Capo di tutti capi

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Capo di tutti capi is Italian for "Boss of all bosses". It is a phrase used in the Italian and American Cosa Nostra (Mafia). The title has seldom been given to specific bosses because it could create tension between different factions (families) within the mafia. Typically the title is awarded "de facto" to the Boss of the most powerful mafia family.

In the U.S., between the late 1960s and the early 1990s, the Gambino crime family was regarded as the most powerful faction of the American Cosa Nostra. As a result, the leaders of the Gambino family during that time, starting with Carlo Gambino, Paul Castellano, and later John Gotti, were considered capo di tutti capi de facto by the media. It is worth noting, that the U.S. Cosa Nostra has not proclaimed a "Boss of Bosses" position since Salvatore Maranzano, but is instead ruled by the Commission.

In the more powerful Sicilian Cosa Nostra, the title has long belonged to the boss of the Corleone Clan, which is based in the town Corleone. During the 1970s and 1980s the Boss of the Corleone Family was Salvatore Riina. When Riina was sentenced to jail in 1993, his underboss and long time friend, Bernardo Provenzano was made Head of the Corleone Clan, thereby becoming capo di tutti capi.

In April 2006, the Italian government arrested Bernardo Provenzano in a small farmhouse near the town of Corleone. His successor is reported to be Matteo Messina Denaro or Salvatore Lo Piccolo.

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