This, according to my research in the area, appears to be the structure of La Cosa Nostra.

The Commission
The Commission handles interfamily disputes and sets general policy for La Cosa Nostra. It acts as more of a forum of Family Bosses than a board of directors. I have read conflicting reports as to the number of bosses on the Commission. In addition, Angelo Lombardo (former acting boss of the Cleveland Family) states that there are two Commissions: the Eastern Commission is based in New York and addresses concerns of the eastern Families, and the Western Commission is based in Chicago and handles concerns of the western Families, such as Kansas City, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Diego (actually San Jose), St.Louis, Milwaukee, and San Francisco. Apparently, not every Family has a seat on the Commission. For instance, Mr.Lombardo states that the Cleveland, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh Families are all represented by the Genovese Family on the Eastern Commission.
Read Mr.Lombardo's testimony on Rick Porello's AmericanMafia.com.

The Families

Boss
Also called Don, he is the man with all of the power in the Family. he gives the orders, and the rest of the Family is expected to follow them without question.

Underboss (Sotto Capo)
He is the second-in-command. He is usually the word on the street, so to speak. He controls the day-to-day operations of the Family.

Consigliere
The consigliere acts as a "couselor" or "advisor" to the boss. He is directly under the boss in terms of the hierarchy, but he doesn't normally give orders.

Capo
Short for capodecina or caporegime, he is a leader of a "crew" or decina (literally, "group of ten") of ten to fifteen soldiers.

Soldier
These are the guys that do the dirty work. They are still "made" guys. Also each soldier may have a few associates hanging out with him.

Associates
These guys do the real dirty work. Associates are not "made" guys, they just hang around with the crew. They often are willing to do anything to get "made", and therefore handle a lot of hits.

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