I wish the term LA Cosa Nostra would fall out of favor and everyone just revert to Cosa Nostra. Rant over...


Someone said this was just a glorified crew. I don't know if I agree. To be a family meant that the national board of directors recognized these people as autonomous. I think if you are a branch of a nation wide narcotics conspiracy, you need to install a boss (over that branch) so that you can completely control that branch of the operation. A lone capo or a bunch of soldiers operating in a distant city alone cannot manage themselves like a group of guys answering to a boss.