I know we've had a lot of discussion lately on the Ranks of the mafia, but I haven't been able to find much about who an individual rose in the mob. I think just about everyone knows how people became wiseguys, but how did they go up from there?

How did a made guy become a capo? What qualifications were taken into account, I assume by the Boss? And what are some of the general ages of somebody become a capo? How long would a guy have to be around, even if he was a good earner and loyal to the family?

How about the Boss? I'm assuming when the old Boss died the Underboss took over? Was the underboss ever challenged? Was there a vote or something similar? Who were some of the youngest men to become bosses? The oldest?

Anyone know anything about this kind of stuff? Or at least a book or site that has this kind of info?

Thanks,
C

Rising in the Mafia is a pretty arbitrary process, Carmine--it's not like the Civil Service, it's really up to the Don. Generally, loyalty is the figure of merit: that explains how a stammering, bat-wielding thug like Tommy Bilotti got to be Paul Castellano's underboss-designate before both were whacked. It helps to be a good earner and to kick a lot of money upstairs, as did Sammy Da Bull to John Gotti. But what really got Sammy ahead was his willingness to kill anyone on command, even his own friends and relatives.
Capos are made in much the same way--loyalty, earnings, initiative. Lots of Capos got there by ratting out their fellow soldiers for "disloyalty," or "holding out on the boss," etc. Quite a few would-be Capos got whacked for the same reasons. All in all: not a safe place to be.

Thanks Turnbull. Makes sense. In fact I was reading something in "Donnie Brasco" last night, a little bit that talked about what happened when Carmine Galante, the Bonnano Boss in the 70's, was shotgunned to death. I didn't say how the new Don came into power, but it did talk about how some of the old capos were demoted(rather than getting whacked), and how the new capos came up. Not a lot of detail, but interesting. Even the Bonnano underboss, Nicky Marangello, was bumped down to a simple wiseguy.

Turnbull got it right again. What a shock!

On a serious note, rising up in ranks has more to do with earning than loyalty. Loyalty in LCN terms is simply the willingness not to kill your superior because you are happy with your current situation. Promotions usually only come when someone above you dies, and then a top earner or a good enforcer is brought up in the ranks.

Ahhhh, I see. Thanks guys, both of you.