Stanfa family chart request

[Chucky]

Ciancaglini would have been boss, but make no mistake Merlino would have been the number two guy...forget the underboss/consiglieri shit

[Pogo The Clown]

Mike Chang would have been one of the youngest bosses ever. I believe he would have been 28/9 when Stanfa went away.


Pogo

[B.]

He was at least 30 when he died so he would have been a bit older but still relatively young for a boss.

Seems in Sicily and the early days of the US nobody raised an eyebrow at bosses who were in their 20s. Joe Bonanno was only 25 or 26 when he became boss.

[Angelo Santino]

In the early 90s Chang Merlino were calling themselves the Boss and Under. Seems Chang lead the group until he died.

In the early 1900s living to 50 amounted to being old. People who made it to 65 were the 95 year olds of today. And in the 1930s when most of the "longest tenured" bosses ran things for 2 decades they were relatively young. JB was 27 or 28. Mangano was the oldest in his early 40's.

[Pogo The Clown]

Al Capone was 25 when he became Boss. Though of course the Outfit was a different animal compared to LCN in those days.


Pogo

[B.]

In the early 90s Chang Merlino were calling themselves the Boss and Under. Seems Chang lead the group until he died.

In the early 1900s living to 50 amounted to being old. People who made it to 65 were the 95 year olds of today. And in the 1930s when most of the "longest tenured" bosses ran things for 2 decades they were relatively young. JB was 27 or 28. Mangano was the oldest in his early 40's.

One thing I've noticed in doing genealogical research on these guys, and maybe you've noticed this as well, is that a good amount of Italian fathers were older than you'd expect when they had their kids. Pretty common to see fathers well into their 30s when they started having kids. This is an extreme case, but Phil Giaccone's father Antonino didn't start having kids until he was in his 40s and was 56 when Phil was born. That's sort of an extreme case, but still I am surprised I don't see more fathers in their late teens and early 20s. Do you think this is because they were looking to establish a dependable living before starting a family or what?

As for Chang, he definitely led the group. After Tommy Scafidi flipped, he described meetings with Chang and Merlino where it was clear Chang was calling the shots. Also, Joey Merlino was in prison and the Merlinos were basically shelved when the so-called "young turks" started to dig their claws into South Philly before Stanfa took over. The Ciancaglinis were still a respected family on the streets and it was Mike Chang who was giving Tony Piccolo and the old timers so much grief.

[Pogo The Clown]

Makes me wonder why Stanfa didn't offer the UnderBoss slot to Mike Chang instead of Joey Chang since he was the more powerful brother. If he had would that have brought the faction in line behind Stanfa and prevented the war or would it not have made a difference? Another what if for you guy's.


Pogo

[Chucky]

Joey Chang had a lot of clout himself, and for the record I don't think making Mikey underboss prevents anything, he would have legitimized Mikey & Merlino, making it easier for them to take over as they were already near the top, especially with New York taking a back seat and leaving Stanfa on an island essentially.

[B.]

Makes me wonder why Stanfa didn't offer the UnderBoss slot to Mike Chang instead of Joey Chang since he was the more powerful brother. If he had would that have brought the faction in line behind Stanfa and prevented the war or would it not have made a difference? Another what if for you guy's.


Pogo

I wouldn't say Mike was the more powerful brother, only that he was more aggressive and the one in charge of the crew that was making waves. Joey Chang seems to have been more diplomatic which is why he got in with the Stanfa regime. I don't think it would have helped Stanfa at all to promote Mike, probably made it easier for him to take over. I think Piccolo was right when he told Stanfa not to make Ciancaglini or Merlino for that same reason. Stanfa wanted to give them some power in the hopes that they would fall in line, but Tony Piccolo had been dealing with them since Scarfo went away and knew it would be a disaster.

[Pogo The Clown]

Yeah I see it the same way. Stanfa never really had a chance to mend the factions no matter who he promoted or how much he tried to reach out to them. Leads me to believe that even if Sparacio or Piccolo had become Boss these guy's would not have fallen in line and would have continued to cause trouble.


Pogo

[Handsome Stevie]

I am not sure who asked, but few weeks ago somebody asked around for pictures of Vincent Iannace. Heres two that i found...