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A caporegime or capodecina , usually shortened to capo or informally referred to as "captain", "skipper" or "lieutenant", is a leadership position in the Mafia (both the Sicilian Mafia and Italian-American Mafia ). A capo is a " made member " of an Italian crime family who heads a regime or "crew" of soldiers and has major status and influence in the organization. Caporegime is an Italian word, used to signify the head of a family in Sicily . In general, the term indicates the head of a branch of an organized crime syndicate who commands a crew of soldiers and reports directly to the don ( boss ) or an underboss or street boss. The shortened version " capo " has also been used to refer to certain high-ranking members of Latin American drug cartels .

Sources [ edit ]

• Capeci, Jerry. The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Mafia . Indianapolis: Alpha Books, 2002. ISBN   0-02-864225-2 .
• Pistone, Joseph D. Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life in the Mafia . Pan Books, 1989. ISBN   9780330305747 .
• Pileggi, Nicholas. Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family . Simon & Schuster, 1985. ISBN   9780671447342 .