Consigliere is a position in the
American MafiaThis article is about American Mafia. For other uses, see Mafia .The American Mafia This article is about American Mafia. For other uses, see Mafia (disambiguation).The American Mafia This article is about American Mafia. For other uses, see Mafia (disambiguation).The American Mafia (usually called...
. The word was popularized by
Mario PuzoMario Gianluigi Puzo was a two time Academy Award-winning Italian American author and screenwriter, known for his novels about the Mafia, especially The Godfather , which he later co-adapted into a film with Francis Ford Coppola.-Biography:Puzo was born in a poor family of Neapolitan immigrants...
's novel
The GodfatherThe Godfather is a crime novel written by American author Mario Puzo, originally published in 1969 by G. P. Putnam's Sons. It details the story of a fictitious Sicilian Mafia family based in New York City and headed by Don Vito Corleone, who became synonymous with the Italian Mafia...
(1969), and its film adaptation. In the novel, a consigliere is an adviser or counselor to a
mafiaThe Mafia is a Sicilian criminal society which is believed to have emerged in late 19th century Sicily, and the first such society to be referred to as a mafia . It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct...
boss, with the additional responsibility of representing the
donDon, from Latin dominus, is an honorific in Spanish , Portuguese , and Italian . The female equivalent is Doña , Dona , and Donna , abbreviated "Dª" or simply "D.".-Usage:...
in important meetings both within the don's crime family and with other crime families. The consigliere is a close, trusted friend and confidant, the mob's version of an elder statesman.
Consigliere is a position in the
American MafiaThis article is about American Mafia. For other uses, see Mafia .The American Mafia This article is about American Mafia. For other uses, see Mafia (disambiguation).The American Mafia This article is about American Mafia. For other uses, see Mafia (disambiguation).The American Mafia (usually called...
. The word was popularized by
Mario PuzoMario Gianluigi Puzo was a two time Academy Award-winning Italian American author and screenwriter, known for his novels about the Mafia, especially The Godfather , which he later co-adapted into a film with Francis Ford Coppola.-Biography:Puzo was born in a poor family of Neapolitan immigrants...
's novel
The GodfatherThe Godfather is a crime novel written by American author Mario Puzo, originally published in 1969 by G. P. Putnam's Sons. It details the story of a fictitious Sicilian Mafia family based in New York City and headed by Don Vito Corleone, who became synonymous with the Italian Mafia...
(1969), and its film adaptation. In the novel, a consigliere is an adviser or counselor to a
mafiaThe Mafia is a Sicilian criminal society which is believed to have emerged in late 19th century Sicily, and the first such society to be referred to as a mafia . It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct...
boss, with the additional responsibility of representing the
donDon, from Latin dominus, is an honorific in Spanish , Portuguese , and Italian . The female equivalent is Doña , Dona , and Donna , abbreviated "Dª" or simply "D.".-Usage:...
in important meetings both within the don's crime family and with other crime families. The consigliere is a close, trusted friend and confidant, the mob's version of an elder statesman. He is devoid of ambition and dispenses disinterested advice. This passive image of the consigliere does not correspond with what little is known of real-life consiglieri.
A real-life Mafia consigliere is generally the number three person in a crime family, after
donDon, from Latin dominus, is an honorific in Spanish , Portuguese , and Italian . The female equivalent is Doña , Dona , and Donna , abbreviated "Dª" or simply "D.".-Usage:...
(boss) and
underbossCapo Bastone or "Sotto Capo", known as the "Underboss" is second in command to the Capo Crimini. It is a rank in the American and Italian Mafia. The Underboss is sometimes a family member, such as a son, that will take over the family if the don is sick, killed, or sent to prison...
. A crime family normally has only one consigliere at a time, but bosses have on occasion appointed more than one. The boss, underboss, and consigliere constitute a three-man ruling panel, or "Administration."
Etymology
In Italian,
consigliere means "adviser" or "counsellor." It is derived from
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
consiliarius (advisor) and
consilium (advice). The terminology of the U.S. Mafia is taken from that of the Sicilian Mafia and suggests that an analogy is intended to the court of a medieval Italian principality. For example,
VeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy, the capital of the region Veneto, a population of 271,367 . Together with Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area . The city historically was an independent nation...
was led by a
dogeDoge is a dialectal Italian word that descends from the Latin dux , meaning "leader", especially in a military context. The wife of a Doge is styled a Dogaressa.The title of Doge was used for the elected chief of state in a number of Italian "crowned republics"...
(duke) and a
consigliere ducale (advisor to the doge). An underboss will normally move up to boss when the position becomes vacant, so his position is equivalent to that of heir to the throne. Consigliere, meanwhile, is analogous to chief minister or chancellor. (Oddly, in the novel
The Godfather, the word is spelled
consigliori; in the films, it is clearly pronounced
consigliere.)
Examples from U.S. mob
Joe ValachiJoseph 'Joe Cargo' Valachi also known as "Charles Chanbano" and "Anthony Sorge" was the first Mafia member to publicly acknowledge the existence of the Mafia...
mentions a mysterious "Sandino" arbitrating disputes as the Genovese family consigliere in the 1940s. But in more recent times, consiglieri have tended to take a more active role in family affairs. In 1971, Colombo family Consigliere Joseph Yacovelli directed a murder campaign against renegade Colombo family soldier Joseph "Crazy Joe" Gallo. Two decades later, another Colombo consigliere,
Carmine SessaCarmine Sessa was a Brooklyn-based mobster who became consigliere of the Colombo crime family.Sessa began his criminal career doing bank robberies for the crew of Gregory Scarpa Sr. in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. Sessa was eventually arrested and convicted for his role in a bank robbery...
, led a hit team that attempted to assassinate the acting boss,
Victor OrenaVittorio "Little Vic" Orena was a prominent figure as caporegime of the Colombo crime family, and served as both Acting boss and later rival boss to Carmine "Junior" Persico.- Made unofficially :...
. In 1976, Frank "Bomp" Bompensiero was appointed consigliere of the
Los Angeles crime familyThe Los Angeles crime family is an Italian American criminal organization based in Los Angeles County, California, as part of the American Mafia . It has since spread throughout Southern California. Like most Mafia families in the United States, the L.A. family gained power bootlegging during the...
, only to be murdered in a public phone booth in February 1977. Bompensiero's boss promoted him so that it would cause him to let his guard down. Electronic surveillance in 1979 recorded New England Mafia Boss Raymond Patriarca Jr. talking about appointing his consigliere, so the position need not be chosen as a result of a consensus-seeking process. When New Jersey Consigliere
Stefano "Steve the Truck Driver" VitabileStefano "Steve the Truck Driver" Vitabile, , is a New Jersey mobster and former consigliere of the DeCavalcante crime family.-Early years:...
found out in 1992 that his family's underboss,
John "Johnny Boy" D'AmatoJohn "Johnny Boy" D'Amato was a New Jersey mobster and former Acting boss of the DeCavalcante crime family. After being recruited by Gambino crime family Boss John Gotti to take over the family, and amidst rumors that he was homosexual, D'Amato was murdered in January 1992.- Captain :After being...
, was bisexual, he ordered him killed. In 1993, Paul Gulino, a drug dealer and associate of the
Bonanno crime familyThe Bonanno crime family is one of the "Five Families" that controls organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia .-The formation of the family:...
, was murdered after he allegedly "put hands" on his family's consigliere.
James IdaJames Ida is a New York mobster and consiglieri of the Genovese crime family.James was born to first generation immigrants from Lombardy, Italy. Growing up in the Little Italy neighborhood of Manhattan, New York, Ida was inducted into the Genovese crime family in the late-1970s, after the...
, the current Genovese consigliere, has been serving a life sentence since 1996.
Dominick CirilloDominick "Quiet Dom" V. Cirillo is a high-ranking member of the Genovese crime family, who briefly served as acting boss for the imprisoned Boss Vincent "Chin" Gigante.- Early life:...
is the family's acting consigliere.
Joseph CorozzoJoseph "Jo Jo" Corozzo, Sr. , is listed as the reputed Consigliere in the Gambino crime family, by the US government, under the leadership of his brother and alleged boss, Nicholas "Little Nick" Corozzo and has two identical twin brothers; Gambino crime family soldier Blaise Corozzo and mob...
is the current Gambino consigliere, while
Anthony RabitoAnthony Rabito, also known as "Mr. Fish" and "Fat Tony" is a Bonanno crime family mobster and reputed acting boss or consigliere of the Bonanno family.-Biography:...
is consigliere for the
Bonanno crime familyThe Bonanno crime family is one of the "Five Families" that controls organized crime activities in New York City, United States, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the Mafia .-The formation of the family:...
. As these examples illustrate, consiglieri nowadays are generally former soldiers and capos, not outside advisers.
Popular culture
In the movies
The GodfatherThe Godfather is a 1972 American drama film based on the novel of the same name by Mario Puzo and directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola, and Robert Towne . It stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard S...
and
The Godfather Part IIThe Godfather Part II is a 1974 American thriller film directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a script co-written with Mario Puzo...
, the consigliere to Don
Vito CorleoneVito "Godfather" Andolini Corleone , is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novel The Godfather, as well as Francis Ford Coppola's trilogy of films based on it, where he was portrayed by Marlon Brando in The Godfather and by Robert De Niro in The Godfather Part II.-Character overview:In Puzo's...
(
Marlon BrandoMarlon Brando, Jr. was an American actor whose body of work spanned over half a century. He was named the fourth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute, and part of Time magazine's Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century He is widely considered one of the...
), and later Don
Michael CorleoneDon Michael Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novels, The Godfather and The Sicilian. He is also the main character of the film trilogy that was directed by Francis Ford Coppola, in which he was portrayed by Al Pacino...
(
Al PacinoAlfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is best known for his roles as Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Sonny Wortzik in Dog Day Afternoon, Tony Montana in Scarface, Carlito Brigante in the 1993 film Carlito's Way, Frank Serpico in Serpico,...
), is
Tom HagenThomas "Tom" Feargal Hagen is a fictional character in the Godfather books and films. He was portrayed by Robert Duvall in the films. He is the informally adopted son of Don Vito Corleone and serves as the family lawyer and consigliere...
(played by
Robert DuvallRobert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards....
). Hagen is the adopted son of Don Vito Corleone, and a lawyer for the family. At the end of
The Godfather, Don Vito's successor and son, Michael Corleone, demotes Hagen within the organization, saying "things are going to get rough, and I need a wartime consiglieri." (In an earlier scene, Sonny Corleone, Michael's older brother and acting Don after Vito Corleone's attempted assassination, similarly criticizes Hagen.) Vito Corleone, Michael's father, replaces Hagen at Michael's side until his death.
In
The Godfather Part II, Hagen regains his earlier role, as Michael consolidates his power.
In the television series
The SopranosThe Sopranos is an American television drama series created and produced by David Chase. It premiered on the premium cable network HBO in the United States on January 10, 1999 and ended its original run of six seasons and 86 episodes on June 10, 2007. The show has also been broadcast on A&E in...
Silvio DanteSilvio Manfred Dante, often referred to as "Sil", played by Steven Van Zandt, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He is the Consigliere to Tony Soprano in the Soprano crime family. He is believed to be based on New Jersey mobster Thomas Ricciardi. Silvio has one of the...
is the consigliere to
Tony SopranoAnthony John "Tony" Soprano, Sr. is a fictional character on the HBO television drama series The Sopranos, portrayed by James Gandolfini and conceived by series creator David Chase. The show's exceedingly complex protagonist, he is the only character to appear in every episode of the show...
. His role is very much like the reputed second in command, even taking over briefly as acting boss of the Soprano crime family in Season 6 Part I.
In the video game Mafia (2001), the consigliere of the Salieri crime family to Don Salieri is Frank Colleti.
In the HBO TV series
In TreatmentIn Treatment is an HBO drama, produced and developed by Rodrigo Garcia, about a psychotherapist, 53-year-old Dr. Paul Weston, and his weekly sessions with patients. The program, which stars Gabriel Byrne as Paul, debuted on January 28, 2008, as a five-night-a-week series...
, one of Paul Weston's patients decided he wanted to be a Consigliere after watching
The GodfatherThe Godfather is a 1972 American drama film based on the novel of the same name by Mario Puzo and directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a screenplay by Puzo, Coppola, and Robert Towne . It stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard S...
.
Further reading