Current bosses of the 5 families are Michael Mancuso, Domenico Cefalu, Liborio Bellomo, and Victor Amuso. Benjamin Castellazzo serves as the underboss of the Colombo family.
New York organized crime has been a subject of interest for the public despite the violence associated with it. Thanks to its influence, gangster movies became hugely popular among moviegoers in the 20th century.
African-American gangsters like Bumpy Johnson were mostly involved in narcotics, whereas the Italian-American mafia was linked with labor unions, racketeering, bookmaking, and more.
Iconic films like The Godfather, Donnie Brasco, Goodfellas, and A Bronx Tale showed the gruesome truth of the Italian mafia but also made it a go-to genre for millions of movie lovers.
While organized crime has been mostly ineffective in the 21st century, the gangs that once ruled with an iron fist are still operational.
Let’s take a look at who currently rules the NY underworld and find out if the original Five Families are still influential.
Do The 5 Families Still Exist?
Yes, the five families known for organized crime still exist and currently operate in New York. However, they are significantly less powerful than in the 20th century.
The families are now called Bonnano, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese.
1) Bonanno
The Bonanno family is currently headed by Michael Mancuso, also called the Nose. The family is named after the deceased American mobster Joseph Bonanno.
Bonanno was previously called the Maranzano family until 1931. It was founded by the late mobster Salvatore Maranzano.
After Salvatore’s death in 1931, Joseph Bonanno took over and remained in power until 1964. He tried to overthrow the heads of other families in a failed attempt in 1964 and remained underground for two years.
The Bonanno family was investigated by undercover FBI agent Joseph Pistone, also known as Donnie Brasco. This led to the family getting disowned by other crime bosses.
After Joseph, the family was headed by mobsters like Gaspar DiGregorio, Paul Sciacca, Natale Evola, Philip Rastelli, Carmine Galante, Joseph Massino, and Vincent Basciano.
Michael Mancuso became the boss while he was still in prison in 2013. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the 2004 killing of Randolph Pizzoro; he was released on March 12, 2019.
Under Mancuso’s leadership, the Bonanno family is reportedly involved in illegal businesses like loan-sharking, racketeering, and extortion.
2) Gambino
The Gambino family is headed by Italian-American mobster Domenico Cefalu. Domenico succeeded Peter Gotti as the boss of the syndicate in 2011; he was 64 years old at the time.
Domenico, aged 76, was born in Palermo, Sicily. He became a member of the Gambino clan after moving to the US.
Cefalu has served two prison sentences to date; he was first sentenced to six years for heroin smuggling. He later served 20 months in prison for extortion.
As of 2023, Lorenzo Mannino, also known as Brian Dougherty, is serving as the acting boss of the family.
The Gambino family was named after Carlo Gambino, who headed the New York crime syndicate, the Commission from 1959 until his death in 1976.
3) Genovese
The Genovese family has been officially led by Liborio Bellomo since 2016. Liborio first became the acting boss in 1990.
Bellomo was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 1997 on the charges of extortion. He pled guilty to extorting money from a garbage hauling company and a construction union.
One year was later added to his sentence after he agreed to plead guilty to mail fraud charges. He was finally released on December 1, 2008, after serving over 12 years in prison.
The Genovese family is named after Vito Genovese, an American mobster of Italian origin. Vito first took power after the Castellammarese War of 1930-31. He remained in and out of power due to his feud with law enforcement agencies.
Vito was stripped of his title as the head of a crime syndicate after getting convicted on charges of narcotics conspiracy in 1959. He passed away in prison at the age of 71 on February 14, 1969.
4) Lucchese
The Lucchese family official boss is Victor Amuso. Victor officially took over the game over 35 years ago on January 13, 1987.
As Victor is serving a life sentence in prison and is already 88 years old, he isn’t regularly active in the gang’s businesses. In his absence, his loyal soldier Michael DeSantis, also known as Big Mike, is serving as the acting boss.
Mike previously served 18 years for being involved in two murders that took place in the 80s. He was eventually released on parole in June 2010.
Desantis was named the acting boss on the direct orders of Victor Amuso in 2017. Matthew Madonna, the acting boss at the time, and Steven Crea both stepped down after Amuso threatened to kill several mobsters from the Bronx if they didn’t voluntarily relinquish power.
The Lucchese crime family is named after Tommy Lucchese, the boss of the syndicate from 1951 to 1967. Lucchese joined the NY underworld in the 20s; he was a loyal ally of Charlie Luciano.
Tommy was arrested on six occasions during his lifetime; however, he was never convicted on any serious charges.
5) Colombo
The Colombo family doesn’t have an official boss now. The syndicate is reportedly run by the underboss Benjamin Castellazzo.
The last known boss of the family was Andrew Russo, who passed away on April 18, 2022. Andrew was in prison when he died, so Benjamin was already serving as the boss before his death.
In fact, authorities first named him the underboss of the Colombo family back in 2008. Nicknamed the Claw, Castellazzo has served multiple prison sentences to date for charges like truck hijacking, heroin trafficking, and extortion.
Despite the family most of its power, it still owns several legitimate businesses and is also believed to be influential among labor unions.
Castellazzo is currently 85 years old. So, he’ll probably retire in the next few years. He has been married to his wife Sophie for nearly 60 years; his family includes his two kids, eight grandkids, and five great-grandkids.
The Colombo family is named after Joseph Colombo, who remained in power from 1963 to 1971. Two of his sons, Christopher and Vincent, are still alive; however, they are not directly involved with the mafia.
New York City Organized Crime History
New York has been a hub for criminals and mobsters since the early 1900s. Italian-American immigrants primarily controlled the organized crime syndicate.
The original Five Families were formed after the Castellammarese War of 1930-31. Salvatore Maranzano succeeded in taking out his rival Joe Masseria on April 15, 1931. He eventually went on to form the Five Families headed by himself, Joe Profaci, Lucky Luciano, Vincent Mangano, and Tommy Gagliano.
1) Maranzano
The Maranzano crime family was founded by Italian-American gangster Salvatore Maranzano.
Salvatore was born in Sicily, Italy, on July 31, 1886. He immigrated to the US in the early 1920s.
Maranzano was a rival to Joe Masseria and declared war against him to save his empire. He became successful in eliminating Joe through Lucky Luciano on April 15, 1931.
After Masseria’s death, Maranzano formed the Five Families and declared himself the “boss of bosses.” This move convinced Luciano that Salvatore was a worse boss than Masseria.
Further, Luciano also found out that Maranzano planned to kill him. So, he decided to act first and take out the boss. On September 10, 1931, with the help of four Jewish mobsters acting as government agents, he eliminate Salvatore.
Joseph Bonnano succeeded Salvatore as the head of the gang. It was later renamed as the Bonanno family.
2) Mangano
The Mangano crime family was named after its former boss Vincent Mangano.
Vincent became the head of the syndicate in 1931; he remained in power until his disappearance in 1951.
During his later years, Vincent got into a feud with his underboss Albert Anastasia. He had grown suspicious of Anastasia due to his friendship with Frank Costello and Lucky Luciano. The two often had heated arguments and almost fought physically on several occasions.
On April 19, 1951, Vincent went missing, whereas his brother Philip Mangano’s body was found at Jamaica Bay in New York. Mangano was declared dead more than 10 years after his disappearance on October 30, 1961.
After Mangano’s death, several mobsters ruled the family, including Albert Anastasia, Carlo Gambino, Paul Castellano, John Gotti, Peter Gotti, Domenico Cefalu, and Frank Cali.
The Manganos were renamed the Gambino family after Carlo Gambino took power in 1957.
3) Profaci
The Profaci crime family was started by Joe Profaci. He headed the criminal enterprise from the 1920s until his death in 1962.
Joe ran a series of illegal businesses during his reign, including bookmaking, loan sharking, narcotics smuggling, and more. Additionally, he owned over 20 legitimate businesses, including the Mamma Mia Importing Company.
He remained neutral during the Castellammarese War, but some sources mentioned that he was an ally of Salvatore Maranzano.
Profaci remained in power until he passed away on June 6, 1962. He was 64 years old at the time of his death. After his demise, his brother-in-law Joseph Magliocco became the boss.
However, his title was stripped by The Commission in 1963 after a failed attempt to assassinate other family heads. Joseph Colombo took over in 1963 and ruled for the next 10 years.
In 1973, Carmine Persico was named the official head of the family. The Profaci crime syndicate was renamed the Colombo family after Joseph Colombo came to power.
4) Gagliano
The Gagliano crime family was started by Italian-American immigrant Tommy Gagliano.
Tommy started his career in the criminal underworld as a lieutenant for mobster Gaetano Reina. He plotted to kill Reina with Joseph Masseria in return for being named the head of the family.
However, after Vito Genovese killed Reina, Gagliano was sidelined by Masseria, and Joseph Pinzolo, also known as Fat Joe, became the boss. Tommy finally took over on April 15, 1931.
Tommy remained in power until 1951. Reportedly, he died on February 16, 1951; however, the date is yet to be confirmed.
Following Gagliano’s demise, Tommy Lucchese rose to power as his underboss. His reign lasted for around 16 years from 1951 to 1967. He passed away at the age of 67 on July 13, 1967.
Several mobsters succeeded Tommy in the business, including Carmine Tramunti, Tony Corallo, and Victor Amuso.
5) Luciano
The Luciano crime family was formed by Lucky Luciano. Luciano started his career in the mafia as a member of the Five Points Gang.
Born Salvatore Lucania in Sicily, Italy, on November 24, 1897, he moved to the US with his parents in April 1906.
In 1929, Lucky was kidnapped by three men at gunpoint. He was severely beaten and had his throat slashed. Fortunately, he survived the attack, which might have earned him the nickname “Lucky”.
Luciano became a prominent figure in the New York underworld when he masterminded the fatal attack on Joe Masseria. His power further grew after Maranzano’s killing. Lucky became a popular figure in the underworld for his willingness to work with non-Italians, a concept his predecessors had frowned upon.
During his reign, Luciano controlled illegal businesses like gambling, bookmaking, extortion, narcotics smuggling, and more. He also formed the Commission after eliminating his former boss Maranzano.
On June 18, 1936, the deceased mobster was sentenced to serve between 30 to 50 years on pandering charges. In 1942, he struck a deal with the government to use his allies to stop illegal Italian and German immigrants from entering the US through the waterfront in New York.
For his cooperation, his sentence was pardoned in exchange for deportation back to Italy. He agreed to the deal and was subsequently deported to Italy in 1946.
However, the same year, he traveled to Cuba with the objective of remaining as close to the US as possible and resuming his control of the mafia.
After learning of his visit, US authorities pressured the Cuban government to exile him. He was eventually shipped back to Italy in 1947. Lucky remained in Italy until his demise on January 26, 1962.
In New York, Frank Costello took over the family after Luciano’s deportation to Italy. His reign lasted until 1957, which was followed by Vito Genovese.
Under Vito’s rule, the syndicate was formally renamed the Genovese family. After his death, mobsters like Philip Lombardo, Vincent Gigante, and Liborio Bellomo ruled the enterprise.