List of Italian Mafia crime families explained

This is a list of Italian organized crime groups around the world. This list does not include all groups, clans or families identified as Cosa Nostra (Mafia crime families). This list does not include all Camorra, 'Ndrangheta or Sacra Corona Unita clans ("crime families").

Italy

In Italy there are many different Mafia-like organizations.

Veneto

• In the Region of Veneto the Mala del Brenta operate in the area.

Lombardy

• In the Region of Lombardy the Banda della Comasina operated in the area. – defunct 1987

Lazio

• In the Region of Lazio the Banda della Magliana – defunct 1993
• The Mafia Capitale – defunct 2014

Basilicata

• In the Region of Basilicata the defunct Basilischi operated in the area.

Apulia

• In the Region of Apulia the Sacra Corona Unita clans control the area.

Calabria

See main article: List of 'ndrine.

• In the Region of Calabria the 'Ndrangheta clans control the area.

Campania

See main article: List of Camorra clans.

• In the Region of Campania the Camorra clans control the area.

Sicily

See main article: List of Sicilian Mafia clans.

• In the Region of Sicily the Sicilian Mafia clans and the Stidda control the area.

United States

According to the 2004 New Jersey State Commission of Investigation, there were 24 active Mafia families in the United States.^[1] In 2004, author Thomas Milhorn reported that the Mafia was active in 26 cities across the United States.^[2]

Northeastern United States

New York

• The Five Families – operate in New York City, the New York Metropolitan area, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Florida, California and Nevada.^[1]
  • Bonanno
  • Colombo
  • Gambino
  • Genovese
  • Lucchese

Western New York

• Buffalo crime family (Magaddino family)
• Rochester crime family – defunct 1993

New Jersey

• DeCavalcante crime family (mostly North Jersey and Central Jersey)
• The Five Families of New York have crews operating in New Jersey
  • Lucchese crime family New Jersey faction
  • Genovese crime family New Jersey faction
  • Cherry Hill Gambinos
• Philadelphia crime family operates in South Jersey, including Atlantic City, and Trenton

Pennsylvania

• Philadelphia crime family (Bruno-Scarfo family)
• Bufalino crime family (Northeastern Pennsylvania, particularly Pittston, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton and the Wyoming Valley area) – defunct 2008
• Pittsburgh crime family (LaRocca family) – defunct 2021

New England

• Patriarca crime family (Boston, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island), parts of Connecticut.
• Genovese crime family Springfield faction (Springfield, Massachusetts) and New Haven crew (New Haven, Connecticut)

Maryland

• Gambino family Baltimore Crew (Baltimore) – defunct 1990

Midwestern United States

Illinois

• Chicago Outfit
• Genna Crime Family – defunct 1930
• Rockford crime family^[3] (Zammuto family) – defunct 2005
• Springfield crime family (Zito family) – defunct 1970s

Indiana

• Chicago Outfit Gary Faction (Gary) ^[4]

Michigan

• Detroit Partnership (Zerilli family)

Nebraska

• Kansas City family Omaha faction (Omaha) – defunct 1991

Iowa

• Chicago outfit Des Moines faction (Des Moines) – defunct 1967

Missouri

• Kansas City crime family (Civella family)
• St. Louis crime family (Giordano family) – defunct 2014

Ohio

The city of Youngstown was at one point considered open territory, split between the Cleveland crime family (Porrello family) and the Pittsburgh crime family (LaRocca family).

• Cleveland crime family (Scalish family)

Wisconsin

• Milwaukee crime family (Balistrieri family) – defunct 2024
• Madison Crime Family (Caputo family) – defunct 1993

Southern United States

Alabama

• Birmingham crime family – defunct since 1938^[5]

Florida

• Trafficante crime family (Tampa area) – possibly defunct, Florida is considered open territory with many families operating in the area.
• The Chicago Outfit – is operating in South Florida
• The Five Families of New York have crews operating in South Florida
  • Bonanno crime family – is operating in South Florida^[6]
  • Colombo crime family's Florida faction – is operating in South Florida
  • Gambino crime family's Florida faction – is operating in South Florida and the Tampa Bay Area.
  • Genovese crime family – is operating in South Florida. See soldier Albert Facchiano^[7]
  • Lucchese crime family – is operating in South Florida and Central Florida Counties of Pasco and Pinellas.^[8]
• DeCavalcante crime family – Florida faction is operating in Miami.

Louisiana

• New Orleans crime family (Marcello family) – defunct 2007

Texas

• Dallas crime family (Civello family) – defunct 1970s
• Maceo Organization (Galveston-Houston family) – defunct 1980s

Western United States

Arizona

• Chicago Outfit – (defunct) under Joseph "Papa Joe" Tocco the family operated in Phoenix^[9]
• Bonanno family Arizona crew – (defunct) under Salvatore Bonanno the family operated in Tucson

California

• Los Angeles crime family (Dragna family)
• San Francisco crime family (Lanza family) – defunct 2006^[10]
• San Jose crime family (Cerrito family) – defunct 2009^[11]
• Bonanno family San Jose faction (San Jose) – defunct
• Detroit Partnership San Diego faction^{[12] [13]} (San Diego) – defunct

Nevada

Las Vegas is considered open territory allowing all crime families to operate in the city's casinos. Since the 1930s, the Los Angeles family, the Five Families of New York and the Midwest families have owned and operated in Casinos in the Las Vegas Strip.

• See: Mobsters in Las Vegas

Colorado

• Denver crime family (Smaldone family) – defunct 2006

Washington

• Colacurcio Organization (Seattle) ^[14] – defunct 2010s

Canada

Ontario

In Southern Ontario there are two types of Italian organized crime Cosa Nostra (Sicilian) and 'Ndrangheta (Calabrian).^[15] In the 2018 book, The Good Mothers: The True Story of the Women Who Took on the World's Most Powerful Mafia, Alex Perry reports that the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta has, for the past decade, been replacing the Sicilian Cosa Nostra as the primary drug traffickers in North America.^[16]

• Musitano crime family – a Calabrian mafia family, based in Hamilton^[17]
• Papalia crime family – a Calabrian mafia family, based in Hamilton, with strong connections to the Buffalo crime family^[17]
• Luppino crime family – a Calabrian mafia family, based in Hamilton, with strong connections to the Buffalo crime family^[17]
• Siderno Group – is the name for the "'Ndrangheta" clans (crime families). There have been seven senior 'Ndrangheta bosses in the Greater Toronto Area, some on the Camera di Controllo, the "board of directors" – namely in Vaughan.^[18]
  • Commisso, led by Cosimo Commisso, of Toronto, Ontario
  • Coluccio led by Antonio Coluccio, of Richmond Hill, Ontario
  • Tavernese, led by Vincenzo Tavernese, of Thornhill, Ontario
  • DeMaria, led by Vincenzo “Jimmy” DeMaria, of Mississauga, Ontario
  • Figliomeni, led by Cosimo Figliomeni, of Vaughan, Ontario
  • Ruso, led by Domenic Ruso, of Brampton, Ontario

Carmine Verduci was also linked with the 'Ndrangheta group.^[19] Leaders are based both in Calabria, Italy and Ontario.^[20] The Siderno clans are part of the Commisso 'ndrina a crime family based in Calabria.^[15]

During a 2018 criminal trial, an Italian police expert testified that the 'Ndrangheta operated in the Greater Toronto Area and in Thunder Bay particularly in drug trafficking, extortion, loan sharking, theft of public funds, robbery, fraud, electoral crimes and crimes of violence. After the trial, Tom Andreopoulos, deputy chief federal prosecutor, said that this was the first time in Canada that the 'Ndrangheta was targeted as an organized crime group since 1997, when the Criminal Code was amended to include the offence of criminal organization.^[21] He offered this comment about the organization:^[22]

We're talking about structured organized crime. We're talking about a political entity, almost; a culture of crime that colonizes across the sea from Italy to Canada. This is one of the most sophisticated criminal organizations in the world.

Quebec

In Quebec there are two types of Italian organized crime: Cosa Nostra and 'Ndrangheta. While Canadian law enforcement agencies consider the Rizzuto and Cotroni crime families to be separate, the FBI considers them to be sub-units of the Bonanno crime family's Montreal faction.^[23]

• Cotroni crime family – a "'Ndrangheta" family, the Calabrian faction – defunct 2000s
• Cuntrera-Caruana Mafia clan – a Canadian extension of the Sicilian family
• Rizzuto crime family – a "Cosa Nostra" family, the Sicilian faction

United Kingdom

England

• The Italian mob – led by Charles 'Darby' Sabini during the interwar years.^[24]
• Bert "Battles" Rossi – also known as the "General of Clerkenwell". He acted as the representative for the American mafia in London from the 1960s to the mid-1970s.^[25]
• The Cortesi brothers – rivals of the Sabinis.^[26]
• The Rocca family – A group of enforcers that were based in Islington.^[27]

Scotland

• La Torre clan – a Camorra clan from Mondragone, Italy was operating in Aberdeen, Scotland and was led by Antonio La Torre.^[28]

Australia

New South Wales

• Barbaro 'ndrina^[29] – a Calabrian Clan based in Platì, Italy with operations in Griffith
• Robert Trimbole's Crew^[30] (defunct), once controlled the marijuana drug market in Griffith.

Victoria

• The Carlton Crew^[31] – a predominantly Sicilian group, operating in Melbourne.
• The Honoured Society^[32]

Argentina

Santa Fe Province

The Rosario mafia – led by Juan Galiffi during the 1920s and 1930s.^[33]

See also

• Timeline of organized crime
• List of Italian-American mobsters
• List of Italian-American mobsters by organization
• Jewish-American organized crime
• List of Jewish American mobsters
• Irish Mob
• List of American mobsters of Irish descent
• List of gangsters by city
• List of criminal enterprises, gangs, and syndicates

Sources

• Capeci, Jerry. The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002.
• Milhorn, H. Thomas. Crime: Computer Viruses to Twin Towers. Universal Publishers, 2005.

External links

• Gangrule, American mafia history
• Rick Porrello's 26 Cities with Mafia Families – AmericanMafia.com
• The AmericanMafia.com

Notes and References

1. http://www.state.nj.us/sci/pdf/ocreport.pdf The Changing Face of Organized Crime in New Jersey
2. Milhorn, p.216
3. Web site: Rockford Crime Family - GangsterBB.NET . 2024-06-18 . www.gangsterbb.net.
4. Web site: Jenkins . Gary . 2019-08-19 . Indiana Organized Crime . 2024-11-01 . Gangland Wire . en.
5. Bill Bonanno and Gary B. Abromovitz, The Last Testament of Bill Bonanno: The Final Secrets of a Life in the Mafia p.72-73
6. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/fla_members_of_bonanno_crime_family_f5tafSAzUAHOixVbOltbFI 6 Fla. members of Bonanno crime family admit guilt
7. https://web.archive.org/web/20100307235047/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2006-02-24/news/0602231346_1_racketeering-albert-facchiano-indictment "Miami Mobster, 95, Arrested, Is Among 32 Under Indictment"
8. D. Lea Jacobs and Anthony Daniels. Friend of the family: An undercover Agent in the mafia. Pg. 97
9. Web site: Phoenix 101: Underworld . March 25, 2019.
10. Capeci p.92
11. Capeci p. 93
12. Web site: Mafia in San Diego in early 1950s San Diego Reader . 2024-08-14 . www.sandiegoreader.com . en.
13. Web site: United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Michael S. Polizzi, Defendant-appellant.united States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Joseph E. Matranga, Defendant-appellant, 801 F.2d 1543 (9th Cir. 1986) . 2024-11-21 . Justia Law . en.
14. http://blog.oregonlive.com/nwheadlines/2008/06/feds_bust_colacurcio_crime_fam.html Feds bust Colacurcio crime family's four Puget Sound strip clubs
15. Adrian Humphreys, "A New Mafia: Crime families ruling Toronto, Italy alleges" (September 24, 2010)
16. Web site: Canada is on the frontline of a new war against the rise of global organized crime. theglobeandmail.com. July 29, 2018.
17. News: Unease as mobsters set free. https://archive.today/20130629210748/http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=b9fa5e38-48cb-40a0-b390-cbcd989d6e37 . dead . June 29, 2013 . . June 29, 2013.
18. Web site: WHEN COPS CAN'T CONVICT A 'TOP MAFIA BOSS,' THEY TURN TO DESPERATE MEASURES. 1 May 2018. nationalpost.com.
19. Web site: Carmine Verduci — the man who exposed Mafia's 'Canadian cell' — was gunned down near Toronto yesterday. 25 April 2014.
20. https://nationalpost.com/story.html?id=2780078#ixzz0zzDD6bbe Man ordered deported over alleged mob ties
21. Web site: Toronto judge sentences 'Ndrangheta crime boss to 11 ½ years for cocaine conspiracy. 28 February 2019 . Toronto Star.
22. Web site: Membership in Mafia 'better than gold,' landmark trial of two mobsters hears. stratfordbeaconherald.com. November 8, 2018.
23. Lamothe & Humphreys, The Sixth Family, p.308
24. Web site: Tracing gang members – the complicated case of Charles 'Darby' Sabini . ourcriminalancestors.org/. 14 May 2019 .
25. Web site: Farewell to Bert Rossi, gangland boss 'who was one of us' . islingtontribune.co.uk.
26. Book: Britain's Godfather . 1993 . True crime Library . 1-874358-03-6 . 78–90.
27. Book: Britain's Godfather . 1993 . True Crime Library . 1-874358-03-6 . 11.
28. Marc Horne. Dons on the Don Scotland on Sunday. January 27, 2008
29. http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,23522199-5017348,00.html Italian mafia laundering cocaine money Down Under
30. http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/mob_bosses/robert_trimbole/index.html The Fixer: The Rise and Fall of Australian Drug Lord Robert Trimbole
31. http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/ergo/the_gangland_war The Gangland War
32. https://web.archive.org/web/20071230104249/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,897088,00.html Omerta in the Antipodes
33. ARGENTINA: The Flower of Rosario . Time. 29 May 1944 .