Mafia Burial Ground; The Mob and St. John's Cemetery

The New York Mafia was organized with five distinct crime families, each one boasting hundreds of members. Each family was led by administrators that included a boss, underboss and consigliere (advisor to the boss), along with capos (crew captains), soldiers and associates. 

Combined, the families that operated throughout the five boroughs, Long Island and northern New Jersey consisted of thousands of racketeers and gangsters.

Given the nature of their business, some became victims of violence that cut their lives short while others went on to live long years, passing away from natural causes. Cemeteries in the New York area hold the remains of many Mafia members. While some have two or three deceased Mafioso interred on their property, St. John’s Roman Catholic Cemetery in Middle Village, Queens, has the bodies of an astonishing 32 mobsters occupying plots on its spaceous grounds.

With names like Luciano, Profaci, Galante, Gambino, Gotti, Colombo and Genovese among others, it is clear that St. John’s was the preferred burial ground for Mafia bosses, as well as many other notorious people. Some, who were close associates in life, are buried near one another. Others are buried near those who were formidable adversaries in life. In fact, in some cases, mobsters are buried in close proximity to the individuals who murdered them.

Documented in Mafia Burial Ground are the profiles of every Mafia member interred at St. John’s Cemetery. Read the history of each mobster who, in their own way, helped shape the New York Mafia.