Everything about Castellamarese War totally explained
The
Castellammarese War (
1929 -
1931) was a bloody power struggle for control of the
Italian-American mafia between two factions. The war ended with
Salvatore Maranzano, head of the Castellammarese faction, becoming
capo di tutti capi (Boss of All Bosses) for the entire mafia. After he was killed, "
the Commission" of five mafia families of equal stature was established.
The Protagonists
The name
Castelammarese refers to immigrants from the town of
Castellammare del Golfo in Western
Sicily. In Sicily, these people were controlled by the powerful
Sicilian mafioso
Don Vito Cascio Ferro. In the U.S., the Castellammarese leader was
Salvatore Maranzano, a New York gangster. The Castellammarese mobsters in the U.S. included
Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonanno,
Stefano "The Undertaker" Magaddino,
Joseph Profaci, and
Joe Aiello. This was one of the two factions in this gang war.
The second faction came from other parts of
Sicily and the
Calabria and
Campania regions of
Southern Italy. Many members of this faction originated from
Naples. Their leader was another New York mob leader,
Joe "The Boss" Masseria. Masseria's faction included
Alphonse Capone,
Charles "Lucky" Luciano,
Albert "Mad Hatter" Anastasia,
Vito Genovese,
Alfred Mineo (Alfredo Manfredi),
Willie Moretti,
Joe Adonis, and
Frank Costello.
Outwardly, the Castellammarese War was between the forces of Masseria and Maranzano. In reality, it was a generational conflict between the old guard Sicilian leadership, fondly known as the "
Mustache Petes" for their long mustaches and old-world ways, and the "Young Turks", a younger and more diverse Italian group who wanted to work more with non-Italians. Tensions between the two factions were readily evident as far back as
1928, with one side frequently
hijacking the other's
alcohol trucks (alcohol production was then illegal in the
United States due to
Prohibition). However, both factions were fluid; many gangsters switched sides or killed their own allies during this war.
The First Shot
It is hard to tell when the warfare actually started. In February 1930, Masseria supposedly ordered the death of
Gaspar Milazzo, a Castellemmarese native who was the president of
Detroit's chapter of
Unione Siciliane. Masseria was reportedly humiliated by Milazzo's refusal to support him in an Unione Siciliane dispute involving the
Chicago Outfit and
Al Capone.
However, according to most sources, the opening salvo in the war was fired within the Masseria faction. On
February 26,
1930, Masseria ordered the murder of an ally,
Gaetano Reina (whose daughter Carmela -- often referred to incorrectly as Mildred due to her nickname, Millie -- would marry
Joe Valachi two years later). Masseria ordered the hit and gave the job to a young
Vito Genovese, who killed Reina with a shotgun. Masseria's intent was to protect his secret allies
Tommy Gagliano,
Tommy Lucchese, and
Dominic Petrilli (known as "The Gap"); however, his treachery would come back to haunt him, as the Reina family then threw its support to Maranzano.
Trading Blows
On
August 15,
1930, Castellammerese loyalists executed a key Masseria enforcer,
Pietro Morello, at Morello's
East Harlem office (a visitor, Giuseppe Pariano, was also killed). Two weeks later, Masseria suffered another blow. After Reina's murder, Masseria had appointed
Joseph Pinzolo to take over the ice-distribution racket. However, on
September 9,
1930, the Reina family shot and killed Pinzolo at a
Times Square office rented by Lucchese. After these two murders, the Reina crew formally joined forces with the Castellammerese.
Masseria soon struck back. On
October 23,
1930, Castellammerese ally Joe Aiello, president of the Chicago Unione Siciliane, was murdered in
Chicago. At the time, it was widely assumed that Capone, another Castellammerese ally, had killed Aiello as part of a bitter power struggle in Chicago. However, Luciano later admitted that Masseria ordered the Aiello hit, which was performed by Masseria ally Alfred Mineo.
The Tide Turns
Following the murder of Aiello, the tide of war rapidly turned in favor of the Castellammarese. On
November 5,
1930 Mineo and a key member of Masseria's gang,
Steve Ferrigno, were murdered. At this point, members of Masseria's gang began defecting to Maranzano, rendering the original battle lines of the conflict (Castellammarese versus non-Castellammarese) meaningless. On
February 3,
1931, another important Masseria lieutenant,
Joseph Catania, was gunned down, dying two days later.
Given the worsened situation, Masseria allies Luciano and Genovese started communicating with Castellammarese leader Maranzano. The two men agreed to betray Masseria if Maranzano would end the war. On
April 15,
1931, Masseria was killed while eating dinner at Nuova Villa Tammaro, a
Coney Island restaurant in
Brooklyn. The hitters were
Albert Anastasia,
Joe Adonis,
Vito Genovese, and
Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel;
Ciro "The Artichoke King" Terranova drove the getaway car, but legend has it that he was too shaken up to drive away and had to be shoved out of the driver's seat by Siegel.
The New Mafia Structure
With the death of Masseria, the war was over. The winners, at least on paper, were Maranzano and the traditional Castellammarese faction. Now Maranzano took some significant actions to avoid more bloody and self-destructive gang wars. Many of these changes are still in effect today.
Except for
New York City, the major urban areas in the
Northeast and
Midwest were organized into one family per city; due to the sheer size of organized crime in New York, it was organized into five separate families. The bosses of the Five Families of New York were to be Luciano, Profaci, Gagliano, Bonanno, and
Vincent Mangano. All however would owe allegance and tribute to Maranzano. The Castellammarese, such as Profaci and Bonanno, were divided among the New York crime families and ceased to exist as a separate faction. Maranzano set himself above, and apart from, all the U.S. crime families by creating an additional position for himself--
capo di tutti capi or "boss of all bosses."
Each crime
family unit was to be headed by a
boss, who was assisted by an
underboss (the third-ranking position of
consigliere, was added somewhat later). Below the underboss, the family was divided into crews, each headed by a
caporegime, or capo, and staffed by
soldiers. The soldiers would often be assisted by associates not yet members (or as they became known later, "wise guys"). Associates might also include non-Italians who worked with the family.
Death of Maranzano
Unfortunately for Maranzano, his reign as capo di tutti capi was short-lived. On
September 10,
1931 Maranzano was shot and stabbed to death in his
Manhattan office by a team of Jewish triggermen recruited by
Meyer Lansky, a team which included
Samuel "Red" Levine and
Bo Weinberg.
In the end, both of the traditional factions in the New York Mafia lost the war. The real winners were the younger and more ruthless generation of mobsters, headed by Luciano. With their ascension to power, organized crime was poised to expand into a truly national and multi-ethnic combination.
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