Caporegime

A caporegime or capodecina, usually shortened to capo or informally referred to as "captain", "skipper" or "lieutenant", is a leadership position in the Mafia (both the Sicilian Mafia and Italian-American Mafia). A capo is a "made member" of an Italian crime family who heads a regime or "crew" of soldiers and has major status and influence in the organization. Caporegime is an Italian word, used to signify the head of a family in Sicily. In general, the term indicates the head of a branch of an organized crime syndicate who commands a crew of soldiers and reports directly to the don (boss) or an underboss or street boss. The shortened version "capo" has also been used to refer to certain high-ranking members of Latin American drug cartels.

Sources

• Capeci, Jerry. The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002. ISBN 0-02-864225-2.
• Pistone, Joseph D. Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia. Pan Books, 1989. ISBN 9780330305747.
• Pileggi, Nicholas. Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family. Simon & Schuster, 1985. ISBN 9780671447342.

• v
• t
• e

Italian-American Mafia

• List of Mafia crime families
• Mafia bibliography

Families

Five Families of New York City	Bonanno Calabrian group Motion Lounge crew Sicilian group Colombo Colombo Gambino Baltimore Crew Ozone Park Boys Genovese 116th Street Crew Broadway Mob Greenwich Village Crew New Jersey faction Lucchese Brooklyn faction New Jersey faction Tanglewood Boys
East Coast	Buffalo DeCavalcante (Northern New Jersey) Patriarca (New England) (Angiulo's Boston crew) Philadelphia (10th & Oregon Crew)
Midwestern/Western	Chicago Detroit Kansas City Los Angeles
Mostly defunct	Bufalino (Northeastern Pennsylvania) Cleveland Colorado Dallas Genna (Chicago) Lanzetta (Philadelphia) Morello (Italian Harlem) D'Aquila (Little Italy, Manhattan) New Orleans Milwaukee Pittsburgh Rochester San Francisco San Jose St. Louis Trafficante (Tampa)

Structure

Chain of command	The Commission Boss Underboss Consigliere Caporegime Soldato Associate
Members (made men)	List of Italian-American mobsters List of Italian-American mobsters by organization
Terms	Initiation ritual Made man Bagman Black Hand Black Hand in Chicago Vendetta Capo dei capi (boss of bosses) Mustache Pete Omertà One-way ride Sixth Family Zips

Events

Meetings	Atlantic City Conference (1929) Havana Conference (1946) Apalachin meeting (1957) Palermo Mafia summit (1957)
Hearings	Kefauver Committee (1950–1951) Valachi hearings (1963)
Wars	Mafia–Camorra War (1914–1917) Castellammarese War (1929–1931)
Trials	Pizza Connection Trial (1985–1987) Mafia Commission Trial (1985–1986)

Closely related
and affiliated
organizations

Active	Camorra Colacurcio Organization Commisso 'ndrina Cotroni crime family Cuntrera-Caruana Mafia clan Inzerillo Mafia clan Jewish Mafia Luppino crime family Musitano crime family 'Ndrangheta Papalia crime family Philadelphia Greek Mob Rizzuto crime family Sacra Corona Unita Sicilian Mafia Siderno Group Stidda Velentzas Organization
Defunct	Broadway Mob Bugs and Meyer Mob Bumpy Johnson gang New York Camorra The Corporation The Council Dutch Schultz Mob East Harlem Purple Gang Five Points Gang Forty-Two Gang Italian-American National Union Maceo Organization Marat Balagula gang Murder, Inc. National Crime Syndicate Rudaj Organization South Brooklyn Boys Tanglewood Boys Unione Corse Westies Winter Hill Gang

Other topics

Government operations	Collaborations between the United States government and Italian Mafia Operation Family Secrets Operation Old Bridge Operation Solare Operation Underworld Operation Wasteland
Crimes	French Connection Hired Truck Program Lufthansa heist Saint Valentine's Day Massacre
Related articles	Barrel murder Buster from Chicago Cement shoes Shotgun Man

Category