Five Families
Updated: 12/10/2025, 10:20:53 AM Wikipedia source
The Five Families are the five Italian American Mafia crime families who operate in New York City. In 1931, the five families were organized by Salvatore Maranzano following his victory in the Castellammarese War. Maranzano reorganized the Italian American gangs in New York City into the Maranzano, Profaci, Mangano, Luciano, and Gagliano families, which are now known as the Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese families, respectively. Each family had a demarcated territory and a hierarchy and reported to the same overarching governing entity. Initially, Maranzano intended each family's boss to report to him as the capo dei capi ("boss of all the bosses"). This led to his assassination that September, and that role was abolished for the Commission, a ruling committee established by Lucky Luciano to oversee all Mafia activities in the United States and to mediate conflicts between families. It consisted of the bosses of the Five Families as well as the bosses of the Chicago Outfit and the Buffalo crime family. In 1963, Joseph Valachi publicly disclosed the existence of New York City's Five Families at the Valachi hearings. Since then, a few other crime families have been able to become powerful or notable enough to rise to a level comparable to that of the Five Families, holding or sharing the unofficial designation of Sixth Family.
Tables
· Original and current Five Families bosses
Maranzano
Maranzano
Original family name
Maranzano
Founded by
Salvatore Maranzano
Current family name
Bonanno
Named after
Joe Bonanno
Current boss
Michael "The Nose" Mancuso
Acting boss
Bruno
Profaci
Profaci
Original family name
Profaci
Founded by
Joe Profaci
Current family name
Colombo
Named after
Joseph Colombo
Current boss
Theodore N. "Skinny Teddy" Persico Jr.
Acting boss
Robert "Little Robert" Donofrio
Mangano
Mangano
Original family name
Mangano
Founded by
Vincent Mangano
Current family name
Gambino
Named after
Carlo Gambino
Current boss
Domenico Cefalù
Acting boss
Lorenzo Mannino
Luciano
Luciano
Original family name
Luciano
Founded by
Lucky Luciano
Current family name
Genovese
Named after
Vito Genovese
Current boss
Liborio Salvatore "Barney" Bellomo
Acting boss
Gato
Gagliano
Gagliano
Original family name
Gagliano
Founded by
Tommy Gagliano
Current family name
Lucchese
Named after
Tommy Lucchese
Current boss
Victor Amuso
Acting boss
Michael "Big Mike" DeSantis
| Original family name | Founded by | Current family name | Named after | Current boss | Acting boss |
| Maranzano | Salvatore Maranzano | Bonanno | Joe Bonanno | Michael "The Nose" Mancuso | Bruno |
| Profaci | Joe Profaci | Colombo | Joseph Colombo | Theodore N. "Skinny Teddy" Persico Jr. | Robert "Little Robert" Donofrio |
| Mangano | Vincent Mangano | Gambino | Carlo Gambino | Domenico Cefalù | Lorenzo Mannino |
| Luciano | Lucky Luciano | Genovese | Vito Genovese | Liborio Salvatore "Barney" Bellomo | Gato |
| Gagliano | Tommy Gagliano | Lucchese | Tommy Lucchese | Victor Amuso | Michael "Big Mike" DeSantis |
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