by JCB1977 » Thu Aug 18, 2016 7:54 am
Not a bad topic Furio (impossible to be accurate), but this is what I know for Pittsburgh/Youngstown:
Mike Genovese-Boss 1985-2006.
Through the 1980's, the Pittsburgh mob had the largest illegal casino in the country. It provided a "net profit" (meaning after expenses and pay offs to local cops and judges) of $20 million per year. $1 million per month went to Mike Genovese (and he shared the earnings with Jo Jo Pecora, Charlie Imburgia, Sonny Amato, John Bazzano Jr and Antonio Ripepi). I do not know how he cut the money up but knowing Mike's reputation, he got the biggest cut and rightfully so, he was the boss. That was one operation, I repeat, one. Pittsburgh had plenty of other illegal casinos, bookmaking operations, union infiltration, loansharking and prostitution. SA Roger Greenbank, former FBI agent in charge of the OC squad in Pittsburgh said that the rest of Mike Genovese's money was invested into commercial real estate all over Highland Park, PA, Penn Hills and Monroeville that was grandfathered in by some very old Democratic Ward bosses who were corrupt.
In a 1994 FBI affadavit, the Feds saw that Mike Genovese had given a lump sum of money to Vic Calautti in Youngstown who was a known money launderer. The FBI said it was a $15 million dollar transaction that went overseas where the money trail stopped. Pittsburgh controlled Western Pennsylvania, parts of Northeast Ohio, the panhandle of West Virginia and parts of Western New York near Jamestown.
Lenny Strollo, who was not the "boss" of the family but controlled all of Youngstown had $12 million in cash, another $10 million in real estate and another $3 million in assets "that the FBI could find" when he was indicted in December of 1997. That's $25 million dollars for a guy in charge of Youngstown, OH and he wasn't even the boss of a family. The kicker is: The FBI let him keep it all because he cooperated.
It's a very small sample but in many instances, a smaller crime family boss could make more money because there is no other competition. Pittsburgh controlled a very large geographic area...and the drug money started coming in around 1983 and Chucky Porter was moving 25 kilos per week. At $15,000 per kilo...do the math.
Not a bad topic Furio (impossible to be accurate), but this is what I know for Pittsburgh/Youngstown:
Mike Genovese-Boss 1985-2006.
Through the 1980's, the Pittsburgh mob had the largest illegal casino in the country. It provided a "net profit" (meaning after expenses and pay offs to local cops and judges) of $20 million per year. $1 million per month went to Mike Genovese (and he shared the earnings with Jo Jo Pecora, Charlie Imburgia, Sonny Amato, John Bazzano Jr and Antonio Ripepi). I do not know how he cut the money up but knowing Mike's reputation, he got the biggest cut and rightfully so, he was the boss. That was one operation, I repeat, one. Pittsburgh had plenty of other illegal casinos, bookmaking operations, union infiltration, loansharking and prostitution. SA Roger Greenbank, former FBI agent in charge of the OC squad in Pittsburgh said that the rest of Mike Genovese's money was invested into commercial real estate all over Highland Park, PA, Penn Hills and Monroeville that was grandfathered in by some very old Democratic Ward bosses who were corrupt.
In a 1994 FBI affadavit, the Feds saw that Mike Genovese had given a lump sum of money to Vic Calautti in Youngstown who was a known money launderer. The FBI said it was a $15 million dollar transaction that went overseas where the money trail stopped. Pittsburgh controlled Western Pennsylvania, parts of Northeast Ohio, the panhandle of West Virginia and parts of Western New York near Jamestown.
Lenny Strollo, who was not the "boss" of the family but controlled all of Youngstown had $12 million in cash, another $10 million in real estate and another $3 million in assets "that the FBI could find" when he was indicted in December of 1997. That's $25 million dollars for a guy in charge of Youngstown, OH and he wasn't even the boss of a family. The kicker is: The FBI let him keep it all because he cooperated.
It's a very small sample but in many instances, a smaller crime family boss could make more money because there is no other competition. Pittsburgh controlled a very large geographic area...and the drug money started coming in around 1983 and Chucky Porter was moving 25 kilos per week. At $15,000 per kilo...do the math.