Weak relative to what?
It's peak? The Mob as a whole probably was at its peak in the 1950s. So, if we keep using their peak as the bar of comparison, the mob has been in decline for 60 years.
If law enforcement was only concerned with building up the mob for political gain, the feds wouldn't be downsizing their OC squads.
And while you won't get an argument from me regarding anywhere else, I'd maintain the LCN is still the strongest crime group in the extended New York metropolitan area. There really isn't a single other group that you could make that argument about.
For one, I think they've benefited from being on top since the beginning. They always had the deepest bench, as one FBI agent said, and success breeds success.Confederate wrote: ↑Mon May 27, 2019 1:58 pmAmong the New York 5, correct me if I'm wrong, it seems that the Genovese's have had the least amount of made guys who were informants. They seem to be the last hold outs of the older tradition as far as secrecy and organization. I wonder what makes them a little different?
Extortion is still one of the mob's main rackets and indictments over the past 20 years have shown as much.NinoFromNYC2 wrote: ↑Mon May 27, 2019 2:05 pm A former wiseguy turned rat can walk back into his old neighborhood without a problem. Business owners aren’t intimidated anymore to pay protection money to the Mob cause they just run straight to the cops. These guys are monitored all the time the F.B.I. Is a step ahead
Especially with all these new technology. A wiseguy today lives off past history with names such as Gambino, Genovese, Lucchese etc. atleast back then everything was firmly intact
Yes, there's been an attrition of quality as well as quantity. You guys keep saying this stuff like it's news.maxiestern11 wrote: ↑Mon May 27, 2019 4:18 pm Because of so many less solid options for careers years back, many Italians went into the rackets as a fast and solid way to make big money and advance themselves and their families. Many guys were sharp, smart and innovative individuals who in today’s world could/would easily rise to captains of industry. Despite a formal education these were no dummies. They were very capable in every respect, as clearly evidenced by what they accomplished (making LCN what it was, a second government within a government). There were great profits and oppurtunities with minimal risk..... today those same type of capable men generally do NOT go into the rackets because common sense dictates the odds are way stacked against them. Generally small
Profits for huge risk and penalties. The cream of the Crop so to speak choose college and legitimate advancement. Typically mob guys today scrap the bottom of the barrel to find recruits. Low quality dummies, cafone, who don’t have a clue about what “The Life”
Was/is really about seek out street life. The Rico statue, conspiracy laws and dragonian penalties make a career in the mob a losing proposition. That’s not to say there are not fella’s making money that are sharp. But in general, percentage wise the quality guys; the Profaci’s Luciano’s frank Costello’s are not around today. Each year the life breaks down a little bit more. Italian heritage is being diluted, in life in general and the mob in particular. Jerkoffs for the most part. With little real balls, short on brains, are attracted to the life now...... it’s just the way it is. And it’s ot changing any time soon. Just my two cents
As I said above, in the extended New York metropolitan area the LCN is the group the best argument can be made for being the strongest.vaudevillian wrote: ↑Mon May 27, 2019 6:00 pm I think it's pretty dumb to act like the modern mob is small and relatively weak compared to other crime groups. Other than street gangs the only groups in New York with the numbers or power of the mob is the cartels and even then these groups mainly don't cross the same circles outside of drugs. It may not be the 1950s-70s but these groups have proved resilient.
Just because the mob isn't cracking heads in the streets or extorting shop owners doesn't mean they aren't out there making money. The mob is out there, just in a different form. It's more Wolf of Wall Street than Goodfellas nowadays. The numbers are still there and if you check up on this site news come out about the NY mob about every week in terms of various arrests/indictments.
The players in narcotics in the area are too diverse for one group to be considered strongest strongest solely because of their position in the drug trade.