THE BLACK HAND FORUM

Going by Wiseguy’s dictionary definition it’s the Genovese.
To my mind resilience connotes resurgence after being weakened somewhat. For me, the Bonnano’s are my pick. Since the early 60s, they have been in flux. Faction riddled, with an unstable executive until Massino brought it back to the most stable and hierarchical of the. Then the first sitting boss and all the capos turn states evidence.
With changing times, it still seems the Bonnano’s have no problem recruiting young vicious guys.

Pogo The Clown wrote: ↑Fri Jan 08, 2021 6:23 pm

Dave65827 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 08, 2021 5:01 pm Not to fanboy over these guys but it’s impressive how The Genovese for the most part haven’t been infiltrated by law enforcement unlike the other Families and other OC groups

If you are speaking about undercover LE agents infiltrating then they have been. In the early 2000s they were infiltrated by an undercover cop going by the name "Big Frank". He took down 70 guys including 2 Capos (one of them was Patsy Parello ironically enough).


Pogo

Never heard of this one. But I was kind of referring to how tight nut and secret it is. When a Colombo or Bonnano guy gets made we hear about it instantly but with the Genovese we rarely know

Dave65827 wrote: ↑Fri Jan 08, 2021 5:01 pm Not to fanboy over these guys but it’s impressive how The Genovese for the most part haven’t been infiltrated by law enforcement unlike the other Families and other OC groups

If you are speaking about undercover LE agents infiltrating then they have been. In the early 2000s they were infiltrated by an undercover cop going by the name "Big Frank". He took down 70 guys including 2 Capos (one of them was Patsy Parello ironically enough).


Pogo

I wanna say the Colombos, but its gotta be the Genovese. The biggest blow to the (modern) family was back in 2007 and all of those guys..the ones who are still alive, anyway.. some of whom were undoubtably involved in murdering Ralph Coppola, are all comfortably out of prison and in high ranking (capo or above...) positions. It seems like nothing really skips a beat with them. On top of that, look how much construction and capital projects have taken place in and around NYC the past 15 years; to know they’ve had their hooks in just about every aspect of all of that is insane. Meanwhile you got supposedly ‘strong’ crew leaders in other families shaking down their own crew members for an extra couple hundred bucks per week. Not to say the petty, grimey, greedy shit doesnt happen with the Genovese...im sure it does in spades, but we’ll never, ever hear about it. I dunno...those guys just seem like a step above. The fact they are supposedly the biggest yet manage to stay the quietest is crazy to me too

Not to fanboy over these guys but it’s impressive how The Genovese for the most part haven’t been infiltrated by law enforcement unlike the other Families and other OC groups

considering how still powerful is these times, i would say the genovese's

I gotta go with Philly too. All the people flipping and now all the wiseguys currently on the streets, crazy they are not defunct at the point.

Philly has survived the Boss, UnderBoss, 5 Capos, 2 former Capos and 10 Soldiers flip (almost all of it in less than 15 years). In the span of less than 25 years they have survived having most of their active membership taken off the street on 4 separate occasions. All in all it is pretty remarkable that they are still around.


Pogo

It's the Genovese, and it's not really close. Probably the Gambinos, too, if the Gotti era never happened. From the smaller families, I would pick Philly. They bounced back from setbacks that would've destroyed any other small family. I guess it's the 'culture' from the Scarfo era that spilled into the 90s and 00s, it made them resilient enough to pull through. In hindsight, one of the few good things Scarfo did for the organization.

I will say the Philadelphia LCN remind me of the little engine that could meets the energizer bunny.

We have multiple recent and relevant sources from around (Gene Borello/dipshit Rubeo), or inside that Life (Pennisi/Arillota) willing to speak on the different stature of the Genovese. Every time they’re spoken of it’s in terms of reverence. I personally think it’s not even close. It’s the Genovese

Borello - “the Genovese are the real mafia. The only real one left”

Rubeo - “the Genovese are the only power left on the street”

Pennisi - “the Genovese are from outer space, they’re so different. They do it right.”

Arillota - “being made in the Genovese meant more than other Families”

Now these statements are subjective. Especially from bitter individuals or self serving cooperators. But I think it still paints a small picture to a degree of how the Genovese are perceived in that Life.

As Wiseguy was correct to point out, if we actually mean resiliency then I don't see how the Genovese aren't the clear and obvious answer.

Since Mason Dixon brought up Chicago -- even if they are more active then recent indictments have suggested, no way do they warrant being called "resilient". Their modus operandi until their decline was heavily predicated on wielding influence over politicians, the courts, and the police in Chicago and the suburbs. When the Feds broke up their ability to pull the levers of corruption, they also deeply wounded the Outfit's ability to operate at scale as before. Even if Chicago turns out to be viable for the near future, it will be as a vastly smaller organization with little to no real political control (outside of maybe a few suburban public figures). They will never be anything close to what they were (a huge understatement).

While Philly is the little family that just won't die, again, they're not "resilient".

Well good discussion were the columbos kicked off the commission ever tho ot twice like the Bonannos potentionally were ? Philly family yes they have been decimated but I don't think they have ever made it back to not their peak but even semi close to their 2nd most lucrative regime. Ligambi dud bring back an amazing amount of stability. I think Joey Merlino is an excellent strategist when it's all said and done its hard to argue he and Barney have had unheard of runs. To spite all the prison time I think Merlino has lived a charmed life.

Back to the Bonnanos tho Massino brought them back to arguably the top especially if you just consider getting back to their peak of power money and influence. I see how the Genevovesse have always been a front runner or adapted to the times and run a different style then all other families which has kept them at the top. I think the Bonannos are on a huge come back again from you consider the decimation if 15 years ago. So I guess there are no wrong answers its all in interpretation of the definition.

Just to piss everyone off I am surprised no mention of Buffalo. Ha. Question tho has Buffalo not somewhat ran with the Bonnanos over the last 30 years if they have been alive during this time frame? Surprised no speak of the Luke's tho too.

I agree with Pogo. That damn Philly family just won't die. They are like Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th. They always come back to life. I'm sure the Feds are just pissed they can't ever land a real blow to the Philly family.

I was the Baahs of the luisi crime family. Patriakkahs goT nuttin on us back then