Messina Family

GANG
Messina Family
Messina Family war with Ancelotti Family
Games: GTA IV
The Ballad of Gay Tony
GTA Chinatown Wars
Locations: Cerveza Heights
East Island City
Little Italy
Meadows Park
Leader: Harvey Noto
Type: Italian-American Mafia family
Enemies: North Holland Hustlers
Ancelotti Family
Affiliations: Gambetti Family
Algonquin Triads
Colors: Blue
Vehicles: Sentinel XS
Sports PMP 600
Cavalcade
Cavalcade FXT
Maverick
Weapons: Knife, Pistol, SMG , Uzi and Combat Shotgun
Businesses: Loan Sharking
Extortion
Drug Dealing
Prostitution
Gambling
Robbery
Construction
Blackmail
Union Corruption
Fronts: Majestic Hotel
Opium Nights Hotel
Members: Harvey Noto
Harry Hall
Mark Volpe
Fredo Volpe
Jimmy Capra

The Messina family is one of the Italian-American families based in Liberty City, and part of the Cosa Nostra The Commission. Named after former boss John Messina, the Messina syndicate is based in Algonquin and Dukes, but also controls Little Italy alongside the other families. The family is believed to be led by Harvey Noto, who was able to establish himself at the top of the organization after a long and bloody power struggle. Mark Volpe is a Capo whilst Fredo Volpe, another Capo and brother of Mark, has been a police informant since 1998. Harry Hall is the Underboss/Consigliere of the Messina family.

In 2008, the Messina Family prevented Yusuf Amir from continuing constructing by the labor union. However, Playboy X saw a potential business relationship with Amir, and he therefore hired Niko Bellic to take down all union workers at Amir's construction site. Sometime later in the same year, Rocco Pelosi of the Ancelotti Family kidnapped a union official and had Luis Lopez torture him by hitting him with golfballs. The union official revealed that the head of the LTA was working for the Messina's. He later revealed more information to Rocco, and he ordered Lopez' boss "Gay" Tony Prince to blow up all of the undercover Messina's with Sticky Bombs. Lopez himself took care of the job, resulting in a construction crane, LTA train and a private jet to be blown up. Harvey Noto, the boss of the family owns the upper class Majestic Hotel in Algonquin. This can be the family's base of operations, but there is no evidence to prove this. The Jewish Mob hired a few rooms in the hotel, hinting the fact that they may be allies to the Messina family, but this remains unproven.

In 2009, Rudy D'Avanzo tricked the Triad Huang Lee into believing that his rival Jimmy Capra (a Messina made man) was an undercover police informant who was revealing information about the Triads to the LCPD. Rudy told Huang that he had bugged Capra's car and he ordered Huang to steal it from a Messina-owned parking lot in north Bohan. They later went to a meeting with Capra, where several Messina gangsters and possibly Capra himself were killed. The Messina Family were allied with the Jaoming Family, but after these events it is most likely that their friendship has ended.

Clothing

The Messinas all wear black jackets with blue shirts under it. Their cars are also blue so its possible that blue is their favorite color. In GTA Chinatown Wars the Messinas all wear red clothing and their cars are also red. The reason for the color change is unknown.

Members

Influences

The Messina family is likely to be based on the real-life Bonanno crime family in New York City which is one of the Five Families. They share a similar history of bloody infighting and each received help from another family in the commission; The Messinas from the Gambettis and the Bonannos from the Gambettis real-life counterparts, the Gambinos. The name of the family is also a reference to one of the modern Dons of the Bonanno family; Joe Massino, while the first boss of the Messina family has a similar name; John Messina.

Trivia

  • Harvey Noto, boss of the Messina family, owns the Majestic Hotel.
  • According to Fredo Volpe's LCPD profile, he has provided the LCPD enough evidence to take down the whole family/operation, but one year later, in the events of GTA Chinatown Wars the gang is still operative, but his profile also said that arrest warrants would still have to be made in later years before going after the entire organization.
  • The Messina Family is the only named mafia family in GTA Chinatown Wars.
  • In the The Ballad of Gay Tony mission Practice Swing, the Messina Family drives an army of Cavalcade FXTs. It is possible they drive the cars for room, luxury, and room for work (construction) supplies, weapons or drugs. It is suggestively their favorite car. Maybe blue is their favorite color, because they all wear blue shirts and their cars are in a dark blue color.

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