We return with a new podcast episode discussing some of the early and long-forgotten governing bodies of the American mafia, in particular the consiglio. The consiglio, or ruling council, was a formal body in many if not most early Cosa Nostra Families separate from the administration and pyramid hierarchy. The consiglio nonetheless included a select group of top leaders and sometimes even senior soldiers with no formal rank. Members of this ruling council were chosen or elected specifically for these duties and were allowed to express themselves as near-equals to the boss and cast votes in underworld trials and matters of policy.
This episode also briefly touches upon the Gran Consiglio and Assemblea Generale, two national ruling bodies that helped govern the wider Amerian mafia similar to the way the consiglio was used to govern individual Families. They are examples of how the mafia’s formal complexity and structure long predate the Castellammarese War and formation of the Commission in 1931. Thanks to an increasing number of early sources, we are now more aware of the ways the traditional mafia distributed power and negotiated its secret laws using horizontal as well as vertical systems of hierarchy.
These early governing bodies and their equal adherence to and abuse of democracy have been overlooked in most published reports. As examples mount, it is clear these processes were essential to the early American mafia and their history actually goes back further and farther — across the ocean. The more Sicilian-centric Families in America maintained these structures until Americanization took hold and one could argue the absence of the consiglio in modern Families perfectly reflects other changes inside and outside of the organization.
This long-form episode draws from “off the cuff” commentary alongside notes and examples to describe an aspect of this organization that is obscure even to those familiar with the history of this secret society. Thank you for listening.
The Forgotten Democratic Bodies of American Cosa Nostra (Audio)