What is a Caporegime?
Quick Answer
A caporegime — capo or captain — is the mid-level officer in a Mafia crime family who commands a crew of soldiers and associates. The capo is responsible for the criminal output of his crew, collects earnings and pays a percentage upward to the boss, and serves as the primary operational link between the street and the family’s senior leadership. Most families have between four and ten capos.
The caporegime occupies the critical middle of the Mafia’s hierarchy — above the soldiers who carry out day-to-day criminal work, below the underboss and boss who set strategic direction. The capo is an operational commander: responsible for results, answerable to the boss for his crew’s earnings and conduct, and given significant autonomy to run his territory as he sees fit within the family’s rules.
What Does a Capo Do?
A capo’s primary responsibility is the criminal output of his crew. He directs the soldiers and associates under his command, assigns territory and operations, resolves disputes within the crew, and ensures that money flows upward to the family’s senior leadership. He is, in business terms, a middle manager — responsible for a defined operational unit and accountable for its performance.
Each crew typically controls a defined geographic territory or set of criminal operations within the family’s broader domain. The capo collects earnings from his crew’s operations, takes his own percentage, and passes the remainder upward to the underboss and boss as tribute. The size of this tribute — and the regularity with which it is paid — is a significant factor in how the boss assesses a capo’s value to the organisation.
How Capos Are Chosen
There is no fixed route to the capo position. Promotions are made by the boss — typically on the recommendation of the underboss — based on a combination of demonstrated earning ability, loyalty, leadership capacity, and the availability of a crew that needs a commander. A soldier with a strong track record and a good relationship with senior leadership might wait years for a capo position to open up.
The boss can also demote capos — strip them of their crew and return them to soldier status — if their performance is inadequate or if they fall out of favour. This power to promote and demote is one of the most significant levers of control the boss exercises over the organisation.
Famous Mafia Capos
Many of the most significant figures in American Mafia history served as capos before achieving higher rank. John Gotti was a capo in the Gambino family’s Bergin Hunt and Fish Club crew before engineering the murder of Paul Castellano and seizing the boss position. Frank DeCicco, Gotti’s key ally in the Castellano murder, was also a capo. The capo rank is where the most capable and ambitious made men demonstrate their potential for higher office.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is a caporegime?
A caporegime is a mid-level officer in a Mafia family who commands a crew of soldiers and associates, directs their criminal operations, and pays tribute to the boss from the crew’s earnings.
How many capos does a family have?
Between four and ten typically, each commanding a crew of roughly ten to twenty men. The exact number varies between families and changes over time.
How does someone become a capo?
By being promoted by the boss, typically on the underboss’s recommendation, based on demonstrated earning ability, loyalty and leadership capacity.