Still wondering where these 150+ made members the Outfit still had in the 1980s went when they were suddenly estimated to have 50 made members in the early 90s. I suppose most of them died during that time frame.
Well, to give you an idea, just since 2000, there have been 18 Outfit members that have died.
Well, yeah, I was responding to the previous poster who was talking about the outfit's power in the past based on there political connections. That was my point, the outfit's power into the 80's was ridiculous.
As long as one differentiates between the past and today, there isn't a problem. But there have been more than a few posters who think that level of influence once held by the Outfit still exists.
Why would a non-italian in a high up position in today's outfit mean anything? I'm confused by that statement. Are you just stating a fact?
One of the reasons the folks who claim the Outfit is still as powerful as ever, and why we can't use the same criteria to evaluate it like other families, is because of it's unique traits. The problem is, most of those unique traits don't really apply anymore. One being non-Italians holding high level positions in the organization. It's just another example of how the view held by some (not necessarily you though) of the Outfit is outdated.
I think the hierarchy is still the same. Why does the size of the crew matter? If there are 3-4 crews and each crew has a boss and each crew boss has 5 soldiers and those soldiers have associates, it's still the same hierarchy. Why would the hierarchy change if the size of the family was smaller?
I think the hierarchy has changed because the Outfit is a much smaller organization now. They don't need all those rank levels, nor do they have the manpower to fill them. I'd be willing to bet that the crews left in the Outfit are much like crews elsewhere.
I agree about the estimates being correct, they only have 3-4 crews, down from 7. So those numbers makes sense. I actually think they have junked the making ceremony and possibly making people all together. I wouldn't be surprised if Difronzo is making the outfit considerably smaller on purpose. By wanting it smaller or not caring anymore, either or, it's smaller.
You're right, the Outfit did actually become smaller on purpose. They did that by streamlining the organization back in the 1990's by merging crews together.
5+ years ago, 4 remaining crews for the Outfit were cited. More recently, I've seen articles that have cited 2 or 3. And one article did talk about the Outfit now being run in "northern and southern sections." I've wondered if that was the representative of what we've heard more recently about DiFronzo and his more "white collar/legit" wing in the north and the more "blue collar/street rackets" wing in the south.
As for the ceremony, it wouldn't surprise me if they did do away with it. The last one Nick Calabrese was aware of was in the 1980's. Sure, one could argue there are guys in the organization who technically aren't made and yet have made status. But that doesn't change the total manpower over all.
