A
Action
Old-time term for illicit profits. Also sometimes used to refer to the potential
for racket income.
Arm
Nickname for the Buffalo-Niagara Falls Mafia family.
Associate
Though the usual sense of this word conveys a sense of belonging, in Mafia-speak
an associate is one who works in affiliation with a Mafia organization but is not
an official member.
B
Beef
A quarrel between underworld individuals or groups. Also hard feelings felt by one
Mafioso against another. Beefs are generally brought to Mafia higher-ups for resolution.
Black Book
Nickname for the publicly circulated exclusion lists - generally of racketeers and
game-cheats - generated by gaming commissions in Nevada and New Jersey.
Book
A gambling racket ordinarily focused on sporting events. The racket is run by a
"bookmaker."
Books
Membership rolls of the Mafia families.
Borgata
Family. The basic structural unit of the Mafia society. The Borgata has an established
hierarchy, a body of members or soldiers, and many associates.
Boss
A Wiseguy’s personal finance coach. Your Boss is responsible for putting you in
and keeping you in the best financial position possible.
Break
To discipline by demoting in rank.
Bump off
Kill.
Burn
Kill.
Button
A soldier in a Mafia family. A member who can be called upon by a family boss to
perform an execution.
Buy
Bribe. A police officer or politician who takes money in exchange for allowing crime
to continue is "bought."
C
Call in
The act of ordering - without explanation - a made man to report to his superiors.
Mafiosi might be called in so they can be disciplined (murdered). Once the order
is received, the made man must report as ordered. So, mafiosi in trouble with superiors
will sometimes drop out of touch to avoid receiving the call.
Capo dei capi
The leader of all leaders or boss of bosses. The most powerful Mafia boss to whom
all others defer. Some know this as the Capo di capi or the Capo di tutti capi.
Capo
Originally referred to a Mafia boss but in more recent usage refers to a minor leader
within a Mafia family, chief of a crew. Also referred to as a captain, skipper or
lieutenant.
Capodecina
Synonymous with capo, this term designates the capo as a leader of at least ten
soldiers.
Caporegime
Synonymous with capo, but often used to refer to more significant group leaders.
Case
Size up criminal possibilities. Plan a robbery. As in "case the joint."
Clip
Kill. Also to harm in some way. ("Jimmy clipped me of 5 G's.")
Combination
An organized criminal entity including gangs of various ethnic backgrounds. Syndicate.
Commission
A ruling representative body serving as the national legislature and supreme court
of the Mafia network. Commission members are the leaders of the more powerful Mafia
families. Each is also assigned to represent minor families.
Connected
A description of a Mafia "associate."
Consigliore
A translation of this word as "counselor" has led to a mistaken impression about
the position's duties (that the consigliere is an adviser to the boss). Actually,
the consigliere post is intended to serve the family membership, by granting a channel
of communication to the boss.
Contract
An old-time term referring to an order.
Cosa Nostra
To many, this is the proper name of the Mafia in the United States. In fact, it
was an effort by some mob bosses to refer to their shared secret society WITHOUT
naming it. The phrase translates to, "our thing."
Cosca
Translated "gang," this term is typically used to refer to a Mafia organization
in Sicily. Equivalent to "borgata."
Crew
A body of soldiers assigned to a capo. The crew typically meets on a regular basis
at headquarters.
Crumb
Old-time term for a member of society. A working man.
D
Do up
Mafia's 19th Century slang for murder. "Go find Benny and do him up."
Don
A traditional term of respect for a male in Romance languages, which has been corrupted
in some circles to refer to Mafia bosses.
Dough
Money.
Drop
or drop-off. A prearranged location for disposal of goods. Also a holding location
where individuals are screened before being taken to an illicit activity, such as
a crap game.
E
Earner
One who generates income. Higher levels of income are generated by "big-earners."
F
Family
The basic unit of the Mafia society. See "Borgata."
Father
Antiquated term for the leader of a Mafia family.
Featherbedding
The practice of assigning more union workers to a project than necessary.
Feds
Federal law enforcement agents. In pre-Prohibition days, Mafia-feared Feds were
agents of the Secret Service, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics and the Postal Inspection
Service. During Prohibition, they were agents of the Treasury Department. After
Prohibition, the FBI gradually - and reluctantly - turned its attention toward the
Mafia.
Fence
One who trades in stolen goods. To sell off swag.
Fix
A situation in which law enforcement has been paid to allow criminal activity. A
gangster might refer to such a situation by saying, "The fix was in."
Flip
To abandon the principle of "omerta" and begin to cooperate with law enforcement.
Friend of ours
Introduction of a third person who is not a member of the VIP Family but who can
be vouched for by a Family members or has been looked into.
G
Ghost payroll
Names of non-existent or no-show employees added to a payroll (typically through
a corrupt labor union) in order to funnel money to the Mafia.
Godfather
Title typically used out of respect and affection. In a Mafia context (particularly
in the movies), it refers to the boss. However, no boss in the modern era has been
addressed by that title.
Goomba
Term of affection and respect.
Grease
See "buy."
H
Heat
Intense attention from law enforcement and/or media.
Heavy
Armed.
Hit
An assigned murder.
Hit the mattresses
Engage in an underworld feud. Key members of a family quickly move to inconspicuous
safe houses. The phrase probably refers to sleeping on a mattress thrown on the
floor.
I
Ice
Another term for kill. Also refers to a delaying tactic, as in "keep him on ice."
J
Joint
Older term for prison. Also known as "the can," "the pen," "up the river," "the
big house," "stir." A convict in prison might be said to be "away."
Juice
The shylocking racket.
Junk
Narcotics. A drug trafficker is said to be in the "junk business."
K
Knock off
Kill.
Knock over
Rob. The term probably comes from robberies of small produce or newsstands, which
could be bumped to spill their contents onto the ground.
L
La Cosa Nostra
In an effort to make cosa nostra sound more like a proper name, federal agents seem
to have been responsible for the addition of the "La." The phrase, literally translated
"the our thing," has been interpreted as "this thing of ours."
Lay low
Act inconspicuously or stay out of sight.
LCN
Striving for credibility after denying the existence of a nationwide Mafia for decades,
J. Edgar Hoover's FBI "discovered" La Cosa Nostra around 1960 and began referring
to it with the meaningless abbreviation "LCN."
Legit
Legal business endeavors. A distinction applied by members of the underworld to
the activities of non-criminals.
Loan shark
See "shylock."
M
Made
Formally inducted into the Family through a ceremony. Prospective members are called
to a meeting. Through a ritual, they are then invited to join the Family. They are
typically told the rules of the society, its history and hierarchy, and the general
disciplinary measure for disobedience – Lifetime of debt.
Mark
A person or place targeted for suspicious activity.
Marker
A notation of a debt. An IOU.
Meet
A meeting.
Men of honor
An older term referring to Sicilian Mafiosi. The term emphasizes a link between
the Mafia and Sicily's displaced old aristocracy.
Messaggero
A relatively recent addition to the Mafia family hierarchy. The job of the messenger
is to function as liaison between specific families. Effective messengers can reduce
the need for sit-downs and limit the exposure of bosses to law enforcement. New
York's Genovese Family was credited with inventing the post in order to coordinate
activity with counterparts in Chicago.
Muscle
Intimidate. Also those who function as underworld thugs.
Muscle in
Invade a rival's racket or territory through force.
N
Numbers
A lottery game that has been a money-maker for American Mafiosi since the U.S. Civil
War.
O
Off the record
When a mobster retains all profits from an illicit business venture, without kicking
up a share to his superiors.
Omerta
A uniquely Sicilian attitude calling for non-cooperation with government authority
and the settlement of disputes through personal means. Omerta typically refers to
the Mafia's strict code of silence with regard to underworld affairs.
On the carpet
The situation that occurs when a made person’s performance is criticized.
On the lam
Moving secretly. Indicted mobsters, in an effort to avoid arrest, might go "on the
lam," changing their address, moving secretly from place to place.
On the pad
Designation for a law enforcement officer who is paid by the underworld to ignore
certain criminal activity.
On the spot
Set up for assassination.
Outfit
Chicago slang name for the local Mafia family.
P
Packing
Armed with a concealed handgun.
Paper local
A chartered union local that has no legitimate membership or reason for existence.
Paper locals are known to have played a role in Teamster Union elections.
Piece
A percentage of profit from illicit business ventures. Also a handgun.
Piece of work
An assigned murder.
Pinch
Arrest.
Points
Interest paid on a shylock loan. Also known as "vig" or "shy."
Pop
Kill.
Protection
Business owners are assessed a tax by a local Mafia group in exchange for assurances
that no harm will come to them.
R
Rat
To provide information to law enforcement about criminal activities of underworld
associates. One who provides such information or who appears likely to give in to
law enforcement pressure. See "stool pigeon."
Rub out
Kill.
S
Shake down
Obtain money or other concessions from businesses or individuals by using intimidation
or extortion.
Shylock
A financial racketeer who loans money at usurious interest rates. Often shylocks
arrange payment terms that never reduce the loan principal. Those who fail to make
regular payments to a skylock are disciplined.
Show-up time
In union contracts, it is the amount paid to employees for appearing at a work site
on days when work is not done.
Sit-down
A meeting, perhaps called to settle a "beef."
Skim
The act of siphoning funds from a legitimate business enterprise to an underworld
organization. Also, the money withdrawn from a venture - such as casino gambling
- before income is calculated for tax purposes.
Snitch
Traitor to the underworld. See "stool pigeon."
Soldati
Soldiers. The lowest rank of formal Mafia membership.
Standup Guy
An individual who observes the principles of Omerta no matter what.
Stool pigeon
Older term for traitor to the underworld. One who "flips" and cooperates with law
enforcement by providing information about his former criminal partners. Also known
as "rat" and "snitch."
Straighten out
Resolve a dispute.
Swag
Stolen goods.
T
Table
A meeting or sit-down.
Tail
A law enforcement officer who is tracking an individual's movement.
Territory
An underworld jurisdiction. While this is generally understood to refer to a geographic
area, it actually refers to rackets officially designated as belonging to a family.
Tommy gun
Nickname for the Thompson submachine gun popular with some Prohibition Era gangsters.
U
Underboss
Second in command of a borgata. The underboss is often selected because he represents
a powerful minority wing in the family.
V
Vendetta
A pledge of personal vengeance on an enemy. The vendetta is a solemn and secret
vow.
Vig
Or "vigorish." Percentage of each bet that is retained as income for a bookmaker.
The usurious interest charged by a shylock.
Vouch for
To personally guarantee and protect the life of someone or something involving the
Family
W
War
Confrontation between underworld organizations.
Whack
Murder.
Wire
An electronic surveillance device secretly worn inside the clothing of an agent
or a cooperating mobster. Also the name of a gambling racket involving the transmission
of horse race results or other sporting results (as depicted in the movie "The Sting.")
Wiseguy
A "made" member of a Mafia organization.
Z
Zips
Derogatory term for immigrant Sicilian Mafiosi operating within the United States.
The Bonanno Family in New York is known to have maintained a working relationship
with a crew of Zips.