It seems like the mafia these days sell drugs such as pills mostly or marijuana the cheaper drugs. Does the mafia sell drugs like cocaine or heroin the high value drugs anymore. Also would the mafia have any connections with the Latin American drug cartels or Corsican/Sicilians to by drugs from.

in my opinion the only drugs where the mafia is at or near top dog status would be prescription pills, mainly oxycodone and to a lesser extent benzos such as xanax or valium. oxy abuse has reached epidemic levels in the northeast and there are insane amounts of money to be made. by now most people with any drug knowledge are aware of south floridas pill mills, and with all five families maintaining a somewhat strong influence there it makes sense to me that there has to be lots of involvement with shipping the pills north. it also helps that these drugs are sold more in the suburbs which means less chance imo of conflicts with other groups. the mafia is also heavily involved with marijuana cultivation and distrubution as ther have been a number of grow houses with links to lcn. pot has such a wide customer base that there seems to be room for everyone. in terms of heroin and cocaine, the mafia in the us seem to be mid-level at best. gone are the days of the pizza connection, and even more importantly is the fact that most of the heroin in the united states is imported from columbia and mexico today, rather than sicily. the only mafia groups with direct links to the cartels seem to be the calabrians.

Does the Rizzuto's and the other italian crime families in Canada sell heroin and cocaine still? The Italians in Canada seem to have more close connections to their homeland.

not sure about heroin on a major scale but i know that the rizzutos are the top dogs when it comes to cocaine in canada. vito has/had some major south american connections from what i remember hearing. the heroin trade in canada seems to be controlled more by asian gangs around vancover bringing the stuff in from southeast asia primarily. and to a lesser extent some tar from some of the mexican orgs.

A few of the reports i have read have stated east indian gangs as major heroin trafickers in western and mid canada.
In the states i think that drug cartels mostly just work directly with the major dealers and street gangs. Probably saves them the money and manpower of having to keep sending too many people to all the different cities they work in.

The 2009 DEA report cited the LCN as being more involved in marijuana and ecstasy, and to a "lesser extent," cocaine and heroin. However, if you look at the LCN drug cases themselves over the past decade, they still seem to be pretty big into cocaine as well. Not so much heroin anymore. And, as said, now there are prescription drugs as well.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=79...pg=4742,1508651
http://gangstersinc.ning.com/profiles/blogs/lucchese-family-sold-oxy-from
I definatley think that for most part they are mid level traffickers, with a minority above that.
Oxycontin seems to be the drug of choice now for mob drug traffickers. Were probably gonna see more working ties to other groups like street gangs in the near future. Do you guys think that the luchesse leadership looked down on that relationship with the bloods in that nj case or do you think they encourage it to make money and connections?
How many guys do you think sell drugs in each family?

What you had was Joe Perna, an LCN soldier, having contact with a Blood "five star general." It's not like Spears would have gotten anywhere near DiNapoli or Madonna. But you are right about the mob and drugs. In general, they're at the mid-levels now.

I may have posted this before. It's a list by year of LCN busts that included narcotics charges and what family/drugs were involved.



June 2000
Bonanno Family - marijuana

November 2000
Lucchese Family - cocaine

December 2000
Gambino Family - heroin

February 2001
Colombo Family - marijuana, ecstasy

March 2001
Lucchese Family - cocaine

April 2001
Genovese Family - drug trafficking

October 2001
Bonanno Family - cocaine

December 2001
Lucchese Family - ecstasy

January 2002
Gambino Family - cocaine

March 2002
Bonanno Family - cocaine

November 2002
Lucchese Family - cocaine, marijuana, vicodin

November 2002
Bonanno Family - cocaine

December 2002
Bonanno/Lucchese Family - drug trafficking

January 2003
Gambino Family - marijuana

April 2003
Gambino Family - crystal meth, ecstasy, cocaine, marijuana, steroids, vicodin, valium

June 2003
Genovese Family - cocaine

October 2003
Colombo/Bonanno Family - marijuana

January 2004
Bonanno Family - marijuana, ecstasy

December 2004
Genovese/Lucchese/Bonanno Family - cocaine
Gambino Family - cocaine

January 2005
Bonanno Family - heroin, crack cocaine

February 2005
Bonanno Family - drug trafficking

March 2005
Genovese Family - oxycontin, ecstasy, marijuana
Genovese Family - cocaine

May 2005
Gambino Family - prescription drugs

January 2006
Bonanno Family - drug trafficking

February 2006
Genovese Family - cocaine, anabolic steroids
Genovese Family - cocaine, marijuana

March 2006
Gambino Family - marijuana

May 2006
Gambino Family - drug trafficking

June 2006
Bonanno Family - marijuana, ecstasy
Genovese Family - cocaine

September 2006
Bonanno Family - marijuana

October 2006
Gambino Family - marijuana

December 2006
Colombo Family - cocaine, marijuana

February 2007
Bonanno Family - drug trafficking

March 2007
Gambino Family - vicodin

May 2007
Gambino Family - steroids

December 2007
Lucchese Family - heroin
Genovese Family - drug trafficking

February 2008
Gambino Family - cocaine, marijuana
Lucchese Family - marijuana
Genovese Family - cocaine

March 2008
Genovese Family - cocaine, crack, marijuana, prescription drugs

June 2008
Colombo Family - marijuana, cocaine

August 2008
Gambino Family - cocaine
Bonanno Family - drug trafficking

September 2008
Genovese Family - cocaine

November 2008
Lucchese Family - cocaine

February 2009
Genovese Family - cocaine, crack
Bonanno Family - marijuana

May 2009
Bonanno Family - oxycodone, hydrocone

September 2009
Lucchese Family - painkiller narcotics

October 2009
Bonanno Family - marijuana

December 2009
Colombo Family - marijuana

February 2010
Gambino Family - oxycodone
Gambino Family - marijuana

April 2010
Genovese Family - drug trafficking
Gambino Family - cocaine, oxycontin, marijuana

January 2011
Colombo Family - marijuana
Gambino Family - cocaine, marijuana, ecstasy

March 2011
Bonanno Family - marijuana, steroids
Lucchese Family - oxycodone

June 2011
Gambino Family - oxycodone

August 2011
Gambino Family - marijuana, cocaine
Bonanno Family - cocaine

December 2011
Colombo Family - prescription drugs

January 2012
Bonanno Family - marijuana

thats very useful, thanks. interesting that the busts mirror the flavor of the month when it comes to drugs. if i had to guess i would say that prescription drugs are the #1 money maker now followed by pot, with heroin and coke following.

In the States, weed and XTC. Prescription pills and steroids in New York/suburban Staten Island.

Only the Italian-Italians have contacts with Mexican cartels, i.e. cocaine shipments to Europe. I doubt there's American wiseguys with contacts and access to Mexican cartel members.

Grow houses in New York for weed however are big.

pretty much spot on man. xtc doesnt seem to be nearly as big in the northeast as it was in the 90's. oxycodone is literally all over the place over here as well as the pot but ive heard its very expensive , not like in cali

California and the marijuana thing we've got goin' on here....

...damn we abused it. Feds shut down most of the marijuana clinics after most of the 'patients' were 19 year old pothead kids. Though it's hopeful that California's system will influence the eventual legalization of marijuana.

The 2009 DEA report said the American LCN was increasingly working with Mexican DTO's, which are basically extensions of the cartels in Mexico. Whether it be other Italians, the Colombians, Dominicans, or Mexicans, the American LCN guys have to get their cocaine from somewhere.

Here's the cases that included drug charges involving other families -


April 2000
Chicago Family - cocaine

June 2000
Buffalo/Rochester Family - cocaine

March 2001
Philadelphia Family - drug trafficking

June 2001
Kansas City Family - ecstasy, cocaine

October 2001
New England Family - drug trafficking

April 2002
Chicago Family - marijuana

May 2002
Buffalo Family - drug trafficking

September 2002
New England Family - cocaine, marijuana

December 2002
New England Family - drug trafficking

May 2003
Philadelphia Family - cocaine

January 2004
Tampa Family - marijuana

January 2005
New England Family - cocaine

February 2005
New England Family - prescription drugs
NE PA Family - drug trafficking

January 2006
New England Family - marijuana, vicodin

June 2006
Buffalo Family - cocaine

October 2006
Philadelphia Family - steroids

November 2006
Philadelphia Family - cocaine

December 2006
New England Family - marijuana, steroids, and vicodin

August 2007
New England Family - heroin

July 2008
Philadelphia Family - drug trafficking

September 2008
Philadelphia Family - crystal meth

November 2009
New England Family - cocaine, marijuana, vicodin

February 2009
New England Family - marijuana

March 2009
Kansas City Family - meth

May 2010
New England Family - heroin

October 2010
New England Family - heroin, marijuana

November 2010
New England Family - oxycontin, oxycodone, percocet, vicodin

April 2011
Philadelphia Family - prescription medications

Thanks for the list you provided in the next post, fucking incredible information. Surprised to see the stuff on Buffalo, KC and the smaller families.

It's surprising to see Italian-American wiseguys working with Mexican cartels, simply because of geography of comfortable territory. Though Mexican cartels are eager to operate over the entire United States, so them in New York or the Greater Northeast is not surprising.

Very, very interesting.

I think that's basically the reason, i.e. the Mexicans have been expanding into the northeast in recent years. They're the dominant drug trafficking group in the rest of the country already. The northeast was the last region where the Colombians still supplied most of the cocaine. And there is more competition from Asians, Cubans, Dominicans, Italians, etc.

Does the Decavalcante Family sell drugs?

That's a good question. Frank Polizzi was back in the day. But I haven't been able to find a single case of that family being involved in drugs over the past decade. Well, unless you count indirectly being involved like when drugs were sold in Vinny Palermo's strip clubs.

What I found so interesting about that list you provided were the smaller families...glorified crews that were big into drugs

Though obviously not as big of an income producer for them as gambling, drugs to seem to be a staple for the New England and Philadelphia families. Not so much the case with New Jersey or Chicago. As for the others, I don't know if I would say they were "big" into drugs. Well, the Trafficante operation had smuggled $80 million worth of marijuana from Mexico but that was over a 15 year period.

Yeah, but Buffalo, Rochester, Kansas City and NE Pennsylvania.

Those families are often called extinct.

They are, for all intents and purposes. In these places you had remnants of these families (i.e. individual members) involved. For instance, the Buffalo/Rochester case in June 2000 involved Thomas Marotta. The June 2006 case involved 11 people, of which 1 (Leonard Mordino) was a Buffalo LCN associate.

Geez...mafia whiz kid. You're a savant of LCN history.

Though those drug pinches were signs of a viable existence, particularly in how recent the Buffalo one and in particular the KC bust

When I use the term "viable," I mean families that still meet the RICO standard - ongoing activity in behalf of an organization. Buffalo, Kansas City, etc. really don't meet that basic criteria anymore.

Good point.

Though I have to nitpick about RICO. That is the definition, however RICO can be applied for individuals.

An example of a case my old man did:

A doctor who who ran several clinics, would get the death certificates of recently deceased peoples and then bill Medicare for services that he did not do. Exams, minor surgeries, etc.
Since this was Medicare, the Feds got involved. Since there were several clinics and an ongoing pattern of criminal activity, this individual was charged under the RICO statute.

The gambinos def had some cartel connection for all the cocaine they were trafficking in parts of queens. They probably have lost a bit of territory though since the arrests.

Then again it not just a case of cartels. That record exec jimmy rosemond was shipping cocaine over from another black supplier on the west coast. Dominicans seem to be the dominant distributors, buying wholesale heroin and cutting it down and packaging for street level sales to the city drug gangs. I think that mob guys would make use of local sources more than they would anything else.

Interesting case. It corresponds to my impression of RICO-actionable activities.

Under a broad definition of RICO, a person who got into hock with a Mob-connected loanshark and had to bust out his business to pay off the debt could be charged under RICO as being part of a "racketeer influenced corrupt organization." That would make the victim all the more willing to cooperate with the Feds in exchange for a lighter sentence or Witness Protection.

Best succinct summary of RICO history and intent is found in Selwyn Raab's masterful "The Five Families."