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Caporegime
A '''caporegime''' (or capodecina) (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 Mafia#Traditional_terminology|soldiers and has major social status and influence in the organization. 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 Crime boss|boss or an underboss.
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 protects 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. In technical terms, a caporegime operates his own small family within the framework of a larger family.
Each Capo is in charge of a mini-gang or a crew of soldiers and associates that can range greatly in size. These men may or may not be based in close proximity. For example, Bonanno crime family capo Joe Notaro had crew members spread throughout New York city|New York's five boroughs and even had crew members operating in New Jersey.
Capos have varying degrees of power. Some are relatives or close friends of the boss, which gives them more influence. A capo with an active crew that generates a lot of profits is always respected.
For example, Gambino crime family soldier Roy DeMeo was greatly respected and had a tremendous amount of goodwill among his peers due to his great moneymaking abilities. The Gambino family boss, John Gotti, also was widely respected and tolerated due to the amount of profits his crew generated for the family. Despite the various blunders and mistakes committed by them, they successfully avoided getting killed by their superiors and were tolerated due to this fact.
On the other hand, capo Joe Sferra of the DeCavalcante crime family was demoted to soldier and removed from his lucrative union post in the June of 1965 after a series of blunders. In 1984, a more severe loss of power occurred to Salvatore Testa|Salvatore "Salvie" Testa, a once rising Philadelphia crime family|Scarfo family capo. He ended up getting murdered by Nicodemo Scarfo|Nicky Scarfo due to the suspicions raised about his loyalty.
A Caporegime may also have certain areas he protects with his crew or certain racket such as labor racketeering, numbers running, and other forms of organized crime. The Capo's crew members may each have their own criminal activity going on with their legitimate business ventures, while the capo may have his own business or a legitimate job in order to file tax returns.
A slice of the rackets of his soldiers and associates provide the capo with illegal income. He, in turn, delivers a portion of the profits to his boss at regular intervals. Accurate estimates of the income of an average capo vary greatly and are difficult to quantify. Its always in a state of flux, depending on the success and size of his crew.
The numbers depend on the size of a family. The Gambino family has had more than twenty capos whereas the St. Louis crime family has had just a small number of capos.
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).
In ''Mean Streets'' the main character's uncle is a caporegime of one of the New York's ''Five Families''.
In ''Goodfellas,'' Paul Cicero (played by Paul Sorvino) was the capo of the crew that Henry Hill (mobster)|Henry Hill (played by Ray Liotta) was associated with. Paul Vario, on whom Cicero is based, was part of a very profitable crew (see The Vario Crew) that was part of the Lucchese crime family|Lucchese family.
In the video games ''Grand Theft Auto III'' and ''Grand Theft Auto Liberty City Stories'', ''Toni Cipriani'' is the capo of the Leone family in Liberty City whose boss is Salvatore Leone. Salvatore Leone is killed in ''Grand Theft Auto III'' by Claude (a man whom Salvatore betrayed), and it is believed that Toni became the underboss of the Leone family.
In the video game ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', Ray Boccino acts as the capo for the Peggorino Family; an organized crime family based in the in-game equivalent of New Jersey.
In the HBO television series ''The Sopranos,'' the term "capo" or "captain" is used to describe crew leaders in the crime family. Capos have included Tony Soprano (before his elevation to acting boss), Junior Soprano (before his own elevation to acting boss before Tony), Paulie Gualtieri, Christopher Moltisanti, Richie Aprile, Gigi Cestone, Ralph Cifaretto, Vito Spatafore, Raymond Curto, Carlo Gervasi, Jimmy Altieri, Larry Barese, List of characters from The Sopranos in the Soprano crime family#Michele "Feech" La Manna|Feech La Manna, List of characters from The Sopranos in the Soprano crime family#Murf_Lupo|Murf Lupo, and Bobby Baccalieri|Bobby "Baccala" Baccalieri, who replaced the senile Lupo.
The Gambino crime family
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 Gotti|Gene.
- Peter Lino, elevated to capo to supervise Florida operations.
- Michael Mandaglia of Kenilworth, elevated to capo to replace Joseph Paterno.
- Thomas Gambino of New York, caporegime who replaced Pasquale Conti as Gambino/Gotti liaison to the Sicilian Mafia.
Other usage
- Guards and other assistants recruited from among the prisoners of Nazi Concentration camps were also referred to as a ''Kapo (Arbeitslager)|Kapo'' or ''Capo''.
- Rapper Jim Jones (rapper)| Jim Jones frequently refers himself as "Diplomat Records|Dipset's resident 'Capo-Staus'" None of these are proven facts.
See also
- Capo di tutti capi
References
- Capeci, Jerry. ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia''. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002. ISBN 0-02-864225-2
Category:Organized crime members by role
Related Images- Italian mafia family structure tree
Sources: StartLearningNow, Wikipedia | Usage license: GNU FDL
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