The Mafia -Power Structure

 

The modern American Mafia structure was invented by Salvatore Maranzano in 1931. He created the "five families" who each would have an underboss, capos, soldiers and associates. They would all have to be full-blooded Italian American's, whilst associates could come from any background. All inducted Mafia members are called "made men." This signifies that they are "untouchable" in the criminal underworld, and harm done to them would be met with retaliation. With the exception of the associates, all mobsters are "made men."

 The three highest ranks make up administration, under administration there are factions run by the caporegime (captain) who lead a crew of soldiers and associates. They report to the administration and are like managers. Bosses pass orders down, and this is to protect the higher echelons from rebuke if any lower members get heat from a crime through plausible deniability. 

The Boss: The boss is the head of the family, usually reigning as a form of dictator. Known as "Don" or "Godfather." They receive a cut of every operation. The Godfather is selected by a vote from the Caporegimes from every family. 

Underboss: Normally appointed by the boss, often runs day-to-day operations. Gets a percentage of the family income. 

Consigliere: Advisor to the family, bosses right-hand man, mediators of disputes. They will often be close to the boss. 

Caporegime: (Captain/skipper) in charge of a crew of soldiers who report directly to him. A crew consists of 10-20 soldiers. A capo is appointed by the boss. He gives a percentage to the boss of his earnings and the earnings of his underlings. In labour racketeering, it is usually a Capo who controls the infiltration of union locals. He can sometimes become more powerful than his superiors and can bypass the structure and lead the family when the boss dies.

Soldier: A member of the family needs to be from a full Italian background. Soldiers then become "made men" and became untouchable. Permission must come from his boss before he can be murdered. They normally do the dirty work for a cut of the proceeds and have full access to connections. They can also recommend associates to become soldiers. 

Associate: Not a member, but works for the crime family, nonetheless, has a wide range of duties, from being a soldier to a mere errand boy. The best associates of Italian background are picked to become soldiers. They can be a go-between in criminal transactions or deal drugs to keep the attention off of the actual members or can be restaurant owners or run businesses. Non-Italians, can never go further than this, but some non-Italian, associates have wielded, impressive, influential power nonetheless; Meyer Lensky, Bugsy, Siegel, Murray Humphreys, Mickey Cohen, Gus Alex, Bumpy Johnson, Frank Sheeran, Gerard Ouimette and James Burke.