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Here ya go DL, (sorry about the delay)


LOL...Believe it or not, I've been so busy lately, that I actually think I forgot to post the answer to this interesting question here, on GBB. We did post it on our website and channel, but not here...So, I do apologize. And like they say in Brooklyn...here goes nuttin'...
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THE ORIGINAL QUESTION WAS… “Over the years, how many Cosa Nostra “Families” actually operated within the State of New York?”


“The Other Guy” weighs in and gives his opinion on the subject:

I believe the correct answer to this question is that (9) nine separate Cosa Nostra Families operated within New Your State at one time of another. The nine borgatas active in NYS are as follows;

(#1 thru 5) The notorious “Five Families” based downstate in New York City; Genovese, Gambino, Bonanno, Colombo and Lucchese.

(#6) In addition, although based in New Jersey, the DeCavalcante Family also maintained a strong presence throughout New York City where they operated two separate regimes based in Queens and Brooklyn.

(#7) Then you have the Stefano Magaddino Family whose home-base was always the Buffalo-Niagara Falls area, but who also operated throughout many upstate areas, including such cities of Syracuse, Rochester, Utica, etc.

(#8) By the 1950s, the City of Rochester had become autonomous, and was now considered a completely separate Cosa Nostra network all its own. From that point forward, it became the Frank Valente Family.

(#9) And last, but certainly not least, was the little known Giuseppe (Joe) Barbara Family that controlled the Triple-Cities region, whose headquarters was based within the City of Binghamton, but also ruled over the surrounding territories. Headed by Joe Barbara, after his death in 1959, this network was taken over by Barbara’s former underboss, Rosario (Russ) Bufalino.
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Sidenote: This Cosa Nostra network originated in Northeastern Pennsylvania, around Pittston and Scranton. But they also maintained a strong presence in the Binghamton area which was right over the PA-NY border through Family capo-regime Joe Barbara. After Barbara was elected the new Family boss in the late 1940s, he relocated the headquarters of this borgata to his hometown of Binghamton and also greatly expanded their NYS territory.

Through the years, many people, including law enforcement and researchers alike, have misidentified Barbara as a member of Buffalo’s Magaddino Family. But, in actuality, dating all the way back to the 1920s-1930s era, Barbara had always been a member of the Santo Volpe Family of Pittston.
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