Take the Gun, Leave the Canoli
The Gotham mafia may be one of my favorite Batman villains. No one else seems to fawn over them the way fans do for any of the other Batman villains. Looking up Falcone or Maroni fan art on the internet is useless. I can find a billion awful Harley Quinn pieces, but Carmine Falcone turns up just a few scans from comic pages.
Batman's origin always included becoming Batman to fight crime in Gotham, a city with a high crime rate. Miller, I think, wanted to ground his Batman in reality, and historically big cities had organized crime problems. Gotham, being the culmination of every corrupted, dark, and dangerous part of every city everywhere, should have organized crime.
Bob Kane, Sheldon Maldoff and Bill Finger created Lew Moxon as the crime boss responsible for Batman's parents' murder, Sal Maroni as the mobster responsible for disfiguring Two Face, and Tony Zucco as the racketeer who put a hit on Dick Grayson's parents. But organized crime didn't take a front seat to Batman stories again until 1987. Frank Miller rebuilt the Batman mythos, taking it back to the 1940s stories of Kane and Finger, which meant darker, grittier stories. The Batman:Year One origin debuted Gotham's organized crime family, the Falcones.
Jeph Loeb's The Long Halloween expanded the Falcone Crime Family, basing it off of the Corleones from the Godfather. He tied the Maronis and Tony Zucco into the story as well, but maintained that the Roman Empire, as Carmine "the Roman" Falcone's criminal organization is known, had the most power and influence.
The pulp theme of mafia families holding so much power that only a vigilante operating outside the law can take them down can be seen across all entertainment mediums, in novels, comics, and movies. The Long Halloween/Dark Victory storyline helps transition Gotham organized crime from realistic mobsters to comicbook villains like the Black Mask and the Penguin by showing the downfall in a who-dun-it serial killer murder mystery.
In addition to the Falcone and Marioni families, there have been several other mobster families introduced during Batman's 80 year history. Most of them are killed. Below are a bunch of characters and short bios.
Carmine Falcone:
The head of the Falcone crime family. Took power from his father, Vincent, the founder of the mob family. His sister Carla Vitti lives in Chicago and is the head of a crime family there. Known as the Roman. Created by Frank Miller in 1987. He has claw marks across his face, courtesy of Catwoman. He is murdered by Two Face.
Sofia Falcone:
Changes her name to Sofia Gigante, also known as the Hangman. She poses as crippled in a wheelchair, and takes over the family business after her father Carmine dies. Gigante murders ten people connected with Harvey Dent and his rise to District Attorney. She is also killed by Two Face.
Mario Falcone:
Based on Michael Corleone, Mario is the elder son of Carmine. He is absent for most of the Long Halloween and Dark Victory storylines, as he has been living in Italy undercover, much like Michael Corleone in the Godfather. When Mario returns to find his family mostly dead and the business in ruins, he scuttles the rest, burns the house down and rebuilds.
Tony Zucco:
Also known as Boss Zucco, he was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger also in 1940, and also as a vehicle to introduce another more important character. Zucco is the mobster responsible for extorting the circus, and sabotaging the high wire act, killing Dick Grayson's parents. Jeph Loeb included Zucco as an underboss in the Maroni crime family. Dick Grayson and Batman scare Zucco so much, he has a heart attack.
Carmine Falcone:
The head of the Falcone crime family. Took power from his father, Vincent, the founder of the mob family. His sister Carla Vitti lives in Chicago and is the head of a crime family there. Known as the Roman. Created by Frank Miller in 1987. He has claw marks across his face, courtesy of Catwoman. He is murdered by Two Face.
Sofia Falcone:
Changes her name to Sofia Gigante, also known as the Hangman. She poses as crippled in a wheelchair, and takes over the family business after her father Carmine dies. Gigante murders ten people connected with Harvey Dent and his rise to District Attorney. She is also killed by Two Face.
Mario Falcone:
Based on Michael Corleone, Mario is the elder son of Carmine. He is absent for most of the Long Halloween and Dark Victory storylines, as he has been living in Italy undercover, much like Michael Corleone in the Godfather. When Mario returns to find his family mostly dead and the business in ruins, he scuttles the rest, burns the house down and rebuilds.
Alberto Falcone:
The younger son of Carmine, Alberto is also the Holiday Killer. He fakes his own death and starts targeting Maroni Family members, killing a dozen including Salvatore and Luigi Maroni, and his own aunt Carla Vitti. He is later killed by his sister Sofia.
The younger son of Carmine, Alberto is also the Holiday Killer. He fakes his own death and starts targeting Maroni Family members, killing a dozen including Salvatore and Luigi Maroni, and his own aunt Carla Vitti. He is later killed by his sister Sofia.
Salvatore Maroni:
Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger in 1940 as a vehicle for creating Two Face, Sal Maroni is the mob boss responsible for scarring Harvey Dent with acid. He is the son of Luigi Maroni, and father of CJ, Pino, and Umberto Maroni. The Maronis and Falcones have a long history of rivalry and competition. He is killed by Alberto Falcone.
Tony Zucco:
Also known as Boss Zucco, he was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger also in 1940, and also as a vehicle to introduce another more important character. Zucco is the mobster responsible for extorting the circus, and sabotaging the high wire act, killing Dick Grayson's parents. Jeph Loeb included Zucco as an underboss in the Maroni crime family. Dick Grayson and Batman scare Zucco so much, he has a heart attack.
Lew Moxon:
Introduced by Sheldon Maldoff and Bill Finger in 1958. This is the guy that ordered the hit on Thomas and Martha Wayne that led to their murder by Joe Chill. He then disappears from Gotham for decades, living in hiding, much like the real Whitey Bulger. However, he returns and is eventually killed by his own hitman, Zeiss. The rest of the Moxon Crime Family is killed by the Joker.
Franco Bertinelli:
Created in 1989 by Joey Cavalieri for the Huntress miniseries, the head of the Bertinelli Crime Family was originally named Guido. He was retconned in 2000 by Greg Rucka. This family emerges after the Falcone and Maroni families dwindle in Gotham. However, a war with the Sicilian Mandragora Family leaves all Bertinellis dead, except the eldest daughter, Helena. She becomes the Huntress, and avenges her parents murders. Eventually she becomes a heroine and a member of the Birds of Prey.
The Irish:
The Sullivans and Rileys are factions of the Irish gang in Gotham. Mickey Sullivan's crew worked for the Falcones. They were massacred by Alberto Falcone after botching the assassination of Harvey Dent. Sean Riley attempted to make peace with the remnants of the Italian mob, but was set up and murdered by Johnny Sabatino. His daughter avenged his death and carried on the family business.
Johnny Sabatino:
Another Italian mobster. The heir to the Sabatino Crime Family, supposedly the first crime family in Gotham. If this is the case, they more than likely have ties to the Court of Owls, but also would tangle early on with the Moxons, Falcones, and Maronis. Johnny Sabatino attempts to make a peace with the Irish gangs. He is murdered by Peyton Riley.
The Dubelz:
The head of the family, Robert Dubelz, was killed by an alien parasite. His sons, conjoined twins Moe and Joe, assumed Tommy Monaghan, the Hitman, killed their father and attempted to avenge his death. The Hitman killed them both with help from Etrigan the Demon. In order for these bumbling dopes to have any success, they must have been connected to another of the Gotham families.
Tobias Whale:
Created in 1977 by Tony Isabella and Trevor von Eden as the criminal antagonist for Black Lightning, this gangster becomes an important figure in international crime, connected to Bruno Manheim and Intergang. He shows up in Gotham a few times as well, attempting to gain control of several Gotham gangs. Tobias Whale pops up in other DC adaptations, and is sometimes connected to the Mandragora Crime Family, Black Mask Society, and Leviathan. Most of the time, he leads his own organization. Aside from Black Lightning, he often butts heads with Batman, Huntress, and the Suicide Squad.
Charles Knight:
Mostly a throw-away character, this guy is worth mentioning for his connections to other more important characters. Introduced as a "well known" Gotham gangster in 1983 by Doug Mensch and Don Newton, we can assume he must have had connections to one or more of the above mentioned Gotham families. He shows an empathic side, and adopts an orphan off the street, Natalia. She eventually becomes the thief Nocturna, partnering with her adopted brother Anton Knight. Later she becomes the head of the False Face Society.