mine would have to be Charles Luciano some may argue al Capne but why Luciano with the help of Meyer Lanksy another huge Mafia figure created the National Crime Syndicate, which paved the way for organized crime.Luciano also helped in the creation of Murder Inc. So who do you think...?

The top Mafia gangster imo was Frank Costello, known as "the chairman of the board." He was the main model for Vito Corleone: controlled gambing and unions, didn't touch drugs, had vast amounts of political power, controlled judges, etc. Was sophsticated. Retired after a near-assassination. Died peacefully in bed.
Louis (Lepke) Bucholter, boss of the garmet rackets (and many others) in the Thirties, and founder of Murder, Inc., was widely regarded as the richest and most powerful gangster in history. He was so big that the US Justice Dept. filed an antitrust suit against his rackets! However, he screwed up, was convicted of murders and died in the electric chair--not a successful ending.
Meyer Lansky, the model for Hyman Roth, was adviser to many Mafia Dons and powerful as such. He died peaceably in his eighties, and never spent more than three months in jail (once).
To your original point: Charlie Luciano deserves a lot of credit as a Mafia pioneer. Though born in Sicily, he was thoroughly American. He broke the power of the "Moustache Petes" by eliminating them; opened Mafia ranks to non-Sicilians; invited non-Italians (like Lansky) to advise and contribute). Most important: he created the Commission, which helped control some (but not all) of organized crime's wilder behavior. However, Luciano wasn't smart enough to stay away from prostitution and drug rackets. Thomas E. Dewey, special prosecutor (later governor of NY and presidential candidate) convicted him of "white slavery" and had him sentenced to 35 years. He ran the Commission from prison, helped with the US war effort (another story for some other time) and was "rewarded" by being paroled in 1946--and exiled to Italy. Once that happened, he was no longer a power to be reckoned with. He was reduced to running a restaurant in Naples and getting ever-diminishing handouts from the Mob. Not a great ending for a Mob boss.

Turnbull wasn't Frank Costello also known as the Prime MInister of the underworld?


I'd never say Al Capone was the greatest, the most famous, but not the greatest.


How about Carlo Gambino? He was very low key, the kind of thing you'd expect from a mafia don.

Jonny Torrio was a pioneer in the organised crime business enterprises were run. He helped make crime big business. He had an idea of uniting Chicago, not as one group but different gangs with their own territories instead of all the bloodshed that usually went with this life. OK it didn't last long. Apart from the ensuing deaths he did pretty well for himself being able to retire a millionaire after he survived a botched hit in later years. By this time he left a well know trigger happy to take over for him. Al Capone.

Some say after this he was a silent partner with Lansky in the Commission but I havn't seen the sources to prove it.

Everything you said about Torrio is literally true, Turi! Neither he nor Capone was able to forge a modus vivendi for the gangs of Chicago, which became the most gang-violent city in America. Torrio was sophisticated and a forward-looking thinker, but Capone forged a much bigger empire.
The rumor about Lansky, Torrio and the Commission stemmed from the famous 1929 Atlantic City gangster convention, which they attended. Lansky and Torrio are usually credited with being the organizers. However, the prime mover was Abner (Longy) Zwillman, New Jersey's biggest gangster and the top rum-runner on the East Coast. Zwillman had legitimate interests all over the place, too. He was one of the most under-estimated gangsters in US history.

I think the Kray Twins are the greatest gangsters of all time because they are proper bo I tell thee.

Haha Craaaiiiig Daaavviiid. You should have signed on as Scary Spice though "You Bastard".

I'll take Jack the Hat and Cornell.

Im from london's east end. and nobody thinks highly of the krays or their associates they were not proper bo CRRAAAAIIIIGG DAAAVVIIID. I LOVE BO SELECTA'
THANK U PLEASE
THE KRAYS WERE SCUMBAGS

Can I get a rewind?

KKKRRAAAAYYYYY TTTWIIIINNNSSS.

I don't really know much about the real Kray Twins, but I am a fan of the Krays film with the Kemp Brothers. One of them was a paranoid sychizoprenic so I suppose they were scumbags.

Has anyone else seen that film? Cha'mone motha fucka!

I have to put my word in for "The greatest Don of all Time", Don Vito Casio Ferro. We share the same name but have no relation. He was a big part of bringing the Sicilian mob to America.


The Don Ferro

2pac J/K he ain't no gangster

what do you mean that 2Pac isn't a gangster?! when he was touring, he'd have alledged gang members being his body guards! Suge Knight, 2Pac's friend and producer, was a member of the Bloods!

I think 2Pac's "gangster" bodygaurds were really just common thugs.

suge knight is a member of the bloods. he was arrested in june for a parole violation when he was believed to be affiliated with a gang member.

what do you mean that 2Pac isn't a gangster?! when he was touring, he'd have alledged gang members being his body guards! Suge Knight, 2Pac's friend and producer, was a member of the Bloods! [/b][/quote]He is not a gangster! BITE YOUR TONGUE.

i hope he kicks you off the boards. i really do.

Well you can wish in one hand, and shit in the other, which is gonna come first? :p

My favoured definition of a Gangster would be a member of an organised crime group of criminals, a racketeer.

So rappers and muscle don't qualify for this. I don't care how many gangs they've been in. Crips, Bloods whatever they call them. They're thugs that kill people because they're in a rival gang. Oh that's very organised crime, watch out, they may run a dice games.

Tupac, My arse.

[/b][/quote]that message was not to you, pappa giorgio and don vercetti. dv--i got you confused for don vincent again. so when i saw bite your tongue, i got pissed. but since you said it, that's ok.

what do you mean that 2Pac isn't a gangster?! when he was touring, he'd have alledged gang members being his body guards! Suge Knight, 2Pac's friend and producer, was a member of the Bloods! [/b][/quote]He wishes he was a gangster. All those rappers wish they were.

The best gangster has to be Dutch Shultz he did not care about anyone, he had nutz the size of watermelons , he took what he wanted and did not care what anyone thought about him he was the best of all time.

what do you mean that 2Pac isn't a gangster?! when he was touring, he'd have alledged gang members being his body guards! Suge Knight, 2Pac's friend and producer, was a member of the Bloods! [/b][/quote]He wishes he was a gangster. All those rappers wish they were. [/b][/quote]2Pac is a gangster.

I've got to go with Carlo Gambino. Try as they did, the government wasn't able to touch him. He died a natural death, which is no small feat in this line of work.

Al Capone

I have to go with Don Marco's choice being Carlo Gambino. As Don Marco said in his post, Gambino lived to a pretty ripe old age running his family, never went to jail and dies naturally. I would say that he beat the system in more ways than one.

Don Cardi