I've had a lot of debates about this. Seems like people on one forum or another are very quick to inflate the figures based on questionable sources. We had a specific figure (28) straight from the FBI just 5 years ago. But people didn't like that figure (like that should matter) so they look elsewhere for figures more to their liking.

Well, in my opinion, you're not going to find a better source than the FBI. Not Fosco. And not anyone on the forums. Looking at the estimates over the past 15 years or so, the 28 figure cited in 2007 seems consistent. Especially when you take into account that nearly 20 members have died since 2000.

Of course it's possible that not ever single member has been identified. And it's possible that new members have been made in the last 5 years. But that's all conjecture and doesn't warrant just adding an additional 10-20 members out of nowhere. There's not much chance of 25%-40% of an LCN family's membership flying under the radar today.