Five Families - Mafia Boss Succession

Mafia Boss Succession

Lucchese Family:

• 1922 - Gaetano "Tommy" Reina.
• 1930 - Bonaventura "Joseph" Pinzolo takes over after Reina is murdered on February 26.
• 1930 - Gaetano Gagliano assumes the position as boss after the murder of Pinzolo on September 5.
• 1951 - A very ill Gagliano appoints his underboss, Gaetano "Tommy Three-Finger Brown" Lucchese, as the new leader and the family adopts his name.
• 1967 - Lucchese dies of a brain tumor, temporarily leaving the family leaderless. The Commission selects Carmine Tramunti to fill in as acting boss until the leading candidate for the position of boss, Antonio Corallo, was released from prison.
• 1970 - Antonio "Tony Ducks" Corallo becomes the new boss. Some contend that the position was not formalized until 1973, when Tramunti was imprisoned, and that between 1970 and 1973, Tramunti remained family boss, but only in name, with Corrallo actually in control.
• 1986 - Corallo implicates himself and many other mobsters in recorded conversations. He is convicted of RICO charges, along with top mobsters of the Genovese, Gambino, and Colombo families, and sentenced to life in prison. Before being incarcerated, Corallo selected Vittorio "Little Vic" Amuso and Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso as the two candidates most deserving of the title of boss.
• 1987 - Amuso becomes boss after being nominated by Casso, but Casso, as underboss, is viewed as the man who makes important decisions and has control of the family.
  • 1992 - Amuso is sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of racketeering charges.
  • 1998 - Casso is sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to racketeering and murder charges. Louis "Louie Bagels" Daidone becomes acting boss.
  • 2004 - When Acting Boss Daidone is convicted on murder charges and with Daidone's successor Steven "Wonderboy" Crea beginning a two-to-six year term for state charges, Amuso appoints a "Ruling Panel" of senior capos (Aniello "Neil" Migliore, Matthew "Matt" Madonna and Joseph "Joey Dee" DiNapoli) to control the family.
  • 2006 - Crea is released from prison after 34 months, but is precluded by the terms of his probation from associating with the mob again until 2009.
  • 2009 - Ruling Panel members Madonna and DiNapoli are indicted on labor racketeering, illegal gambling, and extortion charges, leaving Migliore reputedly the most powerful mobster in the family.
• 2012 - Amuso resigns as boss from prison and Crea is named to succeed him.

Bonanno/Massino Family:

• 1931 - Joseph Bonanno becomes boss of the Bonanno crime family after the murder of boss Salvatore "Caesar" Maranzano.
• 1981 - After a major power struggle, which involved Joe Bonnano's forced retirement by the Commission and the assassination of acting boss Carmine "Lilo" Galante, Philip "Rusty" Rastelli becomes boss.
• 1991 - Rastelli dies of cancer and underboss Joseph Massino becomes boss. Massino eventually changes the family's name to the Massino crime family.
• 2003-2004 - Massino is arrested and convicted of racketeering and murder charges. Massino became a federal witness, testifying against 60 fellow mobsters, so acting bosses Anthony "Tony Green" Urzo and Michael "Mikey Nose" Mancuso, both of whom were themselves jailed, controlled the family briefly.
• 2005-present - Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano moves up from Acting Boss to become Boss. Authorities contend that Basciano continues to lead the family from prison in Colorado, where he is serving two life sentences for murder convictions in 2006 and 2011.

Gambino Family:

• 1931 - Vincent Mangano becomes boss of the newly formed Gambino crime family.
• 1951 - Mangano disappears with Albert "the Executioner" Anastasia suspected of murdering him. Anastasia then assumes title of boss. Vito Genovese, boss of the Genovese family, believed that Anastasia had broken a cardinal Mafia rule by murdering Mangano. However, war was avoided between the two families due to the efforts of Joe Bonanno. Genovese still resented Anastasia, though, and Genovese would cultivate the sympathies of Anastasia's underboss Carlo Gambino.
• 1957 - Anastasia is assassinated by gunmen in a barber shop, with Genovese and Gambino being prime suspects for orchestrating the murder. Gambino takes over as boss.
• 1976 - Gambino dies of a heart attack; he is succeeded as boss by his brother-in-law Paul "Big Paul" Castellano.
• 1985 - Castellano is gunned down and John Gotti, the man responsible for planning Castellano's assassination, becomes boss.
• 2002 - Gotti dies of cancer in prison after being convicted of RICO charges in 1992. His brother, Peter, succeeds him as boss.
• 2003-2004 - Peter Gotti is convicted on racketeering charges.

Luciano/Genovese Family:

• 1931 - Charles "Lucky" Luciano organizes a new family named after him and appoints himself as boss.
• 1937 - Luciano is convicted of compulsory prostitution charges; succeeded by Frank "the Prime Minister" Costello.
• 1957 - Costello goes into retirement after a failed assassination attempt orchestrated by Vito Genovese. Genovese then replaces Costello and renames the family. Genovese's motive for removing Costello had to do with the fact that Genovese was Luciano's underboss and, in his mind, the rightful heir to Luciano's position. Genovese, however, fled to Italy to evade murder charges, making him an unsuitable candidate for the title of boss, which left Luciano no choice but to bestow the title on Costello.
• 1969 - Genovese dies in prison still as boss after being convicted of narcotics trafficking charges in 1959.
• 1970s - Philip "Benny Squint" Lombardo becomes new Genovese boss.
• 1980s - Lombardo retires and is replaced by Vincent "Chin" Gigante, the man who attempted to assassinate Frank Costello in 1957.
• 1997-2005 - Gigante is convicted on racketeering charges and dies in prison.

Profaci/Colombo Family:

• 1931 - Joseph Profaci becomes new boss and Commission member.
• 1962 - Profaci dies of cancer.
• 1964 - Joseph Colombo, supported by Carlo Gambino, becomes new boss and changes the family's name.
• 1971 - Colombo is shot and paralyzed at a civil rights rally he organized. Colombo's activism drew unwanted publicity and attention towards the Mafia, and made other Mafia leaders, such as Carlo Gambino, uneasy. The first rally Colombo organized attracted over 50,000 people with Gambino's support; the second rally barely drew 10,000 people without Gambino's blessing. It was theorized that the Commission authorized Colombo's murder to take pressure off of the Mob. The most likely candidate, though, was Joseph "Crazy Joe" Gallo.
• 1972-79 - Carmine "the Snake" Persico becomes the new boss.
• 1986 - Persico is convicted on racketeering charges and sentenced to life in prison.
• 1986-2004 - Persico tries to run the family from prison until his son, Alphonse "Little Allie Boy" Persico, can succeed him. Persico's son is convicted and put in jail.