[1] Amuso's reign is considered one of the bloodiest periods in American Mafia history during the late 1980s and early 1990s, alongside his former underboss and close protégé Anthony Casso, who turned informer against him in 1994.

Amuso has been serving a life sentence since 1992 and is currently located at the Federal Correctional Complex, Butner, in North Carolina, on murder and racketeering charges.

Amuso would allegedly kill several members of the Profaci faction, but was sent to prison sometime in the early 1960s, along with Joey Gallo and a dozen others, for extortion charges.

After Joe Gallo's release from prison in early 1971, he continued his war against the family on June 28, 1971, when boss Joseph Colombo was shot.

Reportedly, Amuso and Casso, along with Genovese crime family boss Vincent "Chin" Gigante, had planned Gotti's execution, but killed DeCicco by mistake.

On February 15, 1985, Corallo, Furnari and underboss Salvatore "Tom Mix" Santoro were indicted in the Mafia Commission Trial, along with the top major heads of the Five Families.

To avoid internal war and keep up the family's tradition of a peaceful transfer of power, Corallo summoned Amuso and Casso to a meeting at Furnari's house, and decided that one of them would succeed him as boss.

[11][13] But the bloodshed of Vic Amuso and Tony Casso wasn't over yet, as Lucchese caporegime Peter "Fat Pete" Chiodo was charged with violations of the RICO act in 1991.

The move backfired spectacularly, as Chiodo became a government informant and agreed to testify against several major heads of the Five Families, including Amuso, that same year.

He also ordered D'Arco to bring in a bomb expert from the Philadelphia crime family as part of a plan to blow up Gambino boss John Gotti.

In late 1993, Amuso removed Casso as underboss and decreed that all Lucchese mafiosi should consider him a pariah—in effect, banishing his comrade of some three decades from the family.

After the incarcerations of both Amuso and Casso, the U.S. government learned that they each had, allegedly, ordered more than 10–12 slayings while they were fugitives and while on trial, using two corrupt NYPD detectives, Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa, as their personal hit men.

After Amuso's indictment in 1991 with the testimony provided by former acting boss Alphonse "Little Al" D'Arco, Amuso promoted his caporegime Joseph "Little Joe" DeFede, to acting boss, with the help of the Ruling Panel members, Steven "Wonderboy" Crea, Anthony "Bowat" Baratta, Salvatore "Sal" Avellino and consigliere Frank "Big Frank" Lastorino in 1991.

On April 3, 1992, Aniello "Neil" Migliore, one of the most powerful capos of the family, was celebrating the birthday of a friend's granddaughter in a Westbury, New York restaurant on Long Island.

During the party, a gunman in a passing car fired one or two shotgun blasts through the restaurant window, hitting Migliore in the head and chest.

This conspiracy also included Genovese crime family boss Vincent "Chin" Gigante and on-the-lam leader, Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso before he was apprehended.

To keep some sense of stability within the Lucchese crime family, Amuso promoted his loyal friend and Brooklyn capo Louis "Louie Bagels" Daidone to the position of consigliere, replacing Frank Lastorino.

Amuso kept Stephen "Wonderboy" Crea of the Bronx as the underboss, overseeing the construction and union racketeering operations that made the crime family between $300,000 and $500,000 a month.

After the imprisonment of Joe DeFede in 1998, Amuso handpicked Bronx faction leader, Steven "Wonderboy" Crea as the new acting boss of the Lucchese crime family.

Following the imprisonment of Crea in 2001, influential consigliere, Louis "Louie Bagels" Daidone was promoted to acting boss and began to run the day-to-day operations of the crime family.

Daidone, at the time one of the strongest and most dangerous family members, would continue to oversee the contract ordered by Amuso on imprisoned former acting boss Joseph "Little Joe" DeFede.

Upon DeFede's release from prison on February 5, 2002, it was reported that the former Amuso ally immediately turned to the government for help and became an informant.

Eppolito and Caracappa were allegedly working for and taking large bribes from former Lucchese underboss Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso since the 1980s.

The two highly decorated NYPD officers were apparently used by Casso and the Lucchese crime family to gain valuable information about ongoing police investigations and cases concerning New York Mafia member.

After the conviction and imprisonment of acting boss Louie Diadone in 2003, Amuso instituted a new ruling panel/committee of influential capos to oversee and run the crime family's day-to-day activities.

Prominent and senior Lucchese capos Aniello "Neil" Migliore, Matthew "Matt" Madonna and Joseph "Joey Dee" DiNapoli were handpicked by Amuso to lead the crime family.

In 2006, former acting boss Stephen "Wonderboy" Crea was released from prison, and the ruling panel/committee continued to run day-to-day activities of the crime family.

In late 2009, ruling panel members Madonna and DiNapoli were indicted on labor racketeering, illegal gambling and extortion charges.

In May 2019, government witness and former Lucchese soldier John Pennisi testified in the trial against Eugene Castelle and revealed the current leadership of the crime family.