The 5 Families are the company of the powerful five organized crime families in New York city created during the years ofICO when Salvatore Maranzano succeeded in the deposition of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. These families control the financial resources in NYC which include the prominent garment companies, financial institutions like Citibank, Bank of America etc. With their recent acquisition of the casino sites in NYC and Las Vegas, these families have successfully extended their control over all the gambling activities in the city and thus are making profits from this venture. They are also believed to be in talks with the government of Nevada about expanding their business in the tourist destinations of the state. They are also said to be interested in purchasing a stake in the struggling New Jersey casinos.
5 Families has been successfully surviving all the ups and downs of the casino business. This is despite the fact that they were not able to survive until the past twenty years when most of the casino operators were absorbed by other firms. 5 Families had survived until the outbreak of Three Mile Island and even after that; they were able to retain almost all of their land and property in the city. It was then when the FBI and other state agencies started investigating their operations in the casinos and after they arrested several members of 5 Families, the firm folded down. Most of its distributors were then detained on immigration charges and many of its dealers were summarily executed.
However, there were some survivors who managed to escape and found a haven in the United States. These people formed a ring of 5 Families and they were able to elude the police and the authorities for almost two decades. However, they were finally caught and after their capture, the 5 Families still attempted to elude the law enforcement agencies and the courts. The biggest setback for the 5 Families was the arrest of their kingpin member and financier, Richard Sharpe. Richard Sharpe was the sole shareholder of 5 Families and he was their main operator and they used his contacts and wealth to elude authorities for almost two decades.
Sharpe was finally brought to justice and was arrested along with his wife Yulandaez (who is presumed to be pregnant with Richard Sharpe's child) and fled the country. Sharpe and his wife Yulandaez are the primary suspects in the murder of six members of the Isabella family in Las Vegas. Richard Sharpe was found dead in a hotel room near Las Vegas while Yulandaez was later captured and confessed to the crimes. She is now in custody of the FBI.
The fifth member of 5 Families, identified as Carlos Alzado was captured in Costa Rica and is currently being held at the Menorca penitentiary in Costa Rica. Alzado is considered to be the main distributor of cocaine into the United States. 5 Families had used the protection of an American family, called the Triads, in order to help elude the law and hide from authorities. They provided false information to make it look like the family were not involved in the drug trade.
There are several suspects still on the loose. Authorities believe the killers were based in Miami and were involved in at least 5 Families. The bodies of all 6 victims have been recovered and all will be autopsied to determine if they were hit by a vehicle as all were found close to the ocean. There have been many arrests made so far involving the Menorca drug operation but none of those have been related to the six murders. Authorities believe that the Families were killed by drug dealers, probably using automatic weapons. All 6 bodies were found in shallow graves on the beach near the Pacific Ocean.
