and various other gangs in New York City, including their allies
Notable members
List of members
The Lucchese crime family (pronounced [lukˈkeːze;-eːse]) is an Italian-American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia. Members refer to the organization as the Lucchese borgata; borgata (or brugard) is Mafia slang for criminal gang, which itself was derived from a Sicilian word meaning close-knit community.[8] The members of other crime families sometimes refer to Lucchese family members as "Lukes".[9]
The family originated in the early 1920s; Gaetano Reina served as its boss until his murder in 1930.[10] It was taken over by Tommy Gagliano during the Castellammarese War, and led by him until his death in 1951. Known as the Gagliano crime family under Gagliano, the family kept their activities low-key, with their efforts concentrated in the Bronx, Manhattan, and New Jersey.
The next boss was Tommy Lucchese, who had served as Gagliano's underboss for over 20 years. Lucchese led the family to become one of the most powerful families to sit on the Commission. Lucchese teamed up with Gambino crime family boss Carlo Gambino to control organized crime in New York City. Lucchese had a stronghold on the garment industry in New York and took control of many crime rackets for the family.[11]
When Lucchese died of a brain tumor in 1967, Carmine Tramunti controlled the family for a brief time; he was arrested in 1973 for funding a major heroin network and died five years later.[12] Anthony Corallo then gained control of the family. Corallo was very secretive and soon became one of the most powerful members of the Commission. He was arrested and convicted in the famous Mafia Commission Trial of 1986.
For most of its history, the Lucchese family was reckoned as one of the most peaceful crime families in the nation. However, that changed when Corallo named Victor Amuso as his successor shortly before going to prison. Amuso later promoted one of his closest allies, Anthony Casso, to underboss. Starting in 1986, Amuso and Casso instituted one of the bloodiest reigns in Mafia history, ordering virtually anyone who crossed them to be murdered. It is estimated that Casso himself murdered between 30 and 40 people and ordered over 100 murders during his reign; he was sentenced to 455 years in prison. Casso also had authority over NYPD detectives Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa; both carried out at least eight murders for him.
Amuso was arrested in 1991 and sentenced to life in prison. Several Lucchese family members, fearing for their lives, turned informant. The highest-profile of these was acting boss Alphonse D'Arco, who became the first boss of a New York crime family to testify against the mob. This led to the arrests of the entire Lucchese family hierarchy, with Casso also becoming an informant. Testimony from these informants nearly destroyed the family, with as many as half of its members winding up incarcerated. Amuso continues to rule the family from prison.
^"The Changing Face of organize crime in New Jersey" (PDF). State of New Jersey Commission of Investigation. May 2004.
^Who are the Nine Trey Gangsters? Henry Culvyhouse, The Daily Times (May 18, 2016)
^2011 National Gang Threat Assessment fbi.gov (2011)
^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
^End of an Era: Lucchese Underboss Gets Life in Prison Aliya Bashir, Westchester Magazine (September 23, 2020) Archived March 26, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
^Man Tied to Mafia Guilty on 10 Counts (January 20, 1992) Archived April 9, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
^Muscling out the mob Greg B. Smith, New York Daily News (October 27, 2004) Archived April 14, 2024, at the Wayback Machine
^Raab, Selwyn (May 13, 2014). Five Families The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires. St. Martin's Press. p. 1. ISBN 9781429907989. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
^Joaquin 'Jack' Garcia; Michael Levin (December 11, 2012). Making Jack Falcone An Undercover FBI Agent Takes Down a Mafia Family. Simon & Schuster UK. ISBN 9781471108525. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
^"The Lucchese Family: Blood and Gravy" by Anthony Bruno TruTV Crime Library
^Raab, Selwyn (March 20, 1990). "Police Say Their Chinatown Sting Ties Mob to the Garment Industry". The New York Times. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
^"'Negotiator' walked away from mob for love". TBO. Archived from the original on July 2, 2017. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
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