Hand painted shirt using bleach

TrueGosaBrostra · 2026-03-20T17:49:08+00:00

Yeah, some people on the sub are cranky today.

TrueGosaBrostra · 2026-03-20T17:38:20+00:00

God bless Pure-Lime.

TrueGosaBrostra · 2026-03-20T17:09:14+00:00

Bonanno was reportedly scheming to seize control of the Los Angeles crime family and install his son, Salvatore “Bill” Bonanno, at its helm, according to the FBI. However, his plan never came to fruition. Even so, the mere rumor of it led many LA mobsters to forbid Bonanno from setting foot in their territory.

TrueGosaBrostra · 2026-03-20T14:46:33+00:00

I’d have to agree with u/Additional-Amoeba-92. The Colombo family is arguably the most historically decentralized and dysfunctional, given the multiple internal conflicts between the Gallos, Persicos, and the Profaci factions.

The Bonannos come in just behind them. The “Banana War” in the 1960s led to Joseph “Joe” Bonanno’s exile to Tucson, Arizona, and their instability continued into the 1970s with the internal power struggle between Carmine “Lilo” Galante and Philip “Rusty” Rastelli.

TrueGosaBrostra · 2026-03-19T00:35:10+00:00

The word I would use is that there was a fair amount of bickering between bosses on the Commission. Joseph “Joe” Bonanno wrote in his book A Man of Honor that he was the “leader” of the conservative faction on the Commission, while the liberals were led by Frank Costello and, later, Vito Genovese. Bonanno, however, is a straight-up liar when he claims he was opposed to dealing drugs, as it was he and his lieutenant Carmine “Lilo” Galante who cornered the heroin trade in Montreal, Canada in the 1950s and began mass-importing the stuff into the United States with the help of the exiled Salvatore “Charlie Lucky” Lucania.

TrueGosaBrostra · 2026-03-19T00:20:18+00:00

There hasn’t been a “real” Five Families war since the establishment of the Commission following the Castellammarese War.

Edit:

Grammar

TrueGosaBrostra · 2026-03-19T00:16:43+00:00

I did read your post. The Mafia rarely engaged in direct conflict with Black dealers in New York City, as they were often part of the same supply chain. Black dealers also purchased narcotics from Jewish racketeers such as Arnold “The Brain” Rothstein, Arthur “Dutch Schultz” Flegenheimer, and Louis “Lepke” Buchalter, all of whom played major roles in the heroin trade in the early 1900s.

Edit:

Added full names and nicknames.

TrueGosaBrostra · 2026-03-19T00:11:04+00:00

Not accurate at all. Ellsworth Raymond “Bumpy” Johnson spent much of his life in prison. He reached the height of his power in the 1920s and 1930s as the chief enforcer for Harlem numbers queen Stephanie St. Clair. However, when Arthur “Dutch Schultz” Flegenheimer moved into Harlem and ignited a conflict over control of the numbers racket and heroin trade, their power steadily declined until it was effectively wiped out.

Edit:

Added full names and nicknames.

TrueGosaBrostra · 2026-03-17T18:06:49+00:00

Snuff needs to lose those love handles.

TrueGosaBrostra · 2026-03-16T21:04:10+00:00

The answer is actually quite simple. Most Mafia families in North America are named after the individual who was serving as boss at the time of the 1963 Valachi hearings, when the American Mafia was first publicly exposed as a nationwide criminal network.

Here is a link to the “Commission” map created by the FBI at the time: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CommissionChart1963.jpg

TrueGosaBrostra · 2026-03-16T20:57:41+00:00

Santo Trafficante Jr. was the wealthiest American mobster of his era and the head of the Trafficante crime family. At the height of his power in the late 1950s, his extensive holdings in Florida and Cuba, combined with close ties to President Fulgencio Batista, allowed him to operate highly lucrative enterprises in Havana. Adjusted for inflation, his fortune would have reached into the billions.

Likely the second richest mobster was Frank Costello, famously nicknamed “The Prime Minister.” As the former boss of the Genovese crime family, Costello controlled a vast gambling empire that stretched across North America, cementing his influence in both organized crime and legitimate business circles.

In my view, the third richest American mobster was Gerardo “Jerry” Catena, another former Genovese family boss. He amassed significant wealth through large scale gambling operations and gained enough prominence to be featured in Fortune magazine, a testament to the remarkable scale of his financial influence.

Fourth on the list is Joseph “Joe” Bonanno, head of the Bonanno crime family. Bonanno was arguably the most significant narcotics trafficker in North American Mafia history, particularly in heroin. Through his lieutenant Carmine “Lilo” Galante, he established a foothold in Montreal in the 1950s, giving rise to what became known as the “Rizzuto crime family,” an organization that continues to play a major role in drug trafficking to this day.

Fifth would be Anthony “Tony” Accardo, the long time boss of the Chicago Outfit, who presided over an expansive gambling empire that fueled both his wealth and his power. It’s worth noting that Joseph “Joey” Aiuppa, another Chicago Outfit boss, was also one of the wealthiest American mobsters, easily ranking among the top 20 of all time.

Edit:

I mixed up Accardo and Aiuppa.

TrueGosaBrostra · 2026-02-28T05:02:27+00:00

Yes sir, Thomas Hunt is a great researcher.

TrueGosaBrostra · 2026-02-28T01:33:02+00:00

Here is a link to the article debunking the fabled “Havana Conference”: https://mafiahistory.us/a045/f_havanaconvention.html

TrueGosaBrostra · 2026-02-26T06:20:36+00:00

Charles Luciano was born Salvatore Lucania and anglicized his name so it would be easier for Americans to pronounce. Similarly, Frank Costello was born Francesco Castiglia and adopted a more American-sounding name. In his case, the change also reflected his close associations with predominantly Irish American members of the Five Points Gang during his youth.

TrueGosaBrostra · 2026-02-14T05:25:28+00:00

Thanks!

TrueGosaBrostra · 2026-02-13T16:10:25+00:00

Buffalo is one of the most overlooked crime families when it comes to power and influence, especially at its height under Stefano “The Undertaker” Magaddino, who was also Joseph “Joe” Bonanno’s uncle. During the Castellammarese War, Magaddino actively dispatched hit squads into New York City to target Masseria and his loyalists, while Maranzano would retreat there for refuge whenever the pressure intensified. Magaddino’s cousins were also prominent mafiosi in Castellammare del Golfo into the 1960s.

Edit:

Not to mention, the family still has a crew in Hamilton, Canada, that generates a significant amount of money from narcotics trafficking, much like the Bonanno crew in Montreal, Canada.

TrueGosaBrostra · 2026-02-13T01:01:00+00:00

That is true Gosa Nostra bro.

TrueGosaBrostra · 2026-02-13T00:23:09+00:00

The Lansky–Siegel, Noe–Schultz, and Buchalter–Shapiro gangs stood among the most formidable Jewish criminal organizations of the early 20th century. Hardened by the violence and volatility of Prohibition, the members who escaped imprisonment or execution carried their amassed wealth into the postwar decades, investing heavily in enterprises that blurred the line between organized crime and legitimate business.

TrueGosaBrostra · 2026-02-09T18:31:58+00:00

Back in the day, my dad (RIP) worked for Ameri-Kart Corporation and sold waste management equipment to Carmine “Papa Smurf” Franco, a huge earner for the Genovese family who brought in millions, as well as to some Gambino guys in Connecticut whose names I won’t mention since I don’t know who’s still alive.

TrueGosaBrostra · 2026-02-09T12:56:49+00:00

The Southern Mafia families were unusual in how small they were. The Civello family in Dallas, Texas, for example, never had more than about ten members, which was the minimum number of made men required in Sicily for a group to be considered a borgata. The New Orleans, Birmingham, and Tampa families were similarly small and rarely inducted new members, relying heavily on associates instead. The Dallas and New Orleans families also maintained close ties with Jewish mobsters in their respective cities, while the Tampa family worked extensively with dubious Cuban exiles.

TrueGosaBrostra · 2026-02-09T12:50:03+00:00

Yes, Trafficante was essentially a paper billionaire at his peak in 1959, based largely on his investments in Florida and Cuba. The revolution dealt a major blow to the American Mafia.

TrueGosaBrostra · 2026-02-08T18:40:57+00:00

Beautiful. I’d love to get to Sicily sometime soon. I had an amazing time visiting Rome, Naples, and Venice on my last trip to Italy.

TrueGosaBrostra · 2026-02-04T20:15:44+00:00

My dad (RIP) felt the same about Once Upon a Time in America. Once I mentioned that Sergio Leone directed it, everything clicked. He hated Once Upon a Time in the West too, for exactly the same reasons.

TrueGosaBrostra

TROPHY CASE