Lucchese Acting Boss Reveals How Much He Really Made

[Little_Al1991]

I wonder if these numbers are still the same today?

Joseph “Little Joe” Defede – testifying at the racketeering trial of Peter Gotti – said he earned only $1,014,000 as boss of the Luchese crime family from 1994 to 1998.
Speaking of money matters, Defede said the total take of the approximately 100-member Luchese family over the four years he headed it was about $6 million.

After Defede’s $1 million cut, a lower-ranking mobster would average only about $50,000 a year, if Defede’s figures are accurate.
Defede broke down his quarter-million-dollar-a-year take as follows: a salary of about $60,000 a year, plus $50,000 bonuses every three months.

The money, he said, was brought to him in paper bags delivered in the bathrooms of various diners.
I wonder if these numbers are still the same today?
https://nypost.com/2003/01/22/crime-pay ... 0g-a-year/

[SonnyBlackstein]

My opinion, these numbers are bullshit. They don't make sense.
The average mobster took in 50k a year? But that doesn't take into account Vics cut. Or the admins. So Defede gets 1m over 4 years? Vics going to get.... less? No. So Vic gets 2. Conisg? UB? that's another 1.6m (does anyone really think the consig is on less than 200k A YEAR?) so now we've gone from 6 to 5 to 3 to 1.4.

That puts the average annual income of a button at 14k a year.

Bullshit.


The Bonannos were only a little bigger and in the same time frame they took 10mil in restitution from Massino and he kept 6.
That's 16m just for the boss, let alone admin, let alone buttons.

So, Joe, Bullshit.

[JeremyTheJew]

Wasn’t Defede on a panel most of his time as “acting boss “???

So maybe with that it could make little more sense I guess….

[Little_Al1991]

My opinion, these numbers are bullshit. They don't make sense.
The average mobster took in 50k a year? But that doesn't take into account Vics cut. Or the admins. So Defede gets 1m over 4 years? Vics going to get.... less? No. So Vic gets 2. Conisg? UB? that's another 1.6m (does anyone really think the consig is on less than 200k A YEAR?) so now we've gone from 6 to 5 to 3 to 1.4.

That puts the average annual income of a button at 14k a year.

Bullshit.


The Bonannos were only a little bigger and in the same time frame they took 10mil in restitution from Massino and he kept 6.
That's 16m just for the boss, let alone admin, let alone buttons.

So, Joe, Bullshit.

Vic put a hit out on DeFede because he believed that he was skimming.Vic receives less nowadays.His family receives over 100k a year during Pennisi’s time.
I’m not sure about these numbers but it was during a time when the Lucchese’s took major losses as a result of D’Arco,Gaspipe and Chiodo’s cooperation

[Little_Al1991]

Wasn’t Defede on a panel most of his time as “acting boss “???

So maybe with that it could make little more sense I guess….

He was the Acting Boss from 94 until 98

[CabriniGreen]

My opinion, these numbers are bullshit. They don't make sense.
The average mobster took in 50k a year? But that doesn't take into account Vics cut. Or the admins. So Defede gets 1m over 4 years? Vics going to get.... less? No. So Vic gets 2. Conisg? UB? that's another 1.6m (does anyone really think the consig is on less than 200k A YEAR?) so now we've gone from 6 to 5 to 3 to 1.4.

That puts the average annual income of a button at 14k a year.

Bullshit.


The Bonannos were only a little bigger and in the same time frame they took 10mil in restitution from Massino and he kept 6.
That's 16m just for the boss, let alone admin, let alone buttons.

So, Joe, Bullshit.

But button doesn't guarantee you a salary, a pension either... it's up to the individual...

Did you happen to ever read Franzese's book?

[CabriniGreen]

My opinion, these numbers are bullshit. They don't make sense.
The average mobster took in 50k a year? But that doesn't take into account Vics cut. Or the admins. So Defede gets 1m over 4 years? Vics going to get.... less? No. So Vic gets 2. Conisg? UB? that's another 1.6m (does anyone really think the consig is on less than 200k A YEAR?) so now we've gone from 6 to 5 to 3 to 1.4.

That puts the average annual income of a button at 14k a year.

Bullshit.


The Bonannos were only a little bigger and in the same time frame they took 10mil in restitution from Massino and he kept 6.
That's 16m just for the boss, let alone admin, let alone buttons.

So, Joe, Bullshit.

I'll also say, I think this is a prime example of maybe.....how to word it correctly?

I think it possible what DeFede is saying is true, from HIS perspective, from HIS frame of reference. If anything, it tells me he had a position, but not total authority. Maybe some powerful capos held back on their kickups? Maybe DeFede even KNEW it, but didn't want to push it as a matter of diplomacy? To secure his OWN position, possibly? Think Cammarano and his no interest loans to the capos. A good way for a new leader to engender contempt is to go with both hands in everybody's pockets. Look at Montagna. Or Castellano even, and he wasn't even new. He might not have had that Amuso/ Casso level of authority to demand every crew make an accurate disclosure of its accounts like how Amuso and Casso demanded from Accetturo, for example. I dunno......

I don't think he really knew what every soldier was making.


The position of Acting boss should have afforded him opportunities to make his OWN money.

I got a better question.... how can Avellino be a billionaire and the family have ANY BROKESTERS whatsoever? Is that actually true?

And also, If so, why would that even be allowed? Why is there not 20 guys with 50 million, instead of one guy with a billion? Or 40 guys with 25 million?

Or that huge Jersey sportsbook that had a volume of over 2 billion. Was that one guy's book? It always seemed like that had to be a huge chunk of the action in Jersey in general. Otherwise... what? There are dozens of sportsbooks doing that level of volume? Is that possible? Were there multiple investors?
I've been trying to understand if that Jersey book was a multi family thing, OR, if the Jersey action was centralized into one or maybe a few HUGE sportsbooks.
That Jersey book, I keep wondering if it was something similar to the Montreal book, where it's like ..... I dunno... the "Main Office" I guess? Would that be an accurate mob term for it?

[CabriniGreen]

Also, Sonny..I don't want to misspeak, but I think that 10- 16 million was accumulated over a what? 3 or 4 decade career in the rackets? Tell me if I'm off there and that was his take for that year...

[TallGuy19]

My opinion, these numbers are bullshit. They don't make sense.
The average mobster took in 50k a year? But that doesn't take into account Vics cut. Or the admins. So Defede gets 1m over 4 years? Vics going to get.... less? No. So Vic gets 2. Conisg? UB? that's another 1.6m (does anyone really think the consig is on less than 200k A YEAR?) so now we've gone from 6 to 5 to 3 to 1.4.

That puts the average annual income of a button at 14k a year.

Bullshit.


The Bonannos were only a little bigger and in the same time frame they took 10mil in restitution from Massino and he kept 6.
That's 16m just for the boss, let alone admin, let alone buttons.

So, Joe, Bullshit.

Vic put a hit out on DeFede because he believed that he was skimming.Vic receives less nowadays.His family receives over 100k a year during Pennisi’s time.
I’m not sure about these numbers but it was during a time when the Lucchese’s took major losses as a result of D’Arco,Gaspipe and Chiodo’s cooperation

Wasn't he getting around $150,000 in Christmas tributes alone?

[AntComello]

Avellino is a billionaire?

[CabriniGreen]

Avellino is a billionaire?

I've heard it several times. I thought it total nonsense, but I heard it enough times where I had to question my own knowledge on it, cause I don't actually know.

I mean, the biggest one I heard of was Ponte, I think....

[AntComello]

Avellino is a billionaire?

I've heard it several times. I thought it total nonsense, but I heard it enough times where I had to question my own knowledge on it, cause I don't actually know.

I mean, the biggest one I heard of was Ponte, I think....

That’s crazy. Is it all mostly from carting? Or am I thinking of someone else.

[CabriniGreen]

Avellino is a billionaire?

I've heard it several times. I thought it total nonsense, but I heard it enough times where I had to question my own knowledge on it, cause I don't actually know.

I mean, the biggest one I heard of was Ponte, I think....

That’s crazy. Is it all mostly from carting? Or am I thinking of someone else.

I wouldn't call it a fact. You might wanna ask one of the researchers, Wiseguy or someone else adept with the details.

It's just something I've seen repeated over and over, so I kinda said..." Well, I guess it's possible if Ponte was a billionaire".....I don't think so, but I don't know for sure either...

[MSFRD]

I guess this falls into three things:
1) The kick-ups were held back; or
2) There is a vast difference in the earning capacity between each members; or
3) We over-estimate the earnings of most members. Besides selling drugs which most members do not seem to be highly involved in these days, it is actually quite difficult to generate illegal earnings. It takes a ingenuity and sophistication to create large consistent cash-cows.
The days of truck-hijackings are over; LCN at the top of the heroin tree is over; the days of extortion of businesses in large traditional neighbourhoods is over; gambling is legal; credit is easier to access; the sex-industry has changed to online; labour racketeering isn’t what it once was. The list goes on and on. I’d wager that most of the smart members wait for a big ‘score’ and use that to invest in legitimate things like restaurants etc and live off that.
In Australia, very few crims make any money besides selling drugs. The criminal world is essentially a one trick pony. Yes there is human trafficking and weapons trafficking but that is very dependent on location.

[johnny_scootch]

Avellino is a billionaire?

I've heard it several times. I thought it total nonsense, but I heard it enough times where I had to question my own knowledge on it, cause I don't actually know.

A BILLIONAIRE!?! I highly doubt it. Show me anything that says he’s got a billion dollars and I’ll bite my tongue.

From what I know he’s in the tens of millions but billionaire is a different stratosphere.