Barney Bellomo

[CabriniGreen]

All this might be true, but again, Barney is living an exponentially more comfortable life than 99% of the Sinaloa Cartel and any biker gang. And he’s under a fraction of the pressure from law enforcement that those guys are. Read about El Chapo’s last few years as a free man. It was a pretty miserable lifestyle.

To be fair, this is MANY of Italy's most powerful bosses, look at Denaro... it's about the Power. Escobar too, same thing..... I consider the ruling families the TRUE Sinaloa Cartel, not all the employees. You really got to look at the cartels like a faceless corporation/mercenary force. They are really closer to the Taliban or those Paramilitary groups in Colombia.

And also, the mob still holds a lot of weight with these groups. They’ve all seen The Godfather. They love that shit. I know he’s a moron but Gene Borello talked about his first time being on Rikers—which was *before* he was with Ronnie G or affiliated in any way whatsoever. But he said once the blacks and Latinos learned he was Italian, they just assumed he was connected (even tho he wasn’t) and gave him a lot more respect.

Those are just gangbangers. And Gene wasnt a drug guy. He's a train wreck, but I think Hootie had a good take on cartel guys. How they didn't want the FBI heat that came from the American Italians. Italy is different.....

[bluehouse]

i like how most of the guys on here think that the 5 families arnt involved in drugs.If you go to an italian neighborhood who do you think is selling to Italians?The bloods or latin kings??????

Also i dont know who it was on here that said that the Genevese only have power in New york while bikers have power across the country.Do you really think the Hells angels in NY know the HA in Denver?Its like saying that the rollin 60s crips in LA would come to the aid of the crips in New Jersey if something happend.If LCN wasnt a threat anymore than the FBI would no longer have task forces for them,they would hand it off to the local police.Until gene borello flipped noone here ever heard of ronnie G look how much money and rackets he had,theres dozens of ronnie g out there.People actually seem to forget how big the Italian american population is in NY

[Rocco]

he has ...so far...been successful in using a series of front bosses and panels to avoid prosecution. given todays standards in the era of rico...he has had a very good run. all good things come to an end however...

[TommyNoto]

In reading about the recent indictment and seeing Barney's name for the first time in a long time in coverage, I began thinking about him and his reign once again. Whether this ends for him like Chin or Don Carlo, I really think we have to begin considering him one of the most formidable and successful Dons in the history of LCN, especially given the fact that he is doing it in today's day and age which is nearly impossible.

Bellomo has had a pretty successful run, especially in this day. The feds grudgingly credited Chin with the ability to choose capable leaders. As one investigator said, the Genovese have had the "deepest bench." Bellomo has managed to keep the family relatively stable, despite decline from attrition, repeated law enforcement attacks, etc. He just needs to avoid any more long prison sentences. He could be indicted next week for all we know. But he'd probably plead out in typical West Side fashion.

The only hesitation I have is my uncertainty over where the Genovese Family really stands in the hierarchy of American criminal organizations in 2022. Put aside the other four families because none of them come close to the Westside. Is the Genovese family far and away the most powerful criminal organization currently based in the United States? I have seen no evidence to the contrary and, if this is correct, Barney is already a legend in my opinion.

It seems the feds still consider the Mafia the single strongest organized crime group in the New York metro area. And the Genovese family is the top family within the mob. But the LCN is not a nationwide organization anymore. 95% of it's remaining membership is in the Northeast. About 80% in the 5 NY families.

I would say they are still the number one family in terms of power and numbers but I honestly don't think the Gambinos are that far off of them now thanks to their Sicilian faction and good leadership post the Gotti's.

Over the last 20 or so years I think what's seperated them from the other families has been their strong leadership. No matter who got pinched it always seemed like they had guys capable of stepping up. Even after Gigante and Barney were imprisoned in the 90s, they had the likes of Dom Cirillo, Larry Dentico, Daniel Leo, Ernie Muscarella etc that can fill the void.

The two families are pretty close in terms of size. And the Gambino's recent Sicilian leadership seems to have stabilized things. In terms of street rackets they're probably pretty comparable. The key difference in favor of the Genovese has been them being more able to retain a presence in the labor rackets. They've had significant decline in that area as well but not as much as the other families, including the Gambinos.

Their street power/ rackets has obviously taken a big hit like the other families.

However IMO, wealth power at the strong soldier, captain / admin level might be near all time highs with all the legit biz / real estate they own and the huge appreciation of those assets in today’s economy.

Sports gambling is so much bigger today with internet/ suburbanization vs old days so I don’t see the $ train slowing down anytime soon for them.

IMO Gambinos are up there too and their possible LA push IMo is about tapping into its huge gambling biz ( sports and machines)

Um, no.

Which are these so called imaginary organized groups that only det exist on the internet that are more powerful than the Genovese? Albanians or russians? This is pure fiction, no credible evidence.

This is one of the oldest of debates and the hitch is often what comes down to "power." Starting around 2008-2010, the Justice Department did reprioritize it's objectives. Transnational organized crime became the #1 focus, with the LCN dropping to #2, but it doesn't seem it was any single TOC group. Just TOC in general. Whoever gets put on their "TICOT" list have first priority and that is often changing. Again, when it comes to LCN, you're pretty much talking about the extended New York metro area at this point. And there aren't any Russian or Albanian criminal enterprises that have surpassed them there. But elsewhere in the country, that's another story.

Cartels more powerful.
Crips Bloods Latin Kings.
Bikie gangs. Hells Angel's have thousands of full patches in the US alone, hundreds more in canada.

Those organizations are national. Some international. GENOVESE exists purely in a few boroughs in NYC.

Well, technically the NY Metro Area - all 5 NYC boroughs, Long Island, the North Suburbs, and New Jersey. Along with whatever is left in Florida.

The Cartels are another discussion altogether. They are international organizations more comparable to the Italian OC groups than the American LCN, which is pretty much a domestic operation.

Street gangs, biker gangs, and prison gangs make up the bedrock of the retail drug trade. You may have, for example, thousands of Bloods in NYC but they're in various sets that fight amongst themselves as much as anything. A street gang or MC club may share the same name with another a thousand miles away but they don't necessarily have anything to do with each other. And whether we're talking black and Hispanic street gangs, any prison gang, or any MC club in the U.S., one can look at their indictments over any time period and about 80% of it is street level drug sales and weapons charges. Over and over again. They have numbers but not so much in terms of sophistication.

The Mexican Mafia is larger and arguably more powerful than the Genovese family. The only thing the Genovese have on La Eme is diversification.

The Mexican Mafia mainly a prison gang with, depending on what figure you want to go with, about 100 or so members. Though I've seen 350-400 on the high end. Yes, they are able to extort gangs in Southern California simply because the gang members know they'll likely end up in prison at some point. But I'm not sure how you quantify that in an apples to apples comparison.

They are very different IMO from the mob , focused solely on DTO / street Vs quasi legal industries. The mob could be a major DTO if they chose but they would likely lose their industry rackets. Apples vs oranges focused on totally different rackets / skills

Yes, the Genovese family seems savvy enough to be content with controlling ILA jobs on the waterfront rather than risk that with getting involved in large scale drug smuggling through the ports. At the same time, however, I wouldn't say the Mafia is marginalized in the drug trade by choice. They were supplanted in the heroin trade and were never in a position to control cocaine importation. They're at where they are now (mainly in New York at the mid-level) because of various factors, i.e. market changes, law enforcement, etc.

they are a prison gang so once again pure bullshit. Most of their members are rotting away in isolated cells or maximum security prisons while Cosa nostra capos like Campos(Gambino) live in mansions.

Naturally I'd rather be on the outside than rotting away in prison but, generally speaking, most LCN members are more or less middle class. Most of them are not living in mansions.

They are down yes but just the ILA Metro funds is $600M in assets that the Westside controls ( Mikey Ragusa brother runs it ) and that’s just one NJ union. The Pontes have a $1B real estate portfolio that only use connected developers, RCA plumbing was $30M+ plumbing company.
Cava construction was a $100m+ revenue developer building sky scrapers and mob is still heavily involved in concrete industries getting contracts worth tens of millions.

Well, context is key here.

Yes, you have relatives of mob guys in key management positions with the METRO funds. Heck, the ILA president was charged as a Genovese associate. But what does translate into? Today, it doesn't seem like these guys are pilfering the METRO funds. They're not funding casinos or something with all that money. Like the guys in charge on the local level of the NJ waterfront, it seems they are pretty much minding their p's and q's, focusing on dispensing union jobs and whatnot, which is smart.

The mob is certainly still involved in construction - indeed that industry more than any other - but they don't control that industry like they used to. While still in the multi-millions, the scale and money involved in much smaller, and the unions they have influence over fewer and farther between.

The Tuzzo check-cashing bust involved them laundering $400 million over 4 years while making $9 million in actual profit.

Factoring in NY real estate prices today vs 70s, uh yeah . Own 1 properly and your a millionaire

On the port/ union, it’s far more than a few jobs, it’s major trucking contracts ( you need to know someone ) container industry and on the pension It’s big servicing contracts . The Westside has a pension services Co’s Actuarial (LOL) , accounting , health benefits, insurance and investing services , office cleaning etc . They have pivoted to major legal service industries and that’s where the big $ is today

[CornerBoy]

does barney have that kind of money that chin had? Like coudl he put together 30 million within a week? Does he care more about the title and make a few million a yr or does he have everyone filter money up to him? I think Chin must have left his family 100M.

[TommyNoto]

does barney have that kind of money that chin had? Like coudl he put together 30 million within a week? Does he care more about the title and make a few million a yr or does he have everyone filter money up to him? I think Chin must have left his family 100M.

Gangland said he has numerous apartments buildings in Bronx and Westchester county , probably $3M-$10M+ per building today.

[Wiseguy]

i like how most of the guys on here think that the 5 families arnt involved in drugs.If you go to an italian neighborhood who do you think is selling to Italians?The bloods or latin kings??????

Also i dont know who it was on here that said that the Genevese only have power in New york while bikers have power across the country.Do you really think the Hells angels in NY know the HA in Denver?Its like saying that the rollin 60s crips in LA would come to the aid of the crips in New Jersey if something happend.If LCN wasnt a threat anymore than the FBI would no longer have task forces for them,they would hand it off to the local police.Until gene borello flipped noone here ever heard of ronnie G look how much money and rackets he had,theres dozens of ronnie g out there.People actually seem to forget how big the Italian american population is in NY

I don't know if anyone said the mob isn't involved in drugs. It just doesn't have the controlling stake it once did. It's been marginalized as far as the drug trade goes. The NY families are more at the local, mid-level now (i.e. multi-kilo and pound distributors). They're mainly into marijuana and prescription drugs, and to a lesser extent cocaine.

The drug trade in New York City is still a little unique. While the Mexicans have locked up the importation and supply of cocaine and heroin in most of the country, Colombian DTO's are still primary suppliers of those particular drugs to NYC itself. Once you get outside the city, however - as well as New York state and elsewhere in the Northeast, it's the Mexicans. The Jalisco cartel is the only one that uses NYC has a hub, though Sinaloa also has a presence. Both use the Dominicans as their main middlemen for wholesale distribution of cocaine and heroin. Meth also as far as the Mexicans are concerned. The marijuana trade is more diversified. The Mexicans still bring in their commercial grade heroin but higher quality comes from the northern border. LCN traffickers in the past, as well as Asian groups.

does barney have that kind of money that chin had? Like coudl he put together 30 million within a week? Does he care more about the title and make a few million a yr or does he have everyone filter money up to him? I think Chin must have left his family 100M.

Capeci reported Bellomo owns apartment complexes in the Bronx and northern suburbs worth millions of dollars from which he receives substantial rental income. I also remember reading something about an installation/refurbishing company, possibly through some of his sons. Optimus Installation or something like that. Besides his home (or homes) in Pelham Bay, he also owns a condo in Florida. Over the years people on the forums have also mentioned other things like a drain cleaning company, a plumbing company, a heavy equipment rental company, as well as him owning a large building off the West Side Highway and a strip mall in Miami. He may have also had an interest in a construction company run by his cousin (Liborio T.) called Sigma Builders. But I'm not sure about the verification on all that.

I have no idea about liquid cash but Andrew Gigante has his trucking and container companies, as well as his massive house in Jersey. Vincent Esposito has/had a six-figure no-show job with Andrew's company and also owns the Greenwich property worth millions. Several reports and articles over the last 15 years have come out about Chin's extended family having high-paying, cushy jobs on the waterfront. Salvatore and Philip Gigante have another trucking company, BBT Logistics. Similar to how Thomas Gambino's son (also named Thomas) has Dynamic Worlwide Trucking.

[AntComello]

Wasn’t Andrew gigante recently busted with like 5 mil in cash just sitting in his home. And didn’t he forfeit it to the government as part of his plea? These genovese guys have to be loaded.

[JohnnyS]

Wasn’t Andrew gigante recently busted with like 5 mil in cash just sitting in his home. And didn’t he forfeit it to the government as part of his plea? These genovese guys have to be loaded.

Vincent Esposito. He had $3.8 million in cash.

[Pogo The Clown]

The money seized wasn't his personal money. It was funds belonging to the Gonvese family.


Pogo

[Wiseguy]

The money seized wasn't his personal money. It was funds belonging to the Gonvese family.


Pogo

Yeah, investigators believed it was a "slush fund" for lawyers, etc.

[eboli]

does barney have that kind of money that chin had? Like coudl he put together 30 million within a week? Does he care more about the title and make a few million a yr or does he have everyone filter money up to him? I think Chin must have left his family 100M.

Bellomo owns 20+ expensive properties in NY, NJ, and FL -- apartment buildings, villas, strip malls, and warehouses. On top of that, there are the carting companies, construction firms, refurbishing businesses, etc. Can he put together 30 mils in a week? Probably, but I doubt he's close to the net worth of some older guys like Catena, just because the mob is not what it once was. Nevertheless, Barney was smart with his money.

[TallGuy19]

My argument is that, on the whole, La Eme is larger and more powerful than the Genovese family. They control a much larger territory, likely generate more revenue, and they're not afraid to use violence.

What are you basing this on? Estimates of La Eme's size vary. One chart of the Mexican Mafia in California from 2011 showed 86 members but not all of them were validated. Have you done some sort of geographic measurement comparison between the areas the Mexican Mafia operates in within Southern California and where the Genovese family operates in the NY metro area? And where have you seen any financial estimates of their revenue?

The size estimate includes both members and associates of each organization. The Genovese family has roughly 200 members with maybe 1,000 associates (if we estimate five associates per member). By comparison, Florencia 13—just one of the many gangs controlled by La Eme—has an estimated 3,000 members.

There are no solid estimates of their revenue—it likely varies widely between crews. Boxer Enriquez said that as a carnal he was only making about $50,000 to $60,000 a year, but his crew was bringing in millions. He didn't demand a huge cut of the profits and told them to kick up what they felt was fair. Based on the number of associates they have and the fact that they are heavily involved in drug trafficking, it's not hard to believe that they generate more revenue than the Genovese family.

They control most of the drug markets in Southern California through their gangs, plus county jails and state prisons. In those territories, their word is law. The Genovese family doesn't control a single borough in New York City. They have to compete with the other families everywhere they operate. Here is a map showing gang territories around Los Angeles, many of which are controlled by Eme-affiliated gangs:

[Wiseguy]

My argument is that, on the whole, La Eme is larger and more powerful than the Genovese family. They control a much larger territory, likely generate more revenue, and they're not afraid to use violence.

What are you basing this on? Estimates of La Eme's size vary. One chart of the Mexican Mafia in California from 2011 showed 86 members but not all of them were validated. Have you done some sort of geographic measurement comparison between the areas the Mexican Mafia operates in within Southern California and where the Genovese family operates in the NY metro area? And where have you seen any financial estimates of their revenue?

The size estimate includes both members and associates of each organization. The Genovese family has roughly 200 members with maybe 1,000 associates (if we estimate five associates per member). By comparison, Florencia 13—just one of the many gangs controlled by La Eme—has an estimated 3,000 members.

There are no solid estimates of their revenue—it likely varies widely between crews. Boxer Enriquez said that as a carnal he was only making about $50,000 to $60,000 a year, but his crew was bringing in millions. He didn't demand a huge cut of the profits and told them to kick up what they felt was fair. Based on the number of associates they have and the fact that they are heavily involved in drug trafficking, it's not hard to believe that they generate more revenue than the Genovese family.

They control most of the drug markets in Southern California through their gangs, plus county jails and state prisons. In those territories, their word is law. The Genovese family doesn't control a single borough in New York City. They have to compete with the other families everywhere they operate. Here is a map showing gang territories around Los Angeles, many of which are controlled by Eme-affiliated gangs:

First, it's a real stretch to call the thousands of Florencia members "associates" of La Eme, at least in the traditional sense applied to the LCN, where somebody is a formal associate and "on record," i.e. not just a hanger on or working with it in a temporary arrangement. The word "control" gets thrown around a lot but is misleading. The Surenos gangs pay a tax to operate but they're otherwise separate organizations from the Mexican Mafia. So counting the money they don't pay to La Eme's profits is a false metric. A very good breakdown of how things are organized was in the indictment of 31 Mexican Mafia members and associates in California this past April. In the press release Surenos gang members were called "associates" of the Mexican Mafia but the indictment itself seems to differentiate between La Eme leadership, members, associates (high level ones being called "shot callers") and the gangs they tax.

Second, it's not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison when it comes to geography. The LCN in New York can't be defined purely in terms of how many neighborhood square blocks they "control." The Genovese family operates in all 5 boroughs of NYC, as well as Long Island, the north suburbs, and New Jersey but they're better measured/tracked in terms of business or rackets. Not square miles.

And for the record, it seems both the Genovese and Gambino families are under 200 members now. And to be fair, like with above, I tend to use a more conservative definition, and therefore lower figure, when it comes to their associates as well.

[Amershire_Ed]

My argument is that, on the whole, La Eme is larger and more powerful than the Genovese family. They control a much larger territory, likely generate more revenue, and they're not afraid to use violence.

What are you basing this on? Estimates of La Eme's size vary. One chart of the Mexican Mafia in California from 2011 showed 86 members but not all of them were validated. Have you done some sort of geographic measurement comparison between the areas the Mexican Mafia operates in within Southern California and where the Genovese family operates in the NY metro area? And where have you seen any financial estimates of their revenue?

The size estimate includes both members and associates of each organization. The Genovese family has roughly 200 members with maybe 1,000 associates (if we estimate five associates per member). By comparison, Florencia 13—just one of the many gangs controlled by La Eme—has an estimated 3,000 members.

There are no solid estimates of their revenue—it likely varies widely between crews. Boxer Enriquez said that as a carnal he was only making about $50,000 to $60,000 a year, but his crew was bringing in millions. He didn't demand a huge cut of the profits and told them to kick up what they felt was fair. Based on the number of associates they have and the fact that they are heavily involved in drug trafficking, it's not hard to believe that they generate more revenue than the Genovese family.

They control most of the drug markets in Southern California through their gangs, plus county jails and state prisons. In those territories, their word is law. The Genovese family doesn't control a single borough in New York City. They have to compete with the other families everywhere they operate. Here is a map showing gang territories around Los Angeles, many of which are controlled by Eme-affiliated gangs:

Boxer also said in an interview that La Eme was way more powerful than the Italians in the prison system (obviously), but he also said they had a lot of respect for the Italians. There arent a ton of Italians doing time on the west coast, but he said when they did run across them they always showed the Italians a lot of respect. They didn’t look at them as adversarial at all.