Glossary entry
Consigliere
kon-sil-YEH-reh
Definition
kon-sil-YEH-reh
The counsellor of a family, ranking alongside the underboss, advising the boss and mediating internal disputes without commanding a crew.
“Costello served as consigliere under Luciano before taking the family himself in 1936.”
The role was traditionally filled by an older member with standing but no ambition for the top job, on the theory that a man who wants nothing can be trusted to give honest advice.
Popular culture, following The Godfather, treats the consigliere as the boss's lawyer and personal fixer. In the real structure he was closer to an internal judge, and in some families the position was elected by the membership rather than appointed.