Five Families Totally Explained

Everything about The Five Families totally explained

The Five Families are the major crime families of the Italian mafia which has dominated organized crime in New York City. The Five Families, under the suggestion of Salvatore Maranzano and Charles "Lucky" Luciano, were responsible for the establishment of The Commission, a council which demarcated territory between the previously warring factions and governs Cosa Nostra activities in the United States. The Five Families came to being in the early 1930s. The five families and their bosses are (currently):

Bonanno: Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano (Salvatore Montagna is the acting boss)
Gambino: Nicholas "Little Nick" Corozzo and Jackie "Nose" D'Amico
Colombo: Carmine "Junior" Persico
Genovese: Daniel "Danny the Lion" Leo
Lucchese: Vittorio "Vic" Amuso The Colombo family was once known as the Profaci Crime Family, until a coup caused a name change in the early 1960s. Former Godfather Joe Massino had wanted to change the name of the Bonanno Family to the Massino Family but since his arrest and defection it's unlikely to happen. The DeCavalcante crime family, based out of nearby Elizabeth, NJ, also has ties to the five New York families.

In pop culture

In the 1972 mafia-centered novel and movie The Godfather, five crime families dominate Cosa Nostra of New York, but the families have different names from their real life counterparts above. The Corleones, from their compound on Long Island, go to war with the other members of the Five Families, the Tattaglias, the Barzinis, the Cuneos, and the Straccis.

In the HBO series The Sopranos, the DiMeo Crime Family of New Jersey have close business connections with the Lupertazzi Crime Family of Brooklyn, one of the five families in New York. Members of the DeCavalcante family believed themselves to be the inspiration for the DiMeo family. Due to its large size, the Lupertazzi crime family likely represents either the Gambino or Genovese crime families. Also, there have been references to four families other than the Lupertazzis: the Paglieri Family, the Mangano Family, the Tarese Family and the DeBenedetto family.

The Grand Theft Auto video game series represents many of the Five Families in the game with the Leone, Sindacco, and Forelli families. In addition to this, Grand Theft Auto IV features their own version of the Five Families, consisting of the Ancelotti, Pavano, Messina, Gambetti and Lupisella families, with a smaller Pegorino family trying to become a sixth family.

In the episode Chair Model from The Office, Kevin mentions the "Five Families" of the Scranton Business Park.

The Daytime TV show "General Hospital" also refers to the Five Families with Michael "Sonny" Corinthos as the head of the Corinthos family.Further Information

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