---
aliases:
- Bufalino Crime Family
- Bufalino family
category: Organized Crime
created: 2026-05-17
location: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
summary: The Bufalino Crime Family is a La Cosa Nostra crime family based in northeastern
  Pennsylvania that was reportedly connected to the alleged organized crime penetration
  of Music Corporation of America, surfacing in FBI wiretaps related to that investigation.
tags:
- Organization
- OrganizedCrime
- LaCosaNostra
- Pennsylvania
- MCA
title: Bufalino Crime Family
updated: 2026-05-17
---

The Bufalino Crime Family is a [La Cosa Nostra](/organizations/la-cosa-nostra/) organization based in the northeastern Pennsylvania cities of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre. The family was founded and led for decades by Russell Bufalino (born 1903, died 1994), who was regarded by law enforcement as one of the most powerful Mafia bosses in the northeastern United States.

### MCA Investigation

Members of the Bufalino family were reportedly connected to the alleged organized crime penetration of [MCA](/organizations/music-corporation-of-america/), the entertainment conglomerate, surfacing in [FBI](/organizations/federal-bureau-of-investigation/) wiretaps related to that investigation. Investigators [Marvin Rudnick](/people/marvin-rudnick/), [Thomas Gates](/people/thomas-gates/), and [Richard Stavin](/people/richard-stavin/) all concluded that MCA had been penetrated by organized crime based in part on these wiretap intercepts involving Bufalino family members.[^1]

[^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal.* TrineDay, 2010.