I mean isn't it quite pathetic what makes the news nowadays in regards to the mob here in the United States? For example they will put a story in the news if a guy gets popped for credit card fraud/online scams.

What a far cry from the news stories of 40-60 years ago when a guy would be found dead in the trunk of a car or blown up with a car bomb or even guilty of Extortion.

The news stories coming out now are like digging for fuckin anything in desperation to write about the mob.

It's fucking embarrassing. I miss the days when we had people like Nicky Scarfo around, men who actually made an effort

Jerry Capeci was the best in his early days.

you are not wrong either.

I miss those days when I was "around" the Pittsburgh crew and saw how they really operated - Intelligently! I learned a lot about real life in general.

Most news now comes from social media beefs and who is mad at who. And there is way more news reports about the rats than the active guys. That could be a good thing, but it gets boring for people here.

You need bombings in the news? Just read about the Middle East .
The mob has been a joke for 25 plus years .

Are there any old Pittsburgh guys still around or no

The Mob is not taken seriously anymore..

Maybe a few associates. Last made guy passed away in July 2021. Sonny Ciancutti


FOH would know better about the Pittsburgh families Ohio and WV people and if any are left better than anyone else.

I lost any ties I had with Pittsburgh when Charlie died.
I know that Michael's son is an attorney and has never been involved.
I don't believe either of Jo Jo's son-in-laws are active although one is an Amato.
I've heard that Sonny is or was the last Boss and I believe he's still alive.

Unfortunately FOH, Sonny did pass away in July 2021, last Boss, last living “made” guy, supposedly.

Time fly's as time goes on. I heard from an old time Joey Naples associate that Sonny was Boss.
I should have know that he "checked-out" as I was happy he made it longer than Lenny "The Rat".

I wonder who was left that Sonny was Boss over, he had is own gambling ring that still operated. Wonder why he didn’t make a guy or two knowing he was the last living made guy.

My best guess is the RICO Act put an end to most of these smaller city "organizations" as who would want to be made man? Just being a made man put a target on your back!

what ended the smaller families is what's killing the larger ones, no Italians to choose from. The Italian ghettos disappeared and so did their recruiting pool. End of story

Correct.

The reason why you see what you do with hispanics is because their country is located right next door to America. I mean think about it, you got a 3rd world country that has no opportunity next to a country that is filled with opportunity and also a gigantic demand in drugs. Therefor, there is a huge recruiting pool of Mexicans in America that are willing to be involved in crime over here running drug distribution among other things. Its like the Cuban crime we experienced in 1980. If roles were reversed and it was a bunch of Italians living in Mexico and coming here with no opportunities you would still see a huge recruiting pool of Italians who would be willing to be involved in Organized Crime.

But that is not how it is and the Italians here have become way too civilized and spoiled to even think about becoming a mobster in 2024. Also let me add, why would you want any of those people working for you? They would rat on you in a fucking second if they got locked up. If I'm a mob boss in 2024 I'm enjoying my Golden Years until I die without recruiting any new blood or being involved with these people working for me. The recruiting pool has absolutely gone to shit. Also people wonder "Why doesn't the mob kill anymore?"

Are you kidding me? To expect anyone in this day and age to be able to know how to kill on orders is comical. I don't think there is one guy out there who would even successfully be able to slice someones throat without fucking it up and making a total mess out of it and leaving tons of evidence behind.

Therefore........

THE BOOKS ARE CLOSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some families were also reluctant to make guys at a time when they had the material and it costed them later.

In Billy d'Elia's book, you can see that the Bufalino family stopped making guys because they wanted to keep it a close group of people with strong blood ties. Billy d'Elia was the last guy they inducted and he himself didn't try to make guys around him when he was the Boss. He basically decided that the Family would die when he dies.

The 5 families should have done something about it because the stronger Cosa Nostra is all over the country the stronger they are. The commission should have force some of these small families to induct guys.

Like I said before the culture is too far removed from the days of Italian ghettos. Guys who are potential recruits are not growing up desperate and poor to make $$$. These people are being raised in the suburbs, put in private schools and given everything on a silver platter. I don't even think they know how to fire a handgun.

Put yourself in the shoes of a guy who is actually a real Mob guy. Would you risk adding someone who I have described as an associate? Odds are you are going to be putting him in some situations to prove himself that will eventually result in some sort of jail time, possibly a few years in the can. If he gets arrested and rats on you that is a big problem.

It blows my mind why so many wonder why the mob is struggling to add new members who are in their 20's and 30's.

I agree with a lot of this. On the flip side, today would you want to induct someone whose only asset is violence? Times have changed and they have adjusted their way of surviving accordingly. Every inducted member is expected to be capable of violence but making money is far more of an asset for them today. Thats why it appears like most guys that do get inducted now are either guys who were violent back in the 80s/90s and have grown up or guys 40+ with successful businesses who can handle themselves (or maybe they can’t lol). There is an in for some younger guys as they seem to be clinging onto some gambling rackets somehow and loan sharking still has its value. But the intimidation aspect is not of benefit anymore in most scenarios. Every case they get you have some idiot making threats on the phone, but there aren’t many cases so they must be doing something right. Or they’re all in poverty like the Colombo administration member who couldn’t pay rent or whatever the story was. But from what I see they seem to be generally middle income guys doing ok for themselves

Is a middle income worth being in the mafia for? That’s another debate lol

See thats the issue. The way it is now, in 2024, many guys who once would have thought about organized crime as a career, well they have an education. They have degrees. Therefore they can get a job out of college that plays 100 grand a year base salary and move up each year making more.

To earn that in the mafia you gotta risk getting throw in jail and making your bones by doing time if you are serious. The way the laws are now, they will throw the book at you if you don't rat. They will let a gang banger like in Chicago shoot someone and let him out of prison faster than a guy who is involved in the mafia.

To find good recruits who are willing to do the dirty work to make their way up in the mob is very hard to come by in this generation.

Completely agree, it is a very tough sell. It’s about the intrigue and the desire to be part of it. Which in fairness was always the case, you could always be a criminal and not join them but the difference today is joining them and being legit vs not joining them and being legit

I think there are enough people out there though that still want to do it. Maybe in next 20 years that will be depleted even further

I honestly don't see any issue with a guy maybe getting into a little gambling on the side as a hustle to make some extra cash though.

With Gambling being legalized it probably wouldn't draw as much attention to them as it would have 20 years ago by law enforcement.

For example taking bets on the Superbowl or March Madness.

I just don’t see it being sustainable when people can deposit money direct from their account into an app with live odds etc why you would need a bookie.

I think there’s some market for underground casino type stuff and the biggest one I think is machines. Poker machines, slots etc, that type of stuff is usually less lenient on the legal front and gamblers lap that shit up. Virtual dogs and horses machines would you believe would rake it in lol

As someone who enjoys betting on sports (responsibly), there is something nice about the bookie and being able to bet on credit. However, its really hard to beat the convenience of some of these apps. Plus, most of them have slightly more favorable odds than bookies.

I wasn’t aware you get better odds online but those companies hire the nerds to do all the calculating so they’re hard to beat in terms of analyzing the odds. I actually thought the benefit a bookie might have would be taking the risk to offer better/be more flexible with odds.

Regarding credit, I thought the credit would be an unresponsible gamblers preference not a responsible ones!

If you went through a Bookie for years, and are not computer savvy , many will stick with a private bookie. There are literally thousands of men who don't even know how to work an App on their phones. Many don't even have a smart phone to begin with, as they choose to just use a basic flip phone.

Plus let me tell you providing your CC/bank account info online is risky. My advice is stick with the old fashioned way and deal in cash under the table.

Those who can’t place a bet on their phone or computer are a rapidly aging group

Im in my 40s and I prefer the old fashioned way. Never have ever thought about using an app to bet.

Dont even like the idea. Fan Duel? Wtf?

Yes I believe overall the odds are slightly better on the apps, but i was more speaking to they offer daily specials where they boost the odds on certain games or parlays immensely. Most times, it's kind of a suckers bet, but still fun. Point is that those apps allow you to basically bet on any kind of prop that most bookies wouldn't have. There are certainly pros and cons to each.