What would you guys say is the average timeframe a guy can have a criminal career realistically before they end up facing serious prison time? How long can they live life committing crime before the feds catch on? 5 years maybe?

With all the rats out there and technology and everything I really can't see how a longer timeframe is being realistic.

To be specific this is in regards to things such as drug distribution on a federal scale , sex trafficking prostitutes in different states (not underage) or money laundering.

If hou are an associate not yet discovered by feds you can easly go on for years but when you pass to the another level and become more organizated (create a drug distribution,move the women from state to state) you must report to someone in the life and the feds immediatly would try to understand "who's the thug with the big shot".And now you must be careful because especially with the drug the LE are more active that on sex traffick or money laundering.
Look at Ettore Mazzei! What he sold is few thing but risk 20 years.

What about interstate transport of narcotics, interstate transport of stolen firearms, possession of counterfeit money and interstate transport. All federal but you have be a moron to get caught, or just greedy. That's the problem most of the time, people get greedy and don't know when to shut down a racket because they living above their means and/or can't work a regular job because they have a record. It's always best to have a front job, then hustle behind it so if things get too hot you can shut it down and still pay the bills. That's straight outta Luciano's playbook.

Great question! My two cents is 5 years depending on the type of crimes, the associates involved, and the high value of the targets.

No digital messages, no smart phones, no viber, no facebook, no instagram, no social networks, no routers...only old phones like Nokia 3310 or Siemens C25....meetings should be held only in isolated pools, jacuzzi and saunas where everyone is naked...and in some gangs having completely bald head is not a fashion or personal style...at least thats what the Albanian racketeers and dealers do these days and thats why they remain on the streets for at least a decade, unless they are killed by rival group or sold out by an informer.

it depends on the level of political protection, in the past mafia bosses in Italy remained free for decades