Interesting. One thing I noticed is that if you read Coen's book, which is probably the most crystaline window into the Outfit I've ever come across at least, all of their rackets are very archaic. There's a glean of sophistication during the Vegas days with Lombardo wheeling and dealing with the union money but beyond that it's all juice loans, bookmaking and extortion. C'est tout.
They come off for the most part as very stupid. One big idea? Let's extort the owner of Connie's Pizza. Why? It just occurred to them that he was a successful businessman. So they literally went up to him and said "You owe us $100K." (Or maybe two, I forget.) Ditto with the real estate guy down here, Caciatorre, and ditto with Michael Cagnoni, who they blew to pieces. The others they left dead mice on their windshield to scare them. Really guys? Dead mice with nooses on them? And cut a puppy's head off and left it on a windsheild.
That is of course all the 26 Street Crew.
However, if you look at the evidence that's come to light, and it's not a perfect indication, what did Sarno get busted for? Video poker and thieving.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Outfit has its hands in offshore gambling and things of a more sophisticated nature but am left to wonder as there hasn't been a single shred of evidence brought up suggesting that.
For the families outside of New York, it's mostly down to the standard street rackets of gambling, loansharking, extortion, drug trafficking, and stolen goods. The New York families have these things, as well as continuing involvement in labor union racketeering and newer scams like stock fraud.
As has been said, bookmaking and video poker are the Outfit's mainstays. It really doesn't take a whole lot of sophistication to use offshore wire rooms and internet sites. Obviously with gambling comes loansharking. And there is still the "street tax" the Outfit imposes on things ranging from independent bookies to porn shops. For some reason, the Outfit has always had a lot of involvement in burglary rings. So that's nothing new.
Comparatively speaking, the 26th St/South Side crew has always been more "blue collar." They were the ones who took over the stolen auto racket in Chicago for a time decades ago. However the top guys in the crew, the Carusos, were big into the Laborers Union before being ousted a decade ago. But it seems the more sophisticated operations are on the north side. Guys like DiFronzo, Andriacchi, and others who have a lot of legit interests in trucking, demolition, auto dealerships, restaurants, and real estate.
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