony]

Ok, so by most accounts the consigliere is "picked" by the boss. Does the consig continue to hold the position in the event of a boss changeover or can they be demoted?

This is a great question and one I’ve wondered about myself. In families where the boss appoints the consigliere, one would assume that a new boss can replace them, as with the capos, but I don’t know that I’ve seen that addressed explicitly.