Lucchese family
| Founded by | Gaetano Reina |
|---|---|
| Founding location | New York City, New York |
| Years active | c. 1920s-present |
| Territory | Various neighborhoods in New York City, New York. Territory in New Jersey, South Florida and Las Vegas. |
| Ethnicity | Made men (full members) are men of Italian descent. Other ethnicities are employed as "associates." |
| Membership | 200 made members, 1,000+ associates (2004 estimate) |
| Criminal activities | Racketeering, robbery, gambling, contract killing, drug trafficking, aircraft hijacking, smuggling, bribery, loan sharking, bookmaking, fraud, assault, fencing, money laundering, labor racketeering, extortion, murder, arms trafficking, and theft |
| Allies | Gambino, Colombo, Bonanno, Genovese, DeCavalcante, Buffalo, Chicago, and Velentzas crime families |
| Rivals | Various gangs in New York City including their allies |
The Lucchese crime family (pronounced [lukˈkeːze]) is one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia (or Cosa Nostra).
The family originated in the early 1920s with Gaetano Reina serving as boss up until his murder in 1930. It was taken over by Tommy Gagliano during the Castellammarese War, and led by him until his death in 1951. The family under Gagliano was peaceful and low key, concentrating their criminal activities in the Bronx, Manhattan and New Jersey. The next boss was Tommy Lucchese, who turned the family around to become one of the most powerful families to sit on the Commission. Lucchese teamed up with Gambino crime family boss Carlo Gambino to control organized crime in New York City. When Lucchese died of natural causes in 1967, Carmine Tramunti controlled the family for a brief time; he was arrested in 1973. Anthony Corallo then gained control of the family. Corallo was very secretive and soon became one of the most powerful members of the Commission. He was arrested and convicted in the famous Commission case of 1986.
For most of its history, the Lucchese family was reckoned as one of the most peaceful crime families in the nation. However, that changed when Corallo named Victor Amuso his successor shortly before going to prison. Amuso later promoted one of his longtime partners, Anthony Casso to underboss. They instituted one of the bloodiest reigns in Mafia history, ordering virtually anyone who crossed them to be murdered. Amuso was arrested in 1991 and sentenced to life in prison. Several Lucchese wiseguys, fearing for their lives, turned informant. The highest-profile of these was acting boss Alphonse D'Arco, who became the first boss of a New York crime family to testify against the mob. This led to the arrest of the entire Lucchese family hierarchy, with Casso also becoming an informant. Testimony from these informants nearly destroyed the family, with as many as half of its members incarcerated. Amuso has continued to rule the family from prison.
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