DeCavalcante crime family
The DeCavalcante crime family, also known as the North Jersey crime family or North Jersey Mafia, is an Italian-American Mafia organized crime family that operates mainly in northern New Jersey, particularly in Elizabeth, Newark, West New York, and the surrounding areas in North Jersey. The family is part of the nationwide criminal network known as the American Mafia.
| Founded | c. 1900s |
|---|---|
| Founder | Stefano Badami |
| Named after | Simone DeCavalcante |
| Founding location | Elizabeth and Newark, New Jersey, United States |
| Years active | c. 1900s–present |
| Territory | Primarily North Jersey, with additional territory in Central Jersey, New York City, Connecticut and South Florida |
| Ethnicity | Italians as "made men" and other ethnicities as associates |
| Membership (est.) | 40 made members and 50+ associates (2004) |
| Activities | Bootlegging, drug trafficking, extortion, fencing, fraud, hijacking, illegal gambling, loan-sharking, money laundering, murder, theft, pornography, prostitution, racketeering |
| Allies |
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| Rivals | Various gangs in New Jersey, including their allies |
The DeCavalcante family operates on the opposite side of the Hudson River from the Five Families of New York, and maintains strong relations with many of the New York families, especially the Gambino crime family, as well as with the Philadelphia crime family and the Patriarca crime family of New England. The organization is considered by some to be the "Sixth Family". The family's illicit activities include bookmaking, cement and construction violations, bootlegging, corruption, drug trafficking, extortion, fencing, fraud, hijacking, illegal gambling, loan-sharking, money laundering, murder, pier thefts, pornography, prostitution, racketeering, and waste management violations.