The Commission (mafia)
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The Commission is the governing body of the mafia in the United States. Although its makeup has changed several times since its creation, the bosses of the Five Families remain the core membership of The Commission.
The Commission was established in 1931 by Lucky Luciano, who sought to replace the old mafia regime, modeled after the Roman Empire, where one boss would assume the mantle of capo dei tutti capi ("The Boss of All Bosses") and rule over all the other American bosses. The old system had led to a number of costly mob wars, and, in the aftermath of the Castellammarese War, Luciano came to the realization that some structure was needed for the various mob families to settle their differences without bloodshed, thus benefitting the business interests of all and allowing the mob to stay out of the public eye.[1] The answer, Luciano reasoned, was a sort-of mob board of directors--to be known as "The Commission"--that would oversee all La Cosa Nostra activities in the US and serve to mediate conflicts between families.[2] Naturally, the savvy Luciano assumed the position of chairman.
The Commission was originally comprised of seven family bosses: the leaders of New York's Five Families (Luciano, Joseph Bonanno, Joe Profaci, Vincent Mangano, and Tommy Gagliano) and the "Fathers" from Chicago (Al Capone) and Buffalo (Stefano Magaddino).[3] Non-Italian mobsters such as Meyer Lansky and Louis Buchalter were also allowed membership in the syndicate, but governing (voting) power was strictly restricted to Italian members. Lansky, however, was able to exercise a good deal of influence thanks to his close relationship with Luciano, evinced by Lansky's talking Luciano out of putting out a contract on Bugsy Siegel on two occasions.
The enforcement arm of The Commission was the notrious Murder, Inc. operation.
The Commission is still reported to exist today, though its current membership is restricted solely to the bosses of the Five Families and its activities, like much of the mafia's in general, have receded from public view as a matter of necessity.[4]
