Murder Inc. Was the Enforcement Arm of the Mob’s Oversight Body, “The Commission”
Lucky Luciano brought the “Boss of All Bosses” era to an end by arranging the murders of the rival Castellamarese War leaders, Joe Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano. He then set out to end the old Sicilian mafia regime, and establish rule by consensus for the new crime families. He began by abolishing the position and title of capo di tutti capi, or Boss of All Bosses – from then on, the Italian-American mafia would have no single overlord. Instead, the committee known as The Commission would regulate the American mob, with Murder Inc. as the instrument for enforcing its writ.
The Commission consisted of the five NYC crime families, the Buffalo family, and the Chicago Outfit. Over the years, the makeup changed, but the basic concept of a committee comprised of America’s most powerful mafia families stayed the same. Today, it is made of the five NYC families and the Chicago Outfit, while the Buffalo family has been replaced by that of Philadelphia.
Gang wars did not completely disappear with the formation of The Commission. However, The Commission, and its Murder Inc. regulators, did lessen the frequency and intensity of gang wars, by making crime families think twice before starting a war. An aggressor family could find itself dealing not only with its immediate rival, but with The Commission, its Murder Inc. hitmen, and other families as well. That was a strong incentive to negotiate instead of resort to violence. When wars did break out, The Commission often sent in Murder Inc. to murder the offending leadership, then appointed new leaders.
The Commission met frequently, until 1985, when the last meeting attended by all bosses in person was held. Afterwards, things became too hot, as the US government finally went after the mob seriously, with vigorous investigations and successful prosecutions of its leaders. In such an environment, direct meetings between bosses became too risky, and from then on the Commission worked through cutouts.