Some more...
1) When was the apex, the peak, of the Mafia here in America? The 40s? 50s? 60s? 70s? 80s?
The 1950's. Nationally, it was still very powerful in the 1960's and 1970's but the 1950's was the absolute peak. The cracks started to appear in the 1960's and 1970's but the real damage began in the 1980's due to several factors.
2) Was Paul Castellano's path--turning the Mob toward white collar crimes and away from blue collar crimes--a wise one? Disregarding himself as a Boss and his own personal pettiness which got him killed, was that strategy one which could've held LCN strong in the long run?
I think he just took more of a personal interest in the "white collar" rackets. It's not like he turned his nose up at money from gambling, car theft rings, extortion, or even drugs in some cases.
3) A second question about Castellano--how powerful/influential was the Family under his reign? Did anyone respect Paul?
People respected and feared Paul, though he was known across the board for being greedy and standoffish, and that respect waned in the later years. It was during his reign that the Gambinos were said to go back from simply rivaling the Genovese to being a strong #2.
4) How did anyone ever support Gotti as being Boss? He would've been a great soldier but did no one in the Gambino Family worry about how flashy he was?
Intimidation (the captains didn't want to end up like Paul). In hindsight, obviously guys like Failla and Marino weren't crazy about it.
5) What was the state of the Mafia in the early 1990s--From around 1990 until Gravano flipped?
The first decade of the FBI's war against the mob (the 1980's) had taken a real toll on the mid-size and smaller families around the country. But the NY families were still going strong due to their size and diversity. But it wouldn't be too long until prosecutions started doing big damage there too, leading to a lot of new turncoats. As well as Giuliani cleaning up different industries that had been mobbed up for decades.
7) Are there any really interesting Mafiosos I should read about? I only really know about Costello, Luciano, Gotti, Castellano, Gravano, Ruggierio, etc.
8) Are there any books which illustrate what it's like to be a Capo? I ask because most movies usually show the Mob from either the side of the Boss/Guys on top (Godfather, Sopranos) or guys on the lowest ends (Donnie Brasco, etc)
In answer to both questions above, one of my favorite books is by Philadelphia turncoat, George Freselone, called
Blood Oath. It gives a really good firsthand look at the mob life from the perspective of a guy who was an associate, soldier, and later a capo for a time.
8) Could the Italian American Mafia ever be revived? Even in theory, what would it require?
The last family to really be revived was the Bonannos during the 1990's. But that was mainly due to the fact the feds took their eye off the ball with them during that time. Now the best a family can hope for is to stabilize, and remain so, for however long they can. It's really a case of which families are declining faster than others.
The New York families still enough of a recruiting pool to keep their numbers consistent. Though that's more in terms of quantity than quality. But it's general attrition that has really effected the other families. Even more than the government or rats. Italian-Americans now in the mainstream and the families fading out of existence.
