Question for the forum:

If you were a mafioso or racketeer and scheming on the streets, what would be the number #1 racket operation you'd want to be involved in?

The best all around racket that would be your primary endeavor? If you prefer you can name several.

It is shylocking ( loan sharking). You can make millions yourself. With comstruction, although great money, too many people are involved and getting pinched is easy.

If I could only pick one it would be loan sharking beacouse it is easier then gambling and people are always going to need illegal money. But also I’d like to have a gambling racket at the same time

Personally when I was involved in the life extorting drug dealers was the easiest and most lucrative. It's a dirty business, they can't avoid it or complain unless they were protected and if the law approached me about it I knew they were a snitch. Would also rob one and sell stuff to another for a discount to keep them happy. Loansharking is good but you have to use violence and sometimes it's on people who don't have any reason not to go to the law. Another good one is union jobs at a convention center. The companies charge an extra fee to get your goods delivered early or taken down first. If you get a fork lift driver to put a clients stuff in a place thats easy to get too you can make a deal with the client for less than the company would charge. Works every time.

Even though it is not one individual racket,I don't think you can separate gambling and loansharking. I have never heard of,or been associated with any gambling operation that didn't offer customers the opportunity to continue playing just because they were broke. In addition to the game profits,you have the loan vig, plus a lot of opportunities to take over debtor's businesses,get tips on burglary and hijack scores, as well as a few other earning opportunities.

Home invasions/armed robberies on the owners of cryptocurrency exchangers. Not in the US though due to harsh prison sentences dished out for home invasions and armed robbery. Preferably in countries like Norway or New Zealand where one would only be looking at a few years in prison, nothing crazy.

The smaller exchangers hold minimum $10 million dollars in cryptocurrency and don't have any serious security. A couple of guys doing home invasions every few months worldwide and forcing the owners to transfer all the crypto at gun point would yield tens of millions of dollars annually. Do it worldwide and law enforcement will have a hard time trying to profile your next move.

Lets say I did three home invasions a year, that's $30 million dollars divided by two (because their will need to be two hold up guys). I'll be kicking up around $3 million dollars per year (20%). I think the bosses will be very happy with me:)

Obviously not today with all the high technology available to law enforcement, but decades back "currency counterfeiting" was one of the easiest and most profitable rackets around.

What's better than dealing in money? Green bringing in the green!

Especially if the counterfeiters were real "artisans" as many of the early Italian and French criminals were. They could duplicate a $10, $20, or $50 dollar note to a near perfect replica of those from the U.S. Mint.

Pushed "retail", a $20. note brought a $20. return...OUTSTANDING!

Even sold "wholesale" to other hoodlums the going rate was typically 15% to 20% of face value. Many times they sold for higher. It was a racket that made many early mafiosi wealthy men.



The early Mafiosi who arrived in the country specialized in the field.

It was before the U.S. Treasury agents had the capacity to track counterfeiters.

Loan sharking is very lucrative, but you can get far more vig if you offer "payday loans" in certain states, and it's completely legit.

Drug dealing is way too dangerous and carries double digit sentences.

Counterfeiting used to be a sure-fire, high-yield racket, but modern technology makes it almost impossible to run off phony money that could pass muster at even a convenience store counter.

Speaking of counterfeiting: Our local paper here once ran an article headlined: "Police Warn of Counterfeiting". The story said a guy tried to pass a bad bill at a McDonald's. "Police described the fraudulent bill as 'a poor quality Xerox'--the front was a $50, the back was a $20." I guess the guy was hedging his bets with the cashier: "Uh, can you gimme change for a fifty? No? How about a twenty?"

If it's a slow day and you wanna have some fun, go into a 7-11 and when the clerk totals your order ,reach for your wallet and say " I just got back from vacation.do you guys take Hawaiian money ?".

Law enforcement comes down hard on anyone dealing in counterfeit currency, so much so that Anthony Corallo banned all members of the Lucchese family from dealing in counterfeit money.

But like you pointed out, early Mafiosi did deal in counterfeit currency in the mob's early days.

yeah today you cannot get away with counterfeiting. although I've heard there are rare outfits that use the paper, have the high technology and knowhow to produce a near perfect replica. watermarks, designs and all............but if its even true. 99.9% of crews do not have that expertise

Sure I don't blame em. You're fucking with the U.S.Treasury. The G doesn't take kindly to us being their partner! lol

Yep that's right, counterfeit currency is a direct assault on the Government, or more precisely the US Treasury, and they don't take kindly to it at all.

Guiseppe Morello, the founder of the family that became the Masseria-Luciano-Genovese family made a fortune on counterfeiting before getting caught.

Correct WhackWhack... he, Lupo the Wolf Saietta and their Elizabeth Street crew ran for years. Back in those early years they would counterfeit "coins" in addition to paper "notes" because of the value of currency in those days.

The Treasury agents tracked them for several years before they were nabbed.

While in operation they also supplied "counterfeit" to their brothers in Pittston, PA., and other cities. A mafioso by the surname of Petto (The Ox), who was affiliated with them in the case later on migrated to Pittston after his release from jail.

Insurance fraud against non English speaking policy holders is making tons of money. For example, house burns down, the contractor shows up with the adjuster. The adjuster convinces the policy holder this is the right contractor for them. They don’t know any better sign the check over to the contractor. The contractor applies for all the building permits intentionally leaving vital information out which causes delays. Then the contractor doesn’t follow up telling victims the permits are being held up. If done legally the permits take time, in this case they’re never approved. The victim doesn’t know better months and months go buy and they more often than not are not here legally and don’t know where to turn or too afraid. Contractor makes out with hundreds of thousands dollars 3 or 4 times a year it’s a million bucks. No violence no drugs, no threats and ... no reported victim. FYI I know for a fact this happens in nnj with a contractor from queens with ties. Seems like a nearly perfect scam

Sorry for typos but I meant illegally, not legally and by not buy. It’s early

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agreed that it is a pervasive scheme in certain areas. But its not a mafia scheme or racket. Are there one or two who have dabbled in it? Maybe. But not a major racket run by OC

What would you say was the BEST traditional mob racket that they ever operated?

I misunderstood, I didn’t realize traditional oc crimes. Bootlegging BEST racket ever. With that money came everything else. It was all financed from bootlegging. Today, I’d probably get into black marketing cigarettes. Esp. In ny/nj with the crazy state taxes on a pack I’d figure a way to make cigarettes the present day alcohol

I have to agree. alcohol was the catalyst for all the rest. It made very rich men out of ordinary guys.