Ricchese-Vitale-Bianco Crew

The Ricchese-Vitale-Bianco Crew, or the Sicily Faction was a faction of the Castello Crime Family from the late 1920s to 1979.

As the Ricchese-Vitale-Bianco Crew
It was founded in the late 1920s by Ercole Ricchese, Stephano Vitale and Vittore Bianco when they were in their teens and started performing small-time crimes in their village in Sicily. Around the mid-to-late 1930s, when they were in their 20's, it became the Sicily, or the "home country" faction of the Bordulac-based Castello Crime Family, ran by Ercole's uncle, Francesco Di Maggio, and Ercole was appointed as the captain, causing Stephano to grow jealous. In 1949, Ercole's son and future boss of Castello Crime Family (renamed the Ricchese Crime Family) was born.

As the Vitale Crew
In 1953, Ercole Ricchese was appointed as the boss of the Castello Crime Family when Francesco Di Maggio died and this helped contribute to Stephano Vitale's envy and it turned into a secret resentment of Ercole, who had left Sicily with his wife and four-year-old son and headed towards Bordulac to fulfill the role of the boss. Vittore Bianco moved to Bordulac shortly after and Ercole appointed Stephano Vitale as the new captain of the Sicily faction.

Pre-The Sicilian Connection
Stephano Vitale had ran the Sicily faction with the jealousy in mind. He had eventually grown a hatred for Ercole Ricchese and sent hitmen after him.

Events of The Sicilian Connection (1979-1980)
The hitmen attacked Ercole Ricchese when he was eating at a restaurant in Newport, Bordulac with his son Alfonse Ricchese, Vittore Bianco, and underboss Michael Pugliano, though he wasn't killed but hospitalized and deemed inactive. In his absence, Stephano Vitale had come to Bordulac to claim the role as acting boss (planning to kill Ercole and become the real boss at some point). As acting boss, Stephano acted normally and respectfully to Ercole as to not let his plans get out. He secretly hired some men to burn down Vittore Bianco's club in Newport as revenge for abandoning him in Sicily, though it was later replaced by a strip club. Later on, he realised that Alfonse Ricchese would be a problem and might mess with his plan, and he had attempted to kill him. However, this failed, and Alfonse Ricchese killed Stephano Vitale in a boat chase. Vitale's true intentions were spoken in his last words, Stephano's betrayal left a lasting mark on Alfonse Ricchese paranoia of people. Shortly after, Ercole Ricchese had the plug pulled on him and the Castello Crime Family was renamed to the Ricchese Crime Family in his honor.

Post-The Sicilian Connection
When underboss Michael Pugliano died in the 1980s, Vittore Bianco was supposed to become the underboss, but that role was instead given to James Carbone, Sr., as of 2012, Vittore Bianco still had a rivalry with Jimmy Carbone for that reason.

Trivia

 * Vittore Bianco is the only living founder of the crew, the other two having both died in 1980, although as of 2012 he suffered from a cardiac arrest which left him paralyzed and mute.