???

And if so, as in which period? As powerful as 15 years ago, or like in the '50s, or like in the 20's. Would those future 'havers' of power still be the 5 families as we currently now them? And which family has the most chance to gain strength again?

I think they have to agree to cut with drug dealing, they have to stop fighting each other. There is a saying "If the brothers fight each other, they are eaten by the outsiders".
The most important reason to me(Despite the drugs) why they lost power is because they were not togheter so they did not have time to take care of the police and the FBI because they were paying attention to the other families attack.

As long as "average" people want to break the law by gambling where it's illegal, using drugs, buying stolen goods, cutting corners, etc., there's going to be organized crime. As long as crooked politicians need "dirty money" and fraudulent support to get elected, organized crime will be there to serve them. But the Mafia as we knew it will never be as strong as it was. The socioeconomic conditions that gave rise to the Mafia are long gone.

I agree
Life in America now a days is much much different than it was in say the 50's and the Mafia prospered very well in those simpler times...The mafia will always be around but I don't believe it will ever become as near as powerful as it ever was....Our society is just to different the way things are now is not as good of growing grounds for the Mafia.....I think everythings to Chaotic....People flip out about everything these dayss...



Joe Batters

I agree here with Turnbull. And to add some of my own thoughts to what he has said, I also believe that government and big business have taken over many of the mob's illegitimate money making businesses and "legitimized" them for their own benefit, which has indirectly caused the mob to lose much of it's power over the years.

Take the Italian Lottery aka the daily number. This was one of the mob's biggest businesses throughout the years. It was the poor man's lotto. Now the state and local governments have legalized playing the numbers which in turn phased out the mob's numbers rackets over the years.

Another business that the corporations have taken over with the help of state and federal government is Casino gambling. This was another business that was run by the mob. On the surface the casinos were legitimate businesses run using legitimate names. But underneath the mob had it's hands in every pocket within that business. Big corporations saw how much money was in these types of businesses and using the help of government ( read The Black Book and The Mob ) they squeezed the mob out and slowly moved right in themselves.

Years ago the mob had speakeasys where one could eat, drink and gamble. Today there are legal speakeasys popping up all over the place in the form of Off Track Betting Reataurants. Now one can go to a place where they can drink, have dinner and bet on the horses all in the same place.

The selling of Stolen goods. Well this might be a bit of a stretch, but in it's own way the government has also gotten into the selling stolen goods business. Federal Auctions are usually goods that have been siezed by the feds when arresting criminals and gangsters convicted under the RICO act. The government siezes items found in the possession of these people and in turn auctions them off to the public. In reality how many of these items taken from these criminals and auctioned off by the federal government were aquired legitimately by these criminals in the first place? So in essences the federal government is reselling many items that they've siezed which were originally stolen by criminals in the first place.

The mob will always be here for exactly the reasons that Turnbull has pointed out, but I don't believe that the Mob will ever be as influential and as strong as it once was.


Don Cardi

hypothetically speaking I thought of this...

If it stays strictly Italian it will have limits. It may be traditional but... survival of the fittest. The reason other organized crime is rising to power is because of their openness to having the best do the job and gain a position, not just the best Italian. If they hire someone to do a job they get just what they pay for, not ones loyalty.

Drugs are too large of a profit to overlook, besides they already got into it and that has changed the outlook of cosa nostra to law enforcement. They no longer go after just those known for dealing, it is now assumed all are involved in trafficking. If one were to remain unpredictable and low key (no flashy cars, suits, giveaways, try to blend in with the rest of the world) it could be possible to surpass the old mob. Prediction is how they all go down. Every crime should take a different path from the last and the feds will have trouble finding the starting point. For example if they never discussed family business in the same place twice the feds would have problems planting bugs. Or changing other variables in drug shipments etc. The money is there, why take chances?

The witness protection program is another problem facing the mob. One would have to discover the loves of the witness and take advantage of that like a chess game.

Just some thoughts nothing to put into practice

To survive and flourish the Mafia would have to race into the 21st century. Many of their old fashioned heists would be reborn in a world of computers, hacking and identity fraud; the concept of a "soldier"; a thieving killer, would diminish. What are the chances of the mafia turning in this direction? In my opinion the bulk of organised crime will focus greatly on arms, drugs, and electronically based theft. Though I do not believe that the mafia will totally eradicated. Though it seems a possibility, given that the Mafia's initiation rules have tightened greatly since the 70's-80's busts, making it harder for their numbers to increase. Matched with an increased intensity in the FBI's anti-OC tactics; far greater legitimate job prospects for young people than in older times, and plenty of media denouncing the glory of criminal lives (The Sopranos; Goodfellas, etc.), it seems hard that the Mafia will expand in numbers.

I agree with Turnbull, that as long as "average" people have tastes for illegal activities like gambling, there'll always be OC.

I think that over time, the true definition of the mafia will change. More and more, mafia men will appear as legitimate business men, truly legitimate, not like John Gotti supposedly selling plumbing supplies, but like a well known figure who is heavily involved in illegal activities on the side. The publics perception of a gangster is going to change, so whether you want to call it the mafia dying or just the mafia changing, it seems to be what will eventually happen.