What does that even mean? How does an OC group "care" about the mob? Taken seriously in what? As far as I know the mob's business doesn't intersect with that of drug cartels or other ethnic OC groups so how would they care about one another?
Last edited by Montrose; 12/06/2401:19 PM.
Re: Is the American mafia taken seriously anymore?
[Re: British]
#1107227 12/06/2404:50 PM12/06/2404:50 PM
These kind of questions pop up every few months, but at the end of the day these questions are pointless. An Italian-American mobster has zero interest in going to war with a Black American gang member over drug turf in Camden or with a Mexican cartel emissary over some smuggling route in the Rio Grande Valley...or vice versa for that matter.
Seems like some people on the internet think that just because the American Mafia is (admittedly) a far cry from their glory days or just because they're not whacking people left or right it immediately means they should be considered a "laughing stock". Well...they're still around, they still have a recruitment pool - God knows why or how they still have one but somehow they still do - and they're still making plenty of money. Say what you will, but as far as organized crime goes they're generally speaking remarkably well organized and they're quick to adapt to a changing landscape. There are plenty of other high profile OC groups, but if you take the drug business away most of them will collapse.
The FBI still sees the American Mafia as a high priority issue in the NY/NJ area - their traditional power base. And if you believe otherwise...feel free to take a trip down to let's say some mobbed-up Staten Island neighborhood, find a local mob guy, take a loan of him and tell him to go fuck himself. I'm willing to bet you're gonna have a serious problem, RICO be damned.
Re: Is the American mafia taken seriously anymore?
[Re: TheKillingJoke]
#1107313 12/07/2409:34 AM12/07/2409:34 AM
These kind of questions pop up every few months, but at the end of the day these questions are pointless. An Italian-American mobster has zero interest in going to war with a Black American gang member over drug turf in Camden or with a Mexican cartel emissary over some smuggling route in the Rio Grande Valley...or vice versa for that matter.
Seems like some people on the internet think that just because the American Mafia is (admittedly) a far cry from their glory days or just because they're not whacking people left or right it immediately means they should be considered a "laughing stock". Well...they're still around, they still have a recruitment pool - God knows why or how they still have one but somehow they still do - and they're still making plenty of money. Say what you will, but as far as organized crime goes they're generally speaking remarkably well organized and they're quick to adapt to a changing landscape. There are plenty of other high profile OC groups, but if you take the drug business away most of them will collapse.
The FBI still sees the American Mafia as a high priority issue in the NY/NJ area - their traditional power base. And if you believe otherwise...feel free to take a trip down to let's say some mobbed-up Staten Island neighborhood, find a local mob guy, take a loan of him and tell him to go fuck himself. I'm willing to bet you're gonna have a serious problem, RICO be damned.
No doubt, but good or bad their mesmerizing of the public who had romantic notions of them seems to be vanishing. Probably need an epic like The Godfather to get that back again. Movies like Goodfellows as good as it was, won't do it
Re: Is the American mafia taken seriously anymore?
[Re: British]
#1107343 12/07/2403:45 PM12/07/2403:45 PM
But not everyone goes for the romantic Godfather vibe to the Mafia. Some people actually like the thuggish ruthlessness of a Nicky Scarfo or the gruff and rough-around-the-edges Fat Tony Salerno. Many people accept that it's the cold harsh reality of the mob and they love it!
Re: Is the American mafia taken seriously anymore?
[Re: Liggio]
#1107352 12/07/2404:50 PM12/07/2404:50 PM
[quote=Liggio]But not everyone goes for the romantic Godfather vibe to the Mafia. Some people actually like the thuggish ruthlessness of a Nicky Scarfo or the gruff and rough-around-the-edges Fat Tony Salerno. Many people accept that it's the cold harsh reality of the mob and they love it![/quot
For sure about that. That type is supposedly more realistic But in the Godfather you had Clemenza who some might picture as Salerno type and there were some ruthless types What the Godfather did was kind of not only make a lot of Americans,especially Italians aware of the mafia, but kind of made them seem acceptable that there was somebody out there that recognized that sometimes they weren't much worse than the government, but that they could serve justice for ordinary people when the government wouldn't..So for mafia afficionados or street guys it might not have seemed real, But it kept them in a positive light and a serious light for regular people
Re: Is the American mafia taken seriously anymore?
[Re: British]
#1107362 12/07/2406:31 PM12/07/2406:31 PM
These kind of questions pop up every few months, but at the end of the day these questions are pointless. An Italian-American mobster has zero interest in going to war with a Black American gang member over drug turf in Camden or with a Mexican cartel emissary over some smuggling route in the Rio Grande Valley...or vice versa for that matter.
True violence happens between different groups, but mostly internal and around their own circle.
"The king is dead, long live the king!"
Re: Is the American mafia taken seriously anymore?
[Re: British]
#1107375 12/07/2407:59 PM12/07/2407:59 PM
What does that even mean? How does an OC group "care" about the mob? Taken seriously in what? As far as I know the mob's business doesn't intersect with that of drug cartels or other ethnic OC groups so how would they care about one another?
Some people think this is like the movies, Batman vs Superman.
Last edited by BugsyM; 12/09/2410:14 PM.
Re: Is the American mafia taken seriously anymore?
[Re: British]
#1107687 12/10/2412:05 PM12/10/2412:05 PM
It takes a very special breed to want to choose a life of crime over being legit when they are handed that opportunity on a silver platter.
The majority of people that are willing to choose a life of crime come from areas that are very poor. This is why the Old School Italians chose a life of crime in the early 20th century and the mafia flourished.
Last edited by RushStreet; 12/10/2412:06 PM.
Re: Is the American mafia taken seriously anymore?
[Re: British]
#1107688 12/10/2412:33 PM12/10/2412:33 PM
In their power bases, the Mafia still flourishes. Most LCN Families that went extinct disappeared because they stopped recruiting. It's that simple. Families that are still recruiting are still here, and always will be as long as they are still making people. Sure, most of the remaining Families are severely damaged from events that happened decades ago. Lousy bosses, guys flipping, internal strife, most of the mob’s wounds are self-inflicted, yet many people act as though it's all due to RICO as if it's that simple.
Re: Is the American mafia taken seriously anymore?
[Re: Liggio]
#1107689 12/10/2412:47 PM12/10/2412:47 PM
In their power bases, the Mafia still flourishes. Most LCN Families that went extinct disappeared because they stopped recruiting. It's that simple. Families that are still recruiting are still here, and always will be as long as they are still making people. Sure, most of the remaining Families are severely damaged from events that happened decades ago. Lousy bosses, guys flipping, internal strife, most of the mob’s wounds are self-inflicted, yet many people act as though it's all due to RICO as if it's that simple.
How is there any trust among them when these days it seems many of them are not from the same neighborhoods Not even sure if these days they even know for sure who is really Italian, let alone all 4 grandparents
Re: Is the American mafia taken seriously anymore?
[Re: British]
#1107690 12/10/2412:52 PM12/10/2412:52 PM
Not only are the laws tougher than ever before, but people also have so much material shit they are addicted to in their daily lives. I mean look at the kids today. They would rat in a second if they were pressured by the feds to give someone up to save their own ass and pampered lifestyle. Plus they fear Prison and the people that are in there.
Old School mob guys feared nothing, no cop, no federal agent. I mean look at how cool & collected they were, nothing fazed them. They knew at any moment the FBI could shake them down and it never made them flinch. This is why they were respected, trusted and didn't rat. Young kids today piss their pants if they are pulled over by a local cop during a traffic stop.
Last edited by RushStreet; 12/10/2412:59 PM.
Re: Is the American mafia taken seriously anymore?
[Re: British]
#1107691 12/10/2401:04 PM12/10/2401:04 PM
I was referring to the notion that they're disappearing altogether, they're not! And with inflation and the economy going to shit, we might even see a resurgence. All those jobs people keep saying people are choosing over the Mafia may not be around much longer.
Re: Is the American mafia taken seriously anymore?
[Re: Havana]
#1107692 12/10/2401:06 PM12/10/2401:06 PM
In their power bases, the Mafia still flourishes. Most LCN Families that went extinct disappeared because they stopped recruiting. It's that simple. Families that are still recruiting are still here, and always will be as long as they are still making people. Sure, most of the remaining Families are severely damaged from events that happened decades ago. Lousy bosses, guys flipping, internal strife, most of the mob’s wounds are self-inflicted, yet many people act as though it's all due to RICO as if it's that simple.
How is there any trust among them when these days it seems many of them are not from the same neighborhoods Not even sure if these days they even know for sure who is really Italian, let alone all 4 grandparents
The diluting of the blood as multi-generational Italians now firmly entrenched 'Mericans' coupled with the shrinking racket pool of activities and the draconian laws, highly sophisticated LE techniques, etc., etc.,etc. We could go on all day with this.
The long and short of this subject is that its all OVER!!
In their power bases, the Mafia still flourishes. Most LCN Families that went extinct disappeared because they stopped recruiting. It's that simple. Families that are still recruiting are still here, and always will be as long as they are still making people. Sure, most of the remaining Families are severely damaged from events that happened decades ago. Lousy bosses, guys flipping, internal strife, most of the mob’s wounds are self-inflicted, yet many people act as though it's all due to RICO as if it's that simple.
Many mob families died because the sons or the nephew of the old guard went legit and doesnt want to follow their fathers because they are rich and dont want to risk their lives. The families that still recruit have to make do with what's left. But anyway the bloods,the latin kings,the bikers are doing bussiness with the mob because the real important color is the green of the dollars not the red of blood.
Re: Is the American mafia taken seriously anymore?
[Re: RushStreet]
#1107702 12/10/2404:43 PM12/10/2404:43 PM
Not only are the laws tougher than ever before, but people also have so much material shit they are addicted to in their daily lives. I mean look at the kids today. They would rat in a second if they were pressured by the feds to give someone up to save their own ass and pampered lifestyle. Plus they fear Prison and the people that are in there.
Old School mob guys feared nothing, no cop, no federal agent. I mean look at how cool & collected they were, nothing fazed them. They knew at any moment the FBI could shake them down and it never made them flinch. This is why they were respected, trusted and didn't rat. Young kids today piss their pants if they are pulled over by a local cop during a traffic stop.
Old guys mob guys was poor and the mob was the only way to escape hunger. But hard times generate stand up guys and good times generate weak men. Sad but true.
Anyway my Italy is living bad times for sure the 5 families can easly go to the old motherland and recruitmore tought guys.
Re: Is the American mafia taken seriously anymore?
[Re: British]
#1107745 12/10/2409:50 PM12/10/2409:50 PM
I think it's just that the American Mafia today isn't out there daily committing high-profile, cowboy crimes like hijacking, robberies, armored truck heists, violent extortions, etc etc. THAT part of mob life is definitely over. They're still of course involved in the standard loansharking and gambling rackets which will never die despite what people say or how legal it becomes. But from what I can see many mobsters today are involved in more sophisticated rackets and scams that makes a ton of money in just one sitting. Less bloody, less violent, and less murderous. But to many people if they're not out there violently extorting, robbing and plundering they're dead. This is just my opinion or what I think.
Last edited by Liggio; 12/11/2412:04 PM.
Re: Is the American mafia taken seriously anymore?
[Re: British]
#1107770 12/11/2411:04 AM12/11/2411:04 AM
