Revelations
Valachi disclosed that the Mafia was called Cosa Nostra (your thing" or "this thing of ours") among the members of the organisation. At the time, it was understood as a proper name, fostered by the FBI and disseminated by the media. The designation gained wide popularity and almost replaced the term Mafia. The FBI even added the article La to the term, calling it La Cosa Nostra (in Italy, the article la is not used when referring to the Sicilian Mafia).
He also revealed the organisational structure of the Mafia with "soldiers" organized into "regimes" and led by a "caporegime" ("lieutenant"). The regimes, in turn, are organized into "families" and bossed by "capos" (bosses), each representing a geographic area, who make up Cosa Nostra's Commission, the final arbiter of the syndicate's affairs.
According to Valachi, the original bosses of New York's Five Families were Charles Luciano, Gaetano Gagliano, Joseph Profaci, Joseph Bonanno and Vincent Mangano. Vito Genovese was the underboss of the Luciano crime family and Albert Anastasia the underboss of the Mangano family. Maranzano had himself crowned "Boss of Bosses" in an elaborate ceremony.
Read more about this topic: Valachi Hearings
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