The War Of Castellammarese

The Castellammarese War was a bloody power

struggle between the parties of two ruthless gangsters, Joe “The Boss”, Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano. The battle that raged on from the end of 1929 to 1931 was fought in a bid to take control of the Italian-American Mafia. The battle derived its name from the birthplace of the gangsters, Castellammarese del Golfo, Sicily.  Masseria was your traditional conservative mob leader. He was a man, proud of his origins, and refused to work with organizations or mobs that weren't Italian. This approach made his followers question if Masseria was the right leader to propel the mob forward into modern times.  Enter Salvatore Maranzano, a slightly greater thinking man despatched by the powerful Italian mafioso Don Vito Ferro, in order to do away with the old school thought and ultimately take control of the Italian-American mafia. The bloodiest era in mafia’s history finally came to an end at one man’s hands. Charles “Lucky” Luciano, a member of Maranzano’s faction.  Luciano managed to put an end to the war by first taking out 'The Boss', Masseria himself with a shotgun at a card game. Once when his own life was in danger, Luciano didn't hesitate in putting out a hit on Maranzano.

In the months after Joe’s death, Maranzano took control of the mafia and restructured it into the Five Families, each with their own boss, underboss, capos, and associates. He then went on to give himself the title “Capo di tutti Capi” (Boss of Bosses) and needless to say, the power went to his head.  Luciano had now come to believe that Maranzano was a greedy and vindictive man, and after taking control of the Young Turks(a young, modern Italian gang), he had Maranzano shot in his apartment in Manhattan, 1931.  With both Maranzano and Masseria out of the way, Luciano created a group called “The Commission”; a group consisting of five mob bosses with a voting system, so as to prevent future gang wars.

The Commission’s last known meeting was in October 2017 and its existence is to date, a question mark.

Written by: Akshith Sainarayan