If we're purely talking about Bosses then i'd agree with this view but Italy is still Utopia for European Criminals with its intense corruption. The difference is Americans accepting that they are at best Middle Class bookmakers and loansharks while certain Sicilians see themselves as international drug traffickers. The streets of Sicily are still run by middleclass bookmakers and loansharks and lower level goons, we just don't hear about them because they aren't as interesting as Bosses.B. wrote: ↑Thu Apr 17, 2025 4:40 pm The Sicilian mafia is under way more pressure than the US members. They can and do get hit with prison sentences for even talking to another member or associate and no law like that exists in the US. Then once they're in prison they can get hit with a 41-bis and are basically cut off from the entire world. They're under way more scrutiny and Sicilian members do flip all the time now. It's a bigger uphill battle for Italian LE though because the mafia is so ingrained and all over the island.
I do agree with you thought that "Sicilian" does not mean sophisticated and plenty of them are thuggish. A big difference with the Sicilians is they are more clannish and take the traditional mafia values more seriously. Lanni was from the Sicilian faction but it should be pointed out he doesn't appear to be Sicilian himself. Still he represents them and as you said it shows their group isn't worlds different from other NY mobsters.
Apologies i thought Lanni was Sicilian because y'all (not you B.) were talking about it as a big badass Sicilian Intercontinental Network bust. Reading about the Corelonesi for instance the only difference i see is corruptibility of the Country they were in.