Buffalo/Ontario Mob Acitivity

[Newyorkempire]

Not only was Coppola correct in his 1998 article, he's continued to be correct in more recent years. Not because he's a journalist or writes an article, in and of itself, but what he has consistently said about the state of the Buffalo LCN matches the other available evidence.

So Coppola was correct in saying Todaro Jr. had already retired from the rackets by ‘98 and gone legitimate? Do you believe that? Coppola wrote:

Twenty-six years ago the son of another Buffalo godfather was destined to take his father's place. On a warm summer night, dressed in a white linen suit, he and his associates, together with wives and girlfriends, entered Eduardo's nightclub on Bailey Avenue, where Louie Prima was performing. The club grew strangely quiet as the entourage proceeded to a long table. In what could have been a scene from any number of Mafia movies, those in the nightclub who knew whispered to those who didn't who had just entered.

But between then and now, the heir apparent to Buffalo's Mafia throne, Joseph Todaro, went legitimate. He opened a pizzeria, quit his job at Local 210 and concentrated on running his business. Today, La Nova Pizza ranks as a Buffalo success story, a neighborhood pizzeria that reportedly grosses millions of dollars a year and distributes its popular chicken wings throughout the nation.

As I said, I believe the general thrust of Coppola's article - the weakened state of the Buffalo mob - was correct.

As far as his claim Todaro Jr. "went legitimate," we have to break that down. His restaurants are legitimate. Most of what he does day to day involves running his legitimate interests. Not directing, as the nominal boss, an essentially defunct criminal organization made up of mostly old and inactive members.

"I believe the general thrust". Lol. You should believe all the other articles that contradict that general thrust then. We are going by your metric system and giving credit to articles and law enforcement but you cherry pick in order to not look at the higher probabilities. You say there is a bunch of inactive guys? How do you know? Because they are old? Thats your measuring tool? Farese? 80+ both Luppino brothers 80+...heavily active. Youre out of touch with the basics of being in the life, for life. You should know better based on all the articles you read how it really goes.

[Newyorkempire]

https://buffalonews.com/news/todaros-at ... 31c5c.html

....yet 9 years later in 98. Coppola says everyone called it a day and went home to knit

[Newyorkempire]

https://buffalonews.com/news/raids-on-t ... 14983.html

....yet 5 years later in 98. Coppola says everyone called it a day and went home to knit.

[Newyorkempire]

https://www.niagarafallsreporter.com/St ... letti.html

....yet 4 years after Coppola wrote that article, Nicoletti was described by the FBI as the leader of the Niagara Crew of the family

[Newyorkempire]

In 2006, the FBI releases a heavily redacted chart of the family....8 years after Coppola wrote that article

[Newyorkempire]

Reported by the FBI in late 2000s early 2010s Falzone took over as boss of the family...10+ years after Coppola wrote that article.....

Many, many articles and FBI reports that point to this family still existing and assuming it disappeared has proven to be premature and exaggerated and has been beneficial to them. As I said, the same rank and file as was seen 30 years ago? No. But functioning and in an adapted amalgamation for the modern era in considering the ties to Canada.

Stick a fork in me.

[Wiseguy]

So you believe Cappola was incorrect in saying Todaro shuned any contact with his former life - even as far back as before ‘98?

Was he incorrect in suggeting Todaro had already retired asacting boss/underboss of the Buffalo crime family before the ‘98 article?

He's been correct as far as his his estimation of the overall state of the family. If that's what he said specifically regarding Todaro, that would be incorrect. Though, Todaro's role as boss of a defunct crime family is largely meaningless. He's more or less Pete Milano in the 2000's.

Hes been incorrect. The only way Coppola is correct is if we discredit the following reports...

- Carmen Barillaro traveled to Buffalo to seek permission from Buffalo admininstration after Papalia was hit

This is ancient history and isn't necessarily reflective of the overall state of the family.

- Musitano and Jonny Sacs leaked wiretapped conversation discussing the hit on Papalia

Was this before or after Johnny Sac plotted to hit Carmine Lupertazzi?

- Dominic Violi stating to a made member of the Bonannos that Todaro made him underboss

It's been explained an nauseum why Todaro still being a boss, or someone being promoted to underboss, isn't necessarily reflective of a viable family. Examples given over and over. And ignored.

- Todaro getting mad Al Iavarone was made in the L.A. Family and he wasnt informed.

Please. There is so little known about this, and so many questions, you can't really use it as evidence for anything.

All the recent reports by the FBI he is still the head of the Crime Family

Nobody here is disputing Todaro is still the nominal head of what's left of the mob in Buffalo. And Coppola being wrong about certain things regarding Todaro specifically doesn't mean he was wrong about the family generally.

You have no idea what your talking about. You have no idea what anyone does day to day. Youre lost boss. Its like trying to explain algebra to an infant

I got news for you, pal. You're not even a 3rd rate poster here. You came back under another name (since you realized you'd have no credibility with your old one) and you've basically glommed onto posts and stuff other people have said. Bottom line, you're the one pushing the idea there's still an active family in Buffalo. It's a losing proposition from the very start. You can't see that now but you will. Just like the Detroit posters did from 10 years ago.

Oh wait. And we also have to discredit what Sergi says and Humphries, and Edwards in order for Wiseguys narrative to fit. So when he wants to use an article to suit him its deemed credible. See where that went Wiseguy? Again, youre a genius, your copy and pasting is bar none the best Ive ever seen. Stand tall.

You'll have to be more specific because I'm not sure which of their comments you find so much validation in.

"I believe the general thrust". Lol. You should believe all the other articles that contradict that general thrust then. We are going by your metric system and giving credit to articles and law enforcement but you cherry pick in order to not look at the higher probabilities. You say there is a bunch of inactive guys? How do you know? Because they are old? Thats your measuring tool? Farese? 80+ both Luppino brothers 80+...heavily active. Youre out of touch with the basics of being in the life, for life. You should know better based on all the articles you read how it really goes.

Your argument gets weaker every time you post. We can see ongoing activity involving the Colombo family, despite their age. They still have about 90 members. You can't basically count them on two hands like you can Buffalo members.

With Buffalo, you've had about a half dozen drug dealers of Italian descent who have loose ties to elements of what's left of the Buffalo mob. The feds have made a crucial distinction about what this doesn't represent, as far as an active Mafia family, but you and others have ignored it. Then you had Violi, who does get made the nominal underboss of a defunct family. But in practice he's basically a Canadian based drug trafficker. Him, the murders in Hamilton, etc. have a lot more to do with the Canadian underworld than anything in Buffalo or the Buffalo LCN.

In 2006, the FBI releases a heavily redacted chart of the family....8 years after Coppola wrote that article

You can make charts of the remnants of different families. Hell, the government had a chart of Denver in 1988 when there were 3 living members. When the FBI made its chart of the 23 remaining members in 2006, it wasn't a them saying they still considered the family viable. In fact, the original article that first mentioned that chart said the opposite.

Reported by the FBI in late 2000s early 2010s Falzone took over as boss of the family...10+ years after Coppola wrote that article.....

Many, many articles and FBI reports that point to this family still existing and assuming it disappeared has proven to be premature and exaggerated and has been beneficial to them. As I said, the same rank and file as was seen 30 years ago? No. But functioning and in an adapted amalgamation for the modern era in considering the ties to Canada.

Stick a fork in me.

You are such a lying little shit. There's no FBI reports saying that. Every FBI official one can quote has said the exact opposite. But you and NickleCity ignore or downplay them.

Face it bud, you guys had a few years there where some stuff happened and you guys felt free to misinterpret and misrepresent it. Blowed it waaaaay out of proportion. But that's over. All you have to look forward to in this "functioning amalgamation" you speak of is the remaining Buffalo members dying out, including the few on the Canadian side of the border. It's all over but the crying.

[Newyorkempire]

So you believe Cappola was incorrect in saying Todaro shuned any contact with his former life - even as far back as before ‘98?

Was he incorrect in suggeting Todaro had already retired asacting boss/underboss of the Buffalo crime family before the ‘98 article?

He's been correct as far as his his estimation of the overall state of the family. If that's what he said specifically regarding Todaro, that would be incorrect. Though, Todaro's role as boss of a defunct crime family is largely meaningless. He's more or less Pete Milano in the 2000's.

Hes been incorrect. The only way Coppola is correct is if we discredit the following reports...

- Carmen Barillaro traveled to Buffalo to seek permission from Buffalo admininstration after Papalia was hit

This is ancient history and isn't necessarily reflective of the overall state of the family.

Very meaningful considering it happened the years before Buffalo was claimed to gone.

- Musitano and Jonny Sacs leaked wiretapped conversation discussing the hit on Papalia

Was this before or after Johnny Sac plotted to hit Carmine Lupertazzi?

The fact you dont know the facts or ignore the provided transcript then go into Sopranos show youre ignorance.

- Dominic Violi stating to a made member of the Bonannos that Todaro made him underboss

It's been explained an nauseum why Todaro still being a boss, or someone being promoted to underboss, isn't necessarily reflective of a viable family. Examples given over and over. And ignored.

An Underboss would only be appointed if there was something to be appointed to. The Mafia doesnt make positions that are pointless and have no validity. You should know that.

- Todaro getting mad Al Iavarone was made in the L.A. Family and he wasnt informed.

Please. There is so little known about this, and so many questions, you can't really use it as evidence for anything.

Because you say its not valid? Oh ok.

All the recent reports by the FBI he is still the head of the Crime Family

Nobody here is disputing Todaro is still the nominal head of what's left of the mob in Buffalo. And Coppola being wrong about certain things regarding Todaro specifically doesn't mean he was wrong about the family generally.

Got it, so now he is the "nominal" head but younagrees that he has been legitimate since the 90s. That makes a lot of sense.

You have no idea what your talking about. You have no idea what anyone does day to day. Youre lost boss. Its like trying to explain algebra to an infant

I got news for you, pal. You're not even a 3rd rate poster here. You came back under another name (since you realized you'd have no credibility with your old one) and you've basically glommed onto posts and stuff other people have said. Bottom line, you're the one pushing the idea there's still an active family in Buffalo. It's a losing proposition from the very start. You can't see that now but you will. Just like the Detroit posters did from 10 years ago.

Your effort to defame is impressive but means really nothing. In person, youd have nothing to say to anyones face.

Oh wait. And we also have to discredit what Sergi says and Humphries, and Edwards in order for Wiseguys narrative to fit. So when he wants to use an article to suit him its deemed credible. See where that went Wiseguy? Again, youre a genius, your copy and pasting is bar none the best Ive ever seen. Stand tall.

You'll have to be more specific because I'm not sure which of their comments you find so much validation in.

All the articles they wrote about the influence in Canada the Buffalo mob has. Your e familiar with the articles. We are using your metric system remember? Articles by accredites journalists? Hello? McFly?

"I believe the general thrust". Lol. You should believe all the other articles that contradict that general thrust then. We are going by your metric system and giving credit to articles and law enforcement but you cherry pick in order to not look at the higher probabilities. You say there is a bunch of inactive guys? How do you know? Because they are old? Thats your measuring tool? Farese? 80+ both Luppino brothers 80+...heavily active. Youre out of touch with the basics of being in the life, for life. You should know better based on all the articles you read how it really goes.

Your argument gets weaker every time you post. We can see ongoing activity involving the Colombo family, despite their age. They still have about 90 members. You can't basically count them on two hands like you can Buffalo members.

With Buffalo, you've had about a half dozen drug dealers of Italian descent who have loose ties to elements of what's left of the Buffalo mob. The feds have made a crucial distinction about what this doesn't represent, as far as an active Mafia family, but you and others have ignored it. Then you had Violi, who does get made the nominal underboss of a defunct family. But in practice he's basically a Canadian based drug trafficker. Him, the murders in Hamilton, etc. have a lot more to do with the Canadian underworld than anything in Buffalo or the Buffalo LCN.

In 2006, the FBI releases a heavily redacted chart of the family....8 years after Coppola wrote that article

You can make charts of the remnants of different families. Hell, the government had a chart of Denver in 1988 when there were 3 living members. When the FBI made its chart of the 23 remaining members in 2006, it wasn't a them saying they still considered the family viable. In fact, the original article that first mentioned that chart said the opposite.

Reported by the FBI in late 2000s early 2010s Falzone took over as boss of the family...10+ years after Coppola wrote that article.....

Many, many articles and FBI reports that point to this family still existing and assuming it disappeared has proven to be premature and exaggerated and has been beneficial to them. As I said, the same rank and file as was seen 30 years ago? No. But functioning and in an adapted amalgamation for the modern era in considering the ties to Canada.

Stick a fork in me.

You are such a lying little shit. There's no FBI reports saying that. Every FBI official one can quote has said the exact opposite. But you and NickleCity ignore or downplay them.

Face it bud, you guys had a few years there where some stuff happened and you guys felt free to misinterpret and misrepresent it. Blowed it waaaaay out of proportion. But that's over. All you have to look forward to in this "functioning amalgamation" you speak of is the remaining Buffalo members dying out, including the few on the Canadian side of the border. It's all over but the crying.

Again your lost on those Mountains. If you were to talk about Mormons and polygamy I might have respect and give you some credit, but when it comes to a poster, youre just a copy and paste guy, an article cherry picker who fights so hard to negate the obvious. Not sure why you fight so hard for people to believe you. Sorry man, I know this forum is your life and you rely on it for your leadership fulfillment but you really are just an article reader who doesnt know much.

[SonnyBlackstein]

Again your lost on those Mountains. If you were to talk about Mormons and polygamy I might have respect and give you some credit, but when it comes to a poster, youre just a copy and paste guy, an article cherry picker who fights so hard to negate the obvious. Not sure why you fight so hard for people to believe you. Sorry man, I know this forum is your life and you rely on it for your leadership fulfillment but you really are just an article reader who doesnt know much.

Yet youre desperate to impress him.
You responded ten times without response trying to 'win' your argument. You 'dont respect' WG yet youre doing everything you can to convince him.

You think hes just a copy and past guy, dont engage. Why waste your time.

[NickleCity]

Face it bud, you guys had a few years there where some stuff happened and you guys felt free to misinterpret and misrepresent it. Blowed it waaaaay out of proportion. But that's over. All you have to look forward to in this "functioning amalgamation" you speak of is the remaining Buffalo members dying out, including the few on the Canadian side of the border. It's all over but the crying.

That is what you said in Nov. 2017 and yet we’ve had 3 1/2 - 4 years of stuff coming and the Buffalo News reversing course on what it said about the Buffalo mafia. Will you admit you were wrong then? And if you were wrong then, what makes you think you are going to be right now.

I do appreciate the fact that you have admitted Coppola was wrong about Todaro. It my opinion it was very much an overstatement about Big Joe on his part… and if that was an overstatement what kept him from overstating the “withered” nature of the Buffalo mob in that article?

Fortunately or unfortunately it is his story that has set the narrative. I personally believe the whole article overstated the demise of the Buffalo mob.

It also raises questions about why such an acclaimed mob reporter would be so careless.

Just a mistake?
Wishful thinking in wanting mob dead?
Bad sources?
His sources in or close to mafia feeding him incorrect information for their one purposes?
Protecting family and friends involved in the mafia?
To boost his legacy as a prosecutor or a journalist in ridding Buffalo of the mob?
One or any combination of two or more of the above?

Let’s face it people are complicated, things aren’t always always black or white, and we often don’t know our own motivations let alone the motivations of someone else.

[SonnyBlackstein]

Was this before or after Johnny Sac plotted to hit Carmine Lupertazzi?

Gold.

[Wiseguy]

That is what you said in Nov. 2017 and yet we’ve had 3 1/2 - 4 years of stuff coming and the Buffalo News reversing course on what it said about the Buffalo mafia. Will you admit you were wrong then? And if you were wrong then, what makes you think you are going to be right now.

Some of the Buffalo press has floated the idea of a mob resurgence, sort of like an open-ended question. I wouldn't say it's come to some definitive conclusion the Buffalo mob is back. But it's no surprise you want to interpret it that way.

Moreover, what have I been wrong about? When you say "we've had 31/2 - 4 years of stuff coming," it's stuff that doesn't really support the narrative you're pushing. Why do you think those former FBI agents made it a point to differentiate between some individual Italian criminals involved in crime and an active, hierarchical Mafia family? Or did you forget that? Violi being made underboss was probably the biggest thing you guys had going and it appears to be the very definition of an anomaly and not representative of the overall state of things. I mean, what are you guys going to say 5 or 10 years from now when little or nothing else has happened? Well, aside from more Buffalo members dying off.

I do appreciate the fact that you have admitted Coppola was wrong about Todaro. It my opinion it was very much an overstatement about Big Joe on his part… and if that was an overstatement what kept him from overstating the “withered” nature of the Buffalo mob in that article?

The available evidence shows Todaro did not completely remove himself from the mob, though his involvement at this point appears to be limited and largely ceremonial. But to argue Coppola being wrong about Todaro individually equates to him being wrong about the family generally is a reach and ignores the evidence that supports him in that regard.

Fortunately or unfortunately it is his story that has set the narrative. I personally believe the whole article overstated the demise of the Buffalo mob.

It also raises questions about why such an acclaimed mob reporter would be so careless.

Again, Coppola has largely been correct so I don't know why you're acting like he's been discredited. Also, it wasn't Coppla that caused years of little or no activity. It wasn't Coppola that caused the family to dwindle to a dozen mostly old and inactive members. It wasn't Coppola that caused the FBI to write off the Buffalo mob.

Just a mistake?
Wishful thinking in wanting mob dead?
Bad sources?
His sources in or close to mafia feeding him incorrect information for their one purposes?
Protecting family and friends involved in the mafia?
To boost his legacy as a prosecutor or a journalist in ridding Buffalo of the mob?
One or any combination of two or more of the above?

I see far more evidence of wishful thinking here on this forum regarding Buffalo than from Coppola. And again, he's hardly the only one saying the Buffalo mob is gone.

[NickleCity]

Some of the Buffalo press has floated the idea of a mob resurgence, sort of like an open-ended question. I wouldn't say it's come to some definitive conclusion the Buffalo mob is back. But it's no surprise you want to interpret it that way.

You are correct it is my interpretation. An interpretation based on knowing real wiseguys, my kids kids growing up going to school and playing ball with their kids. It is based on knowing people who have lost it all gambling with the mob. It is based on knowing the associate in my neighborhood that took their bets. It is based on the lives I’ve see ruined on the drugs they trafficked in my neighborhood. I know the city
in my suburb who is a made man and his attorney brother the associate whose office is legit but does work for the family. I know their cousin the Pizza shop owner, a captain or significant soldier, who meets his crew at a certain restaurant Friday mornings. I’ve watched them meet and heard what they said with my two eyes and my two ears. I know he meets 2 men whom Federal Law enforcement call decision makers in the Buffalo mob either the day before he meets his crew or the afternoon after. Watched him do it many times.

Moreover, what have I been wrong about? When you say "we've had 31/2 - 4 years of stuff coming," it's stuff that doesn't really support the narrative you're pushing. Why do you think those former FBI agents made it a point to differentiate between some individual Italian criminals involved in crime and an active, hierarchical Mafia family? Or did you forget that? Violi being made underboss was probably the biggest thing you guys had going and it appears to be the very definition of an anomaly and not representative of the overall state of things. I mean, what are you guys going to say 5 or 10 years from now when little or nothing else has happened? Well, aside from more Buffalo members dying off.

From someone that hasn’t actually spoken to anyone in the press in Buffalo, to any federal or state law enforcement, or any wiseguys. Your wrong!

The available evidence shows Todaro did not completely remove himself from the mob, though his involvement at this point appears to be limited and largely ceremonial. But to argue Coppola being wrong about Todaro individually equates to him being wrong about the family generally is a reach and ignores the evidence that supports him in that regard.

This is simply your opinion based on what you see thru the lens of your experience. Your experience seems to be made up of “fanboys” from this and other boards. I could be wrong, but it seems these “fanboys” (as you characterize them) have really traumatized you. We know how trauma often keeps one from being as rational as he or she could be about the experiences that caused that trauma and could be construed as related to that trauma. Your lens seems to be colored not only on your trauma but with the old articles on which you’ve built your meta-narrative marking it difficult for you to see what has been written and said by journalists in Canada, the US, US federal prosecutors, and federal law enforcement like the DEA. I know for a fact the FBI, DEA, and NYS OC Task force doesn’t think the Buffalo mafia is dead, and I’ve known this fact for many years. Their characterization, “Theybare very active.”

Wiseguy, your knowledge is limited whether you want to admit it or not. And your arrogance toward me early on is one reason for my persistence on this board… and this subject. I am glad your demeanor toward me has changed. I hope it doesn’t but your demeanor toward me will probably change back, because I am sharing personal experience which you hate and negate.

Again, Coppola has largely been correct so I don't know why you're acting like he's been discredited. Also, it wasn't Coppla that caused years of little or no activity. It wasn't Coppola that caused the family to dwindle to a dozen mostly old and inactive members. It wasn't Coppola that caused the FBI to write off the Buffalo mob.

His whole article was overstated just as he overstated Big Joe’s retirement and shunning his former life. Come on man, you have to admit what Coppola wrote sounds like something a PR person would write. Am I wrong here?

I see far more evidence of wishful thinking here on this forum regarding Buffalo than from Coppola. And again, he's hardly the only one saying the Buffalo mob is gone.

Maybe some folks on this forum wish the mob on Buffalo was alive, but I want it dead! It was and continues to be a parasite infecting the good people of Buffalo and WNY.

[NickleCity]

^^^ I know the city JUDGE in my suburb who is a made man and his attorney brother the associate whose office is legit but does work for the family.

[Wiseguy]

You are correct it is my interpretation. An interpretation based on knowing real wiseguys, my kids kids growing up going to school and playing ball with their kids. It is based on knowing people who have lost it all gambling with the mob. It is based on knowing the associate in my neighborhood that took their bets. It is based on the lives I’ve see ruined on the drugs they trafficked in my neighborhood. I know the city
in my suburb who is a made man and his attorney brother the associate whose office is legit but does work for the family. I know their cousin the Pizza shop owner, a captain or significant soldier, who meets his crew at a certain restaurant Friday mornings. I’ve watched them meet and heard what they said with my two eyes and my two ears. I know he meets 2 men whom Federal Law enforcement call decision makers in the Buffalo mob either the day before he meets his crew or the afternoon after. Watched him do it many times.

Not buying this horseshit for one minute. Did you observe all this peering from your bedroom window at the cabstand across the street?

From someone that hasn’t actually spoken to anyone in the press in Buffalo, to any federal or state law enforcement, or any wiseguys. Your wrong!

"We still feel the LCN (La Casa Nostra) is a viable and visible threat to Western New York," says Virgil D. Woolley, acting head of the Buffalo FBI office. But he admits the Buffalo mob has a weak pulse and resuscitation seems unlikely without strong leadership and profitable criminal enterprises. - The Withered Arm of the Buffalo Mafia Is All About Losing Its Old Fashioned Values and Falling Behind the Times, The Buffalo News (Lee Coppola), 1998

Today, despite rumors that what was once the Magaddino family still operates here, federal organized crime investigators say those tales just aren’t true. They say small numbers of loosely associated individuals may still get together to commit what once were Mafia style crimes, but it’s not like the old days. - End of Organized Crime in Niagara Falls, Buffalo, Niagara Gazette, 2006

“A 10-year, government-enforced cleanup of Local 210 ends today with the retirement of John J. "Jack" McDonnell as the union's court-appointed liaison officer. McDonnell, a former FBI special agent, gave the union a clean bill of health in a recent report to U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. He said he believes the current leaders of the local are ready to run the operation themselves, with no government supervision.” - Local 210 Gets Clean Bill Of Health 10-Year, Government-Enforced Cleanup Of Union Ends Today With The Retirement Of Its Overseer, The Buffalo News (Dan Herbeck), 2006 

“There’s a few of the old-timers still around in Buffalo, but that’s about it,” one current federal inmate told the Niagara Falls Reporter. “There’s really nothing left to organize.” - Mob May Be Dead But Not Forgotten, Niagara Falls Reporter (Mike Hudson), 2012

"Even the most optimistic observers say the old Magaddino outfit has but 20 made guys left at most, and the majority of them have long since qualified for Social Security." - Who Will Lead Now That Todaro, Nicoletti  Are Gone, Niagara Falls Reporter (Mike Hudson), 2013

“Some of the individuals who were leaders of the Mafia are still around. But their organized crime activities don’t exist anymore. Some of them have legitimate businesses that we know of.” - Adam S. Cohen, SAC Buffalo FBI; The Mafia Is All But Dead In Western New York. So What Killed It? - The Buffalo News (Dan Herbeck), 2017

“The Mafia, and the way of life that fostered the Mafia, is pretty much gone,” said Lee Coppola, 73, a former federal prosecutor and news reporter who grew up among mobsters and their families on Buffalo’s West Side. - The Mafia Is All But Dead In Western New York. So What Killed It? - The Buffalo News (Dan Herbeck), 2017

Today, both Cohen and Coppola estimate that there are no more than a handful of surviving mob members in the area, with no viable organization to unite them, and no leader. - The Mafia Is All But Dead In Western New York. So What Killed It? - The Buffalo News (Dan Herbeck), 2017

“There are a few remnants of the mob that still exist in Buffalo,” said Ronald Fino, a former union leader who helped the FBI investigate the local mob, “but it’s not the same.” - The Mafia Is All But Dead In Western New York. So What Killed It? - The Buffalo News (Dan Herbeck), 2017 (changed his tune in 2021)

“Once we got them out of Local 210, that was the beginning of the end for the Buffalo mob,” said Andrew Goralski, a former Buffalo FBI agent who retired in 2007. “That was their power source in Buffalo.” - Andew Goralski, Former FBI - The Mafia Is All But Dead In Western New York. So What Killed It? - The Buffalo News (Dan Herbeck), 2017

(Answering the question if he believes there is still a Buffalo mob) "Being away from it for 3/12 years it's difficult for me to give a really good answer. I don't think so. I don't know where this information is coming from. Because when I left the U.S. Attorney's Office, if there were any made members of the Mafia around they were literally on life support. And there wasn't any plans that I knew of to take on new members. So I don't think there's much there, if anything at all. - Tony Bruce (Assistant US Attorney Western District NY, Organized Crime and National Security Division), 2019 

(Answering the question if he believes there is still a Buffalo mob) "Well I have two initials for the Canadian mobster's claims about the Buffalo mob - BS. I'm certainly not a reporter anymore but am still familiar with the actors and late actors in the mob, and I simply say, where's the revenue? If there's no revenue then there's no mob. And there's nothing of organized criminal activity that you would related to the Arm, the old Buffalo Mafia existing. Certainly there's crime, don't get me wrong, but it's criminal enterprises of different ethnic groups or start-up criminals, nothing related to an organized criminal family that has a head, has lieutenants, has a consigliere, and soldiers, things of that nature. It just doesn't exist in Buffalo or throughout basically Magaddino's empire, except there is a criminal enterprise going on in Canada because when Magaddino lost his grip of the Buffalo Arm or the Buffalo Family, the Canadians took over with fervor." - Lee Coppola, former Buffalo News reporter, 2019

(Answering the question if he believes there is still a Buffalo mob) "I think it's akin in the business world going from a company, that employed a lot of people up and down the line, to independent contractors. You hire independent contractors, you do business with independent contractors, on an as-needed basis." - Salvatore Martoche (retired NY Supreme Court, former NY State Commission of Investigation, former US Attorney Western District of NY)

"What happens a lot of times is, there are criminal elements, people who commit crimes or people who are investigated for crimes, and if they happen to have a last name that ends in a vowel the tendency is to say 'Oh, there's a crime family, La Cosa Nostra, the Mafia is thriving and growing;' I have trouble believing that." - Lee Coppola (former Buffalo News reporter), I 2019 (I-Team: Is Strip Club Raid A Sign of Buffalo Mafia Resurgance?, WKBW TV)

"There's a difference between an organized criminal syndicate, like the Mafia, and those who are just committing crimes. - Peter Ahearn, Former SAC Buffalo FBI (Federal Investigation of Buffalo Mob Resurgence Heats Up With New Indictment, WKBW TV, 2021)
All roads lead to New York.

This is simply your opinion based on what you see thru the lens of your experience. Your experience seems to be made up of “fanboys” from this and other boards. I could be wrong, but it seems these “fanboys” (as you characterize them) have really traumatized you. We know how trauma often keeps one from being as rational as he or she could be about the experiences that caused that trauma and could be construed as related to that trauma. Your lens seems to be colored not only on your trauma but with the old articles on which you’ve built your meta-narrative marking it difficult for you to see what has been written and said by journalists in Canada, the US, US federal prosecutors, and federal law enforcement like the DEA. I know for a fact the FBI, DEA, and NYS OC Task force doesn’t think the Buffalo mafia is dead, and I’ve known this fact for many years. Their characterization, “Theybare very active.”

No, I just don't like liars. And here you are lying again. The FBI wrote the Buffalo mob off long ago. And you know it. So have other law enforcement agencies. Look at the quotes above.

You've played your little game for a long time, playing nice while pushing a bullshit narrative and duping mentally handicapped posters like Rooster (aka NYEmpire) but now the true colors are starting to come out.

Wiseguy, your knowledge is limited whether you want to admit it or not. And your arrogance toward me early on is one reason for my persistence on this board… and this subject. I am glad your demeanor toward me has changed. I hope it doesn’t but your demeanor toward me will probably change back, because I am sharing personal experience which you hate and negate.

Personal experience, my ass. You're just a poster who has a bizarre wish that the mob in his city is still alive. That's your starting point. You then try to draw connections between all sorts of things, never really coming up with anything convincing, but just enough that you feel you can float one theory or another in hopes that some of the more gullible posters will believe it.

His whole article was overstated just as he overstated Big Joe’s retirement and shunning his former life. Come on man, you have to admit what Coppola wrote sounds like something a PR person would write. Am I wrong here?

Yes, you are. The subsequent years post-1998 showed he was right. And a few years more recently that had some events that actually had little to do with any active mob family in Buffalo didn't change that.

Maybe some folks on this forum wish the mob on Buffalo was alive, but I want it dead! It was and continues to be a parasite infecting the good people of Buffalo and WNY.

Yes, some on this forum apparently want there to still be a mob in Buffalo. And you're their friggin' ring leader.

^^^ I know the city JUDGE in my suburb who is a made man and his attorney brother the associate whose office is legit but does work for the family.

This just keeps getting better and better.