my first thread...
how many made guys and associates were there in NY 5 fimalies in their golden time?I read that in 50s there were 2000made members in the five families .is that true?if there were 10 associates following a made guy, there would be 20000 button mans in the five families.
i am talking about their golden times,i found they still have 700 made guys in NYC,but i really want to know the total number in 50s or 60s.could anyone help me?

I heard that when Carlo Gambino was running the Gambino family, the group consisted of around 500 made men, and it was the largest family in the United States. And the Philadelphia family had around 80 members at its peak (sounds a little small, but considering the fact that its the only Mafia family in Philly, easily makes up for it). Today the Genovese and Gambinos have considerably fewer members, around 200 a piece or so. One of the reasons is due to cultural assimilation.

The height of Italian immigration to America was around the 1870's to 1920's. Many of them were poor, unskilled, and had limited opportunities offered to them. Often times the wealthier Italians were the gangsters, so many young men gravitated to what they considered an way of upward mobility. That is not to say that all Italians in this era resorted to crime, but there were enough of them to keep the organization pumped with new blood. Over two to three generations, Italian Americans are more likely to go to college, land well paying jobs, move out of the old neighborhoods, etc rather than resort to joining the criminal underworld. Plus its easier than ever for law enforcement to infiltrate these families with various means (informants, undercover, etc). So mobsters are more reluctant to allow outsiders into their group. As a result, Mafia organizations have been withering over the last three decades or so.

thanks,but i still wonder,if gambino family just have 500made guys ,how could it possible for the 5 families to have 2000members in total？because i thought the other three families are much more smaller than gambino and genoveese.
and what about the associates？i m curious about NYmobs man power, is there any reliable figure about how many button men do they have？

The problem is that there are no reliable figures, I´m afraid. One historian may say there were about 2 000 members in the NY/NJ metropolitan area while another one will say close to 3 000. Who to believe? Even informants from the 1960s gave different figures.

so thats true？NY mob have more than 2000 made man in the past？i believe genoveese and gambino had much more members than 500，if its so.
sorry,maybe there are some language mistakes.im not a native speaker