| Castellammarese War | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | February, 1930 – April 15, 1931 | ||
| Location | New York City, New York, U.S. | ||
| Caused by | Crime syndicate control dispute | ||
| Resulted in | Maranzano's faction's victory:
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| Parties | |||
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| Lead figures | |||
The Castellammarese War (Italian pronunciation: [kaˌstɛllammaˈreːze, -eːse]) was a bloody power struggle for control of the American Mafia between partisans of Joe "The Boss" Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano that took place in New York City from February 1930, until April 15, 1931. The feud was named after the Sicilian town of Castellammare del Golfo, Maranzano's birthplace.[1]
Maranzano's faction prevailed in the conflict and divided New York's crime families into the Five Families; Maranzano declared himself capo di tutti i capi ("boss of all bosses"). However, Maranzano was murdered in September 1931 on orders of Lucky Luciano, who established a power-sharing arrangement through a governing body called the Commission, giving equal stature to all Mafia families to avoid such feuds in the future.