Don (mafia)

Capo di tutt'i capi or capo dei capi, often referred to as the Godfather in English, is Italian for "boss of all bosses" or "boss of [the] bosses". It is a phrase used mainly by the media, public and the 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 title was introduced to the U.S. public by the Kefauver Commission (1950). It has seldom been given to specific bosses because it could create tension between different factions (otherwise known as families) within the Mafia. Typically the title is awarded de facto to the boss of the most powerful Mafia family.

The word 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 the Castellammarese War, he set himself up as boss of all bosses and ordered every Mafia family to pay him tribute. This provoked a rebellious reaction which led to him being murdered. Lucky Luciano then created The Commission in 1931 as an alternative.

The Commission consisted of the bosses of the Five Families in New York and some non New York families. These men had equal say in Mafia matters. Since then, the title of boss of all bosses has been given by the media to the most powerful boss, although the Mafia never recognized the position itself. Genovese crime family bosses Lucky Luciano (1931–1946), Frank Costello (1946–1957) and Vito Genovese (1957–1959) were given the title. Following Genovese, Joseph Bonanno, boss of the Bonanno crime family, chaired the commission in 1959–1962.

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