We are a glorified crew, not a real family... but we got the numbers.

The crime family was founded in the early 1940s in Northern New Jersey. The first boss of family is said to be Ercole DiMeo. DiMeo was convicted and given a life sentence in prison in 1995. Giacomo "Jackie" Aprile was named Boss of the family, much to the chagrin of Junior Soprano. It was assumed that a Junior Soprano would take over the reins when DiMeo died or went to prison, but DiMeo was impressed by Jackie Aprile's leadership abilities (the Aprile crew has been the top earner and best-run crew of the family for years). Jackie was the official boss of the family, but he chose the title of "Acting Boss" out of respect to Old Man DiMeo, but it could also have been to fool the feds into thinking that DiMeo is still running the family behind bars.