I was thinking about the mafia crisis in the XXI century and i ask to myself if today there's the same difficult to become a made men and not a simple associate.
50 years ago the passage from associate to made man was difficult
but there were a lot of aspirants that aspirate to do that.now the mafia is not in the same situation and i thought that today is easy to be accepted as made men.
is that wrong?

Easy? No it's not easy. Probably harder today. Most of the leaders are old timers and they have got to be concerned with the current state of affairs. I really doubt they're making anybody right now.

Except maybe The Colombos. They're heavily involved in rat trafficking, rat making ceremonies and rat promotions. It's nauseating.

Think any of the other families surpassed the Colombos in influence, due to their err...misfortune?

For some reason I can't help but remember John Veasey. Who did 2 hits, got some protection money, and made captain, regardless of heritage. But overall? I'm sure the savviest dons right now aren't opening the books. If anything it should be the last thing on their minds.

The patriarca family opened the books in 2009 and inducted at least 2 new members according to reports

yeah i have a feeling the books are gonna be locked down for a min

LMAO! classic

Good one indeed. And it's also true.

I dont know why anyone would want to get inducted into the mafia today.
Look at John Pappa (Gerrard Pappa's son) - in his epic quest to emulate his father, John managed to get himslef busted and sentenced to life without parole at the ripe old age of 22.
What a way to waste your life.

Cops and politicans cant be bribed today like they used to be in the 1950's and 1960's.
Forensic science is so much more advanced today and guys seem to become rats much easier today.
Say what you will about Carmine Galante but at least that guy was a true cosa nostra and did his time with his mouth shut.

Even today the lure to "the life" is still there. Not for the same quantity or quality of guys but enough to keep a steady stream of new members coming into the New York families. The get out of jail free card no longer applies but there is often still a lot of money to be made by guys that would otherwise have to be making a lot less by punching a clock at some 9 to 5 job.

today being a soldier is prob the best spot you can b in a family. Becoming a boss almost guarantees your days are numbered before you wind up in the can. Even capos have alot more eyes on them than soldiers. If i was a wiseguy i wud wanna get my button and remain a soldier. Run my rackets, make my $ in a low profile way, trying to stay out of law enforements watchful eye.

The best spot in the mob nowadays is probably being an associate.

all of the spots are good and safe, but it depends on the approach you take. Why letting everyone know that you are in the mafia? why show the money you make, just play it smart like a fox. Dont associate with known made members and even associates. Have a ring of close knit friends. Dont discuss business, not on the phone nowhere. Thats the way to succes, it should be a secret thing not a thing to bragg about.

How can one do business if you never discuss it?

Well you do it telepathically of course.

But then you have discussed it.

lol...you guys are making it sound so easy. "just become a soldier, make your money, keep quiet, etc..."

everything revolves around contact with other people. every dollar you make usually comes at the cost of someone else and/or with the involvement of someone else. every dollar you make you are exposing yourself and I'd only imagine the more rackets you are in to the more known you would be. you could be the most quiet low profile guy on earth but one day a rival bookmaker, a disgruntled loan shark customer, an extortion victim or whatever could just go to the cops and boom... there it is. not to mention in order to run those types of rackets successfully people have to know who to come see, and the reputation of the guy they're going to see must be well known too.

im sure there are plenty of guys we don't hear about in busts, the news, maybe even in law enforcement charts making their money on the street quietly but eventually everything has to come to an end

In a way yes, but you can't bug telepathic communication. The Genoveses have mastered this..Quiet Dom ain't called Quiet Dom for nothing!

I mean discussing business only with trusted guys, with people delivering your message. So that your word doesnt reach the target directly. Of course communication is vital in all this.

It's almost comical when you read some of the lengths mob guys, especially those in the Genovese family, have gone to in avoiding surveillance.

Tino Fiumara did everything from riding in the trunk of a car on the way to meetings to hopping out of cars and riding a bike across parks where cars could not follow.

Both Tino and Dom Cirillo would would have their drivers go the wrong way down one-way streets, travel up highway off ramps, run red lights, etc.

Barney Bellomo would even approach vans he suspected were FBI surveillance and look inside.

And, of course, the biggest one of all - Chin's crazy act.

Well said and I think that has a lot to do with The Chin. The lengths that he went are unprecedented, but the other families don't have a leader like that. The Genovese family is the strongest family for a reason and this is exactly why. Think about it, you got The Colombos telling war stories to anynody who wants to listen. It's amazing. I can't help but wonder what guys like Bellomo or Cirillo are thinking when they're reading about what's been happening lately.

Gambino captain Nick Corozzo would also have meetings at the beach with everyone in shorts so there was no possibility of anyone having any listening devices on them.

Thats a good one, see there are many ways to avoid being listened by the feds.

Well, can't blame those guys for doing this. I would have probably done the same.

Then there was Don Carlo's "code"
Apparently "frogs legs" meant he wanted someone whacked

Seems like going to extreme length's to avoid the fed's at least somewhat is a must these days , but with so many guys turning rat even using these extreme measures doesn't insulate guys enough. To run most traditional mob rackets exposure is almost a given so there is always the chance of being caught on a wire or someone with knowledge flipping and bring u down along the way , simply price of doing business. Staying with a low rank and low key both help to prolong indictments surely but for 99% of mobsters in this day and age its not if but when.

That's actually a brilliant way. Or just turn on the radio and have meetings in the pool.

^ I heard that's what Basciano used to do. Meetings in the pool, allegedly in the nude

despite all the countermeasures, meetings in the pool, beach, up in the sky, whatever... one common trait is that they all have been locked up and/or currently serving life sentences.

That's how he got the nickname Vinny Gorgeous; from a cross dressing shylock who called himself Miss Phyllis Levine in his lounge act.

LOL..He did look sharp though. Man was always tanned..didn't he have a liposuction too? The guy was better groomed than Frank Sinatra having dinner with the Genovese.