the russians, have developed more weight in the underworld, more than the Cosa Nostra.
Like the Italians, you have to differentiate between the Russians here in the U.S. and those who operate in Russia and internationally. There has been a lot of hype about the Russian mob here in the U.S. over the last 20 years. Even today, there are far more cases involving the LCN than there are Russian OC. Most Russians here in the U.S. are your typical diaspora gangsters. And a lot of Eastern European groups get labeled as "Russian Mafia." The major Moscow-based syndicates who operate internationally tend to avoid the U.S. because of a healthy respect for our law enforcement. Obviously the international Russian groups are going to dwarf LCN families here in the U.S., which are basically a domestic operation. A better comparison would be the Italian groups based in Italy who also operate internationally, i.e. 'Ndranghata, Camorra, Cosa Nostra, SCU.
i remember how mobsters like Ludwig "Tarzan" Fainberg, had a connection to the Colombian cartels...
He had a connection to the Russian military, through which he tried to sell the Colombians a submarine to smuggle drugs. Problem was, it was pretty old and couldn't submerge any longer. So the Colombians walked away from the deal.
those of you aware of the cartels ruthlessness, and manpower know that the cartels make the itlian mob, look like a bunch of novices...
Again, a better comparison to the cartels would be the syndicates in Italy.
