A caporegime (sometimes shortened to capo) is a term used in the Mafia for a high ranking member of a crime family who heads a crew (or group) of soldiers. Caporegime is an Italian word, which was originally used to signify the head of a family in Sicily, but has now come to mean a ranking member, similar to Captain. In general, the term indicates the head of a branch of an organized crime syndicate who commands a crew of soldiers and reports directly to a boss or an underboss. The Mafia, also referred to in Italian as Cosa Nostra (Our Thing or This Thing of Ours), is a secret society that evolved from Italian Organized Crime in mid-19th century Sicily. ... A Norwegian soldier (a Corporal, armed with an MP-5) A soldier is a person who has enlisted with, or has been conscripted into, the armed forces of a sovereign country and has undergone training and received equipment to defend that country or its interests. ... Sicilian redirects here. ... Captain is both a nautical term and a rank in various uniformed organizations. ... Organized crime is crime carried out systematically by formal criminal organizations. ... A crime boss is someone in charge of a criminal organization. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

In the Mafia, when a boss makes a decision, he passes instructions down through the chain of command, rather than issue orders directly to the soldiers who carry it out. This ranking system prevents the higher levels of the organization from incrimination if a lower level member should be captured by law enforcement. A caporegime acts as an intermediary between the soldiers and the boss.

Use in popular fiction

In The Godfather, the characters Sal Tessio (played by Abe Vigoda) and Pete Clemenza (played by Richard S. Castellano) are capos in the Corleone Family who answer to Vito Corleone, (and later Michael Corleone). The Godfather is a film adaptation of the novel of the same name, written by Mario Puzo, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino. ... As Don Vito Corleone rose to prominence in the Mafia underworld, Tessio and Clemenza rose with him, eventually settling into the capo role. ... Abe Vigoda (born Abraham Charles Vigodah on February 24, 1921, in New York City, died January 30, 2006) was an American movie and television actor. ... Peter Clemenza is a fictional character appearing in Mario Puzos novel The Godfather and two of the three films based on it. ... Richard S. Castellano (September 4, 1933 – December 10, 1988) was an actor. ... The Corleone family is a fictional Mafia family of Mario Puzos The Godfather. ... Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather Vito Corleone (Born: Vito Andolini), aka The Godfather, is the fictional head of one of the five New York Mafia families in Mario Puzos novel The Godfather and its 1972 film adaptation. ... Michael Corleone, as portrayed by Al Pacino (right) with his fathers consigliere Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) in The Godfather. ...

In the HBO television series The Sopranos, the term "Capo" or "Captain" is also used a to describe crew leaders in the crime family. HBO (Home Box Office) is a premium cable television network with headquarters in New York City. ... The Sopranos is a very popular American television drama broadcast on HBO about a fictional Mafia family in Northern New Jersey. ...

In the movie "The Goodfellas" Paul Cicero (played by Paul Sorvino) was the Capo of the crew that Henry Hill was associated with. The family which Paul Cicero was part of was the Luciano crew. Paul Vario (July 12, 1914 - November 22, 1988) was a member of the U.S. Mafia and a Caporegime in the Lucchese Family. ... Henry Hill (born June 11, 1943) is a famous former FBI informant whose life was immortalized in the book Wiseguy by crime reporter Nicholas Pileggi. ... Paul Vario (July 12, 1914 - November 22, 1988) was a member of the U.S. Mafia and a Caporegime in the Lucchese Family. ... Luciano may refer to: Fábio Luciano, Brazilian footballer born 1975. ...

The Gambino crime family

The Gambino family of Cosa Nostra is considered by most experts to be the largest and most influential organized crime group in the United States, with a known membership of approximately 250 formally initiated, or "made", members and about 600 associates. The Gambino Crime Family is a criminal organization based in New York City, New York, USA within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known familiarly as the Mafia (also known as La Cosa Nostra). ... Charles Lucky Luciano, one of the most famous American bosses Cosa Nostra, literally translated into English, means Our thing, or This thing of ours. ... Organized crime is crime carried out systematically by formal criminal organizations. ... A Made man is someone who has been inducted into La Cosa Nostra or the (usually Sicilian) Mafia. ...

Those given new caporegime status, or those capos given expanded responsibilities, include:

• Nicholas Corozzo of Brooklyn, caporegime of Joseph Corrao's operations.
• Gregory DiPalma, given caporegime status of Joseph Zingaro's operations.
• Peter Gotti, elevated to capo to replace his brother Gene.
• Peter Lino, elevated to capo to supervise Florida operations.
• Louis Riccio, acting caporegime on behalf of Anthony Napolitano.
• Michael Mandaglia of Kenilworth, elevated to capo to replace the late Joseph Paterno.
• Thomas Gambino of New York, caporegime who replaced Pasquale Conti as Gambino/Gotti liaison to the Sicilian Mafia.

Nicholas Little Nick Corozzo is the current boss of the Gambino crime family, and has been since 2004. ... A map of New York City, highlighting Brooklyn. ... Peter Gotti Peter Gotti is a Mafia member of the Gambino crime family and is the brother of John Gotti. ... Gene Gotti Gene Gotti is a member of the American Mafias Gambino crime family. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,794 sq mi (170,451 km²)  - Width 162 miles (260 km)  - Length 497 miles (800 km)  - % water 17. ...

Other usage

Guards and other assistants recruited from among the prisoners of Nazi Concentration camps were also referred to as a Kapo or Capo. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Nazism. ... It has been suggested that Internment be merged into this article or section. ... Kapo was a term used for certain prisoners who worked inside the Nazi concentration camps during World War II. The name stood for Kameradenpolizei, comrade police, and referred to prisoners who have been recruited by their captors to police their fellow prisoners. ...

See also

• Capo di tutti capi