Mafia Ranks, Explained: Associate, Soldier, Capo, Boss
Mobsters DailyMafia ranks run associate, soldier, capo, underboss and boss, with the consigliere advising at the very top. The pyramid exists for one reason: orders flow down, money flows up, and blame is never supposed to reach the man at the peak.
The bottom of the pyramid
An associate is not a member at all. He works for the family, earns for a crew, and can be dropped without ceremony. A soldier is a made man, formally inducted in the ceremony described in how to become a made man, bound by the silence code set out in what omerta actually means. Made status protects him: a soldier cannot be killed without his boss's approval. A capo, or caporegime, commands a crew of soldiers and answers for everything they earn and everything they do.
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The top of the pyramid
Above the capos sit three men. The underboss runs the family day to day and usually succeeds the boss. The consigliere is the adviser and referee, outside the chain of command but close to its ear. The boss decides disputes, approves murders of made men, and takes the largest cut. Across families, the bosses together formed the Commission, the board of directors that was supposed to stop wars before they started — and the structure prosecutors later mapped out in court, family by family.
Frequently asked questions
Can an associate become a boss? Only by climbing every step: he must first be proposed, inducted as a soldier, and rise through capo and underboss over years.
Who outranks a capo, the underboss or the consigliere? The underboss outranks a capo in the chain of command; the consigliere advises the boss rather than commanding crews.
Do the Five Families still use these ranks? Yes. Federal indictments into the present day still describe bosses, underbosses, consiglieres, capos and soldiers in New York's families.
Keep reading: The Five Families, explained · The Commission Trial · Lucky Luciano and the modern Mafia · What Are No-Show Jobs in the Mafia? · What Does 'Going to the Mattresses' Mean? · What Is a Button Man in the Mafia?
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