My great grandfather did five years for being part of an arson ring in the early 1930s. He didn't rat out his partners. He was known as having a book--Having shylocks work under him, but he was also called a loan shark. He even had a bronze statue made of one of his most money making horses. Later, in the 1940s, he invested money with a fried, and a crooked cop to build a racetrack. The idea was to have their own racetrack, stables, etc. But he got screwed by his partners--All the money he invested went nowhere, they screwed him. He died not long after but the top mob guys in his neighborhood knew his name even 20, 30 years later as being a "respectable" guy.

My family seems to think he was just a loan shark or a bookie, but I do wonder if he could've been a Soldier. Not a Capo, but a Soldier, rather than simply an associate. But I've never seen his name come up ANYWHERE--Although he did die early on in the American Mob's history, in 1948.

What do you guys think?

Well, again...to be able to help you out, you need to tell us the name of your great grandfather. I understand if you don´t want to do this for obvious reasons.
However, you could send me a PM and I´ll do some research.

Let us know either if you find anything Hairy? I got a cousin from Chicago ive heard was connected with oc but have never found anything. Natoli, Joseph D

Associates can get pretty influential in their own right. Too many examples to name. So with that being said the most respectable people in the mafia are ones that make the most money and stay "in line". And "associate crews" are just as common as sanctioned/official crews if not more so. So it could go either way.

But I would think if he was pulling in that kinda cash and had enough left over to open a racetrack that he'd have been made. but yeah like hairy said would help to know his name. Don't worry about your identity we're mob enthusiasts not genealogists haha

Sorry Danny, but my field of research is basically limited to the New York area.
However, there is a Natoli, Arhur J. who pops up shortly in a FBI document regarding Dave Yaras. This Natoli was living in Burbanks, California (if memory serves me right).
His involvment with oc was extremely limited.