Talk:Capo dei capi

Capo dei capi
No pentito ever mentioned it. The Mafia is not a hierarchical organisation with a "boss of bosses" at the top. It is more like a federation of independent families. Mafia Expert 22:37, 11 May 2006 (UTC)
 * Also, what self respecting mafia don would use Italian words to describe these titles? They would use Sicilian.  Big credibility gap.  ρ¡ρρµ δ→θ∑ -  (waarom? jus'b'coz!)  03:31, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

I agree, and it's not even good Italian; you'd expect "capo di tutti i capi"--Zeisseng 21:59, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

Capo di tutti Capi means literally "Head of all Heads". It references generally a Don (ex. Big Paulie Castellano, John Gotti, or Carmine Lupertazzi from "The Sopranos"). It is indeed a term used by wiseguys to indicate a boss of a family. It is not meant to identify a boss of the "mafia" worldwide, as there exists no such person.

The way I believe it is, is that the Boss of Bosses is either 1. A godfather or 2. A supreme head over all families and Godfathers. It makes sense that, for example in a large country, several families may operate. As these expand and more crews get created, more Don's rise and therefore the need to control them is present, so a Godfather is promoted. Of course, different cities having different Godfathers can also lead to problems,so a figure who would reside over the heads of families in that country (prehaps to larger scale) or main area is promoted. This was more used in Italy and Siciliy. Truth be told, most people in a position like that are going to bed tagged by the FBI, etc probably. As for the different spelling and the unique title, seeing it is hardly ever used elsewhere, it would have been modified for us english folk.


 * Very interesting. But the point is that it is not very important what you think, but what your sources are to back your claim. -- Mafia Expert 22:26, 16 November 2006 (UTC)


 * Re: “‘Capo di tutti i capi’ literally means ‘head of all heads’.” No, it doesn’t. That would be “testa di tutte le teste,” which no one would say. “Capo di tutti i capi” means “boss of all bosses” and nothing else. Tom S. Fox (talk) 20:34, 7 February 2013 (UTC)

I Have to agree. The whole article is nonsense, even the title. It should be called "capo di tutti i capi"...

Interesting that there is no equivalent article in the Italian Wiki, which nevertheless has good mafia coverage...Zeisseng 17:03, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

>You have a good point, in the US it is the media who usually is off looking for a boss of bosses. In reality, no one has held the title since Maranzano. The times when someone has tried to take the title (Galante for example), the result has been the death of the person wanting the title. --Amcalabrese 00:51, 14 February 2007 (UTC)

The term "Capo di tutti capi," while somewhat of a misnomer, is generally used by the law enforcement community to identify the head of the most powerful crime family (usually the head of the Commission). While you are arguing semantics - inserting an extra "i" - the article is a factual statement of what the law enforcement community understands the term to mean. Paul Castellano, the former head of the Gambino family, was made the head of the Commission by the other bosses and was therefore the "capo de tutti capi" according to the FBI and Mafia informants.

For a similar misnomer, take the name "La Cosa Nostra." This term was picked up on very early (and very illegal) FBI wiretaps. However, it was misunderstood by those transcribing the tapes. The term is "A Cosa Nostra" (this thing of ours) but was intead named "La Cosa Nostra." The name stuck - at least among law enforcement.

Grammar note
There is a grammar mistake in the title. It should read "capo di tutti i capi", with the article. Without it, it makes little sense. The pronounce is the same, though, maybe the mistake comes from that :) The source? I am an italian native speaker :)

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dubious
I can't believe this silly article is still up. As many have said, it's bad Italian, the title has been fixed, but the poor Italian is repeated in the first sentence, and if the term exists at all, if it ever existed, it would have been in Sicilian: capu dî capi.
 * Look at this silly sentence: "It has seldom been given to specific bosses because it could create tension between different factions (otherwise known as families) within the Mafia. Typically the title is awarded de facto to the boss of the most powerful Mafia family."  Given by whom?  If the expression exists and used by the Sicilian gangsters themselves,  it would be in Sicilian (because the expression doesn't make any sense in Italian), as mentioned above, but otherwise, would American law enforcement use it?  Who would be using it?  If you read that sentence carefully, it is basically saying that no one gets the title for fear of discord, which is also saying that the title is not actually used.  πιππίνυ δ -  (dica)  03:24, 31 December 2017 (UTC)
 * Unsourced, doubtful, removed. --Vituzzu (talk) 21:43, 3 January 2018 (UTC)