In your opinion, which of the remaining United States-based "Families" of Cosa Nostra will be the next to ride off into the sunset?

Whatever is left of Kansas City will give 100% control to Chicago within 5 years.

But if I had to put my $$$ on this I would have to say Buffalo.

I think thats a fair enough assessment, Rush.

Anybody else care to venture a guess?

Cleveland

I think Cleveland's goose has been cooked for years already.

They've been defunct, no?

You could almost say that. I think they've been reduced to like one crew. When that crew goes, it's lights out forever

Buffalo no way, many people here thought they were defunct but were proven wrong based on wiretaps with the Violis. I forget the extent or exact nature of the recordings but they are far from finished. There are much better choices than Buffalo IMO.

Kansas City then it must be.

It's gotta be Kansas City. By the way, I give zero credit to law enforcement or RICO for the extinction of any Families. It all comes down to demographics and the lack of a recruitment pool plus just an overall lack of criminal opportunities to exploit anymore in many major cities that once housed LCN.

kansas city sounds about right, if we are to believe that mafia family is active. i doubt it is, nothing mafia related out of KC for long time, the last being a gambling bust with server based in costa rica. i suppose this online gambling site could be the thing the outfit "takes over" but aside from that what would any crime family be taking over from kc? further to that what connection remains between kc and the outfit? its historical, NOT continuing. these 2 families worked together in vegas 40 years ago, this relationship may have continued after but there is very little proof of this.

so lets separate the past kc/civella era family with the 2024 kc mob. i looked at a post on this subject from 2023. after some research was able to id 4 confirmed members. consensus also seemed to be any connection to another family did not exist, especially to the philly mafia, an outrageous claim. most likely a small group of italian old timers with no actual admin structure involved in legit business or retired (most alleged members are pushing 80). possible some money lending or grant access to online site for gambling but it cannot be described as a continuing criminal organization. and what would said old timers do if someone they leant to didnt pay? most likely use muscle from another OC group to collect. that would then be assuming the kc family has these connections but again no evidence they work in concert with any group locally or nationally for that matter.

Most cities where LCN Families were once known to be active, are currently defunct. But, IMO, of the few cities where an LCN Family still maintains a presence, the next borgata to completely evaporate will be either New England, Chicago or Philadelphia.

I believe in a few years the Providence wing of NE will be wiped out. Matty and Eddie are both in not great health. Behind them is really no one else besides Joe Rugg, but he seems like a legitimate business guy. Boston will still have something. But I can see NE being the popular choice

I agree. I'm not familiar with the particulars, but I know in recent decades Providence had a smaller membership than their Boston counterparts. So I think that makes sense. The Rhode Island segment of the Family will fade before whatever remnants that remain in Boston, MA will.

Very Interesting question NYMafia. I agree with Others I would say KC as well

I agree with that along with the decline of the "Italian neighborhood" which were breeding grounds as well as the decline of social clubs. Social clubs were a place to get noticed as strange as that sounds. Every young aspiring mobster found his way to a social club.

Here's the second part of my original question...[In your opinion,] aside from New York City's Five Families, list which other families throughout the USA are still alive and breathing. Then rank them as far as their "health" goes, with #1 being fully alive and functional....down to #4, which is the equivalent of being on their deathbed.

RANK THEM:

1) Healthy and robust with a fully functioning Family hierarchy, membership, and rackets.

2) Still have a "official" Family structure. Reduced in size and strength, but still solidly in place operating.

3) On their last legs, no solid structure, just a few scattered made men/associates still operating.

4) Fully cooked! No Family structure, solid men or rackets. They are fast becoming a distant memory.
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....So, what do YOU think?

In my opinion, any semblance of a structured, hierarchal borgata still actively operating in Cleveland is long gone.

I feel the exact same way about Pittsburgh, Pittston, Colorado, Milwaukee, Rockford, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Tampa and a few other cities. Each of these Families died a long time ago. But their names were continually bandied around for awhile longer, as though they were still viable entities. They were not!

As far as the Families known to still have a number of members alive, such as the New England, Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis and Philadelphia crews? Well, in recent years, we have seen some of their soldiers operating either legitimate businesses or engaging in some very limited criminal activity. Very limited.

But, even these Families are now suspect as to their “health” and current operating status. Are they active? With viable hierarchal structured Families?…. I don’t know about all that.

Over the last 10 to 15 years, there has been limited, [very limited] evidence of a few members engaging in criminal or suspicious activities. But as I say, for the most part, that too, was well over a decade ago.

Like the old saying goes, “Where’s there is smoke, there is usually fire.” But there’s been no smoke, or spark, let alone any raging fire….So there’s that.

If I had to bet money, I’d bet that for all intents and purposes, Detroit and St. Louis are now completely dead in the water also.

As far as Chicago goes? They’re hooked up to a respirator and the cemetery grave diggers have already dug the hole, just waiting to drop the Windy City Outfit's corpse in.

That only leaves New England and Philadelphia and the New York/New Jersey crews left.

As we discussed above, the “Providence” faction of NE is most likely dead already, with only their “Boston” faction hanging on for dear life.

That leaves Philadelphia and New York/New Jersey.

To me, although there are still plenty of their inducted members and associates still alive and well, any semblance of structured racket activity (to me, all least,) is waning quickly. So, IMO, Philly is 90% gone too!

That leaves the infamous Five Families of New York and New Jersey. I won’t even count the DeCavalcante Family of Elizabeth, because to me, they fall into the same category as Philadelphia and New England do.

The Five Families are alive and operating. But are they well and going strong? No way! No how!

Because of their large collective membership, these five borgatas will continue on, in one form or another, for many years to come. But currently, even their modus operandi is fast becoming almost unrecognizable, compared to what once was.

I don't see Buffalo on your list above. in what category that you mentioned above would you place them? Would it be this one?


This one?



Or would you put them in another category?

It is well known that the Chicago Oufit currently has a very strong operation where they make deals with biker gangs (most notably the Outlaws) in the Chicagoland area and midwest and then get kick backs from these partnerships. They have been doing this for years.

The Gangs do all the dirty work.
'
As long as biker gangs are thriving which they are the Outfit will continue to be in business.

Supposedly the big man or one of the big guys in Buffalo likes making pizza
So maybe that's why they are still around
Same thing with guys in produce markets or working 9 to 5 in regular jobs.
Not working, driving around in fancy cars,expensive clothes and jewelry,fancing wome,out all night in clubs as VIPs with younger women, kind of brings attention and also jealousy of authorities,who then target these guys.

Realistically how could anyone arrest a guy who makes them happy with good food? Easy way to stay in business and buy off the feds!

I do apologize, NickleCity. Thats my error. I completely forgot to list them. But here is my assessment of what remains of their borgata...

In my humble opinion, what once constituted the "Buffalo" Family does remain an entity. But more be formal structure, rather than by actual deed and daily operation.

And I strongly believe that whatever "criminal" activity they may engage in, is primarily done over the border in Canada, rather than on the NYS side of things.

On a scale of viable LCN activities and a continuing, perpetuating "Family" structure and in size, on a scale of 1 through 10 (with 10 being the most powerful,) I'd rank them hovering somewhere around a 2.

They are NOT a robust healthy Family in my view and their demise is also eminent on the horizon.

Lets discuss cities that many think do not have mob activity but actually do have some sort of presence in 2024.

Could we say that San Diego or lets say Phoenix have a crew working there? I'd put my $$$ on Phoenix to be completely honest if I had to choose.

By traditional LCN standards, IMO, thats actually completely unrealistic to even consider. Phoenix never even had a formal "crew" per se, and San Diego is long dead.

This is interesting to think about as there has to be a city somewhere that is flying under the radar with some connected guys living there (Not retired and still active)

Could be just as simple as some guys from a family in New York who decided to relocate and generate some business based in a certain city. Thats why I said Phoenix as Arizona is very popular right now.

Also can't forget about Miami or even the city of Tampa.

Business can be anything from running a prostitution ring to dealing in drug distribution. Which easily can be done in any of the places I have mentioned and would be highly successful from a racket standpoint.

I don't think I've seen as many strip clubs as you see anywhere compared to the Clearwater/Tampa area. Some are definitely mob owned.

Also, I hate to be the one to burst your bubble, Rush. Because I know how much you love your Chitown. But the current Chicago Outfit, or what's left of it, has one foot on the banana peel (maybe even both feet.) They are an absolute wisp of their former selves, and, IMO, their days are numbered (and thats putting it kindly.)

They are NOT "a very strong operation" as you stated above. Nor are they even a semi-strong entity at this stage of the game --- notice that I didn't even bother to use the word "Family" --- because as I see it, they do not currently operate as a fully functioning LCN Family, as have all come to understand it.

And not withstanding what you may have read to the contrary, they are on their last legs! (just remember, that you heard it from me first)

Actually Chicago locals tend to point out that the Outfit - although of course not nearly as endemic as it once was - is actually still a healthy and respected criminal organization. Now I don't know how much truth there is to that, but on several places online I've read intel from people who at least sound like they're somewhat "in the know" about Chicago and they have plenty of at least interesting things to say about the Chicago Outfit (for example there's a commenter named "Boca" sharing Chicago intel on the Reddit forums every now and then). I don't want to take their word as gospel, but seeing they're lifelong Chicago residents I don't want to denounce what they have to say either. They at least sound like they know a lot more about the current state of the Outfit than you, me or anyone else on this board for that matter.

I would be suspect about what anybody has to say about the current Chicago Outfit.

Because if you look at their "lineup" and "bench" or what currently passes for their lineup and bench, it is extremely thin, at best.

It's hardly the stuff that would compose a viable and fully functioning Cosa Nostra "Family" membership as we know one to be. And thats regardless of the size of any given family, Chicago or otherwise.

This is my view point. And as more time passes, I think you will start to see that this opinion is correct regarding them.

I guess we'll see. All I know is that their lineup and bench has seemingly stayed stable ever since I joined this forum about twelve years ago. Truth of the matter is, there's not much known about the Outfit and there hasn't been much known about them for more than a few decades now. They do seem to be very much an underground society, but when you read up on what people from the Chicago area have to say...it does seem like the current day Outfit rabbit hole goes deeper than that of any other family outside of New York. Personally I like to stay humble and not immediately outright dismiss anything a Chicago local has to say about what's going on in his city. At the end of the day, time will tell how much truth there is to any story and if I'd own a crystal ball I would've played the lottery a long time ago.