I ask because there has been a thread or two about which crew is the most "feared" in Chicago or NYC. As a mob buff I wish they still had that kind of power but reality seems to suggest otherwise. I've read if you make a bet with a connected bookie and don't pay up they simply cut you off from betting with them. In the past they would have busted your skull. Is the fear gone?
In some ways, the fear is gone. More people are willing to rat then in the past. Legit people aren't as easily intimidated, knowing they can run to the cops. But the decision to simply cut off a deadbeat gambler rather then give him a beating has more to do with avoiding law enforcement then the deadbeat not fearing the mob. As we saw in the recent trial in Philadelphia, the mob today usually just trades on it's reputation, which has been established over decades. It doesn't have to be dropping bodies left and right. Occasional beatings and murders still happen and that's enough to send a message. If there still wasn't a certain amount of fear, the mob couldn't operate in many ways.
