Maranzano crime family
| Also Known As | Maranzano family Maranzano organization Castellammarese war faction (broader wartime coalition, not identical to the family) |
|---|---|
| Origins | |
| Founding Location | Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City |
| Territory | Williamsburg and Brooklyn Upper Manhattan and the Bronx (wartime and business connections) |
| Lineage | |
| Predecessor(s) | Schiro crime family Castellammaresi network (hometown and kinship milieu) |
| Successor(s) | Bonanno crime family |
| Profile | |
| Structure | Existing Schiro borgata under new leadership, augmented by wartime recruits and allied Castellammaresi networks |
| Activities | Bootlegging Extortion and protection Alien-smuggling and naturalization-fraud allegations Factional warfare and murder |
| Politics | |
| Leader | Salvatore Maranzano (c. 1930–September 10, 1931) |
| Notable Members | Joseph Bonanno Vito Bonventre Stefano Magaddino (out-of-town ally, not New York-family member) Gaspar Milazzo (Detroit ally, killed 1930) |
| Activity | |
| Status | Continued under Joseph Bonanno |
| Years Active | c. 1930–September 10, 1931 (Maranzano-led phase) |
| Dissolution Cause | Maranzano's killing and succession by Joseph Bonanno |
The Maranzano crime family was the New York Mafia borgata led by Salvatore Maranzano from approximately 1930 until his killing on September 10, 1931. It was the direct successor administration of the Schiro crime family, augmented by wartime recruits and allies during the Castellammarese War. It later continued under Joseph Bonanno.
The family must be distinguished from Maranzano's broader war coalition and brief national claim to be capo di capi. Out-of-town allies in Buffalo, Detroit, Philadelphia and Chicago did not thereby become members of his New York borgata.
Succession from Schiro
Nicolo Schiro had led the Williamsburg family since 1912. By 1930, pressure from Giuseppe Masseria and internal Castellammarese mobilization caused Schiro to withdraw. David Critchley writes that Schiro's removal “led to Maranzano assuming control of the Schiro Family.”[1]
This was a leadership takeover and wartime reorganization of an existing borgata—not the creation of a completely new family from unrelated gangs. The defensible sequence is:
- DiGaetano-led Williamsburg group → Schiro crime family → Maranzano family → Bonanno crime family.
Maranzano's own power base included members inherited from Schiro, more recent Castellammarese immigrants and men recruited for the conflict. Those categories overlapped but were not identical.
Wartime coalition
The Castellammarese War pitted Maranzano's coalition against Masseria's heterogeneous alliance. Maranzano drew support from hometown and kinship networks connected with Castellammare del Golfo, including the Buffalo organization, the Milazzo faction in Detroit and the Philadelphia family under Salvatore Sabella.[1][2]
Wartime aid did not establish permanent command over those independent organizations. Nor were all fighters or financiers inducted members of Maranzano's New York family.
The killing of Gaetano Reina, the murders of Gaspar Milazzo and Rosario Parrino in Detroit, the deaths of Giuseppe Morello, Manfredi Mineo and Stefano Ferrigno, and other factional violence altered the balance of power. Later accounts vary in assigning responsibility for individual killings; allegations are therefore attributed rather than presented as convictions.
Victory and reorganization
Masseria was killed in April 1931, ending the principal war. Maranzano emerged briefly as the dominant Mafia leader and is widely credited with recognizing or organizing five New York families. The resulting families were associated with Luciano, Gagliano, Mangano, Profaci and Maranzano.
The five-family arrangement should not be treated as five corporations invented at one meeting. Several—including Maranzano's own family—were older borgate under new leaders, while Profaci's was a newer coalition. Maranzano's capo di capi authority was also contested and short-lived.
Killing and Bonanno succession
Maranzano was killed in his office at 230 Park Avenue on September 10, 1931. Contemporary investigation connected his office with alleged alien-smuggling and naturalization activity; later reporting noted missing records and continuing federal inquiry.[3] These allegations did not result in a conviction of Maranzano, who was dead.
FBI historical files likewise describe the murder and the investigation of James F. Alescia's office records.[4] The identity and sponsorship of the killers remained unresolved in court, although later Mafia narratives commonly attribute the plot to Luciano's coalition.
Joseph Bonanno succeeded to control of the surviving family. The transition created the Bonanno leadership phase, not a wholly unrelated organization. Personal and institutional continuity remained substantial, while Maranzano's broader wartime coalition dissolved.
Organizational limits
The title “Maranzano crime family” refers narrowly to his New York borgata. It does not encompass:
- every Castellammarese immigrant;
- all supporters in the Castellammarese War;
- the independent Buffalo, Detroit or Philadelphia organizations;
- every newly arrived Sicilian recruited during 1930–1931;
- a permanent national hierarchy commanded from Maranzano's office.
This distinction preserves the difference between a family, a wartime faction, hometown solidarity and a temporary national claim to authority.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 David Critchley, The Origin of Organized Crime in America: The New York City Mafia, 1891–1931 (New York: Routledge, 2009), pp. 178–194.
- ↑ “Corruption, Conflict, Commission: 1928–1933”, The American Mafia chronology.
- ↑ “Alien Records Gone in Maranzano Case”, The New York Times, September 15, 1931.
- ↑ “Salvatore Maranzano Final”, FBI Vault.