“The mafia is dead”

[Rat]

If you asked the general public about the mafia today the vast majority would say that the mafia is no longer a thing. Many believe the mafia “died after John Gotti.” Even some former OC figures will say this. Every time there is major LCN news major media outlets even in New York always act shocked by the news that the mob is still a thing. Mafia documentaries usually all but say the mob is dead today. Books on mafia members are pretty much all titled “the last.” Mob lawyers in recent trials have stated as a defense that the mob is no longer alive.

But yet obviously if you did any research you’d realize the mafia is still pretty active in the US. We may argue on the extent of their activity but it’s clear they are still a thing

When and how did this become the norm however? When did the idea that the mafia is dead start to catch on? Plus why does the general public believe it is gone? Why do former OC figures/cops state this?

[Wiseguy]

The vast majority of the public doesn't follow the mob beyond reading the ocassional article, if not just the headline. Their frame of reference for the mob is Al Capone, maybe John Gotti, movies like The Godfather or Goodfellas, and The Sopranos. Their image of "The Mafia" is guys in suits and fedoras with Tommy guns.
They had never heard of Frank Cali before he was shot. They couldn't pick Barney Bellomo out of a three man lineup unless the other two were Eddie Murphy and Carrot Top.

Defense lawyers will say whatever they need to in order to get a client off the hook. Documentaries talking about the mob "being dead" or books entitled "The Last (fill in the blank)" do it for dramatic purposes.

When some more in the know say the mob is dead, it seems they mean in the sense of what it once was, i.e a more secretive, disciplined, Omerta-following, tight knit criminal organization at the height of its power.

The Mob is dead in most places. To say it's "still pretty active in the US" is somewhat misleading. It's still pretty active in the extended New York metropolitan area. And there is still some activity in a handful of other areas. But that's about it.

[SonnyBlackstein]

And you wanna be my laytex salesman?

[Moscone65]

The vast majority of the public doesn't follow the mob beyond reading the ocassional article, if not just the headline. Their frame of reference for the mob is Al Capone, maybe John Gotti, movies like The Godfather or Goodfellas, and The Sopranos. Their image of "The Mafia" is guys in suits and fedoras with Tommy guns.
They had never heard of Frank Cali before he was shot. They couldn't pick Barney Bellomo out of a three man lineup unless the other two were Eddie Murphy and Carrot Top.

Defense lawyers will say whatever they need to in order to get a client off the hook. Documentaries talking about the mob "being dead" or books entitled "The Last (fill in the blank)" do it for dramatic purposes.

When some more in the know say the mob is dead, it seems they mean in the sense of what it once was, i.e a more secretive, disciplined, Omerta-following, tight knit criminal organization at the height of its power.

The Mob is dead in most places. To say it's "still pretty active in the US" is somewhat misleading. It's still pretty active in the extended New York metropolitan area. And there is still some activity in a handful of other areas. But that's about it.

I had a good laugh at the Eddie Murphy and carrot top bit, lmao

[NinoFromNYC2]

The Mafia has been dead for a long time it slowly started to change from time to time what we see today is a bunch of guys in a crew operating an enterprise getting sweeped up in an indictment every so often. It’s original leaders and founders are all died the players have changed and the game isn’t the same anymore I think The Mob started changing going back since the 1970’s even though they were way more powerful and present then. Because a lot of the new generation then were getting Made such as Gotti, Massino, Casso, Gravano etc. And especially when Gotti came into the Picture as Boss he ruined a lot of it

[Wiseguy]

The Mafia has been dead for a long time it slowly started to change from time to time what we see today is a bunch of guys in a crew operating an enterprise getting sweeped up in an indictment every so often. It’s original leaders and founders are all died the players have changed and the game isn’t the same anymore I think The Mob started changing going back since the 1970’s even though they were way more powerful and present then. Because a lot of the new generation then were getting Made such as Gotti, Massino, Casso, Gravano etc. And especially when Gotti came into the Picture as Boss he ruined a lot of it

Weakened, changed, etc. doesn't equal dead. At least in New York. I don't know if you're just trying to be dramatic but how you choose to phrase things is misleading and doesn't reflect reality.


"We're not at the point of declaring victory over the Cosa Nostra. We believe that the five families are still sufficiently viable to revitalise if we stop our vigilance." (Jim Margolin, FBI, 2009)

"The Mafia - also known as La Cosa Nostra - may have taken on a diminished role in some areas of the country but in New York the five families are still extremely strong and viable." (David Shafer, FBI, 2011)

"Across the U.S. the mob's influence and power is not what it used to be, even in cities like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. But New York is different. They are still a viable force here." (Lin DeVecchio, former FBI, 2011)

"[Each New York family] still exists and each still has its hierarchy." (John Buretta, former Brooklyn federal prosecutor - OC Unit, 2014).

"There's a perception that the Mafia is dead, but that's not true. It's not what it was once but there are still functioning families. They may not be growing, but they are sustaining." (Rob Foy, FBI, 2016)

“It is popularly believed that La Cosa Nostra, the Mafia, the mob, is a thing of the past, that it is now a shadow of what is used to be. In New York this is not true. The five families, at different degrees,are still extremely strong and join funds, forces and resources with old and new partners." (NYPD, 2016)

[Frank]

The Mafia has been dead for a long time it slowly started to change from time to time what we see today is a bunch of guys in a crew operating an enterprise getting sweeped up in an indictment every so often. It’s original leaders and founders are all died the players have changed and the game isn’t the same anymore I think The Mob started changing going back since the 1970’s even though they were way more powerful and present then. Because a lot of the new generation then were getting Made such as Gotti, Massino, Casso, Gravano etc. And especially when Gotti came into the Picture as Boss he ruined a lot of it

The original founders and leaders, if your talking about from 1931, have been dead for at least 50 - 60 years or longer. Lol, I can't see how that pertains to what's going on now LMFAO.

[Wiseguy]

The Mafia has been dead for a long time it slowly started to change from time to time what we see today is a bunch of guys in a crew operating an enterprise getting sweeped up in an indictment every so often. It’s original leaders and founders are all died the players have changed and the game isn’t the same anymore I think The Mob started changing going back since the 1970’s even though they were way more powerful and present then. Because a lot of the new generation then were getting Made such as Gotti, Massino, Casso, Gravano etc. And especially when Gotti came into the Picture as Boss he ruined a lot of it

The original founders and leaders, if your talking about from 1931, have been dead for at least 50 - 60 years or longer. Lol, I can't see how that pertains to what's going on now LMFAO.

The Mafia died with Morello in 1930. It's too bad everyone that came after didn't get the memo. All this could have been avoided.

[Frank]

The Mafia has been dead for a long time it slowly started to change from time to time what we see today is a bunch of guys in a crew operating an enterprise getting sweeped up in an indictment every so often. It’s original leaders and founders are all died the players have changed and the game isn’t the same anymore I think The Mob started changing going back since the 1970’s even though they were way more powerful and present then. Because a lot of the new generation then were getting Made such as Gotti, Massino, Casso, Gravano etc. And especially when Gotti came into the Picture as Boss he ruined a lot of it

The original founders and leaders, if your talking about from 1931, have been dead for at least 50 - 60 years or longer. Lol, I can't see how that pertains to what's going on now LMFAO.

The Mafia died with Morello in 1930. It's too bad everyone that came after didn't get the memo. All this could have been avoided.

Lol

[Wiseguy]

And you wanna be my laytex salesman?

Vandalay! Say Vandalay!

[Lupara]

When some more in the know say the mob is dead, it seems they mean in the sense of what it once was, i.e a more secretive, disciplined, Omerta-following, tight knit criminal organization at the height of its power.

I tend to disagree with this. During their height the mob was all over the place. Everyone in those neighborhoods knew who they were but no one dared to speak about it, because of their presence, power and influence. With no RICO and an FBI that had better things to do at the time, they could affort being out in the open. Today with television, cameras everywhere, mobile phones, social media and LE with incredible technology they actually have to be more secretive and discplined than ever in order to survive.

I think the frequent statements of mobsters today lacking the mentality of their predecessors is overblown and exaggerated. The bosses of the 1950s would've met the same fate as those of the 1980s under the same circumstances. Gotti brought a lot of attention by the media, but the feds were already adament of taking down the mob before Gotti came to power. It was just a matter of time. If Gravano wouldn't have flipped someone else of his stature would eventually.

[Lupara]

Even Nicholas Pileggi said in the early 1970s the mob was on its last legs, at the time when they were controlling crime in the country and most of the 20 something families were still very active.

Just consider that in 1975 the mob could kill and dispose off a leader of a major national union and get away with it. They could hit anybody up until the 80s perhaps even into the 90s. Today they can't even afford killing a family member of a nobody who killed a boss...

[Mason_dixon]

It really depends on where you are located at. Where I live in the Midwest the outfit even reached close to home so to speak in their control of unions. And I live 4-5 hours south of Chicago. I have posted once about a supposed outfit arson case tied to a local concrete company...besides these to instanced I don’t ever hear about them where I am...

[Angelo Santino]

If you order your obscure generic true crime mafia books from the 1960's and 70's it speaks about the emerging other ethnic groups that will surpass the LCN in several decades. 50 years later we can conclude that that didn't happen, but there's elements of truth in that Itals share (and have always shared) the city with other groups. Today your unorganized black drug organizations are busted with millions of dollars laying on their floor, most LCN members would never find themselves in such a predicament, not so much due to lack of stupidity but simply inability to accumulate such an amount. They exist but they're few and far in between.

Also, you can find informants going as far as back as 1890 lamenting the changing of the organization. They are usually informants or on the losing side of something. I'm sure many of us have worked in long term careers and perhaps don't like the way it's going and look back at yesteryear as fonder times.

Imagine being an active member from 1930 until 1970 and living through the late 50's when the FBI began scrutinizing everyone and actively investigating. I'm sure he'd say that "as soon as the G-man got on us, it was over."

Or Joe Bonanno losing the war, it was over. Gotti talks bad about Sammy, it was over. Ralph Natale same thing, it's over.

2019, it's still not over.

PS: it's ironic that your dry snitches, Clemente and Scarpa, men of different turbulent time periods, continued to live The Life up until their deaths. They never said it was over. Perhaps they were less philosophical and seen things for what it was: a way to make money.

[SonnyBlackstein]

And you wanna be my laytex salesman?

Vandalay! Say Vandalay!

The amazing tragedy of today’s PC society? Jerry has been quoted as saying he would never be able to make ‘Seinfeld’ in this day and age.

‘Seinfeld’. Unbelievable.


“What ‘delay’ industries?”