What is a Consigliere?
Quick Answer
The consigliere is the adviser to the boss — the third member of the family’s Administration alongside the boss and underboss. Unlike the underboss who manages day-to-day operations, the consigliere has no direct operational responsibilities. His role is to counsel the boss, mediate internal disputes, and provide a check on decisions that might expose the family to unnecessary risk. He is one of the few people who can argue with the boss without it being considered disrespectful.
The consigliere is the most misunderstood position in the Mafia hierarchy. Thanks largely to The Godfather — where Tom Hagen occupies a uniquely powerful advisory role — many people assume the consigliere is the second most powerful figure in any family. In practice the position’s actual influence varies enormously depending on the individual who holds it and the degree of trust the boss places in his counsel.
What Does a Consigliere Do?
The consigliere’s formal role is to advise the boss on major decisions — particularly those involving violence, disputes with other families, or actions that might attract law enforcement attention. He is expected to provide objective counsel, which means he must be willing to argue against a course of action the boss favours when he believes it is wrong. This makes the position unusual in an organisation where disagreeing with the boss can be dangerous.
Consiglieres also act as mediators in disputes between family members — hearing both sides of conflicts that do not need to be escalated to the boss. This quasi-judicial role requires both the respect of other members and the trust of the boss. A consigliere who is not genuinely respected within the family cannot perform this function effectively.
They often serve as the family’s liaison to important outside figures — politicians, lawyers, judges and business contacts — because their role gives them a degree of legitimacy and distance from direct criminal operations that the boss and underboss may not have.
How Much Power Does a Consigliere Really Have?
The honest answer is: it depends entirely on the individual. The most powerful consiglieres in American Mafia history were men whose intelligence, experience and relationship with the boss gave them genuine influence over major decisions. Others were essentially honorary positions given to respected senior members who were past their operational prime.
The position’s formal protections are significant — consiglieres are generally considered off-limits as targets by other families, reflecting their role as neutral arbiters. But formal protection is not the same as real power, and in organisations where power ultimately flows from the boss’s trust, the consigliere’s influence is exactly as great as that trust allows.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is a consigliere?
The consigliere is the adviser to the boss — the third member of the Administration. He counsels the boss, mediates internal disputes, and can argue against the boss’s decisions, which makes the role uniquely positioned in an organisation where challenging leadership is usually dangerous.
Is the consigliere more powerful than the underboss?
Not usually. The underboss has direct operational control over the family’s day-to-day activities. The consigliere’s influence is advisory and depends entirely on how much the boss values his counsel.
Who were famous real-life consiglieres?
Sammy Gravano served as consigliere before becoming underboss of the Gambino family. Nicky Scarfo served as consigliere to Angelo Bruno before becoming boss of the Philadelphia family himself.