Okay, thanks again for the info. So if the Genoveses had 450 members before Carlo Gambino came to power, and the Gambinos had 400, how could the Gambinos during Carlo's reign have surpassed the Genoveses if they only made a few exceptions? That means the Gambinos must have initiated more than 50 new made men between 1957 and 1976. Or is it that a huge number of Genovese soldiers just went into retirement? This is the point I'm trying to make.
It's not for sure exactly at what point the Gambinos became slightly larger than the Genovese. It apparently was sometime during Carlo Gambino's reign, which lasted for almost 20 years, from 1957 to 1976. All that is known is that prior to that, the Genovese had been slightly larger. By the latter part of the 1970's, the Gambinos were considered to be slightly larger. It could be something as simple as the Genovese choosing not to make as many members as the Gambinos did when the books were opened.
And if the Bonannos went from 100 to supposedly 150 during Massino's reign, how could the other New York families have allowed that? Wouldn't they have felt threatened?
Once again, it may have been as high as 150 on the high end. Technically, the other families were supposed to approve the names of prospective members on a list that would get passed around prior to the actual ceremony. But one reason for the large increase might be, as former Underboss Sal Vitale testified, that the Bonannos would take names out of the phone book, claim they were recently deceased Bonanno members, and then use that as an excuse to make new guys. Later on, Bonanno Acting Boss Vinny Basciano and Gambino Consigliere Joe Corozzo accused each other of doing that.
