New Orleans crime family

New Orleans crime family
Foundedc. 1920s
FounderSilvestro Carollo
Founding locationNew Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Years activec.1920s–2007
TerritoryPrimarily the New Orleans metropolitan area, with additional territory throughout Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, as well as Las Vegas and Havana
EthnicityItalians as "made men" and other ethnicities as associates
Membership (est.)4–5 made members and 100+ associates (1980s)
ActivitiesRacketeering, extortion, gambling, prostitution, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, loan sharking, fencing, corruption, arms trafficking, cigarette smuggling, and murder
Allies
RivalsVarious gangs in the New Orleans area

The New Orleans crime family, also known as the Marcello crime family or the New Orleans Mafia, was an Italian American Mafia crime family based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The family had a history of criminal activity dating back to the late nineteenth century. These activities included racketeering, extortion, gambling, prostitution, narcotics distribution, money laundering, loan sharking, fencing of stolen goods, and murder. Operating along the Gulf Coast, with its main criminal activity centered in the New Orleans area, the organization reached its height of influence under bosses Silvestro Carollo and Carlos Marcello.

A series of setbacks during the 1980s, including the imprisonment of Marcello, reduced the family's influence, and law enforcement dismantled most of what remained of the organization shortly after Marcello's death in 1993. Despite the family's apparent downfall, it is believed that at least some elements of the American Mafia remain active in New Orleans today.