The Commission is alleged to be the governing body of the mafia in the United States. Although its makeup has changed several times since its creation, the bosses of the Five Families remain the core membership of The Commission. Upon the Commission's founding, gangster Meyer Lansky allegedly remarked its influence to be "bigger than U.S. Steel." The Mafia (also known as Cosa Nostra), is an Italian criminal secret society which first developed in the mid-19th century in Sicily. ... The Five Families are the major crime families of the Italian-American Mafia based in New York City which have dominated traditional organized crime in New York. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The United States Steel Corporation (NYSE: X) is an integrated steel producer with major production operations in the United States and Central Europe. ...

Reasons for The Commission's Formation

Pre-Commission Situation

The Commission was established in 1931 by Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The purpose was the desire to replace the old Sicilian mafia regime, modeled after the Roman Empire. The former system, set up by the New York Don Salvatore Maranzano, resulted in the most powerful boss imposing his will by brute force, assuming the mantle of Capo de tutti capi ("The Boss of All Bosses") and ruling over all the other American bosses. Year 1931 (MCMXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Motto Senatus Populusque Romanus (SPQR) The Roman Empire at its greatest extent. ... Salvatore Maranzano (1868-1931) Salvatore Maranzano (1868-September 10, 1931) was an organized crime figure from the town of Castellammare del Golfo, Sicily, and an early Mafia boss in the United States. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ...

This old system had led to a number of costly mob wars, and, in the aftermath of the Castellammarese War, Luciano (with the advice of Lansky) came to the realization that some structure was needed for the various mob families to settle their differences without bloodshed, thus benefiting the business interests of all and allowing the mob to stay out of the public eye.^[1] The Castellammarese War is the name given to a bloody internal power struggle between two factions of Italian-American mafia figures that took place in 1930 and 1931. ...

The answer, Luciano and Lansky reasoned, was a sort-of mob board of directors--to be known as "The Commission"--that would oversee all mafia activities in the US and serve to mediate conflicts between families.^[2] Naturally, the savvy Luciano assumed the position of chairman. Lansky served as Luciano's chief advisor. The Commission would often meet every five years or when needed. In relation to a company, a director is an officer (that is, someone who works for the company) charged with the conduct and management of its affairs. ... A Chairman is the presiding officer of a meeting, organization, committee, or other deliberative body. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Post-Formation

The formation of the Commission did not stop the gang wars from taking place, but it did make them to be on a smaller scale and at greater intervals. The reason for this was that often when one Family declared war on another, the aggressor Family would suddenly find themselves at war with all of the Commission from mutual defense factions.

To settle wars or internal conflicts, the Commission would often appoint a new Don of the Family and have the usurper or the previous Don assassinated. An example of this is the case of the Bonanno family in the Bonanno War. The Bonanno family is one of five mafia families said to be in control of organized crime in New York City. ...

The Commission Today

The Commission is still reported to exist today, though its current membership is composed solely of the bosses of the Five Families and its activities, like much of the Mafia's in general, have receded from public view as a matter of necessity.^[3]

Structure

The Commission was officially comprised of seven family bosses: the leaders of New York's Five Families (Lucky Luciano, Joseph Bonanno, Joe Profaci, Vincent Mangano, and Tommy Gagliano) and the "Fathers" from Chicago (Al Capone), representing everything in the Western United States, and Buffalo (Stefano Magaddino).^[4] This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Giuseppe Joseph/Joe Bonanno (January 18, 1905 – May 12, 2002) was a Sicilian-born American Mafioso who became the boss of one of the infamous five families crime families of New York City. ... Joe Profaci (October 2, 1897–June 7, 1962) was a New York Mafia boss who was the founder and head of the Profaci crime family, known today as the Colombo crime family, for over three decades. ... Vincent Mangano (1888-1951) was the head of what would become known as the Gambino crime family from 1931 to 1951. ... Tommy Gagliano Gaetano Tommy Gagliano was the head of the Lucchese crime family between 1931 and 1953. ... Alphonse Gabriel Capone (January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), popularly known as Al Capone, was an American gangster who led a crime syndicate dedicated to the smuggling and bootlegging of liquor and other illegal activities during the Prohibition Era of the 1920s and 1930s. ... Stefano Magaddino (October 10, 1891 – July 19, 1974) was an American mafia boss in the Buffalo, New York area. ...

Non-Italian mobsters such as Louis Buchalter were also allowed membership in the syndicate, but governing (voting) power was strictly restricted to Italian members.^{[citation needed]} Lansky, beyond being Luciano's chief advisor, was made the official Financial Advisor to the Commission. Although largely acting in the shadows (which helped explain Lansky's eventual "untouchability"), he was able to exercise a good deal of influence (even talking Luciano and the Commission out of putting out a contract on Bugsy Siegel on two occasions).^{[citation needed]} This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A contract killing (also contract murder or murder-for-hire) is a murder in which a killer is hired by another person to murder for material reward, usually money. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Executive Position

There was no 'ruler' of the Commission, but there was a nominated Chairman or Head of the National Commission. This was used as a substitute to the role of Capo de tutti capi, as that had the connotations of the old Mustache Pete system of one man rule. However, after the Havana Conference, Lucky Luciano took this title anyway so to solidify his rule after being deported from the United States by the actions of Governor Thomas Dewey. This does not cite its references or sources. ... Mustache Petes were the members of the Sicilian Mafia who had come to New York as adults in the early 1900s. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Thomas Edmund Dewey (b. ...

Judicial

The enforcement arm of The Commission was the notorious Murder, Inc. operation out of Brooklyn. This service had to be authorized by the Commission by vote first, along with the number of target, even then the number of targets was usually limited to one or a few individuals. This way the Commission avoided a confusing situation that could result in a war, and minimized possible press exposure. Murder, Inc. ...

Fictional Portrayals

The Commission played a prominent role in both The Godfather and The Godfather, Part III. The Godfather is a 1972 crime film based on the novel of the same name by Mario Puzo and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, with screenplay by Puzo and Coppola. ... The Godfather, Part III is a 1990 film, the third in the Godfather trilogy. ...

In The Godfather universe, the Five Families are known as the Corleone, Barzini, Tattaglia, Stracci, and Cuneo crime families. A Commission meeting occurs after the murder of Vito Corleone's son, Sonny, in order to broker a peace between the warring Corleone and Tattaglia families. Don Barzini appears to hold the executive position on The Commission. At the meeting, Vito realizes that the Barzini, Stracchi, and Cuneo families had secretly aligned themselves with the Tattaglia family in order to force the Corleone family into sharing its political protection with the rest of The Commission, which was involved in a burgeoning drug trade that Vito was opposed to. Vito reluctantly agrees to share his political influence to promote the drug trade, thus avoiding further bloodshed and ending the war. The film ends with Vito's youngest son and successor, Michael, exacting revenge by having Dons Barzini, Tattaglia, Stracci, and Cuneo assassinated in dramatic fashion, effectively wiping out The Commission and consolidating the now-hegemonic power of the Corleone family. The Corleone family is a fictional Mafia family of Mario Puzos The Godfather. ... Don Emilio Barzini (1893-1950) is a fictional character in Mario Puzos novel The Godfather and the film based on it. ... Philip Gustapay Tattaglia(1891-1955) is a fictional character appearing in Mario Puzos novel The Godfather, the first installment of The Godfather film trilogy and The Godfather video game. ... Don Victor Stracci is a fictional character appearing in Mario Puzos novel The Godfather and the first installment of the Godfather trilogy. ... Don Ottilio Cuneo is a fictional character appearing in Mario Puzos novel The Godfather. ... Vito Corleone (December 7, 1891 – June 25, 1955), born Vito Andolini, aka The Godfather or The Don, is a fictional character in Mario Puzos novel The Godfather, as well as Francis Ford Coppolas trilogy of films based on it. ... Santino Sonny Corleone (August 7, 1948) is a fictional character in Mario Puzos 1969 novel The Godfather and its 1972 film adaptation. ... Michael Corleone (December 25, 1920 – December 29, 1997) is a fictional character in Mario Puzos novels, The Godfather and The Sicilian. ...

By the start of The Godfather, Part III, The Commission had reformed while the Corleone family had receded from criminal activity in an effort to become "legit" through corporate endeavors. Michael still appeared to exercise de facto control over the body, as he was personally responsible for blocking Joey Zasa's progress through The Commission. As a result, Zasa organized a helicopter raid during a Commission meeting at an Atlantic City hotel. Most of the bosses were killed, but Michael was able to escape. Joey Zasa(1936-1979) is a fictional character appearing in the The Godfather, Part III. He was portrayed by Joe Mantegna. ... Alternate meanings: See Atlantic City (disambiguation) Atlantic City is a city located in USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 40,517. ...

Another fictional depiction of The Commission is the movie Mobsters starring Christian Slater as Lucky Luciano. During the movie Luciano is caught between the conflict of rivals families, and ultimately arrives at the idea to start The Commission to end the bloodshed. Of course, Luciano sets himself up as the "chairman of the board" as it were. Mobsters is a 1991 crime drama detailing the creation of the National Crime Syndicate. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Further reading

• Bernstein, Lee. The Greatest Menace: Organized Crime in Cold War America. Boston: UMass Press, 2002. ISBN 1-55849-345-X
• Bonanno, Bill. Bound by Honor: A Mafioso's Story. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999. ISBN 0-312-97147-8
• Bonanno, Joseph. A Man of Honor: The Autobiography of Joseph Bonanno. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2003. ISBN 0312979231
• Capeci, Jerry. The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002. ISBN 0-02-864225-2
• Downey, Patrick. Gangster City: The History of the New York Underworld, 1900-1935. Barricade Books, 2004. ISBN 156980267X
• Jacobs, James B., Coleen Friel and Robert Radick. Gotham Unbound: How New York City Was Liberated from the Grip of Organized Crime. New York: NYU Press, 2001. ISBN 0-8147-4247-5
• Jacobs, James B., Christopher Panarella and Jay Worthington. Busting the Mob: The United States Vs. Cosa Nostra. New York: NYU Press, 1994. ISBN 0-8147-4230-0
• Maas, Peter. Underboss: Sammy the Bull Gravano's Story of Life in the Mafia. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1997. ISBN 0-06-093096-9
• Mannion, James. 101 Things You Didn't Know About The Mafia: The Lowdown on Dons, Wiseguys, Squealers and Backstabbers. Avon, Massachusetts: Adams Media, 2005. ISBN 1-59337-267-1
• Milhorn, H. Thomas. Crime: Computer Viruses to Twin Towers. Boca Raton, Florida: Universal Publishers, 2005. ISBN 1-58112-489-9
• Raab, Selwyn. Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires. New York: St. Martin Press, 2005. ISBN 0-312-30094-8
• Reppetto, Thomas A. American Mafia: A History of Its Rise to Power. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 2004. ISBN 0-8050-7798-7
• Saggio, Frankie and Fred Rosen. Born to the Mob: The True-Life Story of the Only Man to Work for All Five of New York's Mafia Families. New York: Thunder Mouth Press, 2004. ISBN 1-56025-559-5
• Schatzberg, Rufus, Robert J.Kelly and Ko-lin Chin, ed. Handbook of Organized Crime in the United States. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1994. ISBN 0-313-28366-4

References