Consigliere ( , ; plural ) is a position within the

leadership Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets v ...

structure of the Sicilian, Calabrian, and Italian-American Mafia. The word was popularized in English by the novel '' The Godfather'' (1969) and its film adaptation. In the novel, a consigliere is an advisor or counselor to the boss, with the additional responsibility of representing the boss in important meetings both within the boss's crime family and with other crime families. The consigliere is a close, trusted friend and confidant, the mob's version of an elder statesman. They are an advisor to the boss in a Mafia crime family, and sometimes is their "right-hand man". By the very nature of the job, a consigliere is one of the few in the family who can argue with the boss, and is often tasked with challenging the boss when needed, to ensure subsequent plans are foolproof.Capeci, Jerry. ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia''
Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002. , p. 9. In some depictions, he is devoid of ambition and dispenses disinterested advice. This passive image of the consigliere does not correspond with what little is known of real-life consiglieri. The boss, underboss, and consigliere constitute the top three positions and a three-man ruling panel, or "administration". The Genovese crime family are credited with inventing the rank of messaggero, who is tasked with serving as a liaison among the other American Mafia families.

Etymology

In Italian, ''consigliere'' means "advisor" or "counselor" and is still a common title for members of city councils in Italy and Switzerland. It is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

''consiliarius'' (advisor) and ''consilium'' (advice). The terminology of the American Mafia is taken from that of the Sicilian Mafia, and suggests that an analogy is intended to imitate the court of a medieval Italian principality. For example,

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

was led by a '' doge'' ("duke") and a ''consigliere ducale'' (advisor to the doge). An underboss will normally move up to boss when the position becomes vacant, so his position is equivalent to that of an heir to the throne. Consigliere, meanwhile, is analogous to chief minister or chancellor. In the novel '' The Godfather'' the word is spelled ''consigliori''. In the films, it is clearly pronounced ''consigliere''. Joe Bonanno explains in his book ''A Man of Honor'' that a consigliere is more the voice or representative of the soldiers of the family, and that he may help to mediate in or resolve disputes on behalf of the lower echelons of the family.

American Mafia

Joe Valachi mentions a mysterious "Sandino" arbitrating disputes as the Genovese family consigliere in the 1940s.Maas, Peter,
The Valachi papers
', p. 158. ("Sandino was a greaseball, but he had a wise head.") Consiglieri in more recent times have tended to take a more active role in family affairs. In 1971, Colombo family consigliere Joseph Yacovelli directed a murder campaign against renegade Colombo family soldier Joseph "Crazy Joe" Gallo. Two decades later, another Colombo consigliere, Carmine Sessa, led a hit team that attempted to assassinate the acting boss,

Victor Orena Vittorio "Little Vic" Orena (born August 4, 1934) is a New York City mobster who became the acting boss of the Colombo crime family. A challenge by Orena to boss Carmine Persico triggered one of the bloodiest Mafia wars of the late 20th century, ...

. Frank Bompensiero was appointed consigliere of the Los Angeles crime family in 1976, only to be murdered in a public phone booth in February 1977. His boss had promoted Bompensiero so as to induce him to let his guard down. Electronic surveillance in 1979 recorded New England Mafia boss

Raymond L.S. Patriarca Raymond Loreda Salvatore Patriarca (; March 17, 1908 – July 11, 1984) was an American mobster from Providence, Rhode Island, who became the long-time boss of the Patriarca crime family, whose control extended throughout New England for more th ...

talking about appointing his consigliere, so the position need not be chosen as a result of a consensus-seeking process. When New Jersey consigliere Stefano "Steve the Truck Driver" Vitabile discovered in 1992 that his family's underboss, John "Johnny Boy" D'Amato, was bisexual, he ordered him killed. Paul Gulino, a drug dealer and associate of the Bonanno crime family, was murdered in 1993 after he allegedly "put hands" on his family's consigliere Anthony Spero. James Ida, the current Genovese consigliere, has been serving a life sentence since 1996. Dominick Cirillo is the family's acting consigliere. Joseph Corozzo is the current Gambino consigliere, while Anthony Rabito is consigliere for the Bonanno crime family. As these examples illustrate, modern consiglieri are generally former soldiers and capos, not outside advisors.

Notable consigliere

* Mike Miranda *

Joseph N. Gallo Joseph Nicholas Gallo (January 8, 1912 – September 1, 1995) was a New York mobster who served as consigliere of the Gambino crime family under three different bosses. Joseph N. Gallo was not related to Joe Gallo of the Colombo crime family ...

* Dominick Cirillo *

Ilario Zannino Ilario Maria Antonio Zannino (June 15, 1920 – February 27, 1996) was an American mobster who was a member of the Patriarca crime family. Zannino was said to be the third-highest-ranking figure in the Boston faction of the Patriarca family ri ...

* Anthony Graziano *

Christopher Furnari Past member(s) Joseph Abate Joseph "Joe" Abate (July 8, 1902 – 1994) was a capo in the family's New Jersey faction. In the 1920s, Abate served as an enforcer for Al Capone in Chicago before settling in New Jersey.Raab, p.1-3 In June 1976, Aba ...

* Anthony Spero * Joseph DiNapoli

Etymology

American Mafia

Notable consigliere

References

Further reading