1 genovese
2 gambino
3 lucchese
4 bonnano
5 columbo
6 chicago
7 patriarca
8 philly
9 decalvacante
10 detroit
11 buffalo
12 kansas city
13 everybody else

what does everybody think? the top six are pretty clear, but 7-9 are very close imo. yeah i know the bottom rung arent viable families(10-12) but i added them just to give perspective.

But are you sure the DeCavalcantes are above Detroit, Buffalo and some others? Almost everybody of them turned informant apart from Vitabile and a couple of others, so it doesn't really seem a strong family. Or did the situation change that much since then?

although they have suffered a great deal with inditement, ratting ect i would say definatly above those you mentioned. i think that although weakened they will be here for a while. being close to the new york families sure has its advantages, although it could also hav its disadvantages if the stronger partners got greedy and wanted to muscle in to a greater extent than has already happened.

i agree with you on the list, five and six the colombos and the outfit are where it gets fishy for me, i wish we had more updated info on the current #'s for the outfit

the de cavalcante have 3 turncoats only they are among the most secretive considering they have 75 made members

Five Felonies' rankings are right. And it's not that the DeCavalcantes are a strong family. It's just that all the families below them, including Detroit and Buffalo, are not what some still believe them to be.

They don't have 75 members. That was the hypothetical max the family could get to. It's questionable if they ever had that many, much less today where their membership is estimated at 40-50.

Only a few years ago the FBI cited 28 made members and a little over 100 associates. What else do we need to know?

You cannot judge the power of the Outfit by the number of made members. You guys don't understand that the Outfit is structured differently than the New York 5 Families who make everybody and his brother. The solders in the Outfit are not made guys, they work for the made guys but still belong to the crew as members. The Outfit presently has about 160 members. However, only about 25%, or 40 are made guys. They also have very strong political power in Chicago.

Still Measuring your dick?

You two guys cut it out already!! DickNose, you're really getting annoying with your childish shit. You're being WARNED for the last time to stop it! NOW!

ChicagoDon, leave the arrogant attitude at the door before you come in here. It is not welcome. If you choose to keep the arrogance, you won't be welcome, either!

Also, The F.B.I. estimates range from a low of 28 to a high of 50. Years before there were about 240 members with about 60 made guys. They have downsized from 6 street crews to 4 and are around 160 members with 40 being made. Chicago has always been way, way more selective in who they make. The made men in Chicago are equal or on the same level as Captains in New York. The Outfit is structured by street crew power. The Top Boss of the Outfit, John DiFronzo, is also the Boss of the extended Elmwood Park Crew. He is actually a senior advisor. The day to day Top boss is Marco D'Amico. the other three crews, Grand Ave., Cicero & 26th St. are partnered with the Dominent Crew, Elmwood Park.

If we're talking total manpower - members and associates - then it's probably a max of around 150. 28 guys who are considered made plus a little over 100 others, according to the FBI.

it's what vinny ocean said, he was a member and he sure knew the exact ot almost exact number of inducted members
maybe the fbi estimates is about the members actually in freedom not the total member... i heard the official boss rigg will be released in a few month

ok, so chicago is structured differently than new york, but they still arent as influential as the weakest ny family. it just seems that the modern day outfit isnt as diverse in thier money-making schemes as video poker seems to be thier lifeblood along with other forms of gambling. out of all the major remaining families they seem to have steered clear of the drugs for the most part,which could be good or bad depending on how you look at it. also gone are the days where chicago "controls" everything west of the mississippi.

I will repeat. The F.B.I. has estimates that range from as low as 28 to as high as 50. My uncle is a made man in the Outfit. I'm TELLING you there are about 40 made active guys along with about another 120 soldiers. The street associates are a lot more because now you're talking about all the street bookies and bar owners WHO DO BUSINESS with the Outfit. Then you have your high level associates WHO DO BUSINESS OR ARE UNDER THE CONTROL of the Outfit. In Summary, you have Bosses, underbosses, made men & soldiers who are members. then you have hundreds of street associates who DO BUSINESS with the Outfit. The Outfit is very diverse. The one thing noone does is hands on drug dealing. that is a big no no.

Vinny Ocean never quoted 75 members. I believe it was Anthony Capo who said the max the family was allowed to have was 75. He didn't say they actually had that many.

Listen pal, do you know how many so called insiders we've had come on these boards over the years? Guys who's dad or uncle or cousin or whoever is a member of the Outfit or some other family. Sorry, but I'll go with the feds over some internet insider any day.

Not much west of the Mississippi left to control anyway.

okay Pal, but whick F.b I. ESTIMATE do you want to go with, 28 or 50. There have been a few estimates done by them, PAL. aLSO, THE f.B.I. IS NOT ALWAYS ACCURATE. fOR EXAMPLE, back in 1986, they said Joe Ferriola was the top boss of the Outfit. He was a capo but never the top Boss of the Outfit. In 1986, sam Carlisi was the top Boss of the Outfit. I F YOU DON'T BELEIVE MY uNCLE IS A MADE MAN IN THE OUTFIT, I PERSONALLY DON'T GIVE A FUCK

I'm happy to go with the latest one, which was during the "Family Secrets" case - 28 "made" guys + a little over 100 associates.

Even if your uncle was in the Outfit, it's not like you've done a personal head count yourself. And what's with you guys always coming on these boards and claiming to have family members who are connected but NEVER actually specifying any names?

Sorry but you're 3 or 4 years too late with this insider crap. Several other past posters on these board have always tried this. Not too many fall for it anymore.

You obviously don't understand the way the Outfit is structured. Also, They never said during the Family secrects case there were only 28 made members. In fact, during the family secrects trial,they said there were 60 active made members. However, they were talking about the recent past. That number came fron Nick Calabrese, himself. My uncle is Joey Lombardo. He was wrongly convicted in the case. I was present at the Family secrets trial. Your facts are wrong. The F B.I. MADE THAT LOW ESTIMATE AFTER THE FAMILY SECRETS TRIAL NOT DURING THE TRIAL. DURING THE TRIAL, THE ONLY NUMBERR THAT CAME UP WAS 60 BY NICK CALABRESE. HE ALSO SAID THER WERE 6 STREET CREWS.Again, he was talking about the recent past. I KNOW MORE ABOUT HOW THE oUTFIT OPERATES THAN YOU WILL EVER KNOW IN YOUR FUCKING LIFETIME.

just for curiosity, how can the fbi knows exactly the number of made members?
in italy italian police barely knows this kind of numbers and it publics very generic estimates
maybe in the states italians are more focussed because of a very fractured crimes over there?

yeah i know that. it was part of my point as people always and still to this day use that arguement to try to convince people that the outfit is so high and mighty.

Doubtful, but take your sorry know-it-all ass out of here and stay the fuck out.

if calabrese himself told they had 60 members it should be pretty right

Both the quotes below came out in 2007 - 5 years ago. Hardly outdated information. And there was a snippet in one article about Calabrese identifying 60 members. But it didn't really expound and the media often uses the term "member" in a very generic and loose sense.


"We have 28 made members of the Chicago Outfit roaming in the Chicagoland area. We have over 100 associates of the Chicago Outfit," Grant said. - Robert Grant, FBI
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=5681103


Mallul estimates the Outfit has about 30 "made" members and a little more than 100 associates. (John Mallul is the supervisor of the FBI's organized crime unit in Chicago)
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2007-09-30/news/0709300075_1_chicago-outfit-mob-boss-calabrese


Maybe you're related to Lombardo. And maybe your not. That's the problem with claims made on the internet. There's usually no way to prove it. And again, even if you are related to Lombardo, that doesn't mean you would know the current manpower of the Outfit.

Read what I said above about Calabrese citing 60 members. And it seems to me you're anxious to go with whatever number is the highest. If somebody said Calabrese claimed 500 members, you'd probably believe that.

This sums up the Chicago Outfit better than the movie Casino.

There's a Soprano's episode in which Tony is being advised by his attorney, Neil Mink, to which Mink advises, "...the FBI put an investment into it's operation and soon enough they'll want a return on that investment."

I'm also willing to bet that Chicago has NO interaction with New York. Chicago will go defunct before the DeCavalcante's I think also.

ill like to see what happens with the decavalcantes when the long time boss comes out of prison this year