Complete lists of pre-1931 bosses of all NY families?

[Ivan]

Heyyyyy,

Anyone here got a list of all the bosses we know about in the New York families up to the formation of the first commission, with the dates of their reigns?

I can name like half of these guys (Taranto, Morello, LoMonte, D'Aquila, et alia) off the top of my head. Was looking to fill gaps in my knowledge.

Thanks!

[bronx]

lupo

[Sullycantwell]

Gambino:
Possible: Nicola Taranto (??-1896?)
Next boss unknown
Ignazio Lupo (1902?-1910)
Acting: Giovanni Lupo (1910-1912)
Split occurs around 1912
Salvatore D’Aquila (1912-1928)
Manfredi Mineo (1928-1930)
Frank Scalice (1930-1931)
Vincenzo Mangano (1931-1951)

Colombo:
Manfredi Mineo: (1912-1928)
Salvatore DiBella (1928-??) retired by 1930
Giuseppe Profaci (by 1930-1962)

Luchese:
Giuseppe Morello (??-1910)
Acting: Giovanni Pecoraro (1910-1912)
Fortunato LoMonte (1912-1914)
Possible: Ippolito Greco (1914?-1915)
Possible: Gaetano LoMonte
Salvatore Loiacano (??-1920)
A split in the original Morello family occurs
Possible: Vincenzo Terranova (1920?-1922)
Gaetano Reina (1923-1930)
Bonventura Pinzolo (1930-1930)
Tommaso Gagliano (1930-1951)

Genovese:
Possible: Vincenzo Terranova (??-?? Died in 1922)
Giuseppe Masseria (1921?-1931)
Salvatore Lucania (1931-1946)

Bonanno:
Paolo Orlando (1900?-1909?)
Sebastiano DiGaetano (1909?-1912?)
Nicolo Schiro (1912-1930)
Salvatore Maranzano (1930-1931)
Acting: Angelo Caruso (1931-1931)
Giuseppe Bonanno (1931-1968?)

All Credit to the May 2014 journal

[Ivan]

Cool thanks! I actually knew most of these it looks like, but not the dates for sure. I am going to reorganize this to account for the splits. How does this framing look to the experts here? Does it make sense to have the splitting families be abolished and replaced by two new ones or would it be better to have continuity the whole time with one and a new one emerging? (Kind of an academic question I guess. I'm leaning toward the former interpretation given that both new families in both cases of splitting got their own new bosses when the splits occurred it looks like, but that's only part of the picture.)

"Palermitani" Family
Possible: Nicola Taranto (??-1896?)
Next boss unknown
Ignazio Lupo (1902?-1910)
Acting: Giovanni Lupo (1910-1912)
<splits into future Colombo and Gambino Families ca. 1912>

"Corleonesi" Family
Giuseppe Morello (??-1910)
Acting: Giovanni Pecoraro (1910-1912)
Fortunato LoMonte (1912-1914)
Possible: Ippolito Greco (1914?-1915)
Possible: Gaetano LoMonte
Salvatore Loiacano (??-1920)
<splits into future Genovese and Lucchese families ca. 1920>

"Castellamarese" / Future Bonanno Family
Paolo Orlando (1900?-1909?)
Sebastiano DiGaetano (1909?-1912?)
Nicolo Schiro (1912-1930)
Salvatore Maranzano (1930-1931)
Acting: Angelo Caruso (1931-1931)
Giuseppe Bonanno (1931-1968?)

Future Genovese Family
Possible: Vincenzo Terranova (??-?? Died in 1922)
Giuseppe Masseria (1921?-1931)
Salvatore Lucania (1931-1946)

Future Colombo Family
Manfredi Mineo: (1912-1928)
Salvatore DiBella (1928-??) retired by 1930
Giuseppe Profaci (by 1930-1962)

Future Gambino Family
Salvatore D’Aquila (1912-1928)
Manfredi Mineo (1928-1930)
Frank Scalice (1930-1931)
Vincenzo Mangano (1931-1951)

Future Lucchese Family
Possible: Vincenzo Terranova (1920?-1922)
Gaetano Reina (1923-1930)
Bonventura Pinzolo (1930-1930)
Tommaso Gagliano (1930-1951)

[Sullycantwell]

The Luchese family, imo, is the continuation of the original Morello family. The Masseria/Morello group was the rebel faction who created the new family (though there is a debate) so if there is a way to indicate this, I think it would provide more clarity.

One correction to my post. Vincenzo Terranova, according to Informer journal, is apart of the Masseria/Morello group not the Reina group, so probably take him off. This likely means we don’t know who or if they had a boss between Loiacano and Reina. Maybe Reina was boss in 1920/1921 following Loiacano’s murder in December 1920.

I hope one of the early experts can help provide clarity on the matter

[Ivan]

Thanks Sully, was wondering why he was on there twice. I'll see what the experts have to say about this matter and then I'll revise the chart.

I have the Informer issue and read the whole thing a year ago but was recovering from surgery and was pretty out of it. I'll have to read it again when I get a minute.

[Antiliar]

I don't think Gaetano LoMonte was a boss, just a cousin of Fortunato and a probable member.

A division after Lupo went to prison would explain why D'Aquila and Mineo became bosses around the same time. We don't have any evidence to support this, but we don't have any against it either. I also doubt we'll find documentation either way after all this time. I do think it's a viable hypothesis worth keeping as a possibility.

[Sullycantwell]

I don't think Gaetano LoMonte was a boss, just a cousin of Fortunato and a probable member.

A division after Lupo went to prison would explain why D'Aquila and Mineo became bosses around the same time. We don't have any evidence to support this, but we don't have any against it either. I also doubt we'll find documentation either way after all this time. I do think it's a viable hypothesis worth keeping as a possibility.

What is the evidence of Ippolito Greco being a possible boss? did you guys go off of the Barnett Baff trial? Also, what’s the evidence for Terranova?

[Antiliar]

Going by memory, testimony in the Baff trial said that Greco was the leader. It's not like modern court testimony so it's not as certain as Masseria being a boss.

As for Terranova, there is no solid evidence. It's a hypothesis based on some circumstancual evidence. So he was a *possible* boss.

[Sullycantwell]

Thanks

[Harrism]

It always baffled me that a small village like Corleone could birth two families early on, and at the same time have a family in Sicily.

Was everyone in the maffia in that town?

[johnny_scootch]

It always baffled me that a small village like Corleone could birth two families early on, and at the same time have a family in Sicily.

Was everyone in the maffia in that town?

The members of the 'Corleonesi family' in America that became the Lucchese and Genovese families weren't actually all from Corleone.

It's just a name given to that family because the core leadership was from Corleone.

[Harrism]

It always baffled me that a small village like Corleone could birth two families early on, and at the same time have a family in Sicily.

Was everyone in the maffia in that town?

The members of the 'Corleonesi family' in America that became the Lucchese and Genovese families weren't actually all from Corleone.

It's just a name given to that family because the core leadership was from Corleone.

I know, but it still seems like a sizable number compared to other cities from Sicily.

[Ivan]

It always baffled me that a small village like Corleone could birth two families early on, and at the same time have a family in Sicily.

Was everyone in the maffia in that town?

The members of the 'Corleonesi family' in America that became the Lucchese and Genovese families weren't actually all from Corleone.

It's just a name given to that family because the core leadership was from Corleone.

I know, but it still seems like a sizable number compared to other cities from Sicily.

It's also pretty amazing that the Palermitani family has in fact remained the Palermitani family in its bosses at least through the present day, with Anastasia and the Gottis being outliers.

I should note WRT to the above that "Palermitani Family", "Corleonesi Family", and "Castellamarese Family" are just terms I came up with on the fly for this list based on the dominant hometowns of their leadership, and I'm not sure if they are widely used by others.

[stubbs]

It always baffled me that a small village like Corleone could birth two families early on, and at the same time have a family in Sicily.

Was everyone in the maffia in that town?

The mafia historically was based in western and central Sicily, primarily the provinces of Palermo, Trapani, and Agrigento. Corleone is one of the bigger cities in that part of the island.

In addition, a huge portion of the early Sicilian immigration to the US was from the interior of the island, from not just Corleone but many small villages nearby. There was a lot of poverty and neglect, so many people from those villages left in the late 1800s.

I think I remember reading that Corleone was an important city for trade due to being roughly midway between Palermo city and Agrigento province.

There’s probably more cultural and historical reasons (feudalism, etc) as to the history of the mafia in Corleone that others here may know and can explain further.