Is the American Mafia poised for a renaissance?

With the fbi and police focused on terrorism, the Mafia has been given a breather and I believe new life. While the Mafia has faded away in places like Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Buffalo, Tampa and New Orleans, it seems like it's in resurgence in places like NY, NJ, Chicago, and Philly. Some of those families have stabilized after the beating they took from law enforcement in 80's through 2001. 9/11 has provided them a shot in the arm so to speak. In the places that it's faded away it's never coming back, however the families that still have a structure are on the same level of power as they were in the early 90's. From my count there are 10 crime families left with a real structure. They are as follows- 5 families of ny, Chicago outfit, Detroit partnership, Philadelphia, Boston, and nj decalvacantes. The families have gone back to basics, loansharking, extortion and gambling. My guess is if the fbi didn't reallocate resources towards terrorism within 10-15 years the only families left would maybe be the 5 families of ny.

depends what you mean by renaissance if you mean going back to how it was in the 70s and 80s then no those days are not coming back. If your saying it is stronger than it was 20 years ago and is in a position to operate as a powerful crimanl organization for the next 25-50 years i would agree

What I mean is having a criminal structure in place that has an impact on the areas it operates in. It will never reach the heights of power it had in previous decades where it was literally on par with the United States government in terms of power. This is in part because the government would never allow it and because the talent pool is not what it used to be. But i believe the government took its foot off the gas and has allowed the mob to regenerate some. If the government kept on them strong, the American mob possibly wouldn't have been no more in 20-25 years

i agree with that

Well the head of the FBI's OC squads in NY said just last year that the mob there "has quietly staged a comeback and is now more powerful than it has been in years." However, I wouldn't rate it as a "renaissance." Stabilized is probably more accurate.

Also, I don't think the situation in NY applies elsewhere. I don't think any of them have rebounded like the NY families. They are where they would be regardless of 9/11 and them appearing to rebound is due more to premature obituaries of those families. Philadelphia is a good example. We had seen several articles saying the mob there was all but finished. Then with the Ligambi bust, the press acted like the mob had appeared out of nowhere, when it never went away to begin with. Even after all this time some in the press can't resist the drama by going to one extreme or another rather than recognize the slow demise of the mob for what it is.

And I wouldn't put any of those families outside NY on the level they were in the early 1990's. In fact, I don't think I'd put any of the NY families on an early 1990's level either. The NY families may have come back but probably not to that point. You'll recall in the early 1990's the feds were still in the process of removing the mob from JFK airport and the garment center and hadn't even gotten around to major changes in the garbage industry, food markets, or the Javits Center. Perhaps it's as strong as it has been in NY since the late 1990's/early 2000's.

Yeah, no way it is as powerful as the early 90s. No chance.

I always see that people think because the FBI is more focused on terrorism, they are going to make a comeback.

Ignoring the death of the traditional urban Italian neighborhood.

i would say the five familys are in the best state since 1996

early 90s were hardly a good time for the mob gotti getting convicted casso amd amuso on the run killing everyone the colombo war the decavactes went into a power struggle philly there was a mob war. But i do agree that overall it was stronger back then


90s was the worst time in LCN history the heat they got from the feds was crazy the LCN i would say is in a stronger position now then it was back then


there has been a decline last 20 years yet i have seen no impact on the size of the mob and strength of the mob five familys i am talking about same size some rackets they have been pushed out of some they have moved into its all a cycle. Plus even though the quality of the younger guys has gotten worse there is still alot of young guys even if higher number come from the suburbs

Well if you look at the gamblinh busts they do earn a lot of cash and some of them live in luxury. They are becoming stronger but i don't think they will re infiltrate the unions etc on a scale we saw 30 years ago. So like ivy said its more like stability, renaissance is something whole different.

I think we have to differentiate between strength and convictions.

I really feel like overall, just in general, their influence has waned.

violence wise yes but there is still mob busts rackets etc going on same things last 20 years until i see a real sign of decline i will agree with that but from what i have seen nothing has changed last 20 years

but i do see where you are coming from influence in certain things has waned but other things has grown i dont know to be honest this it wont be from another 25+ years till real decline starts to happen as long as there is young guys there will be a LCN when there becomes a lack of young guys thats when the problems start

As far as New York goes then yes, there has been a resurgence. They are by no means close to where they were in the 70's and 80's, but they're certainly better off today than they were 15, 16 years ago. New York is just a different animal. Much bigger pie, more players, more talent, the other cities don't even come close.