what is a consigliere

A consigliere is a position within the leadership structure of the Sicilian, Calabrian, and Italian-American Mafia. The word was popularized in English by the novel The Godfather and its film adaptation. In the novel, a consigliere is an advisor or counselor to the boss, with the additional responsibility of representing the boss in important meetings both within the bosss crime family and with other crime families. The consigliere is a close, trusted friend and confidant, the mob's version of an elder statesman. They are an advisor to the boss in a Mafia crime family and sometimes their "right-hand man". By the very nature of the job, a consigliere is one of the few in the family who can argue with the boss and is often tasked with challenging the boss when needed to ensure subsequent plans are foolproof. In some depictions, the consigliere is devoid of ambition and dispenses disinterested advice.