How much different was it back then during the 1900's - 1920's when there was no RICO and the Italian-American community was huge?

Geovanni,

If you are sincerely interested in this subject, do yourself a favor, find a book about Lucky Luciano. It will cover the story of the old Mustache Pete's and how Luciano and his crew took over and brought the mob to a new level.


Don Cardi

Mafia families were local and small-time in the 1910's and 20's. Most of them, even in NYC, were just content to control their own neighborhoods. The biggest racket in the '20's was booze, and it was controlled in most cities by Jewish and Irish mobs. Chicago was the only city in which an Italian mob (Capone's) controlled a significant part of the booze trade, and Capone's "Outfit" was not a Mafia family.
As Don Cardi suggested, things began to change in 1930, when Joe (the Boss) Masseria of NYC made a bid to become Capo di Tutti Capi. This set off the famous Castellammarese War, which led to the elimination of the "Moustache Petes" and the rise of Charlie Luciano and his "Commission." That's when the Mafia became a nationwide force.

The mafia are bigger and better than every because in this new age there are more illegal markets for them to tap in to.