We start off the new year with our annual look at the current leaders of the active Mafia families from across the country.
The American Mafia also known as Cosa Nostra still generates millions of dollars a year in profits from a combination of new and old school rackets finding ways to adapt and survive. About The Mafia covered many aspects of mafia news last year including indictments, administration changes, deaths natural and otherwise, and much more. We have heard plenty of stories over the years about the demise of the mob but it remains resilient and even though its growth or lack thereof can be debated it’s certainly far from dead.
The mafia today may not have the power and influence it did in its heyday but it remains a viable force when it comes to organized crime. Using various sources we have compiled a list of the current mafia leaders including mafia bosses and other members of the families administrations heading into 2018. Understanding that these list which is pieced together from a wide range of information including street sources and law enforcement are not an exact science we try to be as accurate as possible. Here are the 2018 Mafia Family Leaders and for a more in-depth look into these families check out our mafia family charts section. You can also keep up with all the current news and information by bookmarking our site or following us on social media!
GAMBINO CRIME FAMILY (NEW YORK)
Boss: Francesco “Franky Boy” Cali/Domenico “Italian Dom” Cefalu
Underboss: Francesco “Franky Boy” Cali (?)
Consigliere: Lorenzo Mannino (?)
LUCCHESE CRIME FAMILY (NEW YORK)
Boss: Vittorio “Vic” Amuso
Underboss: Matthew Madonna/Steven Crea
Consigliere: Joseph DiNapoli/Joseph “Joe C.” Caridi (?)
GENOVESE CRIME FAMILY (NEW YORK)
Boss: Liborio “Barney” Bellomo
Underboss/Street Boss: “Unknown”
Consigliere: Unknown (Petey Red deceased ’18)
COLOMBO CRIME FAMILY (NEW YORK)
Boss: Carmine “Junior/The Snake” Persico
Street Boss: Andrew “Andy Mush” Russo
Underboss: Benjamin “The Little Guy” Castellazo
Acting Underboss: Dominick “Donnie Shacks” Montemarano (?)
Consigliere: “Unknown”
Acting Consigliere: Thomas “Tom Mix/Mr. T” Farese
BONANNO CRIME FAMILY (NEW YORK)
Boss: Michael “The Nose” Mancuso
Acting Boss: Joseph Cammarano Jr.
Consigliere: Anthony “Fat Tony” Rabito/John “Porky” Zanocchio (?)
PHILADELPHIA MAFIA FAMILY
Boss: Joseph “Skinny Joey” Merlino
Acting Boss/Street Boss: Steve Mazzone/Joseph “Uncle Joe” Ligambi
Underboss: Steve Mazzone/John “Johnny Chang” Ciancaglini (?)
Consigliere: Joseph “Chickie” Ciangcaglini
DETROIT MAFIA FAMILY
Boss: Jack “Jackie the Kid” Giacalone
Underboss: Anthony (Chicago Tony) La Piana
Consigliere: Anthony (Tony Pal) Palazzolo
Street Boss: Peter (Specs) Tocco
NEW JERSEY MAFIA FAMILY (DeCAVALCANTE FAMILY)
Boss: Charles Majuri (?)
UnderBoss: “Unknown”
Consiglieri: Frank Nigro
NEW ENGLAND MAFIA FAMILY (PATRIARCA FAMILY)
Boss/Acting Boss: Carmen (The Cheeseman) DiNunzio
UnderBoss: Matthew Guglielmetti
Consiglieri: Joseph (Joe the Bishop) Achille
CHICAGO MAFIA FAMILY (CHICAGO OUTFIT)
Acting Boss/Boss: Salvatore “Solly D” DeLaurentis
Underboss: Salvatore “Sammy Cards” Cataudella
Street Boss: Albert Vena
Consigliere: Marco D’Amico
BUFFALO MAFIA FAMILY
Boss: Frank BiFulco (?)
Underboss: Joe Violi (?)
Consigliere: Victor Sansanese (?)
KANSAS CITY MAFIA FAMILY
Boss: John “Johnny Joe” Sciortino
UnderBoss: Peter “Las Vegas Pete” Simone
Consigliere: Frank DeLuna (?)
CLEVELAND MAFIA FAMILY
Boss: Russell “RJ” Papalardo
Underboss: “Unknown”
Consigliere: “Unknown”
Always a great start to the year! Will be interesting to see what happens inside the Lucchese family if both Madonna and Crea get locked down for an extended period of time.
Also still not sure I buy into the latest rumors of the Buffalo family being this more active and deeply structured family than many have thought over the last few years.
its ridiculous there is no functioning family in Buffalo people just like to believe there is i think the feds even recently came out and said they were dead i am sure there is some guys who are still active but there is no hierarchy or anything like that these guys are all old men now
Right I def lean that way when it comes to Buffalo as well although i guess there is that small chance they still have some structure there.
How come they were saying “members of the todaro family were amongst the arrested” back in that bust in November. Do you live In the Buffalo area? How do you know if there’s no family there? The feds mostly go after new York and philly. Heck, there hasn’t even been a major mob bust in Chicago in a long time and those guys are definitely bigger and more active than Buffalo. I hear alot about how guys from Canada are always meeting up with guys in Buffalo for meetings, funerals, weddings ect with known last names in the past with Buffalo organized crime. Why else would they go down there? I don’t know, I think the evidence points slightly in favor of there still being a heirarchy down there. Buffalo is just a city that doesn’t get much attention in general compared to New York, philly, chiacgo, ect by law enforcement and media.
I know an undertaker that did a funeral for someone in the Buffalo Crime Family from Niagara Falls a few years ago. Said there was a large Canadian faction in attendance and that everyone was coming up to talk to Butch. The unsabstanfiated report about the current administration seems to corraberate what this funeral director told me a few years ago.
I wouldn’t put too much stock in those recent reports as very little of it can be verified and the majority of it is nothing more than guesses and theories. I agree with TM there is def still some activity in Buffalo prob linked to bookmaking and some drug trafficking which includes some links into Canada which have been there for years. But there is simply no evidence at all that there is a vastly active family w/ a hierarchy still in Buffalo. Now I don’t mean to say it is impossible just saying at this point the lack of evidence says a lot more toward it being unlikely than actual evidence does for it being true.
Thanks for being reasonable in your responses. It makes for good conversation.
Seriously because of what some unidentified undertaker for an unidentified mobsters funeral you seem to think there is an active administration. He also knew everyone there was part of the Canadian faction come on thats bullshit there is wiseguys who dont know other guys in there own family no chance some random undertaker would know if there was a large Canadian faction at the funeral and who they all are.
If this guy is real (which i have my doubts) he is probably another guy being a f*****g ignorant asshole assuming every Italian is part of the mafia. Stop listening to that con artist eddie scarpo and his shit site his real names not even scarpo he just gave himself an Italien surname so people would (for ridiculous) reasons believe what he says which is stupid as guys like Scott Burnstein are great mob reporters who actually have some credibility unlike that freak scarpo he needs to go back to helping his scum rat friend cicale maybe help his pal out next time he tries to scam family members of guys he put away
This guy is real… Does what he says prove the mob in Buffalo is active? No, it is hearsay! I readily admit this. Is this guy believable? I understand why you wouldn’t think so. You have no relationship with him. I do… and I can tell you he is genuine and believable. Can you believe me. No! You don’t know me from Adam. I am simply sharing my experience. Take it for what it’s worth—not much—just like everyone else who comments on this blog. I will be glad to PM you the mobsters name and the funeral home that did his funeral—only because this guy moved to a different funeral home.
Normally i would be inclined to take what you had said and listen to it but the story just seems unrealistic to me i have told people on here mysef some stuff i have heard myself over the years and like you said people dont have to believe what i am saying they dont know me i dont know anyone else but this guy to me anyway seems to be bullshitting you because i just find it hard to imagine that he would know an entire Canadien faction i know guys who wouldent know hald there own family let alone entire faction.
But PM me the guys name maybe once you have explained this to me in more detail it will seem more believable i am sorry if i have come off as aggressive aswell in my last post but that scarpo really pisses me of and i know alot of this is coming from him
Unfortunately I haven’t figured out how to PM with disqus.
The undertaker I spoke of used to work at Colucci Funeral Home on Pine Ave. (Little Italy) in Niagara Falls, ’till he moved back to his hometown where I have a church When I found out where he had worked, I peppered him with questions while we were traveling in the lead car to a internment ceremony I was about to do. I wanted to see if Todaro Jr. was still head of the family… He didn’t think to think so and told me about the funeral Colucci did for Sonny Nicolletti. No Todaros where there, but Butchie was and everyone (including a lot of guys from Canada) were paying him a lot of respect while he stood at the head of the casket with the family.
You never know maybe he is right and there is still a structured administration i have to be honest i still highly doubt it but i guess you can never rule it out. I am no expert on Buffalo but BiFulco must be getting up there in age these days i mean he was nearly 60 when he went away in 03 does make you wonder how active he could be then again all these guys are staying active for alot longer these days partly because they are living longer but also alot of them are broke and this guy did heavy time if my memory is correct so would not shock me if he got back involved its all some of these guys know
You are right BiFulco is up there. He is around 72-73 today. He went sentenced 10 years for torching a Nissan Ultimate. (Probably served less.) From what I understand he was a smart guy, but the life was all he knew. Can’t imagine he left the rackets for good.
sonny nicolletti was considered feded and bitch that’s why nobody showed up to his funeral.
Just because a couple of guys get caught up in that indictment does not prove that there is an active family with a hierarchy you are crazy if you think whats left in buffalo can be compared to any of the other functioning familys. Its like when a few years ago they did that big gambling bust in kanas and some people started saying there was an active family there aswell its just not true.
If there was an active hierarchy in Buffalo you would know about it even with the FBI reducing attention to LCN the fact that there is such little law enforcement attention shouldent that be sign that they are not really a powerful family with an administration because if they were really that active there would be more cases i dont care how smart you think these guys are every other family that has an active administration has had frequent indictments against them like i said to the guy above if they were that strong even with LCN becoming less of a priority they would be targeted because there is nothing feds love better than mob cases they know it gets press attention so if there was the chances to take down an active family with a hierarchy there is no chance they would miss out.
Most of these reports come from that moron eddie scarpo who is a proven liar and con artist
Franco, I wouldn’t disagree with “The Mafia” he is the arbitrator of all mob related truth… and thinks anyone that has another opinion is an ignorant f*****g asshole. He must be a Buffalo expert!
I just personally find the view that the family has an active administration to be ridiculous of course that is my view you have yours and by no means am some sort of mafia guru you can have a different opinion its a discussion page i have given my view and why i disagree with yours and like i said above i apologize if i have come across as disrespectful in anyway but i know scarpo is involved in alot of this view and i just know what that guy is.
agreed a lot of members seem to think that the FBI picks on the poor Italian Mobsters if that theories is true then why haven’t there been any major RICO busts in Buffalo. its because there is know criminal organisation in Buffalo
FBI love taking down wiseguys more than anyone else they get press attention agents even today who help take down mobsters find themselves getting promoted they are less violent than they used to be and alot easier to actually take down than they were 30 40 years. If there was really an organized family in Buffalo they would know about it.
I dont agree with the poor Italian feel sorry for wiseguys feeling aswell i see it on here sometimes yes the LCN does get more FBI attention than other oc groups which i dont always agree with especially in places like SP where there are other groups that are much more violent however i have no sympathy you know the risk when your joining the life today especially its not like it was when the organization first started people were starving among Italians there was serious poverty in this day and age where most Italians live in the suburbs the excuse is no longer there i have no sympathy when these guys get sent away. Its why i disagree with rats aswell you knew what you were doing when you joined the life dont go crying to the feds once it all goes wrong because it always does the days of being able to become a wiseguy and never go to prison are over for the 95% of those guys
I agree there’s likely no largest structured family in Buffalo, I would guess there is still remnants of family there. It has an important location between NYC and Canada.
Lack of any major RICO busts doesn’t necessarily mean much. Look at Detroit, there is still a well structured family and rarely RICO busts. Most are in legitimate business which insulates them.
Most in Buffalo are in well insulated legitimate businesses as well. Given what has been told to me, I still think there is a hierarchy in the family though… But who knows, could be BS what I’ve heard.
good point, i think as for the Detroit family the mere fact there located in Detroit a crime ridden city, the feds have other priorities, gangs, cartels, which helps them fly well under the radar.
I think you are spot on here as far as Detroit goes. The family there has stayed low key and avoided violence whenever possible along w/ fact that Det has so many other criminal problems has allowed them to be less of a fed target.
Detroit family has still had more rico busts than Buffalo admittedly not many the last major was 2006 since then nothing really the odd guy getting arrested but like you said they are mainly involved in legitimate businesses its a crime ridden city and most of its membership are very old now and from what i have read they are losing alot of guys every year i think scott Burnstein who is an expert on Detroit even said they probably have 15 years at best left as an active organization.
You never know though i highly doubt it but maybe there is an administration i am though in agreement with you that it is at best remnants of a family.
I’d say Bunstein is knowledgeable but not an expert. He relied on information from someone now deceased and wasn’t even aware of the brothers involved in last large incident til their arrest.
Most of Detroits activity is in the suburbs that are not crime ridden. They have a lot more younger members than reported. Think the biggest threat to them is current crackdown on Macomb County government corruption. Rizzo, a large waste management company got brought down for bribery and the waves are still rippling through many local city halls and county offices.
He also has his law enforcement sources Burnstein but i do think he exaggerates things at times. As for younger members my knowledge is limited to be honest when it comes to Detroit i know they have gotti Tocco jackie Gs driver i think scott wrote an article on him who is young when it comes to mob terms in age the only other young guy was that Carlo Bommeratio but dident they kill him or did he OD i cant remember. But those guys jackie G LaPiana Palazzolo are getting up there in are there guys in place 10 15 years from now will there be people to replace? i dont know enough about Detroit so maybe there is who knows we will have to wait and see
Did not know that interesting would not surprise me if they got caught up in it Detroit is very corrupt and these guys big into legit business
Yes Carlo is gone. The names mentioned and ones you will find in articles all have been around awhile and have been busted that’s why you have heard of them. Many other names out there that have never been reported.
Burnstein it is not even so much that he exaggerates. He just has limited knowledge. When he reported on most recent guys charged he stated their new location for restaraunt being the original. Where it was located in Clinton Township for first 15-20 years next to one of their car washes originally. What it looks like and many speculate locally is that he was getting limited information from a now deceased member who was shelved. This member was trying to profit off his notoriety.
Not that Burnstein doesn’t write many interesting articles. Just he portrays himself as an expert of Detroit Mob. Reality is he’s a rich kid from Oakland County which might as well be another state compared to blue collar Macomb County which is epicenter of Detroit Mob.
Detroit’s corruption is a little different from the whole Rizzo thing. Suburban municipalities try to distance themselves as much as possible from Detroit and Wayne County politics. That’s why no Mob guys went down with Kwame and his thug administration. Detroit politically is very corrupt but also a mess. What ever potential profit to be made would be viewed as not worth the hassle for most.
I agree the city of Buffalo,NY just doesn’t have that big name in the headlines compared to other cities but it is very corrupt without it being said. Buffalo Police Department is a high blood Italian type police department so more then likely its already corrupted. 2 everybody is not that smart in the NYC families and don’t stop ratting on each other because they allow to many members in the family in the first place. I pretty sure there is still a big helm and the feds can’t figure them all out because they don’t talk in code to much. 3 if you look at the suburbs outside the city including niagria falls Ny its pretty large in certain ways.
You are right in March the FBI’s Buffalo Fed Office recently said the Buffalo Family is dead in an story by Dan Herbeck in the Buffalo News. Here is the article:
http://buffalonews.com/2017/03/19/fbi-says-buffalos-mafia-family-ceased-operations/
However the US Justice Department in Eastern NY has definitely contradicted that statement. The write:
“In a coordinated operation, Canadian law enforcement authorities today arrested nine organized crime members and associates in Canada, including members of the Todaro organized crime family, who are charged with, among other crimes, narcotics trafficking.”
Here is that press statement: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/members-and- associates-gambino-and-bonanno-organized-crime-families-arrested
And Canadian papers indicate the Buffalo Mob is active. Mob expert Adrien Humphries in The Canadian National Post writes:
“The four-year investigation also shows the traditional cross-border rectangle of Mafia organizations from 60 years ago remains intact: Hamilton-Buffalo-Montreal-New York…
…Among those arrested in Canada are members of the Todaro organized crime family, based in Buffalo, according to U.S. authorities. The Todaro crime group was built by the now-deceased Joseph Todaro Sr., who took over the Buffalo Mafia once led by the influential boss Stefano (The Undertaker) Magaddino”
That a fair amount of evidence suggesting it is alive and active.
Yes i have seen the indictment i have even read the entire thing i am not saying that there is no activity i disagree with the idea that there is a powerful family with an active hierarchy. There was a couple of guys with ties to the Buffalo family however no suggestion that there is an active administration and i highly doubt it because if this is the only real case linking them in the last 10 years then i think that tells you all you need to know about what is going on with Buffalo because i dont care how smart some people might be and reduced FBI attention to LCN there has still been frequent indictments against all the functioning familys
Outfit, Five familys, Philly, DeCavs and New England
I am sure there are some guys still active or related to some of the older guys who are active like all the other places where the mafia once existed such as Kansas, New Orleans etc hell even Detroit has had more cases that Buffalo and everyone knows that family is in its last ten years 15 years if its even still really active
I agree it’s hard to think it is very active from published activity/indictment…etc., and scuttlebut on the street may be hype from people who just want it to exist.. I was about ready to say they don’t exist till this report and the unsubstantiated info on the administration came out… Both seem to corroborate what I’ve heard on the street in Buffalo. But then again, maybe I’m being duped.
The colombos list is hard to make to be honest because there has been no reliable info on the leadership of that family since 2013 donnie shanks is living in LA so how much involved he is today i dont know Castellazo got out a couple of years ago would not suprise me if was still in a leadership position but he is getting up there in age that goes for andy russo aswell he is in 80s now. I heard his son billy russo is a big player today would not surprise me if he was in one of the top positions but at the moment because of the lack of recent indictments targeting the administration we dont really know alot of about whos actually running things for them on the streets.
As for the Persicos there era as far as the streets today go is over how many of them are even left on the street today Danny and teddy senior died last year and micheals just gone inside, teddy Junior still got 8 years before hes up for parole the rest are never getting out, dead or not in a high ranking position
Def one of the tougher list by far. As you mentioned there has been very little info on their hierarchy over last couple of years and so it is pretty much just a guessing game at this point as to who is where on their chart. Castellazo could def be part of their admin although hard to figure in which spot if he has even remained active enough for it , like you said he is no spring chicken so hard to say.
Free Lil Vic
Can anyone explain to me why Persico and Amuso are still Bosses,since they’ve been Locked Up 20+yrs and any loyalists are either dead or Locked Up themselves. Also are They still getting “cuts” or just Bosses in name only. Just wondering not trying to start anything
Perisco how much influence he could have today is debatable due to so many of his family members being in prison.
Amuso still holds power within the family that is clear when his wife died the entire family were ordered to go in 2013. He was responsible in 2007 for scarfo junior being made capo and this recent case against Madonna and Crea shows he still the leader even if it just in name and still has guys representing him on the streets. Hes obviously no longer in charge of the day to day or any major decisions but he still holds influence and is technically still the boss this last indictment against Madonna and Crea also confirmed this.
Why are they still in charge? partly because it deflects FBI attention, FBI also like calling these guys the leaders of familys its like they still have peter Gotti named as leader of Gambinos even though they know he has zero power and they still have loyalists and family members on the streets. Vic seems to have more influence today than Persico but I am sure if Carmine wants something done he still has plenty of guys he could reach out to.
What happened to No Nose?
Pretty much retired
Not many guys in his position get to retire
Very true
hes in his 90s now like john said by all accounts been retired for a few years