At the head of every Mafia family, there is one man who calls the shots. He is called the boss, the don, or sometimes the godfather. As the boss, he has the ultimate say in how the family operates, what rackets it gets into, and settles disputes not only among its members but with other criminal organizations. As a result, the boss has a target on his back from both upstarts in the mob and law enforcement. It's a stress-filled job, but there always seems to be candidates willing to fill it. Directly below the boss is the aptly named underboss. He is the second most powerful member of the crime family. He deals with the day-to-day operations of the family and has a more hands-on approach than the don. There are occasions when the boss and/or the underboss are in prison and they may assign an acting boss or acting under-boss to take their place. Usually the acting boss or underboss serves as a conduit, relaying messages from prison.

Sometimes families have a consigliere, or counselor. This person is the chief adviser to the don in all matters of policy. In many cases the consi-gliere is an older member of the mob family, usually semiretired. He's used to give advice on all family matters and is relied on as an objective voice. In some cases, like Tampa, there is an advisory council, or group of consi-glieres who advise the boss on mob matters.