Back in the day, you had so many guys congregating at Social clubs that it was so easy for the FBI to collect surveillance of these guys and evidence to put them away.

Social clubs are fine but kept at a low profile which was not the way they were back then. Guys were all over the place, sitting in plain view holding court and discussing business.

There was nothing wrong with a social club, athletic club or fraternity in general, the wiseguys would meet everywhere a scrapyard, car shop a warehouse a pub, café restaurant, race track, country club a hospital you name it.

Hanging out in a Social Club,per se,was not illegal. Any beat cop in New York could tell you who the regulars were.
Unless a guy was forbidden to associate with known felons because of parole conditions,having a cannoli and espresso,or playing gin was no biggie.
There were a few successful wiretap operations,but no more than bugging homes,offices,or cars.
Of course,Gotti screwed that up as well when he demanded that every one of his Capos come to the Ravenite for weekly meetings.
The feds started seeing guys that were new to them,since they normally stayed in their territories.
Thanks to Gotti, their low profile got shattered.
What a d*ck !

They also were required to compliment his clothes.

There's a great story about Frank Costello's wardrobe choices.
He was on trial,and his lawyer advised him to stop wearing his expensive tailored suits and switch to off-the-rack clothing.
Franks response ? 'I'm sorry counselor,but I'd rather blow the god#amn case".
Now that's class!!

That's true using the apartment above the Ravenite was also a big mistake.

But wasn't it an informant that allowed the Feds to bug the apartment? Otherwise that probably works out for them

Social clubs didn't destroy the Mob but they were prime targets for wiretaps. A bunch of wiseguys, macho types all, probably boozing it up, bragging and "talking shop"--perfect for law enforcement snoops because the more wiseguys together, the more likely someone would blab somethong of use to The Law. Even a hyper-careful boss like The Chin, who demanded that people around him never say his name, just point a finger at their chin--couldn't guarantee that he could stop loose lips. Another careful boss, Massino, closed his J&S Cake social club as a precaution.

I will never understand why the fuck you would hang out in front of a social club mocking the FBI on purpose. Not very smart.

Social clubs were a double edged sword. On the one hand, law enforcement could conduct surveillance but on the other hand it served as a headquarters for those that needed help who lived in the neighborhood (loans, jobs, protection, disputes, various tips )...you name it. If anyone ever needed assistance, they always knew where they could go.

Social clubs to provide an outlet for guys in the neighborhood to socialize is fine. Nothing wrong with that.

But then you have the guys who would conduct illegal activity out of them and thats where the problem lies. First of all I'm never talking inside a building that I feel could be bugged. Even if there's a chance of .000001% I'm still not doing it.

My mantra back in the day: never talk on a phone, in a car, or any place you frequent. Keep in mind, a lot of guys did avoid talking inside social clubs. The worse thing you ever want to hear is your own voice on a wire tap.

Guys connected have every right to belong to a private club that is men only so they can be guys. Do guy shit and be left alone.

I think its a positive thing as long as its used for that.

In particular in the middle of Mulberry street, Little Italy.

Exactly. Hey I mean these guys don't look suspicious do they? Just law abiding citizens having coffee and getting a little exercise correct?

Gotti was blabbering away in the midst of all of his trials. People like to talk about the bosses before him going down due to recorded conversations, but before that nothing like that had ever happened, of that magnitude. Gotti had zero excuses. He watched the whole Commission go down on wiretaps and still ended up making the same mistakes.

Clubs? No. Conducting business in social clubs? Certainly didn’t help.

In general Sicilian bosses were more low profile. Gotti had Neapolitan blood a different mentality.

Pretty funny in Little Italy Italian immigrants from Naples settled on Mulberry Street, immigrants from Puglia and Calabria settled on Mott Street, immigrants from Sicily settled on Elizabeth Street.

John Gotti was born in The Bronx though.