gohnjotti wrote: ↑Wed Feb 26, 2020 3:35 pm
Basically defunct = enough cash, even if it’s from drug trafficking alone, to incentivise two former Buffalo bosses (Falzone and Todaro) to come back into the fold.
Basically defunct = enough potential for aspiring members, like Violi’s brother, to debate whether to join the Bonannos or Buffalo.
Basically defunct = enough prestige for a powerful Canadian drug lord and second-generation monster to decide to join them, and accept a promotion to underboss. Remember Violi isn’t some Joe Schmo. He has been under investigation since the 1990s, with links to police corruption and Mafia warfare.
I realize you and some others here are very impressed with some of the recent news come out of Buffalo. It reminds me of posters years ago after the 2006 gambling bust in Detroit. I wonder what you all will say a decade from now when little or nothing or else has happened with Buffalo? I'm guessing much the same as those who talked about Detroit back then. Crickets.
My advice is to enjoy the ambiguity while it lasts.
gohnjotti wrote: ↑Wed Feb 26, 2020 3:44 pm
Couldn’t you admit that you are being a bit loose with the term “basically defunct?” I mean, don’t you think the Buffalo mob in 2017 was making more money than the DeCavalcante family in 2010, whose acting boss walked into a pizzeria in a hamfisted attempt to collect weekly protection? Don’t you think the Buffalo Mafia in 2017 had a bit more formality and adherence to LCN rules compared to Philly in the 1990s, who were promoting guys directly from associate to boss? Don’t you think the Buffalo Mafia in 2017 were operating at a larger, more sophisticated scale than the DeCavalcante family with Stango in 2015?
No, I'm not being loose with the term. It's the position of the FBI.
I haven't seen the incoming receipts of either the DeCavalcante family or mobsters in Buffalo. I do know the FBI still considers New Jersey viable. And, even though it is small and weak, looking at the last 20 years, it looks like a powerhouse compared to Buffalo.
Philadelphia has never ceased to be a viable family and has had ongoing activity. Not so with Buffalo. And both New Jersey and Philadelphia are considerably larger than what's left in Buffalo.
I'm surprised you're trying to draw parallels with the Colombos, New Jerey, and Philadelphia.
TommyNoto wrote: ↑Wed Feb 26, 2020 4:39 pmI agree and great Stago comparison , the Todaro family are certainly no mickie mouse drug dealer . Who on NY today is selling 250 kilos or 250,000 pills to basically 1-2 customers to. They guys are doing million dollar deals and moving serious weight we haven’t seen NY handle in a long time
There you go again with the hype and horseshit. Show me something beyond the OTremens case. So far, this was a one off joint operation that involved Buffalo guys
and two NY families.
And are you really going to try and argue that Buffalo has larger drug operations than the NY families? If so, you're credibility just went to shit.
gohnjotti wrote: ↑Wed Feb 26, 2020 4:59 pmExactly, we have seen far more disorganization and petty crimes than this. Colombo family acting boss Ralph DeLeo was moving only a couple of kilograms of coke at a time, and coordinating it all through his cell phone. Violi's organization was far larger.
Based on what? Once again, you can't talk about "Violi's organization" when it was a joint operation with two NY families.
The Colombo family has far more members and associates than what's left in Buffalo. Compare the indictments against the Colombos over the past 20 years to those in Buffalo.
thesociety 89 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 26, 2020 4:32 pm
Would anyone argue that buffalo might be more active than detroit at this point?
Not necessarily. Buffalo has simply had some more recent residual activity from what's left there.
Chris Christie wrote: ↑Wed Feb 26, 2020 5:09 pmBut what do we label someone like that? Who remains connected but inactive from daily activity? Do we take them off the chart or leave them on? If we see this through the prism of a criminal gang its easier to just call him inactive but if we view it as a criminal freemasonry we'd consider him.
As long as he's a made member who hasn't flipped or died, he would be on the chart. Individual membership isn't the question here but rather the state of the overall family.
I thought so too, it remains a vital part of it, but there's more to what makes the mafia the mafia than the hierarchy. There's marriages, hometown affiliations transplanted nationally, it's just as much a social organization than it is a criminal one, even after a century.
And if you want to consider a handful of old members playing shuffelboard in Tampa all day a family, be my guest. But that doesn't really reflect reality.
Like I said, that's a move for you and makes me think there's still hope for Detroit.
On the contrary, as I said above, Detroit should be a cautionary tale to all who are currently on the Buffalo bandwagon.
All roads lead to New York.