When did the feds start calling the five families by their names?

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sdeitche
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When did the feds start calling the five families by their names?

Post by sdeitche »

I know by mid 1963 the FBI was referring to the five families by the names we know them as (prior to the McClellan hearings that fall), but does anyone know a more definitive timeframe for when the feds first started calling them BOnnano, Luchesse, etc.?
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Re: When did the feds start calling the five families by their names?

Post by Laurentian »

I would say it was at the time when Joe Valachi testified in late September 1963 before the US Senate, known as the McClellan Hearings.
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Re: When did the feds start calling the five families by their names?

Post by JeremyTheJew »

It was w valachi. Hence why certain families like the colombo families became known as that. Iv seen some sites call it profaci/colombo/persico family
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Re: When did the feds start calling the five families by their names?

Post by JeremyTheJew »

Id actually be more interested to know why certain families such as patriarca fam is known as that as well as The Office.
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Re: When did the feds start calling the five families by their names?

Post by Raven »

That is a good question. I've always wondered too, how the actually members refer to their family and the others especially in NYC since there are 5 families.
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Re: When did the feds start calling the five families by their names?

Post by phatmatress777 »

And how did Detroit become the partnership and Chicago the outfit I believe I've also heard philly be referred to as the coporation if I'm not mistaken


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Re: When did the feds start calling the five families by their names?

Post by JeremyTheJew »

Philly as the cooperation? Never heard that one... But interesting none the less..
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Re: When did the feds start calling the five families by their names?

Post by phatmatress777 »

JeremyTheJew wrote:Philly as the cooperation? Never heard that one... But interesting none the less..
I believe I read it in one of the older state crime reports but none the less how did the partnership the outfit the syndicate etc etc get those nicknames ?


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Re: When did the feds start calling the five families by their names?

Post by SonnyBlackstein »

Good questions.

I'll add 'the arm' to Buffalino as an interesting question.
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Re: When did the feds start calling the five families by their names?

Post by JeremyTheJew »

phatmatress777 wrote:
JeremyTheJew wrote:Philly as the cooperation? Never heard that one... But interesting none the less..
I believe I read it in one of the older state crime reports but none the less how did the partnership the outfit the syndicate etc etc get those nicknames ?


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Hmm... Well... Im gonna take a swing at this one...
My man scott will hopefully let us know of im right or not..

Detroit was called partnership bc in the "violent years" covered by paul kavieff, I BELIEVE, he states... That after war after war between east and west side.... They joined forces and became known as the partnership. I BELIEVE it came up after Catalonette was killed.... Or mayor Chester La Mare? Bc from what i remmember by the time the fish market murders happened the name the partnership (as well as the combination) was alresdy established.


Interestingly enough.... Lol.... Some of DETROIT HIP HOP guys were trying to establish almost the same thing as it has happened in the early 20s. Very interesting.... History repeats itself again huh?
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Re: When did the feds start calling the five families by their names?

Post by Antiliar »

New York - Cosa Nostra Family/brugad
Buffalo - The Arm
New England - The Office
Chicago - The Outfit/The Syndicate/The Clique
St. Louis - The Clique/The Outfit/The Syndicate
Detroit - The Partnership/The Syndicate
Los Angeles - Cosa Nostra/The Syndicate
Kansas City - The Clique/The Syndicate

In general, each crime family (this comes from the FBI) is called a brugad, which comes from the Italian borgata, which means village or borough and is what's used in Sicily. They also Family or famiglia.

The Mafia in general is called Cosa Nostra in the USA and Sicily. The FBI uses the designation LCN for La Cosa Nostra. But Cosa Nostra didn't used to be a proper name. It was just an Italian euphemism. "This thing of ours" or "our thing" or "this unnamed organization that we belong to." They didn't want to use the actual name (or didn't know it), so just refer to it that way. In older times they called it a "society." Up to about the 1920s and early 1930s in the USA they used Fratellanza, meaning "brotherhood" or "fraternity." This is general term that was used in Sicily. Another common name was Fratuzzi, or "little brothers," similar to fratelli, meaning brothers.
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Re: When did the feds start calling the five families by their names?

Post by JeremyTheJew »

But didnt valachi say that they called "cosa nostra" aka this thing of ours? And thats how that LCN becsme the designated name for american lcn just like the five families got there names bc of valachi as well
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Re: When did the feds start calling the five families by their names?

Post by Antiliar »

Yes, the FBI got "Cosa Nostra" from Valachi. They made it "La Cosa Nostra." The FBI heard "cosa nostra" on wiretaps before Valachi and thought they heard "Causa Nostra" meaning "Our Cause." The term still wasn't used everywhere in the USA and was used in Sicily starting in the late 1950s (I believe).
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Re: When did the feds start calling the five families by their names?

Post by JeremyTheJew »

Antiliar wrote:Yes, the FBI got "Cosa Nostra" from Valachi. They made it "La Cosa Nostra." The FBI heard "cosa nostra" on wiretaps before Valachi and thought they heard "Causa Nostra" meaning "Our Cause." The term still wasn't used everywhere in the USA and was used in Sicily starting in the late 1950s (I believe).
So sicily actually got it from valachi as well.... Interesting.
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Antiliar
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Re: When did the feds start calling the five families by their names?

Post by Antiliar »

No, I didn't write that Sicily got it from Valachi. The Sicilians may have started using it after the 1957 Las Palmes Hotel meeting.
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