Top 22 most infamous mafia bosses of all time: Biggest crime families ever
The world of crime is a chilly habitat for its members, allies, and outsiders, who are usually the victims of criminal activities. Various crime lords have come and gone, but their businesses continue to exist under the control of their protégés. A quick look at the top 22 famous mafia bosses of all time will give an insight into the crude authority that criminals exude within society.
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There are levels to operating a criminal gang, from pickpocketing to the larger ones that may engage in murders to cover their tracks or send a message to the opposition. Some of the top 22 mafia bosses of all time are the brains behind several criminal crises. Murder, drug trafficking, card fraud, illegal gambling, and any other deviously profitable ventures you can think of are their forte.
Top 22 most infamous mafia bosses today
The Italians are famous for their formation of organized crime syndicates. They expanded their dangerous businesses across countries, including the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Below is a list of some of the famous mafia bosses across history in no particular order.
22. Paul Ricca
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- Full name: Paul De Lucia
- Date of birth: 14 November 1897
- Place of birth: Naples, Italy
- Died: 11 October 1972, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Boss of: Chicago Outfit
For 40 years, Paul was the nominal or de facto leader of the Chicago Outfit. He was known for his astute business experience and ability to elude law enforcement, earning him the moniker "The Waiter." Ricca died of a heart attack at St. Luke's Hospital in Chicago on October 11, 1972.
21. Angelo Bruno
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- Full name: Angelo Bruno
- Date of birth: 21 May 1910
- Place of birth: Villalba, Italy
- Died: 21 March 1980, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
- Boss of: Philadelphia crime family
Angelo Bruno was known as the gentle don and was a pillar of his Philadelphia community. He took over the Philadelphia Crime Family in 1959 and ruled it until his death in 1980.
20. Frank Costello
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- Full name: Francesco Castiglia
- Date of birth: 26 January 1891
- Place of birth: Lauripoli, Calabria, Italy
- Died: 18 February 1973, New York, New York
- Boss of: Luciano crime family
Costello was almost the most powerful gangster in the world during a life of active crime. As nicknamed the Prime Minister, he was always scheming to take over other mafias' businesses or run from the legal system. He was considered a top mafia boss and commanded the respect of mob capos, who sought advice from him before he died in 1973.
19. Vincent Louis Gigante
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- Full name: Vincent Louis Gigante
- Date of birth: 28 March 1928
- Place of birth: New York, New York, United States
- Died: 19 December 2005, United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners
- Boss of: Genovese crime family
Vincent was known as the Odd Father because he pretended to be mentally ill while running one of the most notoriously organized criminal syndicates. He died in prison at the age of 77 while serving a 12-year sentence imposed in 1997 after his conviction with racketeer and conspiracy to kill other mobsters.
18. Sam Giancana
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- Full name: Salvatore Mooney Giancana
- Date of birth: 24 May 1908
- Place of birth: Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Died: 19 June 1975, Oak Park, Illinois, United States
- Boss of: Chicago Outfit
Sam's expulsion from elementary school at the age of 10 was nothing compared to what he would become later on. He is allegedly connected to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. Before his appearance before the Church's committee on 19 June 1975, Sam Giancana was murdered in his home.
17. Paul Castellano
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- Full name: Constantino Paul Castellano
- Date of birth: 26 June 1915
- Place of birth: New York, New York, United States
- Died: 16 December 1985, New York, New York, United States
- Boss of: Gambino crime family
Big Paul was the head of the Gambino crime family until John Gotti orchestrated his murder in 1985 in a violent power tussle. Before his death, he constantly expressed regret for his criminal life. Sharing his regrets at some point, he said:
I probably did more damage than I did good. I probably did, and that's a fact. At that time, I wasn't aware of what I was doing. All I knew was I was making big dollars.
16. Johnny Torrio
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- Full name: John Donato Torrio
- Date of birth: 20 January 1882
- Place of birth: Irsina, Italy
- Died: 16 April 1957, New York, New York, United States
- Boss of: Chicago Outfit
Torrio collaborated closely with another notorious mobster, Al Capone, to build a powerful criminal organization that controlled bootlegging, gambling, prostitution, and other illegal activities in Chicago. He was known for his strategic thinking and ability to avoid direct involvement in criminal activities by delegating authority to his lieutenants.
15. Bernardo Provenzano
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- Full name: Bernardo Provenzano
- Date of birth: 31 January 1933
- Place of birth: Corleone, Italy
- Died: 13 July 2016, Ospedale San Paolo, Milan, Italy
- Boss of: Sicilian Mafia clan
Bernardo was nicknamed The Tractor because of the ruthless way he mowed people down. He was one of the most prominent Italian mafia bosses, and he died in a hospital while serving his jail time. Before his death, Provenzano reportedly had bladder cancer and severe cognitive impairment.
14. Albert Anastasia
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- Full name: Umberto "Albert" Anastasia
- Date of birth: 26 September 1902
- Place of birth: Parghelia, Italy
- Died: 25 October 1957, Park Central Hotel New York, New York, United States
- Boss of: American Mafia
Also known as "The Mad Hatter," Albert was an Italian-American mobster who immigrated to the United States with his family as a child. He was known for his ruthless tactics and was suspected of ordering the deaths of numerous rival gangsters.
13. Joseph Bonanno
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- Full name: Joseph Charles Bonanno
- Date of birth: 18 January 1905
- Place of birth: Castellammare del Golfo, Italy
- Died: 11 May 2002, Tucson, Arizona, United States
- Boss of: Bonanno crime family
Bonanno was born in the Sicilian town of Castellammare del Golfo, where his father was also involved in organized crime. Under his leadership, the organization grew into one of the most powerful Mafia families in the country, with interests in gambling, loan sharking, and other illegal activities. Later in life, he became a writer, publishing A Man of Honor: Joseph Bonanno's Autobiography in 1983. Bonanno died in Tucson, Arizona, on 11 May 2002.
12. James Burke
- Full name: James Burke
- Date of birth: 5 July 1931
- Place of birth: Buffalo, New York, United States
- Died: 13 April 1996, Buffalo, New York, United States
- Boss of: Lucchese crime family
James was popularly known as Jimmy the Gent because he loved looking nice. He was indicted in the $5.8 million Lufthansa heist of 1968. In 1982, James was arrested on a parole violation but never saw the outside of prison again.
11. Matteo Messina Denaro
Source: UGC
- Full name: Matteo Messina Denaro
- Date of birth: 26 April 1962
- Age: 60 years (as of 2023)
- Place of birth: Castelvetrano, Sicily, Italy
- Boss of: Sicilian Mafia
"Diabolik" once boasted that a cemetery could be filled with the body of his victim. He is about the most dangerous mafia alive. So, where is Matteo Messina Denaro today? After 30 years on the run, he was apprehended on 16 January 2023 near a private clinic in Palermo, Sicily's capital.
10. Dutch Schultz
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- Full name: Arthur Simon Flegenheimer
- Date of birth: 6 August 1901
- Place of birth: The Bronx, New York, United States
- Died: 24 October 1935, Newark, New Jersey, United States
- Boss of: Noe-Schultz Gang
Dutch Schultz was a prominent bootlegger between 1920 and 1933. He also made money from illegal horse betting, among other equally illegal activities. The mafioso was shot dead in 1935. Before he died, he reportedly had become a believing Catholic during his trial. Consequently, he got a Catholic funeral, though his mother arranged for him to be buried in a tallit.
9. Carlo Gambino
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- Full name: Carlo Gambino
- Date of birth: 24 August 1902
- Place of birth: Palermo, Italy
- Died: 15 October 1976, Massapequa, New York, United States
- Boss of: Gambino crime family
Don Carlo was a criminal godfather renowned for his criminal ingeniousness. He rose from being a mere teenage executioner in Italy to the mafia boss of the Gambino crime family. Gambino died of natural causes in 1976, but the Gambino crime family remains one of the most powerful and influential organized crime groups in the world today.
8. Vito Rizzuto
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- Full name: Vito Rizzuto
- Date of birth: 21 February 1946
- Place of birth: Cattolica Eraclea, Italy
- Died: 23 December 2013, Montreal Sacred Heart Hospital, Montreal, Canada
- Boss of: The Sicilian Mafia
This criminal carried himself like royalty while he was alive. Vito described himself as a mediator during an interview. This was a half-truth, and the other half was entrenched in a life of blood, violence, killings, drug trafficking and illegal betting. He was The Godfather of Canada's underworld and occupied this position with an almost enviable dexterity.
7. Whitey Bulger
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- Full name: James Joseph "Whitey" Bulger Jr.
- Date of birth: 3 September 1929
- Place of birth: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
- Died: 30 October 2018, USP Hazelton, West Virginia, United States
- Boss of: Winter Hill Gang
Bulger was known for his involvement in various illegal activities, including extortion, racketeering, and murder. He was convicted of 11 murders and various other crimes and was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences plus five years in prison. Bulger was murdered in prison in 2018 at the age of 89.
6. Bugsy Siegel
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- Full name: Benjamin Siege
- Date of birth: 28 February 1906
- Place of birth: Brooklyn, New York, United States
- Died: 20 June 1947, Beverly Hills, California, United States
- Boss of: Murder, Inc. organization
His real name is Benjamin Siegel, but the unpredictability of his temperance earned him "Bugsy." He was the Marshall of illegal gambling, and the system he put in place continues to run to date. Rival mafia bosses murdered him.
5. Salvatore Lucania
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- Full name: Salvatore Lucania
- Date of birth: 24 November 1897
- Place of birth: Lercara Friddi, Italy
- Died: 26 January 1962, Naples International Airport, Italy
- Boss of: Modern Genovese crime family
Luciano had a chronic love for the life of crime and became the first boss of a criminal gang known as the Genovese crime family today. He is involved in many people's deaths. A heart attack in 1962 put him to everlasting rest.
4. John Gotti
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- Full name: John Joseph Gotti Jr.
- Date of birth: 27 October 1940
- Place of birth: The Bronx, New York, United States
- Died: 10 June 2002, United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners
- Boss of: Gambino crime family
Not all criminals look scary, and "Dapper Don," as he is fondly called, proved this with his lovely and expensive suits. He controlled a mafia mob called the Gambino crime family until his second-in-command betrayed him by working with the FBI.
3. Tony Accardo
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- Full name: Anthony Joseph Accardo
- Date of birth: 28 April 1906
- Place of birth: Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Died: 22 May 1992, Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Boss of: Chicago Outfit
Anthony plunged into a life of crime as a bodyguard for Al Capone, nicknamed him Joe Batters. Accardo began his criminal career as a bodyguard for Capone and ended it as a mob boss. Eventually, he became one of America's top 5 mafia bosses.
2. Vito Genovese
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- Full name: Vito Genovese
- Date of birth: 21 November 1897
- Place of birth: Risigliano, Tufino, Italy
- Died: 14 February 1969, United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners
- Boss of: Genovese crime family
He had a long list of criminal charges against him. As he was nicknamed, Don Vito killed an associate and married the man's widow, a woman he openly coveted, two weeks later, in the early spring of 1932. Later, he was convicted in 1959 and sentenced to 15 years in federal prison before dying of a heart attack in 1969.
1. Al Capone
Source: Getty Images
- Full name: Alphonse Gabriel Capone
- Date of birth: 17 January 1899
- Place of birth: Brooklyn, New York, United States
- Died: 25 January 1947, Miami Beach, Florida, United States
- Boss of: Chicago Outfit
Who was the most feared mafia boss? Al Capone is a mafia boss renowned for his viciousness when dealing with the enemies of his illegal businesses. He was the biggest Chicago crime lord between 1925 and 1931. He ran a thriving bootlegging business until he was nabbed for evading tax in 1931 and sentenced to prison. A heart attack ended his life of crime in 1947.
Who are the biggest mafia bosses?
Below is a summary table of the biggest and most famous mafia bosses of all time.
| Name | Gang group/Family |
| Al Capone | Chicago Outfit |
| Vito Genovese | Genovese crime family |
| Tony Accardo | Chicago Outfit |
| John Gotti | Gambino crime family |
| Salvatore Lucania | Modern Genovese crime family |
| Bugsy Siegel | Murder, Inc. organization |
| Whitey Bulger | Winter Hill Gang |
| Vito Rizzuto | The Sicilian Mafia |
| Carlo Gambino | Gambino crime family |
| Dutch Schultz | Noe-Schultz Gang |
| Matteo Messina Denaro | Sicilian Mafia |
| James Burke | Lucchese crime family |
| Joseph Bonanno | Bonanno crime family |
| Albert Anastasia | American Mafia |
| Bernardo Provenzano | Sicilian Mafia clan |
| Johnny Torrio | Chicago Outfit |
| Paul Castellano | Gambino crime family |
| Sam Giancana | Chicago Outfit |
| Vincent Louis Gigante | Genovese crime family |
| Frank Costello | Luciano crime family |
| Angelo Bruno | Philadelphia crime family |
| Paul Ricca | Chicago Outfit |
What do mafia bosses do?
Their primary responsibility is supervising and controlling the criminal enterprise's activities, which typically include extortion, drug trafficking, prostitution, money laundering, and gambling.
How much do mafia bosses make?
Determining how much mafia bosses earn is difficult because their income is generated through illegal activities, making accurate tracking or estimation difficult. However, the average mobster in the United States earns $40,086 per year.
Who are the mafia bosses today?
Some of the current mafia bosses include:
- Michael Mancuso: Boss of the Bonanno crime family.
- Alphonse Persico: Boss of the Colombo crime family.
- Domenico Cefalu: Boss of the Gambino crime family in New York City.
- Liborio Salvatore Bellomo: Boss of the Genovese crime family.
- Victor Amuso: Boss of the Lucchese crime family.
Mafia bosses' lives have been idealized in popular culture, but the reality is far more complex and dangerous. These powerful individuals maintain tight control over their criminal organizations, frequently ruling with an iron fist and resorting to extreme violence to maintain their power.
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Jackline Wangare (Lifestyle writer) Jackline Simwa is a content writer at Briefly.co.za, where she has worked since mid-2021. She tackles diverse topics, including finance, entertainment, sports, and lifestyle. Previously, she worked at The Campanile by Kenyatta University. She has more than five years in writing. Jackline graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics (2019) and a Diploma in Marketing (2015) from Kenyatta University. In 2023, Jackline finished the AFP course on Digital Investigation Techniques and Google News Initiative course in 2024. Email: simwajackie2022@gmail.com.
