Everything about Capo Di Tutti Capi totally explained
Capo di tutti capi or
capo dei capi is
Italian for "boss of all bosses" or "boss of bosses". It is a phrase used mainly by the media, public and the law enforcement community to indicate powerful bosses in the
Sicilian and
American Mafia (
Cosa Nostra). The title has seldom been given to specific bosses because it could create tension between different factions (otherwise known as families) within the Mafia. Typically the title is awarded "de facto" to the boss of the most powerful mafia family.
In the U.S., between the late
1960s and the early
1990s, the
Gambino crime family was regarded as the most powerful faction of the American Cosa Nostra. As a result, the leaders of the Gambino family during that time, starting with
Carlo Gambino,
Paul Castellano, and later
John Gotti, were considered as de facto
capo di tutti capi by the media. It is worth noting, that the U.S. Cosa Nostra hasn't proclaimed a "boss of bosses" position since
Salvatore Maranzano, but is instead ruled by
The Commission. Following the death of Maranzano
Lucky Luciano was
de facto "boss of bosses". He never declared himself as such, realizing the futility of attempting to impose himself as the ultimate leader of the American Mafia.
In the
Sicilian Cosa Nostra the title doesn't exist. For instance, the old-style Mafia boss
Calogero Vizzini was often portrayed in the media as the "boss of bosses" – although such a position doesn't exist according to later Mafia turncoats, such as
Tommaso Buscetta. They also denied Vizzini ever was the ruling boss of the Mafia in Sicily. According to Mafia historian
Salvatore Lupo "the emphasis of the media on the definition of 'capo dei capi' is without any foundation".
Nevertheless, the title is constantly given to powerful Mafia bosses until this day. During the
1980s and
1990s the bosses of the
Corleonesi clan
Salvatore Riina and
Bernardo Provenzano were bestowed with the title by the media.
In April 2006, the Italian government arrested Bernardo Provenzano in a small farmhouse near the town of
Corleone. His successor is reported to be either
Matteo Messina Denaro or
Salvatore Lo Piccolo. This presupposes that Provenzano has the power to nominate a successor, which isn't unanimously accepted among Mafia observers. "The Mafia today is more of a federation and less of an authoritarian state," according to anti-Mafia prosecutor Antonio Ingroia of the
Direzione distrettuale antimafia (DDA) of Palermo, referring to the previous period of authoritarian rule under
Salvatore Riina.
Provenzano "established a kind of directorate of about four to seven people who met very infrequently, only when necessary, when there were strategic decisions to make." According to Ingroia "in an organization like the Mafia, a boss has to be one step above the others otherwise it all falls apart. It all depends on if he can manage consensus and if the others agree or rebel." Provenzano "guaranteed a measure of stability because he'd the authority to quash internal disputes."
On Monday November 5th 2007, Sicilian police arrested
Salvatore Lo Piccolo along with three other men. One of them being his Son Sandro. They were betrayed by one of Salvatore Lo Piccolo's closest lieutenants,
Francesco Franzese.
In
Italy a fiction called "capo dei capi" relates the story of
Salvatore Riina.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Capo Di Tutti Capi'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://capo_di_tutti_capi.totallyexplained.com">Capo di tutti capi Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
