Although mostly we here of decline in the Mob could you argue that in the last 20 year period the Lucchese's and Gambino's are stronger? Both more settled than the turmoil they had under Gotti's and Casso etc?
I wonder if they have more/less members? Make more/less money?

Definitely stronger back then in 94, more influence in the unions and had a lot of powerful guys that have since died.

Al so you'd have to say they were much more feared.

I would be pretty surprised if their top guys are earning as much and were as wealthy and opulent as guys like Amuso, Casso, Baratta and Avellino.

Look at the influence Avellino had. He was the brains behind Mobro 4000!

definitely better today,even if it means earning less or less control..the names that you mentioned gotti ,gas et. al. not being around or any part of them is the best thing for CN.. just think what a disaster the mob devolved into with these guys in charge..rebuilding a baseball team is the same as building back up the mob. not as good , but still playing and earning a living.. the # of members does not change..each family fulfills their #s. rosters are filled..my opinion..

hello Tommy, fear also creates darco, chiodo..riccardi, et.al. you can't instill fear all the time..humans kill what they fear.. i would not like meeting a guy like graveno if i was a made guy have a great biz..better off having zero, or earning a meager living..hope this offers another side

That's the thing, though. Better and stronger are two entirely different terms. Because Bronx is right. Things ARE better today in that they've learned to curb the violence and take plea bargains, so there aren't too many guys getting life anymore.

But in terms of power, influence and money? Nuh-uh. But I'd rather make less money and die in my own bed that leave millions on the street and die in jail.

hey pizza we should consult for the colombo's..

I'm already spoken for .

i got it .LOL…wouldn't mean you would be cheating , we would give better advice than gotti gave!

We have to be more ambitious than that .

your right..led to bodies all over and life sentences.. john bet the wrong horse in that one..again..

True mate. I never really thought of it like that.

It depends what you define as being stronger. Both families are more stable, definitely so for the Lucchese's. There seems to have been a period of regrouping and stabilization in the past decade or so.

Crea is having a good run. I don't know as much as most on here but from what I read he's a powerful guy with a ton of respect. For the Gambino's you have quite a pretty secure hierarchy with quite a few powerful guys. The New York families in general (perhaps with the exception of the Colombo's) realise that you have to adapt. It's the year 2014 and you have to live as if it is. Take your medicine with some shit, keep the violence down and as long as you aren't stupid then you can earn.

It'll be interesting to see what happens in the next decade though. You would imagine more and more time will be spent fighting terrorism, and with the number of agents tackling LCN already diminished you wonder if the families try and exploit that somewhat. But generally, relative to how unpredictable LCN can be, the Gambino's and Lucchese's aren't doing too bad.

well said

Good post Jimmy.

But the government aren't pooling there resources into fighting terrorism really, there pulling out all the stops in becoming a terrorist state

Now you're just splitting hairs! And you aren't far from me, sir.

I shouldn't have said that really, the debate will quickly go off track.

Where abouts are you?

100 miles or so slightly north west, I talk funny. That's all I'll say

i speak brooklynees..

Less money but more stable. Better in my opinion.

You're both British, right?

You both talk funny .

Trust me, if you heard me talk you would probably need a translator!

Scouser? I'm a massive Liverpool fan!

I believe you .

I live in Delray Beach, Florida for about four months a year. There's an English pub just around the corner from us called the Blue Anchor. They actually shipped most of the bar here in one piece. I've talked about it here with Yogi a few times.

Anyway, I go in there quite a bit. And believe it or not, they have a lot of help that was born in England. I'm friendly with a lot of them, and most of them will hang around for a few pints when their shift ends. I understand them fine after one or two. But I'm here to tell you that after the fifth pint I can't understand a word they say .

I'm writing a mob movie and I've got Joe Pesci in mind for one of the roles.

This is all I've written so far.

Joe Pesci character (Little Frankie) beating up someone who owes him money (Shlomo Finkelberg).

"Gimme the fuckin' money or I'll take your eye out you..... you mutt. you motherfucker you."

I told you. I'll have the money for you Friday, Frankie. I had to pay for Levi's bar mitzvah. You're being unreasonable.

"What did you say you mutt? You fuckin' rat you? Unreasonable?" *Slaps Shlomo around*

*Crying* Give me three more days. Please.

"Bobby give me the pliers. I'm gonna take this fucker's eye out"

No, FRANKIE!

*Starts taking his eye out*

I HAVE $20,000 IN A SAFE IN SHEEPSHEAD BAY! PLEASE! STOP!

*Eye hanging out*

"You stupid Jew bastard! You made me take your eye out over $20,000 lousy stinkin' dollars! You.... you fuckin' mutt you!" *kicks a whimpering Shlomo* "I missed Little Little Frankie's softball game because of you you.... stuttering prick."

"Put this Jew mutt out of his misery, Bobby...."

*Shoots Shlomo*

What you guys think?

Funny that you mention a pub called the Blue Anchor, I live not too far from a pub of the same name. I was in New York on Superbowl weekend and I swear to god it like I was filming a movie scene trying to order a beer or food. The bartender or host/hostess would just look at me and smile as if to say, "Ok, can you repeat that in English?" It was like take 10 by the time I got my beer

Only one guy managed to understand me first time, and that was because he had some family who lived here in Liverpool so he knew the accent anyway!

Here's a link for the Blue Anchor in Florida. If you click on the section that says history, you might find it interesting:

http://www.theblueanchor.com/

Jimmy please tell me your not an Evertonian?

I believe Scouser is the term

Sounds like a British venereal disease.