Originally Posted by Turnbull
Originally Posted by Toodoped

During the 60's and 70's the Chicago Outfit was THE number one target of the federal government and so the top bosses were already satisfied with the income which they received from different rackets, meaning they didnt need to be involved in the dope trade which at the time was Sislowly becoming THE number one illegal racket, again in the eyes of law.
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For decades, drugs were a profitable, but not huge, sideline for Mafia families. And, as long as the traffic was confined to ghetto areas, minorities, musicians and others society didn't care about, drugs only sporadically appeared on law enforcement/political radar. The explosion of drug use in the sixties and seventies ruined the lives of many young white kids--including sons and daughters of police, judges and politicians. Enforcement was stepped up, and sentences for trafficking moved well into the double digits. NY's "Rockefeller Law," which decrees life in prison with no parole for just possession of salable quantities of hard drugs is still on the books.


I agree and believe it or not, that statement in the Godfather movie, which was made by one of the bosses during the commission meeting, was for real, meaning during the old days in Chicago they mainly sold the drugs around the black neighborhoods (especially the south side and southern suburbs) and also to the ordinary (blue collar) working man who had jobs in factories, meat plants etc. But as you already said, by the 1970s it developed into an epidemic, a situation which also largely contributed to the huge number of Outfit-related murders during that same bloody decade. When he got out of jail, even Galante himself had to visit some of the Outfit's "junk opposing" bosses regarding the problem.

Mongol General: Conan, what is best in life?

Conan: To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women.