Castellammarese War

The Castellammarese War was a 1930–1931 conflict between rival Italian-American Mafia factions in New York City. Its end brought Salvatore Maranzano’s brief supremacy and helped establish the Commission and the modern Five Families.

Joe Masseria: An Italian-American Mafia boss who controlled a major New York faction before his murder in 1931. His faction fought the Castellammarese faction until he was killed in April 1931.
Prohibition in the United States: The nationwide ban on alcohol production and sales enforced in the United States from 1920 to 1933. Bootlegging profits intensified the stakes of control over New York rackets.
Vito Genovese: An Italian-American Mafia leader who later headed the crime family now bearing his name. He was a Masseria lieutenant who fled to Italy after the 1931 murders.
Five Families: The five major Italian-American Mafia crime families based in New York City. The postwar order consolidated the New York organizations later known by this collective name.
Boss of bosses: An informal title claiming supremacy over other Mafia bosses, rather than a consistently recognized formal office. Maranzano’s claim to this title contrasted with the Commission’s shared authority.
Salvatore Maranzano: A Sicilian-born Mafia leader who defeated Joe Masseria’s faction and briefly dominated New York’s underworld. He led the opposing faction and declared himself boss of bosses after Masseria’s death.
Castellammare del Golfo: A coastal town in Sicily associated with the origins of several prominent Mafia figures in the United States. Maranzano and many supporters came from this Sicilian town and its diaspora.
Frank Costello: An Italian-American Mafia leader known for political connections and later leadership of the Luciano crime family. He was among the younger figures whose alliances supported Luciano’s rise.
Luciano crime family: A New York Mafia organization later known as the Genovese crime family. Luciano’s organization became one of the five families in the new arrangement.
Mafia Commission: A council of leading American Mafia bosses established to mediate disputes and coordinate shared interests. Its collective governance replaced the centralized hierarchy Maranzano sought to impose.

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