Did I hear that right ? Chicago power is equal to the 5 families ?
NYC is 3x the size of Chicago and GDP is probably even higher . That's not even factoring in Long Island or NJ which is the densest population in the country , and NJ mob influence is arguably the biggest in the country, or close
I think an argument can be made that Chi was on par with the Colombo's or Bonnano in certain times although it didnt quite have the man power strength of these families .
Chicago was one powerful group but they never had the man or earning power held by the Genovese , Gambino or Luchesse .
I get the whole home team thing but lets be a little realistic , lol , at least to make the discussion believable . Overall there is some good info in this thread , especially by Chicago who knows more about the Outfit then any other poster , reporter or author I know of.
As I posted before, through most of history I'd agree with DB. However from approx. 1955 to 1975 there was no criminal entity in this nation that could compare to the Chicago Outfits influence. They were streamlined and international. You could for one moment forget about Vegas, LA, KC, even Mil. The scope of the influence in central Mexico, Iran and Lebanon is staggering. As I posted before since 1990 the Outfit no longer compares to any of the families in New York as their influence has been greatly diminished, however in their glory day they were more diverse than GE
