Here’s an interesting hypothetical for ya…

Just for shits and giggles….

Let’s say you were gonna be appointed as the new boss of one of the country’s 26 recognized Cosa Nostra Families. [By the way, this is at the height of their 1940s-1960s “Golden Years” when the Mafia was at the very pinnacle of their power and influence in the United States.]

But you're given a choice to pick the Family that you’d most like to be the boss of. Which borgata, in particular, would you have chosen?

Would it be one of the larger families? Say, one of New York’s Five Families? Or maybe the Chicago Outfit?

Or would you have selected a medium-sized Family like the Trafficante Family of Tampa, or the Dragna Family of LA?

Maybe you’d prefer one of the smaller Families like the Zammuto clan of Rockford, IL., the Colletti’s of Colorado, or the Cerrito Family of San Jose, CA?


....Its completely your choice….What's your opinion? (and why?)

The Genovese or Gambino?...Lucchese? Colombo? Chicago or Detroit?......or maybe Frankie Balistrieri's Milwaukee Outfit or Carlos Marcello's Big Easy borgata?

I would never want to run any of the five families during that era because I would never get a moment's rest. Honestly, I wouldn't say no to San Jose or LA. Something quiet with palm trees. I'd have enough money and it would probably be a pretty smooth ride.

Without a doubt I would prefer to head a small Family. One with a formal inducted membership of no more than maybe 25 to 35 members, tops.

With primary “associate members” added in, thats still another 100 or so men added to the borgata. Thats more than enough manpower to operate and make money, while still maintaining control, tranquility and stability.

[Note: Years back the FBI estimated each made guy averages 5 associates.]

So the structure would look something like this: Boss, Underboss, Consigliere, 3 Capodecina — with 7 or 8 men per crew, the equivalent 20-25 Soldiers.

But here’s the caveat. One of the most important criteria would be for this borgata to have exclusive rights to govern their own small city or territory (no competition). Good examples would be the Zito Family of Springfield, IL., Zammuto Family of Rockford, IL, Lanza Family of San Francisco, CA., La Rocca Family of Pittsburgh, PA., etc., etc.

A Family with jurisdiction over such a territory generally enjoys little to no violence — either internally or externally. A lucrative enough territory for everyone in the Family to earn well, diminishing the need for greed, jealousy and infighting. And lastly, but so important, these previously mentioned attributes also lead to a quiet and smooth running machine, which in turn helps avoid bad publicity which leads to law enforcement pressure and investigations.

I think another very interesting dynamic would be to look at single "crews" or "regimes" that were part of a larger "recognized" Family, per se. Yet, ruled over their acknowledged territory the same way a "Family" would.

"Regimes" like I'm speaking about were often viewed as stand-alone "Families" in and of themselves.

Good examples of this were the Salvatore Falcone Regime which tightly controlled the entire City of Utica, NY and its outer territories like Rome, and the even larger City of Syracuse; the "Cufari/Scibelli" Regime of Springfield, Massachusetts, which was also widely considered by the FBI as being almost a "Family" unto themselves. etc., etc.

Thinking of the discussion we are having here. Sometimes bigger isn't always best for business.

Sure you could have the most men but that opens up opportunities that can lead to very negative consequences for your family and leadership.

Thats 1000% correct, Rush.

Thats how I view it. Better to be smaller and "manageable," rather than have too far-flung a borgata that has too many moving parts.

Here's a direct link to an earlier expose' relating to this very thread conversation we're having. Figured it was worth a bump.

https://thenewyorkmafia.com/mafia-satellite-crews-across-usa/

Would be a good explanation as to why certain families downsized after big indictments that lead to prison time for their bosses and top soldiers.

That may very well be part of it. (also, the lack or recruits, and certainly the lack of "quality" recruits.)

Yep. Another good candidate that comes to mind is the City of Baltimore, Maryland. The Gambino Family (dating back to the days when Albert Anastasia was boss) had a large regime headed by their resident capo Luigi "Lou Mora" Morici, and later, by Morici's successor, Frank Corbi, who ran the entire city and outer territory almost as though they were a "Family" themselves....[but were, in essence, a single 'arm' or satellite of New York's Gambino crew]

This is a very interesting dynamic and phenomena that was exhibited in several cities and territories throughout the U.S.

Maybe they figured its not worth making new guys since the talent sucks.

The reality is, that the whole "thing" is shrinking and evaporating. First it was little by little. And now, more quicker than ever. "The Life" is fast becoming a bygone way of life... (at least here in the USA, anyway)

When your talent pool consists of guys with silver spoons, why even waste your time?

The demographics of the Italian people in America has vastly changed (for the good) over the last century. That fact, coupled with the Reality that 95% of the labor unions and vital industries once controlled by LCN have been stripped from them, and the myriad of other criminal activities once controlled and operated by them have now been "legalized" though the years...the is next to nothing left for those fellas still "in the street."

Rush, when you stop to consider those raw facts of "the life" with the assimilation of the Italian populous into the upper strata of society today...there ya have it! [When broken down step by step, it's an easy concept to understand.)

Needless to say that the Pittsburgh LCN during era LaRocca era come's to mind :-)

Yes FOH, I agree with you (and I had mentioned the La Rocca Family above.)

I think La Rocca ran a tight ship and steered his borgata in the proper direction over the years.

The Pittsburgh Family is a good example for this thread.

John La Rocca maintained a small "inducted" membership, which allowed him to maintain control. He assigned his capos specific sections of the city and "territories" where those particular capos essentially ran their own small "sub" families where they were given a wide berth.

Apparently La Rocca wasn't greedy because, as far as we know, there was little to no "in-fighting" among the members. Most everybody seemed to make money, thereby keeping the peace and tranquillity within the Family.

Few arrests, few jail terms, few murders, very little dissension, etc., etc.

PS: But Pittsburgh is not alone their modus operandi. There have been a few other Families who operated along these same lines who also enjoyed great success with this formula.

It depends. San jose if 1948, talk with members of the commission, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, and Detroit to really work and iron some issues out when it came to territory. Prevent hit from taking place in Santa Cruz which allowed another associate to divulge information which he was killed for in 1950. Having the Modesto crew do what they do, but giving more support to Joe Cusenza Modesto regime and making Modesto associate Peter Vella out of Ceres in 1949, thus gaining power in the unions, trucking, and loansharking in in those areas.

Another deceptively successful Family through the decades was the Mafia clan headquartered in the town of Pittston, in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Better known as the Russell Bufalino Family, nonetheless, this venerable Cosa Nostra network dated back to the turn of the 20th century and operated quietly and efficiently for the next 100 years. Their operating style was such that it allowed them to become one of the wealthier and most respected Families in the entire United States.

Note: The only caveat to this is, that despite what many folks think, this borgata was NOT a small Family, by any stretch of the imagination. They were surprisingly far-flung in their activities and had a very substantial membership to facilitate them.

The one with the least rats.

If you RAT in my family it would have been automatic death up until probably the early 1990s. If it happened in 2024, you get cut off forever and can go shine shoes for a living. Also every top mob guy in the country would have been notified of you being a RAT so don't try to go work for someone else because they won't hire you either.