Maranzano crime family

Maranzano crime family
General information
In	New York
Founded by	Salvatore Maranzano
Years active	1920s-1933
Territory	Manhattan
Ethnicity	Italian, Italian-American
Criminal activities	illegal gambling, bootlegging, racketeering, extortion, murder, conspiracy, bribery, money laundering, hijacking
Allies	Chicago Outfit, Tattaglia family, Mariposa family, O'Donnell Mob
Rivals	Corleone family

The Maranzano crime family was a criminal organization in New York.

History

Origins

The Maranzano family was headed by Sicilian immigrant, Salvatore Maranzano.

By the early 1930s, the Maranzano family controlled all the gambling activities in Manhattan, the crap games on the docks, the shylocking, the bookmaking on sports and horses, the illicit gambling houses that ran poker games and the numbers racket in Harlem. Maranzano had a friendship with Al Capone in Chicago and he had a strong relationship with the Tattaglia family. He also had political contacts with powerful business leaders who used his enforcers to terrorize the Jewish unionists in the garment center and the Italian anarchist syndicates in the building trades.

The Olive Oil War

In 1933, Vito Corleone proposed Maranzano to share their ilicit profits and political connections, but Maranzano refused. This touched off the Olive Oil War. Maranzano arranged for two of Capone's best hitmen to come to New York and eliminate the upstart, but Luca Brasi made quick work of them by hacking one of them to death, while the other went into shock and choked on the gag Luca had stuffed in his mouth. The shock came not so much from the brutality, but how quickly the hit was anticipated and intercepted. Maranzano realised that he was being outsmarted and after receiving a message from Vito, Capone pulled out of the conflict.

Maranzano's property's were being seized and his soldiers, seeing that the war was not in Maranzano's favor, quickly abandoned the lost cause. Maranzano, seeing his family in shambles, called for a sitdown with Vito Corleone. However, Maranzano's top lieutenants struck a deal with Don Vito. While enjoying his meal at a Brooklyn restaurant, Maranzano was gunned down by Salvatore Tessio and other Corleone capo Johnny Trapani and three corleone enforcer. The Maranzano empire was then incorporated into the Corleone family, which took over the position as the most powerful crime family in New York.

See also

• Mariposa crime family