In addition to "boss" and "acting boss", some families have at times officially or unofficially utilized the positions of front boss and street boss. If the boss is incarcerated or incapacitated, he usually retains the title of "boss" but may appoint an acting boss who is responsible for running the crime family in his stead or on a more daily basis. The boss can promote or demote family members at will, and has the sole power to sanction murders inside and outside the family. Only the boss, underboss or consigliere can initiate an associate into the family, allowing them to become a made man. The boss in the Sicilian and Italian-American Mafia is the head of the crime family and the top decision maker. The size of the criminal organization is also important, as regional or national gangs have much more complex hierarchies. American groups may be structured differently from their European counterparts and Latino and African American gangs often have structures that vary from European gangs. Organized crime enterprises originating in Sicily differ in structure from those in mainland Italy. Other groups have a more complex, structured organization with many ranks, and structure may vary with cultural background. Some groups may only have as little as two ranks (a crime boss and their soldiers). Al Capone was a crime boss during the Prohibition era.Ī crime boss, also known as a crime lord, Don, gang lord, gang boss, mob boss, kingpin, godfather, crime mentor or criminal mastermind, is a person in charge of a criminal organization.Ī crime boss typically has absolute or nearly absolute control over the other members of the organization and is often greatly feared or respected for their cunning, strategy, and/or ruthlessness and willingness to take lives to exert their influence and profits from the criminal endeavors in which the organization engages.
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