Family Councils / Consigli / Seggia / Elders / Inner Circle

[B.]

I imagine it was like what DeRose said about the induction banquet, where the important non-Italians basically waited outside during the "formal" part (whatever that entailed in Chicago at the time) and then they all celebrated together afterward. Maybe non-Italian representatives had to leave the room when they got into the internal administrative stuff but with a wink and a nod.

I think CC mentioned a similar story with Rockman where he was in a meeting discussing high-level business matters and then had to briefly leave the room so they could make a formal introduction or discuss something related to Cosa Nostra. Can't remember the specifics.

[PolackTony]

I imagine it was like what DeRose said about the induction banquet, where the important non-Italians basically waited outside during the "formal" part (whatever that entailed in Chicago at the time) and then they all celebrated together afterward. Maybe non-Italian representatives had to leave the room when they got into the internal administrative stuff but with a wink and a nod.

I think CC mentioned a similar story with Rockman where he was in a meeting discussing high-level business matters and then had to briefly leave the room so they could make a formal introduction or discuss something related to Cosa Nostra. Can't remember the specifics.

As I recall, Aiuppa was meeting with Cleveland and Rockman was there. Aiuppa asked Rockman to leave the room, but when he was told that the meeting was about the Teamsters, he invited Rockman back in. I'm sure guys like Rockman were very well aware that at one level at least they would always be, formally, "outsiders" and certain things weren't their business and weren't for them. I also don't doubt that they were told lots of things that they technically shouldn't have been told "off the record".

If the Gambinos had a Consiglio, Joe Watts would have been considered a de facto "councilor", I'm sure. Same thing, would've had to step out for certain matters, but probably still would've managed to know much of what was happening behind the mafia curtain anyway.

[B.]

This 1963 informant was a made member, I think one of the West Coast guys (he says his Family is under Joe Bonanno's national jurisdiction), but not positive. He identified a council that "controlled" the Family here:



- I believe the FBI confused what he was saying. Earlier he explains how a "circle" is made up of members who report to a capo, referring to a decina, and then he says the circles make up the "Nostra Brigada" (Our Borgata). He then says the circles in the borgata are under another "capo" or "Don", obviously the boss /rappresentante.

- This is where it sounds like the FBI got confused, as they make it sound like the "Don" of a borgata oversees multiple Families, like a Commission member, but he goes on to explain later that the "Don" of a borgata reports to an "area leader" who is on the Commission and cites Joe Bonanno having this role over the informant's own Family. It's clear when he talks about the "Commission" that he isn't referring to the same body as the "council" mentioned earlier, meaning he was referring to a Family consiglio in that section.

- He says the consiglio members were voted in and when one died an election was held. That clarifies how they got the spot. It followed the same principle as the boss and official consigliere where it was at least ostensibly democratic and the election could include either the entire membership or members being represented (probably by a capo di "circle", though he doesn't say that outright).

- His breakdown of the organization using his own terminology:

Commission
Area Leader / District Troubleshooter (Commission avugad)
Council (elected senior members who "controlled" the Family)
Capo of Nostra Borgata (Family boss)
Capo of Circle (capodecina)
Soldato

- He didn't mention underboss or official consigliere at least in this report. If it's one of the San Jose informants, they don't seem to have had an official consigliere by the 1960s and it seems like the secretary and council carried out that function. Maybe being secretary of the council was basically the same thing as official consigliere.

- It makes sense to me that the Family consiglio would be seen as above the boss given the Commission is above all the bosses on a national level. I believe the Families were meant to mirror the national bodies in some ways so having a council at the top just as the country has a Commission would fit that. Joe Bonanno says the Commission elected a "chairman" (Vincent Mangano) and also had a defacto "secretary" (Profaci), so like the consiglio there was a chairman and/or secretary role.

- I think a better comparison though is the capo dei capi era, where the capo was technically the head of the country but the Gran Consiglio had major influence and for all we know the capo dei capi was technically a member of the Gran Consiglio. Joe Bonanno insisted the true name of the capo dei capi should be "capo consigliere" who was a "chief adviser" which would fit with the capo actually being the elected secretary/representative of the Gran Consiglio.

^^^ With that in mind, you could see the secretary of a Family consiglio as the borgata's own "capo consigliere" too given he's the elected representative of the other consiglieri on the council. I'm almost wondering if the official Family consigliere rank evolved out of this elected consiglio secretary / capo consigliere or if it was originally the same thing. It would make sense that the official consigliere would preside over the council given they were supposed to preside at boss elections, often induction ceremonies, etc.

^^^ I can't think of any agenda Joe Bonanno would have in calling it the capo consigliere but he really made a point of it. He said the position wasn't supposed to be a "boss of bosses" in the sense of ordering people around, but a chief arbiter. Bonanno definitely didn't try to whitewash the position as he says Masseria and Maranzano became tyrants, but he specifically said back in Sicily this was sort of a defacto "capo consigliere".

[B.]

Here is my own breakdown of the traditional organization using the examples we have:

Gran Consiglio (pre-1931)
- Capo dei capi / capo consigliere (elected; unsure if technically a part of the Gran Consiglio or above it)
--- Gran Consiglio members / consiglieri (presumably elected but not sure who they recruited from, i.e. could any member be elected?)
----- Assemblea Generale (unsure if this had fixed seats, included all Families, or just used whatever representatives were needed for a situation)

Commission (post-1931)
- Chairman (elected from Commission members)
--- Commission members / avugads (elected from Family bosses)
----- Families who reported to avugads (they technically voted on national matters via proxy)

Family
- Consiglio (typically made up of 5-7 elected admin, captains, and/or senior soldiers)
--- Secretary / chairman (elected from consiglio members)
----- Consiglio members / consiglieri (elected from Family membership)

- Capo / rappresentante (elected from Family membership)
--- Sottocapo (appointed by boss)
- Consigliere (elected from Family membership, possibly equivalent to consiglio secretary in some cases)

----- Capodecina (appointed by boss)
--------- Soldati (proposed by any member, can report to capodecina or admin)

------------- Avvicinati / recruits / proposed members (on record with and/or proposed by member of any rank)
----------------- On Record Associates (on record with member of any rank)
--------------------- Civilian Associates (is within the Family network and can be placed on record if needed)

[B.]

^^^ It also appears individual Families once had their own version of an Assemblea (what Maniaci called a "tourna") attended by every Family member where announcements, elections, and inductions could take place. Other sources have talked about how pre-1960s a number of Families would have these meetings of the entire membership.

This probably served a similar function within a Family as the Assemblea Generale served nationally -- we know from Morello that representatives at an Assemblea would cast votes on issues just as members voted on specific issues at these Family "tourna" type meetings. Allegra said the Assemblea also existed in the Sicilian mafia.

---

Should also add this to the breakdown in the post above:

New York / New Jersey Consiglio (post-1931)
Consiglio
- Rotating Chairman (one of the six NYC/NJ Family bosses)
--- Consiglieri (apparently all six official consiglieri of the NYC/NJ Families)

This could also be the "three geeps" described by Michele Clemente as he described an identical function just gave a different number of people than Valachi.

For all we know the NYC/NJ consiglio was basically a continuation of the Gran Consiglio but on a smaller scale just for the NYC area using a rotating capo instead of a fixed capo dei capi / capo consigliere.

It's not clear how the DeCavalcantes and Newark played into the joint consiglio as they would make the total 7 Families, with a rotating boss making 8. If they were always separate Families, maybe the original joint consiglio was just made up of 7 consiglieri from those Families and they added the rotating boss when Newark disbanded so there'd still be a tiebreaker. Valachi said 7 were chosen in case of tie so they'd want to maintain that number if a Family disbanded.

---

This section from Nicola Gentile's co-author adds support to the idea that the capo dei capi / capo consigliere was himself a member of the Gran Consiglio elected to preside over it:

Third: Gentile was more or less a CapoFamiglia of sorts. And a Consigliere to the Capo of the Consiglio Supremo, an intermediary and a peacemaker. He controlled with force, otherwise it would collapse, but he did not participate in the great crashes centering around the control of large deals. He presided, advised, traveled, gave suggestions, and proposed negotiations, but he was neither too large nor too small, he controlled things from the side.

- The capo dei capi was the "Capo of the Consiglio Supremo" and as a member of the Consiglio, Gentile was a "consigliere" to the capo.

Similar phrasing again comes up in Chilanti's interview w/ Gentile:

Chilanti: And what about the Consiglio of the Capi?
Gentile: They speak for the Capo dei Capi and address the Assemblea.

So it does sound like Bonanno was right that formally the capo dei capi was the "capo consigliere" of the Gran Consiglio.

[sdeitche]

Shows even a heavily Sicilian Family (what did the chart reveal, 90+ percent?) had those kinds of relationships.

here is the make-up:

Gaetano Diecidue - Sicilian, born in Tampa
James Costa Longo - Sicilian, born in Wilkes-Barre PA (though in Tampa by 1930 where he got married at age 21)
Sam Trafficante - Sicilian, born in Tampa
Arthur Perla - Calabrian, born in Reggio Calabria
Al Scaglione - Sicilian, born in Tampa
Baby Joe Diez - Cuban, born in Tampa

Also, interestingly, the two elders described in 1963, Salvatore Scaglione and Joe Mistretta, were both born in Argentina, but Sicilian.

[Angelo Santino]

Here is my own breakdown of the traditional organization using the examples we have:

Gran Consiglio (pre-1931)
- Capo dei capi / capo consigliere (elected; unsure if technically a part of the Gran Consiglio or above it)
--- Gran Consiglio members / consiglieri (presumably elected but not sure who they recruited from, i.e. could any member be elected?)
----- Assemblea Generale (unsure if this had fixed seats, included all Families, or just used whatever representatives were needed for a situation)

Commission (post-1931)
- Chairman (elected from Commission members)
--- Commission members / avugads (elected from Family bosses)
----- Families who reported to avugads (they technically voted on national matters via proxy)

Family
- Consiglio (typically made up of 5-7 elected admin, captains, and/or senior soldiers)
--- Secretary / chairman (elected from consiglio members)
----- Consiglio members / consiglieri (elected from Family membership)

- Capo / rappresentante (elected from Family membership)
--- Sottocapo (appointed by boss)
- Consigliere (elected from Family membership, possibly equivalent to consiglio secretary in some cases)

----- Capodecina (appointed by boss)
--------- Soldati (proposed by any member, can report to capodecina or admin)

------------- Avvicinati / recruits / proposed members (on record with and/or proposed by member of any rank)
----------------- On Record Associates (on record with member of any rank)
--------------------- Civilian Associates (is within the Family network and can be placed on record if needed)

Great breakdown!

[B.]

Stroccos posted this in the Consigliere thread a while back: https://theblackhand.club/forum/viewtop ... =29&t=7031

there was a guy in Cleveland referred to as a cheif counselor by some informant tommaso argento

"Chief counselor" is a literal translation of capo consigliere, discussed above as the term Joe Bonanno used for capo dei capi. It's evident to me that the capo dei capi / capo consigliere was technically the chairman of the Gran Consiglio.

If this was used within the Cleveland Family, it's an indication the Family consiglio secretary/chairman was also sometimes called capo consigliere which makes sense.

I know shit about Cleveland so no idea if there's evidence of a consiglio but it would be zero surprise if they were another Family with one, with this "chief counselor" being the secretary.

It also would imply the capo consigliere of the Family consiglio was akin to a capo dei capi within the Family, which fits guys like San Jose secretary Stefano Zoccoli telling James Lanza he had the power to go to NYC and ask for Joe Cerrito to be removed as boss. Would also fit Ricca and/or Accardo now that we know they presided over the Chicago consiglio.

These findings are cool because they prove everyone right in a way.

[PolackTony]

Stroccos posted this in the Consigliere thread a while back: https://theblackhand.club/forum/viewtop ... =29&t=7031

there was a guy in Cleveland referred to as a cheif counselor by some informant tommaso argento

"Chief counselor" is a literal translation of capo consigliere, discussed above as the term Joe Bonanno used for capo dei capi. It's evident to me that the capo dei capi / capo consigliere was technically the chairman of the Gran Consiglio.

If this was used within the Cleveland Family, it's an indication the Family consiglio secretary/chairman was also sometimes called capo consigliere which makes sense.

I know shit about Cleveland so no idea if there's evidence of a consiglio but it would be zero surprise if they were another Family with one, with this "chief counselor" being the secretary.

It also would imply the capo consigliere of the Family consiglio was akin to a capo dei capi within the Family, which fits guys like San Jose secretary Stefano Zoccoli telling James Lanza he had the power to go to NYC and ask for Joe Cerrito to be removed as boss. Would also fit Ricca and/or Accardo now that we know they presided over the Chicago consiglio.

These findings are cool because they prove everyone right in a way.

Great info. “Chief councilor” is the exact translation for “capo consigliere” and is exactly how I would think of a “chairman” or secretary of a family Consiglio: as like the capo consigliere was to the Gran Consiglio but on the family-level.

[B.]

Yeah I'm now pretty convinced of it. I re-read through Gentile's descriptions again and it all makes sense.

He also said Vincenzo Troia was going to be the "capo" of the Commissione when it was first proposed before Maranzano rejected the idea. The idea of one Commissione member being the "capo" looks to be a continuation of the Gran Consiglio electing a "capo" over them. When the Commission finally formed they elected a "chairman" but with way less power than the earlier capo consigliere / capo dei capi.

Gentile told the Italian Treasury agents that the Commission was called the Grand Council (translated from Gran Consiglio) so to a guy like Gentile who was a tenured participant of these earlier bodies it seems to have been a much more subtle change than others have made it out to be. The Commissione wasn't so much a brand new entity but a reformed version of the Gran Consiglio.

[bronx]

B..and Chris fantastic finds thanks

[Angelo Santino]

1921
They had turned to me because they thought, that my reason of my authority and my
strong connections with the Mafia throughout the United States, that I would be able to
successfully form a commission with the aim of calling together the Assemblea Generale. Where
the sentence could be reopened, and to weigh the wrongs and merits of the condemned men. I
promised them all my support but that I was not able to act at this time, and could not depart for
New York until I cleared my own situation. I advised Valente, Piddu Morello, and Ignazio Lupo
to disappear, recommending that they trust no one and not to keep appointments if any sort. I
added that Valente, in particular, did not return to Cleveland

1930
After the meeting opened we discussed what to do concerning the war that Maranzano
had unchained. We decided to give the mandate to Don Giuseppe Traina, to form a commission
with the authority to go to Maranzano and attempt to end this state of war. Traina, crafty as an
old fox, asked the Assemblea if the components of the commission should consist of
Rappresentante or Gregari. The Assemblea left the decision to him. And then a loud voice said:
“Among us is Mr. Culicchia Gentile.”
At that name, the entire Assemblea applauded and agreed ( ). After this, Traina called as
members to be Vincenzo Troia, Totò Lo Verde, a Palermintano and Chicago resident (he
functioned as the Rappresentante but the real Capo was Al Capone), and Peppino Siracusa (the
Rappresentante of Pittsburgh.) The commission was composed of six members.

Being that the Capo of the Fuorusciti had not decided whether or not to receive the
commission, one fine day, Paolo Ricca came to see me, he was a lieutenant of Al Capone, and he
said:
“I have been sent exclusively by Al Capone to speak with you. We of Chicago, carefully
follow the developments of the situation and are sure that all the components of the commission
work in favor of Maranzano, the only one who is faithful to the mandate among all the six
Rappresentanti is you. We invite you to make your voice heard and to set aside the nonsense
which does not even bring anyone to agreement.”
He added:
“Either Maranzano decided to receive you or otherwise we authorize you to disable the
commission. However, Maranzano should know about the war that we of Chicago will wage,
and if necessary, we will employ airplanes ( ). Because those means are ready and concentrated in a
specified place.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK0NrScPdGA

Their point of view was recognized and therefore, it was decided to call the Assemblea
Generale. It was advised by circular letters that all the Rappresentanti come quickly to New
York.
At the reunion, which approximately 300 people participated (many were
Rappresentanti). It was decided that the main scopes of the Assemblea were the premises from
Maranzano on revoking the death sentence placed on all the Castellammaresi, and dealing for
peace.
The first to arrive, went to the side of Maranzano, they were the Rappresentanti of
California and the Far West, ten men in all. Two days after I left, so did Totò Chirico, the reason
involved Mangano. His refusal, at first, was because Mangano had been condemned to death by
Maranzano. These two departures in two days, worked very well to make the ten men take
considerations.
Our side consisted of about sixty Rappresentanti, but Maranzano’s consisted of over 150
men. The chosen premise was a hotel in the mountains, a pleasant place to spend a holiday. In
the great hall a large table had been arranged as a place for our discussions. I happened to sit
across from Maranzano, but at my side was Troia.
At the table, Maranzano stood on his feet and said:
“Those who wish to join my group are in time to do so before the discussions begin;
those wishing to do so may do this by just raising their hands,”
The first to do so were the ten Rappresentanti he had convinced previously. Others were
about to do the same thing, when I turned to Troia and reminded him that this procedure was
without precedent. Troia, then rose to his feet and intimately asked all bystanders to remain in
their places, reminding everyone that we did not gather to prosecute, but to revoke the death
sentence pronounced on the Castellammaresi for the aim of arriving at peace

Early 1931: Al Capone wasn't official boss of Chicago yet
In that time, more Massaria loyalists fell, however, his group still remained loyal to him,
concerned with the fate that would befall them all, they sent Massaria as series of ultimatums,
one was to resume the use of arms. Massaria was decidedly opposed because he still nourished
the thought of coming towards a conclusion of honorable peace. But the Picciotti was not of the
same opinion, and they called in Al Capone from Chicago, being that he was the Capo of a
Decina that belonged to the Borgata of Joe Massaria.

In that Assemblea Generale, gathered in those days, remained a historical landmark in the
annals of the Mafia, there reigned an indescribable confusion. Some Rappresentanti,
remembering the past dictatorial regime of Massaria, Manfrè, and Fanuzzo, had proposed to elect
to the office of Capo dei Capi, a commission composed of six elements. The presidency would
remained Vinzenzo Troia, who was successful to win the sympathies of everyone. But
Maranzano, cunning and ambitious, began to plot new schemes against Troia. He formed a
limited commission, which proved that Troia had committed some acts. With this, defined the
end to the governing of six composed with Troia as the Capo. The Rappresentanti, therefore,
looked to select the Capo, it was towards the figure of Maranzano. My warnings were forgotten,
despite the fact that I had shown how dangerous this man was. Maranzano was elected Capo dei Capi of the Mafia of the
United States.
As soon as he attained power, his prime concern was reorganizing the important Borgate
of New York. As their Capo, he elected Rappresentanti who were devoted to him and whom he
had already advised which posts they were to occupy, having accepted the condition imposed on
them by Maranzano, who seen to it that everyone was bound to his will. There came to be
formed these Borgate with their administration completed as: Capo, SottoCapo, Consigliere and
Capi di Decina.

Many followers of Maranzano were killed as they were spotted because they were
stained with the atrocious wickedness of following the man.
Instantly, the Castellammaresi asked for a truce, because they wanted to know the motive
for the execution of Maranzano. The demand called for a new meeting of the Assemblea
Generale to be held in Chicago, on which occasion, the testimony of Ciccio Scalisi was heard
which revealed the actions and crimes committed by Maranzano during the period of his
dictatorship. Tired and enlightened by experience, this time it was decided to replace the Capo
dei Capi of the Mafia with a commission of six people, the office would no longer be vested in
one person alone, who might became inflated with importance and therefore might commit
unjustified atrocities. The idea, which was suggested by me at the time, was placed into practice.
A commission was nominated with a duty to govern the destiny of the Mafia of the
United States. This resulted in the commission being composed of: Lucky Luciano,
Rappresentante of the ex-Borgata of Joe Massaria; Vincenzo Mangano, Capo of the famous
Borgata of Totò D’Aquila; Joe Profaci, Capo of a Borgata from Brooklyn, nicknamed the Olive
Oil King; Peppino Bonanno, Capo of another Borgata from Brooklyn; Al Capone from Chicago,
Masi Gagliano, native of Corleone; and Ciccio Milano from Cleveland.
With the governing body of the commission in place, a more relaxing air was breathed.

1 There existed a Grand Council and a General Assembly. Within these bodies commissions could be formed if there was a disagreement over an edict. These commissions would make the case for something like attorneys. It could be an appeal system and it could also be an investigation panel.

2 The commission Traina headed was an arbitrary panel sent to mediate with Maranzano.

3 Paul Ricca approaching Gentile and discussing Mafia affairs with him surrounding the commission strongly points to his having a high or knowledgeable position by that time. He wasn't a button man by any means.

4 The West Coast was sympathetic to Maranzano. Interesting but not surprising given SF/SJ's ties to them.

5 From Gentile's perspective, Masseria was prone to totalitarianism but tried to be honorable and Maranzano was dangerous.

6 Following Masseria's murder, they wanted to elect Troia onto a commission that would replace the Capo dei Capi. Had that gone into effect the layout would have been 1 Commission, 2 Grand Council, 3 General Assembly. Makes me question why they couldn't just abolish the BOB and have the Grand Council fulfill the needs of this proposed commission.

7 After Maranzano died, the commission was implemented and the Grand Council is disbanded it appears. But it seems like it would have been one and the same. The Grand Council likely consisted of the New York Groups and Chicago (as indicated in a 1908 letter from Morello to Dispenza in Chicago) as did the commission. I can argue that it appears to be the same thing but the mafia's members seem to consider it something different. That's one thing that Gentile, Bonanno and Valachi all agree on.

8 The passage of Maranzano "reorganizing" the borgate of NY and and completed their admins is an odd and contradictory one. We know all these positions existed long before 1931, probably dating near a century by that point. But shit, that is what Nick Gentile says and all we can do is try and interpret it since its not true. Perhaps Maranzano micromanaged the administrations or perhaps some families like the Bonannos didn't have a consigliere and he sought to make everything congruent. It's open to interpretation.

[B.]

1 - Those temporary commissions/committees are very interesting. You've mentioned how Clemente was tasked with being a "commission of one" to investigate a matter, then we have the peace commission. I'd forgotten too Maranzano tasked a commission with investigating Troia. We know the later Commissione used a panel of messengers but I'm unaware of them forming investigative committees like that post-1931.

3 - Agree 100%. Magaddino also said he was approached by Ricca, who represented the "Americanized faction" of the Chicago Family alongside boss Toto LoVerde who represented the "greaseballs", and Ricca/Capone encouraged Magaddino to accept a Commission seat. Ricca approached two of the most important Sicilians at this time (Gentile/Magaddino) seeking to form political alliances while the Commission was being formed so I suspect he was already a high-ranking Chicago leader, maybe even before Capone transferred.

4 - The reference to 10 rappresentanti from the West Coast raises questions about how many Families existed there at the time. Gentile uses rappresentanti to refer to bosses, like everyone else who used it, so maybe there were more Families there at the time.

5 - We've mainly been exposed to anti-Masseria propaganda so he's someone who deserves a more neutral look. Like we've talked about 1000x, these guys often rise to their position as much through charisma and likability as they do ruthlessness. There were people who liked "Joe da Boss". It's similar to D'Aquila, where Gentile makes him out to be a nasty guy, but then you have guys still loyal to him three years after his death and we know from DiLeonardo there were people who loved the guy.

7 - I agree it was different, but sort of an evolution rather than a brand new idea.

8 - I've noticed that too -- Gentile seemingly contradicts himself. He identifies a capodecina in Cleveland in 1926, a capodecina in the Gambinos (LoCicero) in the early 1920s, and he himself was a consigliere before Maranzano took over. I've noticed on the Magaddino and DeCavalcante tapes they use similarly confusing language when a boss dies or there's a conflict, where Magaddino discusses "forming" a borgata when a new boss is elected but he's referring to the Bonanno Family which obviously already existed. DeCavalcante says something similar about the Bonannos forming a new "outfit" when they elect their boss.

^^^ I think this might play into an overlooked rule, where when a boss dies or is deposed, the underboss and all of the captains are technically demoted and when a new boss is elected he has to reappoint them even if they previously held the position. In effect, the Family becomes disorganized when a boss is removed and it has to be reorganized under the new leadership, with Magaddino/DeCav even referring to it as if a Family is being "formed". Given most of these Families had leadership changes that were only formally recognized in 1931, I suspect this plays into what Gentile said but the co-author didn't fully understand or there wasn't a need to elaborate for a general audience.

[B.]

This Gentile excerpt is very relevant here:

Things become difficult to emit a sentence when the CapoFamiglia makes an accusation of a Mafioso of another Famiglia, he then has to ask permission to make a sentence. Before long, there are negotiations between the Capo prosecutor and the accused Famiglia member. The last instance, in a generalized manner, will be the acquittal of the Picciotto, because his Famiglia defense, is his protection and is part of his prestige.

Then the mediators, Consiglieri, and the peacemakers take part. They are a group of men whose decisions are an independent force, derived from the charge of the Consiglieri of the apex Capo or one from his own organization. But also the ambassadors, the peacemakers, and Consiglieri, in the Mafia, count for the force of which they decide. All the relationships between the men of the Mafia are in force ratios.

He's saying when a member is accused of a serious infraction by his boss, "Consiglieri of the apex Capo" (Gran Consiglio) or the consigliere of the Family are tasked with mediating it. This is further evidence that the Gran Consiglio served a similar function to the Family consigliere / consiglio but on a national scale. The idea of the Gran Consiglio being "consiglieri of the capo dei capi" also adds to Bonanno's description of the boss of bosses being the capo consigliere.

If I'm reading it right, too, he's saying a group of consiglieri can either mediate as an "independent force" on behalf of the Gran Consiglio or on behalf of the Family consigliere. Maybe someone has another interpretation, but he seems to be saying the Family consigliere can oversee a "group of men" when mediating these issues, which suggests the Family consigliere was akin to the consiglio secretary. I'm starting to think these positions were identical, the only difference being that some Families had one consigliere while other Families had a consiglio overseen by a man in the same position.

What's still a mystery is exactly who sat on the Gran Consiglio. Chilanti says Gentile was on the Gran Consiglio and Gentile says he had the authority to call for meetings of the Gran Consiglio. I'm not sure if him sitting on the Consiglio depended on the rank he held at the time or if he sat on it as a "soldier" too. I'm wondering if the Gran Consiglio was made up of Family consiglieri from different national borgate, much as the NYC-NJ consiglio described by Valachi included 6 Family consiglieri under a rotating boss. I think the NYC-NJ consiglio was very similar to the Gran Consiglio but post-1931 it was exclusively used in NYC-NJ, with the Commissione taking on similar duties nationally.

[PolackTony]

1 - Those temporary commissions/committees are very interesting. You've mentioned how Clemente was tasked with being a "commission of one" to investigate a matter, then we have the peace commission. I'd forgotten too Maranzano tasked a commission with investigating Troia. We know the later Commissione used a panel of messengers but I'm unaware of them forming investigative committees like that post-1931.

Didn’t the Commission appoint an investigative panel in the 60s for the Bonnano stuff? I recall Giancana and Bruno, at least, serving in this capacity, if I’m not mistaken. My take has been that this seems to have been a latter-day echo of the provisional investigative “commissioni” empaneled by the old Gran Consiglio for specific issues.

8 The passage of Maranzano "reorganizing" the borgate of NY and and completed their admins is an odd and contradictory one. We know all these positions existed long before 1931, probably dating near a century by that point. But shit, that is what Nick Gentile says and all we can do is try and interpret it since its not true. Perhaps Maranzano micromanaged the administrations or perhaps some families like the Bonannos didn't have a consigliere and he sought to make everything congruent. It's open to interpretation.

My take when I read Gentile’s claim there was that perhaps there had been some minor variations between families and Maranzano standardized them. Like you said, perhaps some families didn’t have a formal consigliere, for example. Another thing I thought of was that perhaps this could be why we don’t seem to see family Consigli in the NYC families, whereas we see it in numerous families outside of NYC. Perhaps they existed in some of the NYC families and Maranzano mandated that the NYC borgate all had to have one official consigliere instead. Just speculating, but I could see that kind of variation existing with families having developed more or less organically drawing on Sicilian families that back in the 1800s may have had some minor local variations/idiosyncrasies.

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B and I have discussed the Ricca stuff. B already stated this, but Ricca was conducting significant high-level political maneuvering, so one would suspect that he was already well-versed in mafia politics. My hypothesis is that he may have already been made under Esposito in the Chicago family. Perhaps he then transferred to Capone’s decina, which Gentile states was still under Masseria as of 1930. Or, alternatively, if Ricca was a Chicago family member he was still working as a de facto Capone emissary. Ricca’s politicking in both Gentile and Maggadino’s accounts was recounted as being done on behalf of “Chicago”, not the Masseria family. My guess is that when Masseria made Capone, the plan from the get-go was for Capone to become boss of Chicago once Lombardo and Aiello were eliminated. Capone being a Masseria capo with a Chicago-based decina I believe was intended to be a provisional stepping-stone for Capone to take over Chicago. Aiello wasn’t eliminated until 1930, however, so in the meantime Chicago had official rappresentanti, very likely allied with Capone closely, but Capone was, as Gentile described, the de facto capo famiglia even though his formal affiliation was still with Masseria. Maggadino describes Chicago as having “greaseball/Americanized” faction; he didn’t recount it as the Chicago family and the Chicago Masseria decina. Ricca’s political maneuvering was clearly in the interest of “Chicago”, not the Masseria family; him and Capone were positioning themselves for the future. Following Lombardo’s death, Chicago was probably in a very unstable state, with a whole section of the family apparently in open rebellion under Aiello. LoLordo and LoVerde both did not live long on the throne. The situation was formally resolved when the smoke cleared and Maranzano officially recognized Capone as Chicago rappresentante, but this probably ratified what had already been a de facto truth on the ground.

The Ricca planes threat thing to me is one of the single greatest lines in mafia history, lol.