The Leone crime family is an Italian-American organized crime syndicate based in New York City and Las Vegas. The family originated with the Leone family of the Sicilian Mafia, and the Sicily-born Salvatore Leone founded the family in the late 1980s in New York City after power struggles and assassinations.
The family became the strongest Mafia family in the city after killing Don Paulie Sindacco of the rival Sindacco crime family and weakening the rival Forelli crime family and Kasen Yakuza, but its war on two fronts with the Forellis and the Brooklyn Triads in October 2001 led to the family losing men and influence in the city each day. The Leone-Triad war went on without any side having the upper hand, while the insignificant Forellis held no power in the city after the murder of high-ranking made man Mike Forelli and several other made men.
The family suffered a serious loss when Don Salvatore Leone was killed by his former hitman Claude Speed, whom Salvatore had attempted to kill with a car bomb. Afterwards, the family was likely taken over either by his son Joey Leone or his trusted capo Toni Cipriani; Leone's son was not interested in the mafia business, but instead in car theft, so it was a possibility that Cipriani took over the family as the new boss due to his experience.
The Leone family was based out of "Salvatore's Gentlemen's Club", the mansion of Salvatore Leone in Brooklyn, and the family owned Little Italy, Red Hook, and other parts of Brooklyn. The gang had a heavy presence in the Little Italy area, with mobsters being a common sight on the streets in October 2001. The gang fought against the Triads whenever they encountered them on the streets, leading to a violent gang war.