You've all heard and read about the legendary Paulie Vario in the newspapers, various mob books, and movies like Goodfellas. But aside from the few names you know about, which mob guys actually made up Vario's crew?

Over the years Paulie built up one of the largest, if not the largest, regime within the entire Lucchese crime family.

For that matter, the Vario crew was considered to be one of the largest and most criminally diverse of any crew of New York's Five Families.

So who were these men? Who were the inducted soldiers and associates who comprised this massive regime?

https://thenewyorkmafia.com/the-vario-regime-leadership-chart/

38 soldiers...60 associates...29 unique mugshots

Legendary crew. The Lucchese have always chosen to have few crews but big ones, unlike other families where everybody and their mothers is a capo and where some capos have 1 or 2 guys under them.

According to Al D'Arco, When Salvatore "Don Turiddu" Curiale died, Joseph "Joe Reese" Schiavo was supposed to succeed him as Capo because he had seniority. However, Schiavo declined because he didn't want all the hassle that goes with the job so Paul Vario was appointed.

I have also read that Joe Schiavo is the one who sponsored Paul Vario for his induction.

Malavita, as far as I'm aware of, everything that you just said is 100% correct and on point.

An esteemed member of the GBB, Don Cardi, started this thread on Vario a long time ago. Interesting discussion ensued:

http://www.gangsterbb.net/threads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=607971&Searchpage=1&Main=22051&Words=%2BVario&Search=true#Post607971
Ernest Volkman, in his book about Lufthansa, said Vario backed Burke for the heist because Vario was desperate to regain his status as top Lucchese capo/street boss.

That could be. I know growing up in NYC during the era Vario was active, he was always considered to be one of the more prominent, the most prominent, capos (bosses) of that particular family, and by extension, one of the most powerful mafioso in NYC.