The Mafia Commission

Prior to 1931 the various families of La Cosa Nostra had no organized way to solve grievances amongst each other. Grievances were settled in the street with victory being awarded to whoever could stay alive the longest. The bosses of the families saw this and realized that no family would ever profit if the separate families were too busy killing each other.

Rather than assigning one "boss of bosses" to settle family disputes, which several family bosses felt would leave too much power in the hands of one man, high ranking members of La Cosa Nostra opted for a parliamentary style of leadership, whereby multiple bosses would be responsible for settling family disputes. This group of men, when gathered to discuss business became collectively known as "The Commission".

The original members of The Commission included the bosses of the five New York families, boss of the Chicago family, and boss of the Buffalo family. The Commission was not just an east coast organization, but represented the families of La Cosa Nostra throughout the U.S. Families who were not represented in person were represented by a boss already on The Commission.

The Commission became so powerful and dangerous that permission had to be granted by The Commission before a family boss could be executed. This was done to ensure that rival factions within families did not spark coup after coup of bloody internal wars. Before a boss could be removed from his position, The Commission had to be convinced that such a drastic step was necessary for the better of the family and La Cosa Nostra. To remove a boss without prior approval of The Commission was an act of suicide.

By the mid 1950s, several members of La Cosa Nostra began to feel that the original seven families holding seats on The Commission had held power for too long, and it was decided by The Commission that two new family bosses should be given seats. In 1961 the bosses of the Detroit and Philadelphia families were given seats on The Commission.

When meetings of La Cosa Nostra began to become more and more publicized to law enforcement from various informers in the late 1950s, Commission members began to grow weary of attending meetings. This reduced the decision making process to messages having to be passed back and forth through messengers to the various Commission members.

The Commission began to lose more and more power as high ranking La Cosa Nostra members began to be arrested and indicted. By the turn of the century, The Commission was reduced to a mostly New York City affair, with little to no influence being exerted over most of the existing families across the rest of the U.S.

Sources:

The Commissions Origins. The New York Times.

Rabb, Selwyn. The Mob in Decline. The New York Times.

Capeci, Jerry. The Mafia's Commission. The Complete Idiot's Guide to The Mafia. Pages 32 - 46.