Capo dei capi ( Italian: [ˈkaːpo dei ˈkaːpi] ; "boss of [the] bosses"), capo di tutti i capi ( Italian: [ˈkaːpo di ˈtutti i ˈkaːpi] ; "boss of all [the] bosses") or Godfather ( Italian : padrino ) are terms used mainly by the media, public, fiction writers and law enforcement community to indicate a supremely powerful crime boss in the Sicilian or American Mafia who holds great influence over the whole organization. The term was introduced to the U.S. public by the Kefauver Commission in 1950.
24-583: [REDACTED] Look up capo , capo- , or capotasto in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Capo or capos , may refer to: Designation, akin to captain [ edit ] Capo, short for Caporegime , a rank in the Mafia Capo dei capi , or capo di tutti capi , Italian for "boss of bosses", a phrase used to indicate a powerful individual in organized crime Capo (concentration camp) ,
48-468: A kind of directorate of about four to seven people who met very infrequently, only when necessary, when there were strategic decisions to make". According to Ingroia "in an organization like the Mafia, a boss has to be one step above the others otherwise it all falls apart. It all depends on if he can manage consensus and if the others agree or rebel." Provenzano "guaranteed a measure of stability because he had
72-452: A prisoner who supervised forced labor or carried out tasks delegated by Nazi guards People [ edit ] Capo (surname) Pedro Capó , also known as Capó, singer-songwriter from Puerto Rico Capo (rapper) (born 1991), German rapper Jim Jones (rapper) (born 1976), also known as CAPO, American rapper Los Capos , Mexican Lucha Libre pro-wrestlers Places [ edit ] Acquarica del Capo , town and commune in
96-730: A song by Bizzy Bone and Capo-Confucius, from the album Alpha and Omega Other uses [ edit ] Harkonnen Capo Chair , one of H. R. Giger's furniture designs El Capo (TV series), 2009 Colombian drama TV series about a drug lord, aka Marlon Moreno El Capo El Capo (2016 TV series) , Mexican telenovela See also [ edit ] [REDACTED] Search for "capo" on Misplaced Pages. All pages with titles containing capo All pages with titles containing capos All pages with titles beginning with capo Da capo (disambiguation) Kapo (disambiguation) Capo di tutti capi (mafioso title) boss of all bosses Capodecina (mafioso title) boss of
120-730: A song by Bizzy Bone and Capo-Confucius, from the album Alpha and Omega Other uses [ edit ] Harkonnen Capo Chair , one of H. R. Giger's furniture designs El Capo (TV series), 2009 Colombian drama TV series about a drug lord, aka Marlon Moreno El Capo El Capo (2016 TV series) , Mexican telenovela See also [ edit ] [REDACTED] Search for "capo" on Misplaced Pages. All pages with titles containing capo All pages with titles containing capos All pages with titles beginning with capo Da capo (disambiguation) Kapo (disambiguation) Capo di tutti capi (mafioso title) boss of all bosses Capodecina (mafioso title) boss of
144-562: A squad in the Cosa Nostra Capomandamento (mafioso title) boss of a clan in the Cosa Nostra el Capo de Capos (born 1949) Mexican pro-wrestler Il Capo dei Capi , a 2007 TV miniseries Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Capo . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to
168-422: A squad in the Cosa Nostra Capomandamento (mafioso title) boss of a clan in the Cosa Nostra el Capo de Capos (born 1949) Mexican pro-wrestler Il Capo dei Capi , a 2007 TV miniseries Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Capo . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to
192-592: The Castellammarese War , he set himself up as boss of all bosses , created the Five Families and ordered every Mafia family to pay him tribute. This provoked a rebellious reaction which led to him being murdered in September 1931, on the orders of Lucky Luciano . Although there would have been few objections had Luciano declared himself capo di tutti i capi , he abolished the title, believing
216-664: The Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of southeast Italy Capistrano Valley High School , commonly known as Capo Capo d'Orlando , a commune in the Italian province of Messina, in Sicily Capo di Ponte , a commune in the Italian province of Brescia, in Lombardy Capo Sandalo Lighthouse , a lighthouse on San Pietro Island, Sardinia, Italy Capo Vaticano , a wide bathing place of
240-408: The Italian province of Lecce in the Apulia region of southeast Italy Capistrano Valley High School , commonly known as Capo Capo d'Orlando , a commune in the Italian province of Messina, in Sicily Capo di Ponte , a commune in the Italian province of Brescia, in Lombardy Capo Sandalo Lighthouse , a lighthouse on San Pietro Island, Sardinia, Italy Capo Vaticano , a wide bathing place of
264-561: The Municipality of Ricadi in Calabria, Italy Rural Municipality of Elcapo No. 154 , Saskatchewan, Canada Music [ edit ] Capo (musical device) , a device that is attached to the frets of a string instrument to raise the pitch of each string Capo (album) , a 2011 album by American rapper Jim Jones El Capo (album) , a 2019 album by Jim Jones "Capo", a 2018 single by American rapper NLE Choppa "Capo",
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#1732772470241288-444: The Municipality of Ricadi in Calabria, Italy Rural Municipality of Elcapo No. 154 , Saskatchewan, Canada Music [ edit ] Capo (musical device) , a device that is attached to the frets of a string instrument to raise the pitch of each string Capo (album) , a 2011 album by American rapper Jim Jones El Capo (album) , a 2019 album by Jim Jones "Capo", a 2018 single by American rapper NLE Choppa "Capo",
312-744: The United States and serve to mediate conflicts between families. The Commission consisted of the bosses of the Five Families in New York City, the Buffalo crime family and the Chicago Outfit . Since then, while media sources have often sought to award the title of "boss of all bosses" to the most powerful boss, the Mafia has not itself recognized the position to exist. Among other bosses media sources have presumed to hold
336-493: The authority to quash internal disputes". With the deaths of Bernardo Provenzano in 2016 and Salvatore Riina in 2017, Matteo Messina Denaro was seen as the unchallenged capo dei capi within the Mafia. Combining this status of "boss of all bosses" with his three decades on the run, Messina Denaro became a character of great curiosity in the media. However, he was captured in early 2023 and ended up dying behind bars that same year. After Messina Denaro's death, no other Mafia boss
360-795: The free dictionary. Capo or capos , may refer to: Designation, akin to captain [ edit ] Capo, short for Caporegime , a rank in the Mafia Capo dei capi , or capo di tutti capi , Italian for "boss of bosses", a phrase used to indicate a powerful individual in organized crime Capo (concentration camp) , a prisoner who supervised forced labor or carried out tasks delegated by Nazi guards People [ edit ] Capo (surname) Pedro Capó , also known as Capó, singer-songwriter from Puerto Rico Capo (rapper) (born 1991), German rapper Jim Jones (rapper) (born 1976), also known as CAPO, American rapper Los Capos , Mexican Lucha Libre pro-wrestlers Places [ edit ] Acquarica del Capo , town and commune in
384-481: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Capo&oldid=1213824849 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages capo [REDACTED] Look up capo , capo- , or capotasto in Wiktionary,
408-502: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Capo&oldid=1213824849 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Place name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Capo di tutti capi In the Sicilian Mafia , the position does not exist. For instance,
432-491: The old-style Mafia boss Calogero Vizzini was often portrayed in the media as the "boss of bosses" – although such a position does not exist according to later Mafia pentiti , such as Tommaso Buscetta . They also denied Vizzini ever was the ruling boss of the Mafia in Sicily. According to Mafia historian Salvatore Lupo "the emphasis of the media on the definition of 'capo dei capi' is without any foundation". Nevertheless,
456-491: The position created trouble between the families and would have made him a target for another ambitious challenger. Instead, Luciano established the Commission to lead the Mafia, with a goal of quietly maintaining his own power over all the families, while preventing future gang wars; the bosses approved the idea of the Commission. The Commission would consist of a " board of directors " to oversee all Mafia activities in
480-459: The power to nominate a successor, which is not unanimously accepted among Mafia observers. "The Mafia today is more of a federation and less of an authoritarian state", according to anti-Mafia prosecutor Antonio Ingroia of the Direzione distrettuale antimafia [ it ] of Palermo, referring to the previous period of authoritarian rule under Salvatore Riina . Provenzano "established
504-529: The title has frequently been given to powerful Mafia bosses to this day. During the 1980s and 1990s the bosses of the Corleonesi clan Salvatore Riina and Bernardo Provenzano were bestowed with the title by the media. In April 2006, the Italian government arrested Bernardo Provenzano in a small farmhouse near the town of Corleone . His successor is reported to be either Matteo Messina Denaro or Salvatore Lo Piccolo . This presupposes that Provenzano has
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#1732772470241528-477: The title include Luciano himself, Frank Costello and Vito Genovese . Some have claimed the title of the head of the Gambino crime family , as purportedly the most powerful of the Five Families, which have included Carlo Gambino and his successors Paul Castellano , and John Gotti . The term has since fallen out of use in the media but remains popular in fictional accounts. Bonanno family boss Joseph Massino
552-436: Was known as the "capo dei capi". In Italy, a fictional six-part television miniseries called Il Capo dei Capi relates the story of Salvatore Riina. The title was applied by mobsters to Giuseppe Morello around 1900, according to Nick Gentile . Bosses Joe Masseria (1928–1931) and Salvatore Maranzano (1931) used the title as part of their efforts to centralize control of the Mafia under themselves. When Maranzano won
576-592: Was recognized by four of the five families as chairman of the Commission from 2000 to 2004; during this time he was the only full-fledged boss in New York not in prison. In the 'Ndrangheta , a Mafia-type organisation in Calabria , the capocrimine is the elected boss of the crimine , an annual meeting of the 'Ndrangheta locali near the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Polsi in the municipality of San Luca during
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