I'm reading Jerry Capeci's recent bio (Al D`Arco), and he discussed the headcounts of the five families. Capeci wrote that Lucky's original commission decided on the maximum headcounts for each family to keep everyone in line.
Genovese....300
Gambino.....300
Colombo.....150
Bonanno.....125-140
Lucchese....125-140
This doesn't necessarily reflect the current numbers, but is where each family is capped at when recruiting new members. Even though families can replenish the ranks, some opt not to in order to keep a bigger share of the loot, or to avoid diluting the standards. Since the figures posted by other members are lower, I'm assuming the decision to keep the headcount lower is voluntary.
I wonder why the Colombos were allowed to have more members than the other two smaller families, especially since they were the youngest family. The 300 made members for the Genovese and the Gambino family does make sense and confirms my own speculation that they had not much more than 300 members at their peak. However, the 125-140 number doesn't correlate with other sources on the Bonannos. It would also mean that the Bonannos would have been downsized since they most likely had more soldiers under Maranzano. Also, Paul Sciacca was heard on wiretaps saying that he the Bonannos had 180 members. As boss he would've most certainly known their exact numbers. Other sources such as the authors of the Sixth Family stated that the Bonannos had 150 members during the Galante period. The Bonannos were also estimated to have this amount of made members during Massino's reign.
