Sixth Family
A Sixth Family is a crime family or criminal organization, usually an Italian-American or Italian-Canadian crime group, that has become powerful or notable enough to rise to a level comparable or close to that of the Five Families of the New York City Italian-American Mafia. A criminal organization deemed a "Sixth Family" may rival the Five Families or, alternatively, work closely enough with the Five Families that it appears to be a peer or near coequal of the families.
Criminal organizations deemed "Sixth Family"
Various criminal organizations have been deemed the "Sixth Family", often by the press or the criminal underworld. One of the more notable organizations to receive the designation is the Rizzuto crime family based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, though the Rizzuto family does not refer to itself as the "Sixth Family".[1] One of the most powerful North American Mafia families, the Rizzuto family has worked closely with the Bonanno crime family of the New York Five Families.[1]
Other criminal organizations referred to as the "Sixth Family" include:
- East Harlem Purple Gang, a semi-independent gang of Italian American hit-men and heroin dealers who dominated heroin distribution in East Harlem and the Bronx during the late 1970s and early 1980s in New York City.[2][3]
- The Gallo crew/gang, an Italian-American Brooklyn Mafia crew led by mobster Joe Gallo.[4][5][6]
- Rudaj Organization, an Albanian mafia family in New York City.[7][4]
References
- ^ a b Lamothe, Lee; Humphreys, Adrian (2009). The Sixth Family: The Collapse of the New York Mafia and the Rise of Vito Rizzuto. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9780470156933. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
- ^ Blum, Howard (December 16, 1977). "Gang's Former Errand Boys Form Their Own Gang, Police Say". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
{{cite news}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - ^ Bequai, August (1979). Organized crime: the Fifth Estate. Lexington Books. p. 22. ISBN 9780669021042.
- ^ a b DeStefano, Anthony M. (2014). Gangland New York: The Places and Faces of Mob History. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 160. ISBN 9781493018338.
- ^ DeStefano, Anthony M. (2011). Mob Killer. Pinnacle Books. p. 145. ISBN 9780786024155.
- ^ Diapoulos, Peter (1976). The Sixth Family. Dutton.
- ^ Cohen, Stefanie (May 10, 2009). "GANGS OF NEW YORK". New York Post. Retrieved 2 May 2016.