| Giuseppe Mariposa | |
| Biographical Information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Born | 1872 Menfi, Sicily, Italy |
| Died | 1934 Brooklyn, New York City, United States |
| Affiliation | Mariposa crime family Maranzalla crime family |
| Title(s) | Don Capo |
Giuseppe "Butterfly" Mariposa was a Mustache Pete Sicilian mob boss who was the founder of the Mariposa crime family, one of the six families that were planned out to become the only survivors of the Pacification of New York. Mariposa became Capo di tutti Capi following his destruction of the LaConti crime family and took over Brooklyn from the rival families, becoming the strongest boss in New York since the Castellammarese War ended in 1931. However, in the Olive Oil War of 1933-1934, he was gunned down by his own men and the Five Families rose to power.and Soldato of Chicago Outfit and Right Hand man of Alphonso Capone
Biography[]
Mariposa was born in Menfi, Sicily, where he spent most of his childhood. He arrived in the United States after murdering a man and became a powerful Mafioso following Nick Morello's death. He led the Mariposa crime family in Brooklyn, and allied with Al Capone in Chicago in the 1920s, and recruited Emilio and Ettore Barzini, as well as the Rosato Brothers, into his organization. Mariposa was a supporter of Salvatore Maranzano in the Castellammarese War of the 1930s and in 1931 gained the right to create his own family when The Commission was formed by Lucky Luciano and Vito Corleone. By the early 1930s he had all the gambling activities in Manhattan, the crap games on the docks, the shylocking, the bookmaking on sports and horses, the illicit gambling houses, and the numbers operations.
Mariposa proclaimed himself "Capo di tutti Capi" after he absorbed all of the Brooklyn gangs, including the LaConti crime family, into his organization, and he gruesomely killed Rosario LaConti by throwing his naked body off the top of a building, showing severe disrespect to the revered mob boss. His own men secretly harbored a grudge against him for his dishonor.
In 1934, he went to war with Vito Corleone after refusing Corleone's offer of coexistance, and sent his hitmen to kill him, hiring Willy Russo and Louie Russo of the Chicago Outfit for the job. However, they were killed by Luca Brasi and Mariposa was left without any allies.
Death[]
Desperate for peace, Mariposa arranged a sitdown with Vito Corleone at a restaurant in Brooklyn. However, his bodyguards left the room and Salvatore Tessio and his own Underboss Tomasino Cinquemani, with two other gunmen, burst into the restaurant and riddled Mariposa with bullets as he chewed on some bread. His death ended the Olive Oil War and the Corleones had complete control over Little Italy and Brooklyn.