A
caporegime or
capodecina, usually shortened to
capo or informally referred to as "captain", "skipper" or "lieutenant", is a leadership position in the Mafia (both the
Sicilian Mafia and Italian-American Mafia). A
capo is a "
made man" of an Italian
crime family who heads a
regime or "crew" of
soldato and has major status and influence in the organization.
Caporegime is an Italian word, used to signify the head of a family in
Sicily. In general, the term indicates the head of a branch of an organized crime syndicate who commands a crew of soldiers and reports directly to the don (
Crime boss) or an
underboss or street boss. The shortened version "
capo" has also been used to refer to certain high-ranking members of
.
Sources
-
Capeci, Jerry. The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia. Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002. .
-
Pistone, Joseph D. Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia. Pan Books, 1989. .
-
Pileggi, Nicholas. Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family. Simon & Schuster, 1985. .
