Genovese crime family

Genovese crime family
Charles Luciano
Frank Costello
Vito Genovese
Vincent Gigante
Foundedc. 1890s; 133 years ago (1890s)
FounderGiuseppe Morello
Named afterVito Genovese
Founding locationNew York City, New York, United States
Years activec. 1890s–present
TerritoryPrimarily New York City, with additional territory in Upstate New York, Long Island, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, South Florida, Las Vegas and Los Angeles[1]
EthnicityItalians as "made men" and other ethnicities as associates
Membership (est.)250–300 made members and 1,000+ associates (2004)[2]
ActivitiesRacketeering, murder, labor union infiltration, extortion, illegal gambling, drug trafficking, firearm trafficking, loansharking, bookmaking, truck hijacking, fraud, money laundering, bribery, assault, prostitution and pornography[3]
Allies
RivalsVarious gangs in New York City, including their allies

The Genovese crime family (pronounced [dʒenoˈveːze, -eːse]), also sometimes referred to as the Westside, is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City and New Jersey as part of the American Mafia. The Genovese family has generally maintained a varying degree of influence over many of the smaller mob families outside New York, including ties with the Philadelphia, Cleveland, Patriarca, and Buffalo crime families.

The modern family was founded by Charles "Lucky" Luciano and was known as the Luciano crime family from 1931 to 1957, when Vito Genovese became boss. Genovese was head of the family during the McClellan hearings in 1963, which gave the Five Families their current names. Originally in control of the waterfront on the West Side of Manhattan as well as the docks and the Fulton Fish Market on the East River waterfront, the family was run between 1981 and 2005 by "The Oddfather", Vincent "The Chin" Gigante, who feigned insanity by shuffling unshaven through New York's Greenwich Village wearing a tattered bath robe and muttering to himself incoherently to avoid prosecution.

The Genovese family is the oldest and the largest of the "Five Families". Finding new ways to make money in the 21st century, the family took advantage of lax due diligence by banks during the housing bubble with a wave of mortgage frauds. Prosecutors say loan shark victims obtained home equity loans to pay off debts to their mob bankers. The family found ways to use new technology to improve on illegal gambling, with customers placing bets through offshore sites via the Internet.

Although the leadership of the Genovese family seemed to have been in limbo after the death of Gigante in 2005, sources believe that Liborio "Barney" Bellomo is the current boss of the organization.[8] The FBI described the Genovese family as the largest and most powerful of the Five Families in December 2001.[9] The family is unique in today's Mafia, and has benefited greatly from members following omertà, a code of conduct emphasizing secrecy and non-cooperation with law enforcement and the justice system. While many mobsters from across the country have testified against their crime families since the 1980s, the Genovese family has had only eleven members and associates turn state's evidence in its history.[10] Detective Joseph J. Coffey of the New York Organized Crime Task Force described the Genovese family as "the Ivy League of the underworld" in April 1998.[11]

  1. ^
    • How the Mob Is Affecting The County Elsa Brenner, The New York Times (June 23, 1996) Archived November 12, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
    • Organized crime loses its foothold Las Vegas Sun (July 2, 2002) Archived March 16, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
    • "The Changing Face of organize crime in New Jersey" (PDF). State of New Jersey Commission of Investigation. May 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 11, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
    • Organized crime in Springfield evolved through death and money Stephanie Barry, The Republican (December 11, 2011) Archived May 3, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
    • The History of the Mafia in Connecticut Chris Hoffman, CT Insider (May 31, 2013) Archived March 31, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
    • McMahon, Paula (August 13, 2016). "Mob crackdown shows South Florida is still home for organized crime, feds say". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on August 13, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
    • Two of New York’s Oldest Mafia Clans Charged in Money Laundering Scheme Troy Closson, The New York Times (August 16, 2022) Archived August 16, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "The Changing Face of organize crime in New Jersey" (PDF). State of New Jersey Commission of Investigation. May 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 11, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  3. ^
  4. ^ Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs USA Overview p. 13 United States Department of Justice (May 1991) Archived May 26, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Barry, Stephanie (December 28, 2019). "In our world, killing is easy': Latin Kings part of a web of organized crime alliances, say former gangsters and law enforcement officials". MassLive. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  6. ^ Gangs and Organized Crime George W. Knox, Gregg Etter, and Carter F. Smith (2018) ISBN 9781138614772
  7. ^ The Legacy of East Harlem’s Purple Gang Is One of Fear and Violence Tim Reynolds, Medium (October 12, 2023) Archived April 14, 2024, at archive.today
  8. ^ The Frank And Fritzy Show: Cast Archived March 14, 2008, at the Wayback Machine - the wiretap network - wmob.com
  9. ^ Genoveses 'top of five Mafia families' BBC (December 6, 2001) Archived October 15, 2002, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ Marzulli, John (July 1, 2009). "Mobster 'Mikey Cigars' Coppola won't rat out pals in Genovese crew". New York Daily News. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
  11. ^ A Who's Who, and Who's Where, of Mafia Families Selwyn Raab, The New York Times (April 27, 1998) Archived September 12, 2020, at the Wayback Machine