a thought...

i have found over the years and topics on this forum a disconnect between past mafia families and there structure, membership, territory etc. and present day mafia groups. as i have said in the past there is nothing wrong with having an interest only in older mafia families as per say ny mafia. well researched and thought out full of good info and pics, those at ny mafia do a great job. or like TD and his continuing free articles about past leaders, crews and rackets on the chicago outfit, just great stuff. some members dabble in a bit of both, myself at this point in time try to keep track of present day mafia families, to each their own. the problems sometimes arise when we think of these families as static unchanging organizations and assume that what was true in 1950 still holds true today. that some families continue to have influence in all the same territory and rackets with a fixed membership and are aligned with same crime groups if applicable.

the mafia families or crime groups that did operate in this fashion (static, unchanging etc) are, like any animal species who did not evolve...gone. the few that remain have thus far adapted enough to still be here in 2024. to try to compare past historical mafias and present day is like asking who was a better hitter, TY COBB or ICHIRO? gretzky or crosby? these sports arguments are forever pointless in trying to compare players from vastly different eras in time. same for mafia families and the like, compare 1960s era HA that HUNTER S THOMPSON wrote about with present day HA in montreal. its not possible they are so different, even the california HA in 2024 are different. it is at times difficult to accomplish this i know. we all want to be the first to get a good piece of info that no other member has stumbled onto yet, have the most accurate up to date charts and lists. however i think for accuracy it unfortunately takes time for any good confirmed info to come out. at this point in time alot of good intell has come out across the board on many crime groups but what i dont see is any correction on charts or lists to resolve this.

but what a task to resolve. i wouldnt wish it on anyone even if they could. is rovito an associate, a member the boss? who knows. only time and arrests will tell the truth or not. but important to recognize that what constitutes an outfit associate today more than likely has changed since the days of gus alex, lenny patrick and murray humphreys. the outfit continues to frustrate most researchers, this one included, i think because it has changed many times how it operates and continues to change even in 2024. what was once a mostly criminal organization numbering in the hundreds with criminal rackets spanning the globe has become a chicago based group that has a larger percentage of income from legal means, possibly and looking for rackets damn near anywhere it can find them to survive criminally.

i would also like to recommend to new members or current ones to really utilize the search function on this forum. it can be a good resource to find answers to oft asked questions. instead of posting them and because said questions have been asked alot not always getting very good answers.

thks for the rope, off to cool down in pool, enjoy the weekend folks.